If you peer over the side of Hanson Lane, you can see the start of the old track bed overgrown with trees as it heads off into Dungeon Woods. In this photograph, the track bed runs horizontally across the middle, with Lockwood Viaduct in the background:. From there, the track follows the contour of the valley-side through the lower edge of Dungeon Wood, running below what would become eventually Beaumont Park a couple of decades later.
Much of the ground here proved unstable and required some serious engineering to make the trackbed safe from landslips. In February , the Huddersfield Chronicle reported that heavy rain was suspected of contributing to a landslip which caused nearby properties to become unsafe — in particular the toll-house at Dungeon bar had developed alarming cracks and the toll collector was steadfastly refusing the enter the building. Particularly impressive is a deep cutting with buttress walls which can now be accessed by foot thanks to the efforts of the Friends of Beaumont Park :.
On the morning of Monday 1 October , when it was noticed that the upper side of the cutting was beginning to collapse at the base, workmen spent the day carefully clearing the cutting of tools and equipment in fear of an imminent collapse. Below the cutting lay Woodfield House, at the time owned by Bentley Shaw , a vocal opponent of the branch line, and it seems he heard what was happening and ordered his servants to empty his outhouses which were sited between the cutting and Woodfield House.
At pm, the walls caved in over a length of 40 yards, completely filling the cutting and causing part of the hillside above to collapse. Huge boulders were loosened by the slip and rolled down the hill towards Woodfield House, but their momentum was slowed by a large stone wall at the edge of the property, which was demolished over a length of 50 yards. Three weeks later, a further landslip caused part of Meltham Road to collapse, leaving a large hole in the road.
Understandably, local residents began to fear parts of a nearby embankment, which was apparently only being propped up by wooden railway sleepers that were already warping due to the weight, might collapse and destroy their houses. Butternab Tunnel runs for feet and passes under Butternab Road not named on the map below, but shown as the boundary road between Huddersfield and South Crossland :. On 13 April , construction began on this end of the tunnel with the symbolic removal of the first mound of earth by John Worth, manager of a dye works in nearby Armitage Bridge.
The positioning of the tunnel had proved contentious, as a Mr. Tolson was the owner of a natural spring which you can see in the photograph on the Forgotten Relics site which ran close to the tunnel entrance and presumably Tolson received income from channelling the water down to the dye works. After the railway company guaranteed the water would not be contaminated by the construction work, they invited Mr. Worth to the ceremony where he was presented with a new spade by Jesse Kaye, owner of the nearby Big Valley Hotel, which he used to cut the first sod.
The Huddersfield Chronicle later reported on an accident which occurred on the afternoon of Friday 11 August , during the latter stages of the construction of this end of the tunnel. A local sub-contractor, Joe Marriott, had been working with a group of men to remove some of the wooden supporting beams which had propped up the tunnel roof.
Joe was buried under much of it, crushing his body. It seems almost certain that this was the Joseph Marriott who was born in Huddersfield, the son of local cordwainer John Marriott and his wife Harriet I suspect her friends joked about her becoming Harriet Marriott! Joseph was baptised at St. By , aged 19, he was working as a joiner and living with his widowed grandmother, Susy Ellis, on Swine Market in Huddersfield. In , he married widow Ellen Smith of Heckmondwike and they had at least one child together, Joseph, along with two children from her first marriage.
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Normally we add categories for you when the entry is set up, but you have the option to edit them. The categories are tiered with the broadest first.
Click on the plus sign till you find the specific categories that best suit your group. Crossing the stile, go immediately left through a narrow entrance and on to the in parts muddy path as it descends to the pretty hamlet of Helme. Passing a kissing gate, cross the road and continue straight on past the church. Some 50m beyond, fork right on a tarmac path which descends to Helme Lane.
Go right and after m, turn left through a gate to follow a clear path descending across Meltham recreation ground to Broadlands Road. This walk is easily accessible by public transport as buses and operate a very frequent weekday service between Huddersfield, Netherton and Meltham every 30 mins on Sunday.
Full timetable information can be found at www. More information. An instructive guidebook explaining map and compass techniques, to help readers enhance their outdoor experiences. Whether you are experienced in map-reading, or have never used a compass before, this guidebook will sharpen your skills and have you exploring new areas in no time.
There are also tips for GPS and digital mapping technologies. Discover the benefits of CBD for walkers and hikers. More info. Stay safe on the mountains with detailed weather forecasts - for iOS devices or for Android devices. Digital Mapping Guide - a simple guide of how to start using digital mapping.
Includes advice and useful links. According to railway historian Neil Fraser, the railway company considered three potential routes before selecting the final one that broadly followed the existing turnpike road: [4].
The final decision was possibly made on cost grounds, as the first two routes would have involved the building of a new viaduct to span the Holme Valley. However, the route was strongly opposed by Lockwood brewery owner Bentley Shaw whose residence and estate bordered Dungeon Wood. Although the planned route did not cross Shaw's land, he was successful in gaining the following concession from the railway company: [5]. The company shall, before beginning to construct the railway thirdly described, and, at all events, within eighteen months after the passing of this Act, if required so to do by Bentley Shaw, Esquire, his heirs or assigns, construct, at the expense of the company, but on the lands of the said Bentley Shaw, a carriage approach to his house called Woodfield House from such point on the turnpike-road from Huddersfield to Meltham, north-east of his said estate, and in such direction and in such manner, as the said Bentley Shaw, his heirs or assigns, shall prescribe, together with suitable entrance gates Plans were deposited at Wakefield County Hall towards the end of November , with the proposed line starting at the northern end of Lockwood Viaduct and rising feet to terminate at Bridge House, Meltham.
A total of 23 crossings were identified, including six footbridges and seven streams, along with three tunnels — Butternab Tunnel yards , Netherton Tunnel yards , and a short 30 yard tunnel near Healey House. Despite continued opposition from Bentley Shaw — which led to Netherton residents resolving to "refrain from drinking any ale, beer, or porter brewed by the firm of Bentley and Shaw, till the train shall run on the said line through our village" — the Bill for the branch line was passed by the Committee of the House of Commons in March When news reached Meltham by telegraph, it "spread with incredible rapidity from house to house" and the rest of the day was spent in celebrations.
By the summer of , work on clearing the route of trees and vegetation had begun, although it would be nearly two years before construction work began in earnest. The first sod of the branch line was cut by Charles Brook jnr on the afternoon of 4 April at a location near to Folly Dolly Falls , selected as it marked both the boundary between the townships of Meltham and South Crosland, and was where the railway company intended to make a yard spur line to serve Meltham Mills.
The spur line was eventually abandoned as being too expensive to construct, but would have passed through the grounds of Meltham Hall in a "cut and cover" tunnel. Within a couple of days, navvies were busy working at the location of the sod cutting ceremony and also at Netherton, where they began building the embankment alongside Nether Moor Road which would carry the line into the tunnel under the village. By the end of the month, work on levelling the ground through Dungeon Wood had begun and the first sod of Butternab Tunnel had been cut.
Lockwood Local Board clashed with the railway company on several occasions, complaining that public rights of way through Dungeon Wood had been blocked off by the latter's contractors. In April , around navvies who were engaged on the construction were "treated to a good substantial tea" at Meltham Mills.
The Huddersfield Chronicle reported that, "generally speaking, [navvies] are of a loose, wild, reckless character, and in many instances quite lawless. The entertainments afterwards included a magic lantern show given by J. Bill" was passed. In the original Bill, the completion date for the Meltham Branch Line was to have been 7 June , but the amendment extended the date to 7 June The Chronicle reported in September that track had been laid from Meltham to the southern portal of Netherton Tunnel and that the line's three stations Meltham , Healey House , and Netherton were in the process of being built.
The extra costs involved with the prolonged construction of the line led to the railway company deciding against the building of a spur line to Meltham Mills.
Instead, after discussions with the Brook family, it was agreed to build an unmanned halt above Spinks Mire Mill with a wooden shelter, accessed from the footpath that ran from Helme to Meltham Mills. Goods were transferred from Meltham Mills to the goods yard near Meltham Station, although this incurred fees to be paid at Harewood Toll House.
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