Greenfield and Shepley Lane Head Turnpike Road

The Greenfield and Shepley Lane Head Turnpike was first proposed in 1805, although it seems likely the scheme was never submitted for Parliamentary approval.[1] The scheme was part of a wider plan to connect Manchester to the Barnsley coal fields.[2]

The route was surveyed by Thomas Dinsley in 1819.[3]

Public notices appeared again in the local press during 1821 and 1822[4], with the necessary Act of Parliament being passed in 1823.[5]

By June 1823, the turnpike trustees were advertising for tenders relating to "forming, making, stoning, and fencing" the new road.[6]

A route from Greenfield to Huddersfield was opened up by the building of the Meltham and Wessenden Head Turnpike in 1825 which connected to the existing Lockwood and Meltham Turnpike and to the Huddersfield and Woodhead Turnpike at Lockwood.

From Greenfield, the route passed through the following toll points marked on the 1854 O.S. maps:

In 1840, the Parliamentary Commissioners for Inquiring into the State of the Roads in England and Wales reported the following details of the road:

  • 14 miles and 1,474 yards, passing through the townships of Shaw Meer, Lord's Meer, Austonley, Upperthong, Cartworth, Wooldale, Fulstone, and Shepley
  • "About three miles is in very bad condition, the remainder is in tolerably good repair."
  • "Six miles and one thousand one hundred and fifty-one yards in the township of Shaw Meer, Lord’s Meet. and Austonley is repaired by the trustees, the remainder is repaired by the surveyors of the highways of the different townships through which it passes."

The Act expired on 1 November and the turnpike trust was wound up.

Route

Now known as the A635, the road ran from Greenfield via Holmfirth and New Mill to a junction at the Sovereign Inn near Shepley Lane Head which connected with the Barnsley and Shepley Lane Head Turnpike (east) and the Huddersfield and Penistone Turnpike (north/south).

The approximate route of the turnpike road, based on the 1854 O.S. map, is shown below:

Further Reading

Notes and References

  1. Public notices in Leeds Intelligencer (23/Sep/1805), placed by Cookson Stephenson of Holmfirth.
  2. Passage Through Time: Saddleworth Roads and Trackways (1981) by Bernard Barnes, page 72.
  3. Edward Law: Land Agents and Surveyors of Huddersfield and District to 1840.
  4. See Leeds Intelligencer (17/Sep/1821) and Leeds Mercury (14/Sep/1822), both placed by C. and W. Stephenson of Holmfirth.
  5. Public notice in Leeds Intelligencer (05/Jun/1823).
  6. Public notice in Leeds Mercury (28/Jun/1823), placed by William Stephenson.