the South Tynedale area
- A historical review
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Railways and Places to visit in the South Tynedale area - A historical review |
The information shown on this page has been compiled from the book entitled
“Haltwhistle, Haydon Bridge & South Tynedale” by Frank Graham, published in 1977.
Introduction
The area around Haltwhistle was rich in minerals, particularly coal and lead. Their successful exploitation needed transport on a big scale which only the railways could supply.
The earliest railway in the area was Lord Carlisle’s early-nineteenth century waggonway which conveyed coals from the coalmines on Denton Fell (known locally as “Coal Fell”) and Hartleyburn Common. It linked up the collieries of Lambley, Midgeholme and Roachburn with Brampton. It was a remarkable work for its time and sections were still in use during the 20th century. The trackbed of the railway can still be traced.
The Haltwhistle to Alston Branch
The lead mining districts of Allendale and Alston needed an outlet and in 1846 an Act was passed to build a railway from Haltwhistle to Alston.
The first section from Haltwhistle to Shafthill (4½ miles in length) was opened for passengers on 19th July 1851. The next 8½ mile section, from Alston to Lambley) was opened six months later. The magnificent Lambley Viaduct, which was completed shortly afterwards joined the two sections together.
The original plan for the railway envisaged continuing the line from Alston to Nenthead, but this section was abandoned. The lead mines in the Alston area, however, were continuing to decline and the railway had to depend on lime, coal and agriculture, augmented by foundry products from Alston.
The line was 13 miles long and stops were made at Featherstone Park, Coanwood, Lambley and Slaggyford. The passenger trains took 35 minutes to do the whole journey along the line in 1911, and after sixty years of progress using modern diesel trains, the time was cut to 34 minutes.
The line was never a commercial success and by the 1960s it began to lose money. Subsidies had to be introduced to keep the line open. The railway was one of the most picturesque in Britain.
Places to visit along the
Haltwhistle to Alston branch lineHaltwhistle
This is a pleasant market town whose centre is almost untouched by ugly modern development.Lambley
A short distance south of the point where the Blackburn enters the River South Tyne is the village of Lambley, which is first mentioned in 1201. Here was the site of a small convent of Benedictine Nums. In 1296, the house of the holy nums of Lambley was burnt by the Scots. The convent was later restored. When it was dissolved by Henry it had six inmates and the yearly income was five pounds, fifteen shillings and eight pence. Now not a trace remains since most of the ruins have been swept away by the river.Nearby is the famous Lambley Viaduct, spanning the River South Tyne at height of 110 feet. It is one of the great monuments of the Railway Age. The Haltwhistle to Alston branch was completed in 1852 and was closed by British Rail on 1st May 1976.
The church at Lambley was built in 1885, replacing an earlier edifice.
Slaggyford
A mile from Knaresdale is Slaggyford. The first element of its name means muddy. According to tradition it was once as market town and had a fair, but it began to decline when Alston obtained its charter.In the fields betwen Kirkside Wood and the School are two Bronze Age barrows. In the excavations of 1935, a golden ear-ring was discovered.
A mile to the south is Whitley Castle and a short distance beyond it is the Gilderdale Burn which is the south-west boundary of Northumberland. Alston is two miles further on.
Kirkhaugh
Two miles further south from Slaggyford is the small village of Kirkhaugh. The old church was replaced in 1868 by one with an extremely thin needle-spire. The vicar designed it himself dispensing with an architect. It was at this church on 3rd December 1714, that John Wallis, the historian of Northumberland was christened. He was born at Castle Nook Farm, near Whitley Castle.John Wallis tells us:-
Northumberland being Roman ground, and receiving my first breath in Whitley Castle one of their castra, I was led by a sort of enthusiasm to and enquiry and search after their towns, their cities, and temples, their baths, their altars, their tumuli, their military ways and other remains of splendour and magnificance.
A little to the north is Barhaugh Hall, which is a modest old country house. Also nearby, just across the border into Cumbria, is Randalholm Hall, an ancient pele tower with an ancient armorial stone escutheonon the north front of the whitewashed house.
Other railways and
wagonways in the areaThere were several minor railways and waggonways in the area, serving quarries such as those at Barcombe, Fourstones and Greenhead, an interesting railway to the north east of Haltwhistle ran for 1½ miles up the valley of the Butstone, serving ten different industrial enterprises, between Haltwhistle, the Gas Works, South Tyne Colliery and Low Mill.
The most important railway in the district is the Newcastle to Carlisle Railway, which was built in the 1830s. For a long time before it was built, there had been a need to improve on the communications between Newcastle upon Tyne and Carlisle. The road was completely inadequate. The first idea was a canal but this proved abortive. On 28th March 1825, a meeting was held in Newcastle, in which the people who attended it decided to build a railway to connect the two cities. Work on building the line was commenced in 1830 and it was completed in 1839.
Between Haydon Bridge and Haltwhistle, the line followed the valley of the River Tyne, usually on the north bank, but crossing the river twice. At Whitchester, near Haltwhistle, the railway passes through a tunnel. West of Haltwhistle, it follows the Tipalt valley and crosses the watershed of the rivers Irithing and Tipalt in deep cuttings at Longbyre and Burnt Walls.
For more information about the South Tynedale Railway, please contact:-
THE SOUTH TYNEDALE RAILWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY,
Registered Office Address:-
The Railway Station, Alston, Cumbria, CA9 3JB.
Telephone 01434 381696.
Talking timetable - Telephone 01434 382828.
Registered Charity No. 514939.
Limited by Guarantee: Company Registration No. 1850832 (England).E-mail enquiries - please click on links below:
South Tynedale Railway information - Send e-mail to South Tynedale Railway
STRPS membership information only - Send e-mail to Kathy Aveyard
Tynedalesman information only - Send e-mail to Tynedalesman compilersThis page was last updated on 3rd January 2006.
© South Tynedale Railway Preservation Society 2007.