Malin Bridge | |
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Malin Bridge shown within Sheffield | |
OS grid reference | SK325893 |
Metropolitan borough | |
Metropolitan county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | SHEFFIELD |
Postcode district | S6 |
Dialling code | 0114 |
Police | South Yorkshire |
Fire | South Yorkshire |
Ambulance | Yorkshire |
EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
UK Parliament | |
Malin Bridge is a suburb of the city of Sheffield, England. It is located at grid reference SK325893 and stands 2½ miles north-west of the city centre where the rivers Loxley and Rivelin meet. Malin Bridge is only a small district centred on the road bridge over the River Loxley which carries the B6076 road to Stannington (in whose ward the suburb lies); it is surrounded by the suburbs of Hillsborough, Wisewood, Walkley and Stannington.
The origin of the name Malin Bridge is obscure and several possible meanings have been put forward. The most probable is that the name derived from Malin Stacie, who was Lord of the Manor of Owlerton (which lies ¾ mile to the NE) between 1607 and 1652. It is possible that Stacie built the bridge or was responsible for its upkeep and it was therefore named after him. Another possibility is that the name derives from Milne Bridge, a common occurrence where a bridge is built near a mill. A third option is that it was named after “mellum” an old word that relates to stones in the bed of a river.
Malin Bridge came into existence because of the strategic importance of the bridge over the Loxley with a small population consisting of publican, wheelwright, blacksmith and saddler springing up in the immediate area to serve the travellers who used the bridge. In the first half of the 18th century grinding mills and water-powered forges started to be built in the area to harness the power of the rivers. The best known of these are the Malin Bridge Corn Mill which still stands today and the Mousehole Forge which dates from the 17th century and was a world-famous anvil producer in its heyday.
In 1864 Malin Bridge was devastated by the Great Sheffield Flood with 102 people killed and 20 houses destroyed in the area . Whole families were wiped out with eleven people killed at the Stag Inn including eight members of the Armitage family as the inn was swept away. Seven members of the Bisby family were killed as the Cleakum Inn was inundated and swept away. The stone-built bridge was also carried off by the raging torrent and many of the industrial workshops were destroyed. Samuel Harrison wrote: “The populous village of Malin Bridge experienced the full fury of the flood, and suffered to an extent which is truly appalling…A bombardment with the newest and most powerful artillery could hardly have proved so destructive, and could not possibly have been nearly so fatal to human life.”