Wadsley Bridge | |
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Wadsley Bridge shown within Sheffield | |
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 | |
Wadsley Bridge is a suburb of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of the city centre. The area is a mixture of residential housing and small industrial and commercial premises. The suburb falls within the Hillsborough ward of the City.
Wadsley Bridge was named after the bridge at SK334905 called High Bridge near the eastern end of the Sheffield Wednesday ground in what is now called Owlerton. The bridge carried the track between the villages of Ecclesfield and Wadsley over the River Don in the early 17th century, and the immediate area around the bridge became known as Wadsley Bridge. The original description was “the hamlet near the bridge at Wadsley”. The centre of the suburb has now moved northerly and is centred on the railway bridge over the A61 road at SK334914 and many people think that the district is named after this bridge.
Wadsley Bridge started to expand during the 18th century when water power was harnessed and various mills were built on the River Don on Clay Wheels Lane and at the foot of Leppings Lane. John Hoult had a paper mill which was later converted into a steel tilt and run by the Sanderson Bros firm. The suburb was changed by the opening of the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway in 1845, Wadsley Bridge railway station was opened to serve the community and the railway bridge was constructed over the rough trail which went north to Ecclesfield which was later to become the A61. The Sheffield Tramway was extended to Wadsley Bridge in June 1924 with the ground beneath the railway bridge having to be excavated so the tram could pass under. The bridge itself was a small stone arched structure which double decker buses later had trouble getting under, having to move into the middle of the road to avoid hitting the stonework. It was replaced in the early 1970s when the A61 became dual carriageway, by a higher and wider structure.