The Stories from the Stones 15 - By Steve Lavender

'Stories from the Stones'
Please visit the Contents Page for this section where you will find other 'Stories from the Stones' by Steve Lavender.

These same stories are also published on Penistone Archive Group's Facebook page, their Journal and in 'The Bridge' magazine issued by St John's church, Penistone. Many thanks to their tireless author, Mr Steve Lavender, for his worthy contributions to local history and this website. - JB.

Story 15 - George Kay of Dunford Bridge, Died 25th May 1910.
The railway has always played a significant part in the history of Penistone. The original station completed in 1845 was opposite the British Legion just by the mini roundabout leading up to the small industrial units and the old coal drops can still be seen there today. The development of the Woodhead Line was to become a major engineering project which would shape our place on this main line for over 100 years.

Years before the railway arrived, the transport of salt over the moors was carried out by horse and cart. It doesn't take much imagination to see that this was a journey fraught with difficulty and at certain times during the winter – simply impossible. Travel from one side of the Pennines to the other was quite a journey up to the mid - 1800s.

At the end of 1845 the first link was made between Manchester and Sheffield (and on to London) through the original Woodhead Tunnel. It was quickly realised that this single-track tunnel would not be suitable for all of the trains now wanting to use it and so the second Woodhead Tunnel was built, opening in 1852.

Travelling from Penistone, the train line would pass over the Thurgoland and Shore Hall level crossings before arriving at the next station of Hazlehead. After opening in January 1847, this station was closed before the end of the year. By 1850 it had reopened with the name of Hazlehead Bridge and remained as the station for this area for 100 years until its closure in 1950.

The final station before the trains would enter the Woodhead tunnel was Dunford Bridge. This small hamlet was to find itself at the centre of a changing landscape as railway tunnels one and two would bring many workers to the area and, in the 1850s, the building of the Winscar reservoir would further add to the local workforce.

It was at this time that we find the Kay family working as farmers around the valley of the River Don in Townhead. Jonathan Kay was married to Nanny Goddard, and they had five children. One of these was George who was born in 1824 and for much of his younger life was also a farmer. Around 1855, with the arrival of the railway through to Manchester, we find that George Kay had become Station Master at Dunford Bridge, a post he was to hold for much of the rest of his life. His son Jonathan born in 1851 would become a railway clerk and another son Albert was to be employed in these early years as a railway porter, eventually taking over from his father as Station Master by 1911.

In this story we remember in particular George Kay who served the Great Central Railway as Station Master at Dunford Bridge for 55 years. His gravestone mentions that 'He was highly respected by all who knew him.' Buried in the same grave is his wife Mary and his two younger children Jonathan and Emmanuel. Elsewhere at St John’s burial ground are George’s parents Jonathan and Nanny.

Between 1949 and 1954 the third Woodhead Tunnel would be built, and the line electrified in 1955. Passenger traffic ended in the early 1970s and freight ceased in the 1980s. Dunford Bridge station closed at the same time as the withdrawal of the passenger service.

Many workers were to lose their lives either directly working on the line or indirectly through illness associated with the working conditions. Many of these are buried at St James' Church Woodhead. The gravestone to George Kay in St John’s Penistone is an impressive stone and bears the words:

Life’s work well done,
Life’s journey well run,
Life’s crown well won,
Now comes rest.

George passed away at the grand old age of 86 and we will remember him and his family.

These pictures show George Kay's grave in Penistone churchyard and an aerial view of Dunford Bridge and its associated industrial activity.

My thanks to Richard Galliford for the Biltcliff photos; Woodhead The Lost Railway (Stephen Gay); Penistone Archive and Jack Briggs. Steve Lavender, Chair, Friend of St John’s, January 2022