Oxspring Pictures

Oxspring - the name probably comes from (celtic) 'uks' or 'usc' meaning water, river or (old English) spring. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book and its coat of arms has three bells. The eleventh century Lord of the Manor was John of Bosville, 'Knight of Oxspring and Ardsley in Yorkshire' and this continued until around 1886 when the Manor of Oxspring left the Bosville family.

The village sign on the main road (at the Penistone end, shown below) depicts the humped and Grade-II listed Oxspring Bridge off Bower Hill, which is now used as a foot bridge. It does not include either the coat-of-arms, the spring or the ox. Perhaps an information board could be put up somewhere in Oxspring to outline the village's history.

There is a suggestion in Oxspring Council's history page that the location of the present village might not be the original one. Old maps indicate the hamlet of High Oxspring close to ridge of the top road but the village name includes 'Spring' which suggests a lower location. You would not expect a river or spring to sit on a ridge. It is generally thought that the spring after which the village is named is on the steep lane down to the former Walk Mill (now the Wintwire wire works, formerly Winterbottom's), near to the viaduct.

The most obvious landmark of Oxspring is the railway viaduct which spans the vale of the River Don and lies close to the wire mill. It is a fine structure and in daily use, railway strikes permitting. The railway from Penistone used to miss this viaduct and go instead via Oughtibridge (spelt Oughty Bridge when it had a station) and so on to Sheffield Victoria station, a quick journey. You pronounce Oughtibridge something like hooterbridge, without the aitch.

The 08:21 from Penistone would arrive at Sheffield Victoria at 08:36, taking just a quarter-hour. Nowadays, the 08:41 train from Penistone arrives at Sheffield Midland station at 09:28 - a journey of 47 minutes. Following the demise of Sheffield Victoria, the route changed to include Oxspring viaduct and via Barnsley to Sheffield (Penistone Line).

If you study the viaduct construction close-up, you will discover that each pillar is actually in two halves with almost a gap down the middle, as though the builders had changed their minds about its width. The stones on one half do not interleave with those of the other half, and they don't line up. That is a puzzle. There must have been a stone quarry near the old Walk Mill as it provided stone for building the Penistone viaduct and presumably the Oxspring viaduct.

Another old feature of Oxspring is Willow Bridge which was built around 1740. This is a very narrow bridge but must have been just wide enough for pack horses to carry their wares up to the top of the hill. Oxspring also had a toll house for users of the main (toll) road but this was demolished in 1969.

Oxspring Viaduct

Oxspring sign - not linked.

Winston Churchill Sculpture
Oxspring hump bridge

Almost unknown in our district is a life-size Winston Churchill sculpture made entirely of wire. It is a very good rendition of our wartime leader and worthy of recognition for its quality, sculptor unknown. The figure is mounted on a small plinth outside the Wintwire offices, the former site of Winterbottom's Wire Mill. The wire mill has been in operation since 1888 and it had a water wheel on the River Don until 1958. Many thanks to Richard Galliford for the photograph, slightly cropped here to fit the space. There was another old wire mill at Old Mill Lane, Thurgoland which, like Oxspring, might have supported the local nail-making industry.

Every bus passenger to Barnsley up to a few years ago will remember Oxspring's hump bridge (picture above) and 'Tracky' bus drivers delighting in taking the bridge too quickly, launching back seat passengers into a moment of zero gravity. Our thrills were much simpler in those days.

Oxspring Bridge is no longer on the main road after Bower Hill was straightened in the 1970s but it is still easy to access and leads down to a pleasant picnic place by the River Don. Oxspring Corn Mill at the foot of Bower Hill was dismantled in 1953. Up the adjoining hill is quite a good recreation area with parking, picnic benches and children's swings, etc. On a sunny day, it's a good place to visit with family.


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