Spring Vale Pictures

Spring Vale?
The Cammel-Laird Company owned the Yorkshire Steel and Iron Works on Green Road which later became David Brown's. Among other things (see Cubley) Cammel-Laird built seventy houses for its workers along Sheffield Road to make a new settlement that they named Spring Vale. The name kept its original form until at least the 1984 Penistone Almanack but is now usually printed as one word, in the style of the Germans. The same thing happened when Hoyland Swayne became Hoylandswaine. It is not clear why or how but it might have simply been a sign-writer's error which has stuck. The older form is still in use and I think it has more charm. It is the preferred version on this website.

Spring Vale Junior School
The wide pictures of the old junior school are from 2005, not long before it was demolished. It hadn't changed much since when I was a young 'un there. A well-attended school reunion took place 22nd October 2005 and was organised by its alumni for anyone who had attended before 1980. Demolition of part of the old school started late 2005 and the rebuilding work made progress through 2007. Some interior shots can be found on the 2005 reunion page.

The school was completely rebuilt using additional land from the defunct WMC site but in spite of being a modern design, did not create much more capacity than the old school. The new school was officially opened Monday 10th September 2007 by Penistone Mayor of the day Joe Unsworth and Barnsley Mayor Len Picken, with Headmistress Hilary Smith in attendance. Children's favourites such as Scooby Doo and Jack Sparrow helped the event to go well with the children. As the old school had started in 1909, they held a centenary event in the new school on Friday 8th May 2009 which it was well supported.

The third picture below is a panoramic and slightly distorted view of the new school, looking through some netting. It was taken in 2011 and shows the front part of the new School from Sheffield Road.

Around Spring Vale
This area is only fifteen minutes walk from Penistone centre. The first picture below is looking up Sheffield Road from the dip towards the school and shows the Britannia pub. For many years, Jackie's Fancy Dress was in the dip but has moved out of the area. The Paint Spot car spraying place has moved to Penney's Garage in what used to be the showroom. The plot is earmarked for a (yet another) new batch of houses, which will reach down towards the River Don.

A busy side road, modelled on Beirut, leads down to the dumpit site and to the 'Grow Penistone' Community Gardens. There is also a Naylor's works and building supplies and a few other businesses down there. Believe it or not it is NOT an unadopted road but the owners are not responsive to enquiries.

The old railway bridge on Green Road looks down towards the same part of Spring Vale. It now carries the Trans-pennine trail but used to have the wonderful sulphurous smell of smoke from steam locomotives. Kids all walked to school in those days and four-wheel-drive vehicles were only for farms. At the other end of the bridge was the only working public gas lamp that I ever saw in actual use, with its eight-day clockwork timer wound up each week. This bridge has now sprouted traffic lights.

The large red-bricked housing estate sprouted up opposite 'Birdcage Walk' on Green Road near the bridge. 'Birdcage Walk' is shown top-right. It acquired its nickname from white-painted wooden railings that used to adorn every house. A little bit of history next. The sad and abandoned Spring Vale WMC has now been demolished and been replaced by the new junior school but I've left it on the page for nostalgia. It was a thriving centre for all manner of entertainment, with bingo, live shows, line dancing, aerobics classes and disco nights but it has gone now. It seemed impossible for it to fail, but fail it did.

Next is another view of the Brit looking back towards Penistone and then another feature which has now disappeared in recent times. Hinchliff's family butcher was there for donkey's years but, as of 2014, new houses are likely to be built on the site.

Spring Vale Methodist Church is opposite the junior school and was built in 1927. The original "Tin Chapel" on this site was built in 1860. Have a look inside the modern Church on my 'Chapels' page. They don't like to call them chapels any more. That's why I do it. This is a personal website, you know. It's my ball...