Wednesday, October 14, 2009

ABC Wednesday - M is for Mayfield Station


Look South as you enter or leave Piccadilly Station, Manchester on the train and you will these old sheds. They are in fact the covers over the platforms at Mayfield Station.


Across Fairfield Street from Piccadilly is the once-grand entrance to Mayfield. A lower-resolution version of my photograph is included in the Wikipedia entry on the station.


As this photograph taken from Platform 14 at Piccadilly shows, the only building between the two stations is the Star and Garter public house.


Mayfield station was built alongside Piccadilly in 1910 to handle the ever increasing number of trains using the station. A short viaduct diverts away from the Piccadilly line into the terminus at Mayfield which was mainly used by suburban services to the south such as Buxton, Crewe and Macclesfield.


In the late 50s, it was used as an overspill during electrification and modernisation work at Piccadilly Station. When work was complete all trains used Piccadilly and Mayfield closed for good.

It was converted into a parcels depot in 1970 when Royal Mail constructed a sorting office on St Andrews street on the far side of Piccadilly. An overhead conveyor bridge connected the two buildings. The parcels depot was closed in 1986; Mayfield has stood silent ever since.


This view is from the bridge over the River Medlock on Baring Street. Although signs and street maps name it Baring Street, the plaque on the bridge commemorates the reconstruction of the Boardman Street Bridge by the Corporation of Manchester in 1907. An internet search for Boardman Street only revealed a reference to Boardman Street in this area in a 19th century census.



This last photograph from inside Mayfield Station is © Copyright Phill Davison and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. There are many more photographs on Phill's account of The Ghost Station of Manchester.

For more M posts visit ABC Wednesday.

12 comments:

  1. I just wish I can visit England some day ! Interesting pics !!!

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  2. A sad sight - a whole station standing there in vain.

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  3. That is sad! Great shots! The last one speaks so clearly! So many old buildings like this, everywhere! Great post!

    Sylvia

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  4. You have inspired me to get out and take photographs of the buildings in my city. I have been taking photos of nature for so long....
    With winter coming in buildings might be interesting! Yours are!
    Thanks,
    Sherry

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  5. I love these old stations - it's a pity it's so abandoned. Loved how you took us on this trip through your words.



    Kisses from Nydia.

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  6. Interesting history. There are a lot of historic stations that could do with some TLC.

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  7. It's a shame. That stuff should not be allowed to deteriorate like that.

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  8. Interesting post with some good pictures.

    I now work in the Royal Mail building that was linked to Mayfield by the conveyor. It was fully refurbished and we moved in two years ago. In fact, if you look at the top floor of the building, there is now a large 'picture window' from floor to ceiling where the conveyor used to come into the building. Now called Square One, it's postal address is Travis Street.

    As for the future, earlier this year HMG announced plans for building a 'Whitehall of the North' on the Mayfield site and moving thousands of civil servants there from London. Not sure if this link will work but the story was covered by the Manchester Evening News in May - see http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1112985_whitehall_of_the_north

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  9. NW Media Man I posted a photo of Square One recently on Geograph at http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1508056

    I've heard of the "Whitehall Plans" the link to the BBC report is http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8028291.stm

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  10. I always thought Picadilly sounded like the coolest word : ) Fascinating post!

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  11. Great series - I love pictures of old buildings
    Jim

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  12. I visited in March 2013, amazing place, hope it gets restored.
    http://www.nichilditch-short.co.uk/2013/03/mayfield-station-depot-urbex.html

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