Crigglestone Tunnel, Wakefield, West Yorkshire

History

The Midland Railway's eight-mile route from Royston Junction to Thornhill was authorised under the 1898 West Riding Lines Act, which included lines to Huddersfield, Halifax and Bradford. First trafficked in 1905 after three years construction, it connected with the Lancashire & Yorkshire's network at Thornhill Junction and featured a short tunnel as well as two substantial viaducts. 1st March 1906 saw the opening of a two-mile spur to Savile Town Goods from a junction near Horbury Bridge. This would have served as Dewsbury's passenger station had the full plans come to fruition.

 

Intended principally for freight, the route was used by Bradford-St Pancras services for a 12-year period between the two world wars. The eastern end of the line closed in May 1968 but trains continued to use the western section until August, bringing materials to the M1 motorway which was then under construction. Track lifting took place the following year.

 

To the east of Crigglestone goods station, the line passed through a ridge courtesy of a curved 250-yard tunnel. This is lined throughout in blue engineering brick and numerous refuges are provided on both sides.

 

Since closure, the eastern approach cutting has been infilled and the concrete wall erected at the portal. The extant western entrance has a wonderful presence and, during winter months, can be glimsed by southbound traffic on the M1, just after Junction 39.

 

Inside, the tunnel is wet with mineral deposits adorning the walls.

 

Source:

http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/tunnels/gallery/crigglestone.html

 

Esoteric Eric

Flass House, Maulds Meaburn, Cumbria

History

Flass, also called Flass House, is a large Grade II* listed house near the village of Maulds Meaburn, Cumbria, England. It was built in the 19th century in the Palladian style by tea and opium traders Lancelot and Wilkinson Dent of Dent & Co. It remained in the hands of the Dent family until 1972, when it was sold to Frank Welsh. It was sold again in 1982 to solicitor Malcolm Whiteside, who temporarily ran the property as a care home. In 2012, it was discovered that a criminal gang had tricked an absentee landlord and used the property for the cultivation of cannabis.

 

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flass

 

Esoteric Eric

 

 

Hulme Hippodrome, Manchester

History

A permission visit of sorts as the building is currently occupied by squatters:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/inside-hulme-hippodrome-how-squatters-13562709

The Hulme Hippodrome, originally known as the Grand Junction Theatre and Floral Hall, opened in Preston Street, Hulme, Manchester, on 7 October 1901. It and the nearby Playhouse Theatre in Warwick Street, built at the same time, were part of the theatrical empire of W. H. Broadhead. The two venues were connected by an arcade, at the centre of which was Broadhead's company headquarters. The architect was J.J. Alley. Initially the theatre staged mainly dramatic productions, while the Playhouse presented variety performances, but in 1905 the names and functions of the theatres were interchanged: the Hippodrome became the Grand Junction, and the variety performances were transferred to the new Hippodrome.

The Hippodrome was last used as a theatre in the 1960s; from the mid-1970s until its closure in 1988 it was used as a bingo hall. Since then most of the building has remained empty, and it has been placed on Manchester City Council's Buildings at Risk Register.

The building was bought by Gilbert Deya Ministries in 1999, and services were held in part of the ground floor. The church spent £200,000 on the building and in 2013 leased it a charity, Youth Village, they then decided to sell the building.

The Friends of Hulme Hippodrome had hoped to get the building listed as an asset of community value which would have given the community group six months to raise the money needed to buy the building from the owner before it went out to general market. The application, however, was turned down by Manchester City Council, a council spokesman said: "There would also be a significant cost to bring the building back into use - into the millions - and without a [business] plan in place it would be unfair for us to assume they could turn the building around."

The building was due to be auctioned 18 May 2017 at the Macron Stadium, Bolton, with a guide price of £300,000.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulme_Hippodrome

Esoteric Eric

Supercharger A & B, Manchester

History

Two of the several culverted sections of the Gore Brook.

Esoteric Eric