Middlewood, South Yorkshire facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Middlewood
Middlewood
Population	4,549 (2001)
OS grid reference	SK316916
Civil parish	Bradfield; part unparished
Metropolitan borough	Sheffield
Metropolitan county	South Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SHEFFIELD
Postcode district	S6
Dialling code	0114
Police	South Yorkshire
Fire	South Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Sheffield Hallam Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough
List of places UK England Yorkshire 53°25′N 1°31′W / 53.42°N 1.52°W / 53.42; -1.52

Middlewood is a neighborhood located in the northwest part of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It's part of the Stannington area within the city.

Where is Middlewood?

Middlewood used to be a completely rural area. Since the 1960s, the city of Sheffield has grown, and Middlewood has become part of it. It's a bit tricky to say exactly where Middlewood begins and ends.

Most people think it stretches about three kilometers. It goes from the "Middlewood shops" at the top of Leppings Lane. It then goes northwest along the A6102 road, past Middlewood Hall, all the way to the edge of Oughtibridge. This area also includes the land on the southwest side of the River Don, up to Worrall Road.

Middlewood's Past

Middlewood Hall: A Historic Home

Middlewood Hall is a large house built in 1810 by Mark Skelton. It sits on about 54 acres (around 220,000 square meters) of land. People believe a farmhouse was on this spot even before 1810. The Skelton family were important steel makers and traders who owned factories along the River Don.

• In 1911, the Thorp family and their servants lived in the Hall.
• In 1926, the Wilson family, who made snuff (a type of tobacco), bought the house.
• In 1980, Wharncliffe Construction bought it and turned it into a fancy hotel.
• However, the Hall is on green belt land, which means it's protected from too much building. This made it hard to expand the hotel.
• After being sold twice more as a hotel, a private person bought it in 1999. They changed it back into a private family home.
• The Hall is a grade two listed building, meaning it's an important historical building.

Middlewood Hospital: A Place of Care

Middlewood Hospital was a large psychiatric hospital built on a big rural site. It opened on August 21, 1872. It was very expensive to build and equip, costing about £150,000.

• It was first called the South Yorkshire Asylum until 1890.
• Then it became the West Riding Asylum, Wadsley (1890–1930).
• From 1930 to 1948, it was known as Wadsley Mental Hospital.
• Finally, in 1948, it became Middlewood Hospital.

Not everyone who stayed at the hospital had mental health issues. Some were poor people from the workhouse, some were women with postnatal depression (sadness after having a baby), and some had epilepsy.

• In 1935, a new treatment called Insulin shock therapy was used for schizophrenia.
• During both World Wars, the hospital was emptied and used to treat soldiers.
• Until the early 1960s, the hospital had a working farm. Patients helped run it. It also had its own church.
• Over time, mental health care changed. The hospital became smaller and eventually closed in 1998.
• The site was cleared, and now it's a private housing area called Wadsley Park Village.

Other Old Buildings in Middlewood

• Middlewood Tavern: This is a public house (a pub) with a history going back to 1835. It's on Middlewood Road North. It used to get a lot of business from the staff at Middlewood Hospital. A footbridge called Rocher Bridge crosses the River Don near the Tavern, leading to Beeley Wood. After a big flood in 2007, the road nearby collapsed, and the Tavern lost customers. It closed soon after.
• Toll Bar Cottage: This cottage is also on Middlewood Road North. It was where a keeper collected money (tolls) from people using the Wadsley, Langsett, Sheffield Turnpike road, which opened in 1805. The road became free to use in 1875. Today, the cottage is a private home.
• Middlewood Grange: This is a large Victorian house with about 4 acres (around 16,000 square meters) of land. It's located just behind the Middlewood Tavern.

Middlewood Today

New Homes and Developments

• Winn Gardens Estate: This area has council housing (homes owned by the local government). It was built in the mid-1960s. The land used to be part of Middlewood Hospital's farm and gardens, where they grew fresh food. Middlewood Park is at the northwest end of this estate.
• Stockarth Lane: Most of the houses near the lower end of Stockarth Lane were built in the second half of the 1800s. Some newer houses were added in the early 1980s.
• Wadsley Park Village: As mentioned, this private housing area was built on the old Middlewood Hospital site between 2001 and 2006. Some parts of the old hospital, like the church, the lodge, and the Kingswood ward, are listed buildings. This means they are protected and couldn't be knocked down.
  • Kingswood has been turned into fancy apartments.
  • The lodge is now part of a new nursery building.
  • The church was empty for many years. In 2012, plans were made to turn it into townhouses and apartments. These plans also included eco-friendly bungalows built partly underground.
• Wadsley Fossil Forest: Within Wadsley Park Village, there's a special protected area called a SSSI. It was created in 1990 because it has fossil tree stumps still in the ground. These are considered the best-preserved examples in the UK of trees that grew in coal-forming swamp forests about 300 million years ago!

Local Facilities and Shops

Middlewood doesn't have huge supermarkets. Most people go to nearby Hillsborough for their bigger shopping trips.

• Middlewood Shops: There's a small shopping area at the top of Leppings Lane. It has many take-away food shops.
• Asda Supermarket: A medium-sized Asda supermarket is located in the old Hillsborough Park cinema building on Catch Bar Lane. This building was a cinema until 1967, then a bingo hall, and then other supermarkets before Asda took over in 2011.
• Schools and Sports: The closest primary schools are in Wadsley and Hillsborough. The Hillsborough Leisure Centre is the nearest place for community sports.
• Sheffield Wednesday Training Ground: The Sheffield Wednesday football club has its training ground on Middlewood Road. It's a private facility for the club only. It was built in the late 1960s on old allotments (small plots of land for growing food). It has been updated a lot recently. Besides outdoor fields, it has a huge "air dome" that covers an artificial pitch for indoor training. This dome is a very noticeable sight in the area.
• Medical Facilities: In late 2005, the Fairlawns Medical Centre and Polyclinic opened on Middlewood Road North. This was to provide more medical care for the growing population from the Wadsley Park Village development. It includes:
  • A doctor's office with doctors, nurses, and healthcare assistants.
  • A dental practice.
  • A pharmacy.
  • Various outpatient services like physiotherapy and mental health support.
• The Yorkshire Ambulance Service also has an ambulance station next to the medical center.

Supertram Terminus

Middlewood was chosen as the end point (terminus) for the northern line of the Sheffield Supertram. It opened in October 1995.

• The tram stop is off the main road and has one platform. It was built on old allotment land.
• There's a park and ride facility here. It started with 200 parking spaces and was made bigger to 350 spaces in October 2007.
• A special bus service called SupertramLink connects to places like Stocksbridge, Deepcar, Wharncliffe Side, and Oughtibridge. Many people from these areas use the park and ride to get into the city.

The 2007 Floods

The Middlewood area was badly affected by the June 2007 floods.

• The lower part of the Winn Gardens estate was flooded by the River Don, which flows at the bottom of the estate.
• About 200 residents had to leave their homes and were given shelter at two nearby schools.
• A part of the A6102 road, just past the Middlewood Tavern, collapsed. The raised ground next to the river was partly washed away.
• The road was closed for 17 months and finally reopened in December 2008.

Images for kids

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  The Middlewood Tavern dates back to at least the middle of the 19th century.

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  The former Kingswood ward at the old Middlewood hospital has been redeveloped into a tenement block.

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  Toll Bar Cottage is now a private dwelling.

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  Middlewood church, closed and unused, stands within the new Wadsley Park estate.

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  Riverbank Repairs on the A6102 near Middlewood Tavern

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  The Middlewood Supertram terminus with the park and ride behind at the busy morning period.