Smardale railway station

Smardale railway station was a minor station on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway between Tebay and Kirkby Stephen East. It served the villages of Smardale and Waitby. The station opened to passenger traffic on 8 August 1861, and closed on 1 December 1952.

1. Description and history

At the time of its opening in 1861 the only habitation in the village of Smardale was Smardale Hall. The station consisted of a single platform on the south side of the line, and stone built station buildings as well as two goods sidings. A signal box was added in the 1890s. During the First World War from 20 September 1915 the station closed being used as a halt but unstaffed. It reopened in 1919. The signal box was removed in the 1920s, and the station closed in 1952. In 2002 the preservation society Stainmore Railway Company (at Kirkby Stephen East) recovered two wagons which had derailed near the station and been left undisturbed for half a century. As of 2013 the Stationmaster's house was still extant and formed the basis of an expanded private residence.

1. References


1. = Sources =

Walton, Peter (1992). The Stainmore & Eden Valley Railways. Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 0-86093-306-7. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory Of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Limited. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas And Gazetteer. Ian Allan Publishing. 1997 [1958]. ISBN 0-7110-0320-3.

1. = Images =

Old Cumbria Gazetteer: Smardale Station www.geog.port.ac.uk Stainmore lines 1 The Cumbria Railways Association Photo Library, cra.photos.gb.net

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Smardale

Smardale is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Waitby, in the Westmorland and Furness district, in Cumbria, England. In 1891 the parish had a population of 36.

Landmark Neighbourhood

Waitby

Waitby is a small village and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness Unitary Authority of Cumbria, England. The parish contains two small villages, Waitby and Smardale, plus the small hamlets of Riddlesay, Stripes and Leases, all of which are in the farmed and enclosured northern part at an elevation of around 200–300m. The southern half of the parish is mostly heath and unused for agriculture, it rises to Smardale fell; which it includes, at elevations between 300 and 400m. The civil parish of Ravenstonedale forms the boundary to the south. The western border with Crosby Garrett civil parish is formed by Scandal Beck. To the north and east lie Soulby and Kirkby Stephen civil parishes respectively. The population of the civil parish as measured at the 2011 Census was less than 100. Details are included in the parish of Crosby Garrett. Waitby Beck rises from springs to the north east of the Waitby, joining Sandwith Sike which flows into the River Eden. Other minor becks include Hazel Gill and Choup Gill both of which join Scandal Beck. The Settle & Carlisle line passes through the parish, as did the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway; both cross Scandal Beck by Smardale Viaduct and Smardalegill Viaducts respectively.

Landmark

Crosby Garrett Helmet

The Crosby Garrett Helmet is a copper alloy Roman cavalry helmet dating from the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD. It was found by an unnamed metal detectorist near Crosby Garrett in Cumbria, England, in May 2010. Later investigations found that a Romano-British farming settlement had occupied the site where the helmet was discovered, which was located a few miles away from a Roman road and a Roman army fort. It is possible that the owner of the helmet was a local inhabitant who had served with the Roman cavalry. The helmet appears to have been deliberately folded up and deposited in an artificial stone structure. It is thought to have been used for ceremonial occasions rather than for combat, and may already have been an antique by the time it was buried. It is of the same type as the Newstead Helmet (found near Melrose in Scotland in 1905). Its facial features are more akin to those of helmets found in southern Europe although its design also has similarities with the Ribchester Helmet (found in 1796) and the Hallaton Helmet (found in North Yorkshire in 2000). Its design may allude to the Trojans, whose exploits the Romans re-enacted in cavalry tournaments. Ralph Jackson, Senior Curator of Romano-British Collections at the British Museum, has described the helmet as "... an immensely interesting and outstandingly important find ... Its face mask is both extremely finely wrought and chillingly striking, but it is as an ensemble that the helmet is so exceptional and, in its specifics, unparalleled. It is a find of the greatest national (and, indeed, international) significance." On 7 October 2010, the helmet was sold at Christie's for £2.3 million (US$3.6 million) to an undisclosed private buyer. Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle sought to purchase the helmet with the support of the British Museum, but was outbid. The helmet has so far been publicly displayed four times, once in a 2012 exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, at Tullie House in 2013–14, and at the British Museum in 2014. The helmet returned to Tullie House to be displayed in the Hadrian's Cavalry exhibition in the summer of 2017.

Art Landmark

Crosby Garrett

Crosby Garrett is a hamlet and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness Unitary Authority of Cumbria, England. It was formerly in the county of Westmorland. In the 2011 census Crosby Garrett was grouped with Waitby to give a total of 195. The place-name 'Crosby Garrett' is first attested in a document of 1200, where it appears as Crosseby, and in another of 1206, where it appears as Crossebi Gerard. The first name is Old Scandinavian Krossa-byr, meaning 'village or homestead with crosses'. 'Garrett' is the French personal name 'Gerard', which is ultimately of Germanic origin. In May 2010 the Crosby Garrett Helmet, a copper alloy parade helmet dating to Roman Britain, was discovered near the hamlet by a father and son using a metal detector. The helmet was sold to a private buyer at Christie's later that year for £2.3 million.

Historic Site Landmark