Partnership in Practice [3]

 Investigation Monday 12th November 

Salt or Psalter [1]

An ancient pub dating from 1820 and a string of cottages on the opposite side of the road ...

... constituted the settlement of "Hill Top" located in open country on Ringinglow Road, the former turnpike to Buxton, on the very south western fringe of Sheffield.

But Sheffield was growing apace and by 1926 the genteel suburb of Bents Green was beginning to take shape.

These are houses on Trap Lane as in the above map under the "cl" of Ecclesall.

The residents thereof must have been more influential than normal because their protestations eventually (in November 1926) brought them a service of Motor Omnibuses; providing a circular route via Ringinglow Road and Ecclesall where connection was made with the frequent tram route, then returning via Bents Road.

In other parts of the city the attitude would have been "let 'em walk twEccles'll and get a car!" [car = tramcar]. In July 1932 an occasional journey or two were added to the picturesque hamlet of Ringinglow.

Its distinctive feature is the "round house" which isn't round; it's octagonal.

In January 1937 the route was extended into City via Psalter Lane and Cemetery Road continuing cross-city to the north-eastern suburbs. So that provokes the burning question, "What had this lane of predominantly posh premises to do with a collection of Psalms as used in our more formal church denominations?"

The answer is, probably, not a lot.

This hill-top highway, which predates the present Ecclesall Road, came complete with a toll house ("TH" on the above map but now demolished) at Banner Cross and a restful hostelry at Sharrow Head. Here "The Stag" ("S" on the above map and still very much trading) supplied nourishing liquid to travellers and, later, equally nourishing liquid to their motor cars ...

This turnpike will have carried traders with sacks of salt from Cheshire, not pilgrims chanting their praises in plainsong! Presumably, as the road became bordered with up-market residences, the name Psalter sounded more noble than the original Salter.

So it was that a frequent route 28 ...

... and an occasional Ringinglow 27 graced this oddly named road. The 1952 service 28 timetable for the frequent Bents Green buses is shown here.

click on image to enlarge

In 1960, the service was linked with the Firth Park via Wincobank route taking the latter's number, 4. So tomorrow we attempt to follow the ramifications of route 4 up to and including changes from Sunday 28th October 2012.

fbb is greatly indebted to James, former pupil of fbb in Sheffield (a long, long time ago!) and now resident at High Moor, for raiding his photo collection for many of the bus pictures above.

And just for the record, the pub, "The Hammer and Pincers" is still there but less easy to photograph as it is now below an improved road level.

The buildings are in much better condition.

And The Stag (see above) is much extended and restaurantified.

No-one will really care, but for a year or so fbb had a flat on Grange Crescent Road at Sharrow Head, just across the roundabout from the pub - and never visited it!

 Next Bus Blog : Thursday 29th November