From the archive: Neepsend Lane

A fast disappearing locality...

There are no shortage of places in Neepsend to take a striking ‘then and now’ - much of the area has changed almost beyond recognition. Kelham Island is expanding and the old identity is disappearing partly as a result. A couple of weeks ago we looked at the devastation at Ball Street bridge after the Great Flood - and here we are in the 1930s, just out of sight of the river, standing where Ball Street meets Neepsend Lane. As the caption says we are looking at St Michael’s and All Angels Church, part of the parish of the same name that covered Neepsend and Parkwood Springs (some of the houses of which can be seen in the background). Neepsend was important enough to have a passenger station on the old Woodhead line until 1940, which was also used for goods delivery to the industries that used to dominate the area. Tram tracks can be seen for services heading towards Bridgehouses and the Wicker. The church and the trams went in the 1950s, followed by much of the heavier industry. Most of the old community has also gone - not so many folk today have ‘Neepsend’ in their address.