Blackwell Mill

{{short description|Former railway station in Derbyshire, England}}

{{Infobox station

| name = Blackwell Mill Halt

| status = Disused

| image = Blackwell mill - geograph.org.uk - 176189.jpg

| caption = Cottages at Blackwell Mill, near to the remaining north curve of the junction

| borough = High Peak

| country = England

| grid_name = Grid reference

| grid_position = {{gbmapscaled|SK112726|25|SK112726}}

| platforms = 2

| original = Midland Railway

| postgroup = London, Midland and Scottish Railway

| years = 1 November 1874

| events = Station opened

| years1 = June 1966

| events1 = last train called

| years3 = 6 March 1967

| events3 = Station officially closedButt, R.V.J., (1995) The Directory of Railway Stations, Yeovil: Patrick Stephens

}}

Blackwell Mill is a location in Derbyshire, England; it lies near to, but not part of, the village of Blackwell near Buxton. It stands at the meeting point of several valleys: Great Rocks Dale, Chee Dale and Ashford Dale. A railway station was sited here by the Midland Railway; it operated for 92 years.

History

There was once a corn mill on the River Wye which may have dated from 1066. Most of it has disappeared, apart from the weir; the remains are marked as an Ancient Monument.

In times past, the Manchester Turnpike forded the river.

Railway

The Midland Railway main line from London St Pancras to Manchester London Road passed through Blackwell Mill. It was opened as part of the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway. This point was the south curve of the triangular junction which it built when it, instead, extended to New Mills.

There was a railway station variously called Blackwell Mill or Blackwell Mill Halt. Long enough only for one carriage, for many years it was the smallest passenger station on British Railways. It consisted of two short platforms, with no buildings, apart from a small shelter. The station was last used in June 1966 and officially closed in 1967. The halt was for the railway workers who lived in the eight still-occupied terraced cottages nearby in the valley.{{cite web| url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/blackwell_mill/| last=Wright| first=Paul |title=Station name: Blackwell Mill Halt |website=Disused Stations |date=21 May 2017 |access-date=15 September 2024}}

The station was included in a Pathé News film in 1938.{{cite web|title=Train A Week Issue Title Is Mind The Doors |url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/train-a-week-issue-title-is-mind-the-doors |publisher=British Pathé |access-date=12 October 2017}}

The branch carried on into Buxton along Wye Dale, crossing the main A6 road and the river by a high twin-arched girder bridge, before entering Pig Tor Tunnel (191 yards), where it emerged into Ashwood Dale, followed by the {{convert|100|yd|adj=on}} Ashwood Dale Tunnel.Railway Magazine October 1963 p. 680

Passengers and goods from {{rws|Buxton (Midland)}} wishing to transfer to or from the Midland Railway travelled past this point, then change trains at Millers Dale.

In 2024 although now derelict, the building and platforms are still standing.

Route

{{Rail line|previous=Buxton (Midland)|next={{rws|Millers Dale}}|route=Midland Railway
Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway |col={{MR colour}}}}

The site today

Today, Blackwell Mill marks the northern end of the Monsal Trail, a shared-use path from Bakewell, which follows the former trackbed of the Midland Railway.