The next stop is at Woodhouse, which like Darnall was once a village and eventually became a suburb of Sheffield. Unlike Darnall, its historic village core remains recognisable thanks to the survival of a seventeenth century public house (albeit now used as an Indian restaurant), the base of the village market cross, and a set of stocks. Like so many villages in the West Riding, it was originally a farming village that later became a mining village; the adjacent Woodhouse Mill, through which the walk passes, was farmland until urban sprawl consumed it during the twentieth century. Woodhouse is now largely residential, with a slightly dubious reputation locally stemming from possibly apocryphal tales of antisocial behaviour on the Badger Estate, a small council estate built in the sixties supposedly to provide temporary housing during a shortage: whilst they may have been intended to be temporary, the houses survive to this day. More appealingly, Woodhouse Mill also boasts another LNR, Woodhouse Washlands. This straddles the River Rother and consists of about one-hundred-and-thirty acres of wet and dry grasslands, ponds and scrub. One suspects that it exists as an LNR because it is impractical to build on it: essentially it is a floodplain, with the Woodhouse Mill flood regulator located on the river at one end. This can be lowered to block the river in times of flooding, diverting water into the washlands rather than local houses, presumably inconveniencing the cattle that graze on it and the many species that make their home there. Fortunately, other flood alleviation measures in the area mean that it rarely needs to be used.
Woodhouse Railway Station was originally opened in 1850 and rebuilt in its current location in 1875; it retains its original buildings, which house waiting areas but are otherwise no longer used and have rather garishly painted brickwork. The station was once the hub of two colliery branches, and the eagle-eyed might spot the remains of Goods lines and loading bays a short distance from the two extant platforms. From the station follow the station approach to Furnace Lane, then turn right and follow the road as it becomes Station Road, shortly passing the former Junction public house (now a convenience store) on the right. Continue along Station Road, looking out for the former Brunswick Hotel (also now a convenience store) on the right, shortly followed by the former Woodhouse East Board School, another of Sheffield's Victorian Board Schools, this one designed by the architect J. D. Webster and opened in 1889.
Woodhouse market cross and stocks.
At the end of Station Road, turn right along Beighton Road, which bends left and becomes Market Street as it approaches the centre of Woodhouse. After passing the junction with Beaver Hill Road on the right, take the next right turn (which is still Market Street), passing the George Inn on your right. Walk past the Stag inn on the left, then turn left and walk between the pub and shops, passing the Woodhouse War Memorial on the right. This is the aforementioned centre of the old village; the Grade II-listed former Cross Daggers public house turned Indian restaurant can be seen on the left, and dates from 1658; the market cross and the village stocks are in front of it. Walk past the cross to Cross Street; the Royal Public House is directly opposite. Turn right and follow Cross Street, then turn right down Church Lane. Turn left and follow the road (which is still Church Lane), taking a detour along Tithe Barn Lane to visit St. James Church, a Parish church built in 1878. Otherwise, continue along Church Lane until it joins Chapel Street. Bear right, and follow this, passing the former United Methodist Church – now a community centre –at the junction. Opposite this is another former chapel, the former Wesleyan Methodist Church, shortly followed by Trinity Methodist Church (formerly the Sunday School) and the Grade II-listed former Trinity Methodist Church (built in 1878) on the left. The last of these would be the most impressive, were it not boarded up, derelict and festooned with plants growing out of the gaps in its masonry.
At the end of Chapel Street turn right along Stradbroke Road, shortly passing Woodhouse Cemetery on the right. The cemetery lodge and chapel were built in 1878 by architects Innocent and Brown and are Grade II-listed. Just after the cemetery, turn right along Severnside Walk and follow it between houses. When the path turns right, continue straight ahead through a metal stile into Shirtcliff Wood, a long belt of trees that flanks Shirtcliff Brook along the north edge of Woodhouse. Stay on the path as it runs downhill and crosses the brook, then turn right and follow the path beside it to Beaver Hill Road. Cross straight over the road and enter Flockton Park, which is essentially a large open space with no facilities but plenty of grass. Follow the path until it reaches a junction, then turn left and follow this until it ends at Retford Road. Here, turn right and follow the road to the junction with Furnace Road on the right. On the corner here is Woodhouse Mill War Memorial, and the former St James Mission Chapel. This opened in 1892 to serve the growing population in the area, and closed during the nineteen-nineties. Before turning right into Furnace Road, continue straight ahead along Retford Road to the bridge over the River Rother. On the right is the Woodhouse Mill flood regulator, just past which this on the other side of the river is the entrance to the east side of Woodhouse Washlands LNR. The river bisects the reserve with no crossing, so each half has its own separate access. After taking an optional detour to explore the east side, continue along Furnace Road to reach the entrance to the west side. Otherwise continue along Furnace Road to return to the railway station.
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