Mayfield in Manchester ..... that railway station forgotten by many and mourned by a few

 Now I never knew Mayfield Railway Station.

It was the one built alongside what was London Road Railway Station, and is now Piccadilly.

For those others old enough to remember when it had trains it will be a place of trips out to Stockport, Buxton, Wilmslow and Crewe, although from the 1920s onwards these were confined to the rush hours.

It closed for passenger traffic in 1960 having just reached its 50th birthday.  It briefly had a life as a parcel depot  but this finished in 1969 and two years later the mainline tracks were lifted.

After that, there were plans for “something” for Mayfield, but the years went by with it slowly deteriorating, visited only by the curious and those wanting to post pictures from a site few people knew much about.

The railway station took its name from the area south of Piccadilly Railway Station, and east of London Road.  

It appears on the old maps as Mayfield and was developed in the early 19th century and came to be dominated by Mayfield Station.

By the end of the last century, the railway station had closed, the densely packed terraced properties along with the mills, dyeworks and foundries had gone, and the place was waiting for something to happen.

For decades it was that half-forgotten place, visited by daring adventurers keen on recording its forlorn and neglected state.

And now it is part of an exciting regeneration scheme which has crossed the pages of the blog over the last few years.  My old friend Andy Robertson who specializes in chronicling the story of buildings and areas across the twin cities and beyond, has been revisiting the Mayfield site over the last few years.  

His task as ever has been to photograph the railway station and the accompanying site as it slowly is redeveloped.*

But at the weekend he took advantage of a guided tour led by Jonathan Schofield and took a series of pictures, which for some will provoke memories of long ago excursions, and for the curious offer up images of what happens to an old railway station.

To which we can add that for the young and those who have recently settled in Manchester, Andy’s pictures are a fascinating insight into our recent past.

Location; Mayfield, Manchester

Pictures; Mayfield, 2021, from the collection of Andy Robertson

*Mayfield, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Mayfield