B6079 (Sheffield)

This article is about the Sheffield incarnation of the B6079.
For the current B6079, formerly the A620 east of Worksop, see B6079.

Route

The B607x routes are (or at least were originally) all a group in and around Sheffield city centre. The B6079 is no exception although it has been declassified and the number reused elsewhere.

Original Route

The original route of the B6079

The 1923 map to the left shows that the B6079 used to run along Parkside Road and Catch Bar Lane between the A61 and the A616, meeting the B6078 Leppings Lane en route. At the time the A616 ran along Middlewood Road from the centre of Sheffield. The Middlewood Road route was downgraded sometime before the 1980s and the A616 and B6079 were swapped over. The Supertram runs along all but the last section of the route, as did the old Sheffield Corporation tramway.

Shalesmoor Roundabout - Hillsborough Corner

At its fullest extent the B6079 began just off the Shalesmoor Roundabout, where Penistone Road, Infirmary Road, Hoole Road, Shalesmoor and Ball Street all meet on the Sheffield Inner Ring Road. Travelling north the road branches off Penistone Road via a one-way section of St Philip's Road; travelling south the route joins Penistone Road via Montgomery Terrace Road and a bus-only section at Watery Street. Before Penistone Road was dualled and Shalesmoor Roundabout was built there was a triangular one-way system at the Infirmary Road/Penistone Road/St Philip's Road junction around the old St Philip's churchyard, which is now underneath the new road system.

Infirmary Road

The B6079 continued north along Infirmary Road, so named because of the infirmary that was built on the western side between Montgomery Terrace Road and Albert Terrace Road in the 19th century. The accommodation block is the only building left on the site, the rest of it being demolished and replaced with a Tesco in the 1980s.

There used to be many shops along Infirmary Road, but many of them struggled during the road closures while the Supertram was built, and almost all have closed and have been converted to accommodation.

Passing the Infirmary Road tram stop and the Albert Terrace Road junction, on the left is the site of Kelvin Flats, a 950-block deck-access block of flats of the same design as Park Hill, but smaller. This was demolished in the early 1990s, with the crushed building rubble used as hardcore for the Penistone Road upgrade being built at the same time. The site is now occupied by low-density affordable rental properties.

Continuing north, between Balaclava Road and Barrack Lane the White House Buildings occupy the site of the old Sheffield Barracks before the larger barracks at Hillsborough were built in 1848. This is also the point where Whitehouse Lane used to continue up the hill to the west as the main, and only, road from this point towards Glossop before the Sheffield-Langsett turnpike was built. Even many locals don't realise that Langsett Road actually starts at this point, rather than further up at the next bend.

As we continue north, what is now Langsett Road bends where Wood Street crosses it. On the left is the site of the old White House Brewery, built on the former site of the White House Quarry, all named after the White House, a local building on the old Sheffield-Glossop road. The White House Brewery site is now an empty plot as various owners try and get permission and buildings approval to build residential building on the difficult site.

Continuing north we pass Burgoyne Road, named after the family of the old Lord of the Manor of Owlerton. For the next half-mile the Langsett Estate occupies the area above the grass bank to the left. The was built in the late 1970s, the last major council-house building programme in Sheffield. It replaced many street-facing terraced houses, lots owned by the Sheffield Grammar School, giving rise to names like Grammar Street.

Opposite the junction with Bamforth Street (also named after families of the Manor of Owlerton) is the old turnpike house. Marks can still be seen on the frontage where the payment canopy used to just out into the road.

A little bit further on we get to the "new" Hillsborough Barracks, built in 1848 to replace the old Sheffield Barracks on Infirmary Road. Sheffield Insulations used to occupy the whole site, but now most of the site is occupied by Morrisons and other smaller retailers. This short section of road is known locally as Barrack Hill. Just past the Barracks on the east of the road is Hillsborough Bus Station, built on the site of the Barrack Commander's House.

As we continue on ahead we get to the Hillsborough Bus/Tram Gate, only open to general traffic access out of peak hours. During peak hours restricted traffic has to turn off up Ripley Street and negotiate various back streets to continue onwards. Continuing along Langsett Road we cross Hillsborough Bridge, rebuilt in 1865 after the Sheffield Flood, and then cross the A6101 at traffic lights.

Hillsborough Corner - Middlewood

The B6079 continues on from Hillsborough Corner along Middlewood Road. Hillsborough is the largest non-central shopping district in South Yorkshire.

Once through the shopping centre we pass Hillsborough Park on the right, site of Hillsborough Hall, named after Hillsborough Castle in Ireland. Before the turnpike was built the parkland continued up the hill to the left (west).

Past the park we get to the junction with Parkside Road and Wadsley Lane, where there is a memorial to the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster. At this point the B6079 split around various one-way roads with a stub continuing along Middlewood Road to join the A6102 and the northbound route turning off along Leppings Lane towards Wadsley Bridge. This is the point at which the B6079 route turned off the ex-A616. It then crossed Catch Bar Lane, the original line of the B6079.

Middlewood - Wadsley Bridge

The B6079 continued along Leppings Lane, formerly the B6078, passing the rear entrance to Sheffield Wednesday Football Club's Hillsborough Ground. After crossing a roundabout junction with the A61 Penistone Road/Penistone Road North it turned through 90 degrees and continued along Herries Road past the old Sheffield Corporation Bus Depot to the junction with Herries Road/Herries Road South and the A6102 at the Five Arches.

Current Situation

The original line of the B6079 along Catch Bar Lane is still numbered A6102. However, this road has now been doubled from the Leppings Lane to the Herries Road junctions and the A6102 has taken over the ex-B6079 between these points (as well as keeping its earlier route which still multiplexes along the A61).

The remainder of the B6079 south of here to the Shalesmoor Roundabout has now been declassified. It is used by the trams for virtually its entire length and so through traffic is directed onto the parallel A61. The bus gate mentioned above has a similar use.

Historical Route

Original Author(s): JGHarston