SAVING
MAYFIELD
Manchester Mayfield has had possibly one of the most interesting histories of any building of it's type! Work started in 1908 and was completed by 1910. The mayor of Manchester at the time, Sir Charles Behrens, officially opened Mayfield on 8 August 1910. At that time, Manchester Piccadilly was named Manchester London Road and was linked with Mayfield through an impressive high level footbridge. This close relationship with London Road was because Mayfield was built primarily to handle the the trains from the Styal Line which London Road could not cope with. This meant that passenger numbers were high and sustainable until the outbreak of WWII when all passenger rail travel decreased and Mayfield itself, in 1940, was hit by a parachute mine during the Manchester Blitz. The damage of the mine was not fully fixed until the early 1950's. By this time there was sadly just one train a day at Mayfield; 'The Pines Express', which ran to Bournemouth once a day. Passenger numbers were limited
​INFORMATION ON MAYFIELD
on this service. In 1958, Mayfield had a slight makeover because it was to be used in 1959 for trains diverted from London Roiad while it was modernised. After this the station went back to a one train station and after the fall of The Pines Express, Mayfield was officially closed to passengers on 28 August 1960 with a life span of 50 years and 20 days.
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After ten years of sheer neglect with just the businesses underneath open, Mayfield was re-opened on 6 July 1970 as a converted parcels depot and an overhead conveyer stretching through the throught of the newly named, Piccadilly, to a new sorting office built on the opposite side of Piccadilly. However, after just over 16 years in use, Parcelforce decided it was to cease rail traffic and thus, Mayfield has been a shadow of the past since then. However, it has become a celebrity, being used in the BBC's Prime Suspect and film The Last Train. A violent arson attack took place in mid-2005 and Mayfield is now just a shell owned by BRB Residuary who are soon to close.
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Also, there are many mysteries surrounding Mayfield such as if there was an overhead passenger passage way to the station from Piccadilly, where is the evidence on Mayfield station. Also, Mayfield is supposedly one the most haunted buildings in Manchester, with seven people reported to have died there, a noose was found in the ticket hall and two people were said to have gone under trains and the sound of people and steam trains can be heard echoing. That is if you believe in things like this!
Have fun using Google maps and don't forget street view! Have a look down Temperance Street and see Mayfield Storage Distributions open! And down Baring Street to see the old mail passage!
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ENJOY!
