# Spath

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Village in Staffordshire, England

For other uses, see [Spath (disambiguation)](/source/Spath_(disambiguation)).

Human settlement in England

Spath Spath Location within Staffordshire OS grid reference SK085352 Civil parish Uttoxeter Rural District East Staffordshire Shire county Staffordshire Region West Midlands Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town UTTOXETER Postcode district ST14 Dialling code 01889 Police Staffordshire Fire Staffordshire Ambulance West Midlands UK Parliament Burton and Uttoxeter List of places UK England Staffordshire 52°54′54″N 1°52′23″W / 52.915°N 1.873°W / 52.915; -1.873

**Spath** is a small village located 0.3 miles (0.48 km) north of [Uttoxeter](/source/Uttoxeter), [Staffordshire](/source/Staffordshire), England. The village is on the [River Tean](/source/River_Tean) and is separated from Uttoxeter by the [A50 road](/source/A50_road).

## History

In [UK railway history](/source/History_of_rail_transport_in_Great_Britain), Spath was on the now disused [Churnet Valley Line](/source/Churnet_Valley_Line), owned and operated by [North Staffordshire Railway](/source/North_Staffordshire_Railway). The village is notable as the site of the first [automatic half barrier crossing](/source/Level_crossings_in_the_United_Kingdom) in the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom), which came into operation on 5 February 1961.[1][2][3] The railway closed four years later and the road which crossed it via the automatic crossing is now gated. There is no remaining visible sign of the crossing.

Spath was the original home of the [Stevensons of Uttoxeter](/source/Stevensons_of_Uttoxeter) bus company.

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-PracticalMotorist1961_1-0)** "News Summary: Automatic 'Gates'". *Practical Motorist*. **7** (81): 957. May 1961. Britain's first automatically operated level crossing barriers are now in operation at Spath Level Crossing near Uttoxeter. The barriers, electronically operated by an approaching train, consist of poles fixed each side of the road only, and are conspicuously marked with red and white bands. Additional warning is given by flashing red lights & gongs.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Unnamed 1961 publication quoted at ["First BR Automatic Level Crossing Barriers"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160324161647/http://www.railblue.com/pages/Related%20Rail%20Blue%20Info/first_b.htm). Rail Blue. Archived from [the original](http://www.railblue.com/pages/Related%20Rail%20Blue%20Info/first_b.htm) on 24 March 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Spath Level Crossing, the First Automatic Level Crossing in Britain: The Behind the Scenes Story of its Development"](http://derby-signalling.org.uk/Spath.htm). *Derby Signalling History*.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Spath](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spath) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spath?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.