Sunday 23 September 2012

Standing in Bottoms of Stretford Park


Yesterday I was on Egerton Road sometime around the beginning of the 20th century, and today I have moved east to the edge of the township.

We are standing in Withington and looking back on to Nell Lane.  Just behind us to our left is Hough End Hall and I think we are again sometime at the beginning of the last century.

The area directly in front had only been developed as housing in the last twenty years.  Before that date this was First Moorfields which along with Second and Third Moorfields was arable land running west alongside the Brook up towards Lime Bank.

Back in the 1840s and 50s these fields were farmed by Charles Renshaw whose other land was dotted about across the township which was pretty much the pattern in Chorlton.  He lived with his brother, Alice Hancok a domestic servants and James Hulse a farm servant In Martledge just opposite where the modern Nicolas Road joins Manchester Road.

Now for those who like me delight in even more obscure knowledge, we are standing in Bottoms of Stretford Park which even I don’t think I could better as a place name.  But the name makes perfect sense because the land to the north which runs beside the modern St Werburghs Road up towards the tram line was Stretford Park farmed by Henry Jackson who lived in Hough End Hall.

And indulging myself even more, the edge of the pond you can see in our photograph and which features on others taken at much the same time was one of a three which fed into my old friend the Rough Leech Gutter.

But Rough Leech Gutter is a topic I have already done and Lime Bank is for another time.

Picture; from the Lloyd collection

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