Now Chorlton’s transition from small rural community to a suburb of Manchester was pretty much accomplished in less than one lifetime.
In 1851, there were just 750 people in the township and the majority derived their living from the land.
Just a half century later, swathes of terraced and tall semidetached properties stretched from the northern boundary, across to the east and west and were only halted by the flood plain and the River Mersey in the south.
The development was so swift that the hamlet of Martledge was engulfed and its name lost, and older inhabitants dismissed it as the “new Village or “New Chorlton” to distinguish it from the area around the village green which was still regarded as the old village.
But the loss of so much farmland was a cause for concern, and more than one individual called for a park or recreational ground.
A state of affairs which the Manchester Guardian flagged up in 1896 commenting on the opening of new public recreation grounds across south Manchester, that as “the population of the district is rapidly advancing … these open spaces where children can play free from the dangers which are inseparable from the public thoroughfares will be even more appreciated than now”.**
Back in 1896 Chorlton-cum-Hardy, along with Withington, Burnage and Didsbury were part of Withington Urban District Council which had several recreation grounds in Withington, Didsbury, Cavendish Road (West Didsbury), Beech Road (Chorlton) and Chorlton Green (Chorlton).
And 1896 is the significant date, because in the May of that year the Egerton estate “gifted” what was left of Row Acre which had once been a large field stretching from what is now Cross Road all the way down to Acres Road.
Our own grand opening was only one grand opening presided over by Lord Egerton and his wife, along with local dignitaries.
The day had begun at Withington Town Hall, and the official party progressed in open carriages, first to the Recreational Ground at Withington where Lord Egerton was presented with a gold key, and then on to Albert Park, and finally across the district to Chorlton, with a short stop at Chorlton Green before finishing on Beech Road.
Location; Chorlton
Picture; the Rec, 2020 from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and extracts from the Manchester Guardian, 1896
*Public Recreation Grounds at Withington, Manchester Guardian, May 18th, 1896
In 1851, there were just 750 people in the township and the majority derived their living from the land.
Just a half century later, swathes of terraced and tall semidetached properties stretched from the northern boundary, across to the east and west and were only halted by the flood plain and the River Mersey in the south.
But the loss of so much farmland was a cause for concern, and more than one individual called for a park or recreational ground.
A state of affairs which the Manchester Guardian flagged up in 1896 commenting on the opening of new public recreation grounds across south Manchester, that as “the population of the district is rapidly advancing … these open spaces where children can play free from the dangers which are inseparable from the public thoroughfares will be even more appreciated than now”.**
Back in 1896 Chorlton-cum-Hardy, along with Withington, Burnage and Didsbury were part of Withington Urban District Council which had several recreation grounds in Withington, Didsbury, Cavendish Road (West Didsbury), Beech Road (Chorlton) and Chorlton Green (Chorlton).
And 1896 is the significant date, because in the May of that year the Egerton estate “gifted” what was left of Row Acre which had once been a large field stretching from what is now Cross Road all the way down to Acres Road.
The day had begun at Withington Town Hall, and the official party progressed in open carriages, first to the Recreational Ground at Withington where Lord Egerton was presented with a gold key, and then on to Albert Park, and finally across the district to Chorlton, with a short stop at Chorlton Green before finishing on Beech Road.
Location; Chorlton
Picture; the Rec, 2020 from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and extracts from the Manchester Guardian, 1896
*Public Recreation Grounds at Withington, Manchester Guardian, May 18th, 1896
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