The story of Didsbury in just twenty objects, chosen at random and delivered in a paragraph or more.
The Parrs Wood Environmental Centre, which once went under the grand name of the Parrs Wood Rural Studies Centre has been delivering ‘countryside’ to the children of our inner city from the late 1940s.
It occupies land which was previously the kitchen garden and orchard of the small 18th century country estate centred on Parrs Wood House.
In 1922 Manchester Corporation bought the estate and following the outbreak of the Second World War, the gardens were cultivated as part of the Dig For Victory campaign. Then in 1947, the Council opened the Rural Studies Centre with a remit to provide classes in gardening and natural history.
What followed was an exciting project funded by the City Council, which involved schoolchildren from all parts of the City, who were bused out to Parrs Wood for either weekly or fortnightly half-day sessions, during which the children cultivated their school's own plot.
There were 3 or 4 teachers dealing with 64 schools, which visited every fortnight, with an extra teacher dealing with other aspects of environmental work for single school visits. The grounds were tended by a team of four fulltime gardeners and three administrative staff.
In 1990 the Centre underwent a series of challenges with the threat of closure, but these were successfully seen off, and despite another period when it looked like the project would come to an end, in April of 2003 the first gardening groups were reestablished.
Location; Parrs Wood
Picture; School Children’s Produce, Anthony L Jones, pre 1990, courtesy of The Parrs Wood Environmental Centre
The full story can be read in Manchester Pubs-The Stories Behind the Doors,-Didsbury, Andrew Simpson, Peter Topping, 2018
It occupies land which was previously the kitchen garden and orchard of the small 18th century country estate centred on Parrs Wood House.
In 1922 Manchester Corporation bought the estate and following the outbreak of the Second World War, the gardens were cultivated as part of the Dig For Victory campaign. Then in 1947, the Council opened the Rural Studies Centre with a remit to provide classes in gardening and natural history.
What followed was an exciting project funded by the City Council, which involved schoolchildren from all parts of the City, who were bused out to Parrs Wood for either weekly or fortnightly half-day sessions, during which the children cultivated their school's own plot.
There were 3 or 4 teachers dealing with 64 schools, which visited every fortnight, with an extra teacher dealing with other aspects of environmental work for single school visits. The grounds were tended by a team of four fulltime gardeners and three administrative staff.
In 1990 the Centre underwent a series of challenges with the threat of closure, but these were successfully seen off, and despite another period when it looked like the project would come to an end, in April of 2003 the first gardening groups were reestablished.
Location; Parrs Wood
Picture; School Children’s Produce, Anthony L Jones, pre 1990, courtesy of The Parrs Wood Environmental Centre
The full story can be read in Manchester Pubs-The Stories Behind the Doors,-Didsbury, Andrew Simpson, Peter Topping, 2018
Hi Andy, excellent article just like the one about Kingston Road. Please keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteAndrew
Thank you Andrew
DeleteAnthony L Jones was my dad. We have alot of his art work particularly pictures from around Castlefield Bowl and Parrs Wood Rural Studies Centre, where he worked. He was from an impoverished background and largely self taught . Anyone interested please respond.
ReplyDelete