A new history of Chorlton in just 20 objects no 3, the graph and the housing boom 1901

“Twenty years ago, when the railway station was opened, Chorlton was a struggling hamlet, or at least, a village.  Ten years later it had 4,741 inhabitants which number has by this time doubled, the April census showing a population of 9,026.”*

All of which is a fair explanation on how New Chorlton came into existence and the small rural community of Martledge disappeared under roads, bricks and small gardens.

Our housing boom was created by a demand to live close to the countryside but within easy reach of the city centre.  The arrival of mains water in 1864, a sewage works and gas in the 1870s followed by the railway in 1880 created the infra structure which allowed the two big landowners to sell land off in small units on favourable terms to speculative builders.  And the rest as they say is what made New Chorlton.

*March of the Builder, Manchester Evening News, September 20, 1901.  Thanks to Lawrence Beadle who supplied me with an original copy of the article.  Until he passed over this copy I had to rely on a typed version which had omitted the table showing the increase in houses.

Picture; graph taken from data in March of the Builder, Manchester Evening News, September 20, 1901