So, it started with a picture of the tree on Manchester Road beside the bus stop and the Co-op Undertakers.
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| Tree shapes, 2022 |
It isn’t a particularly old tree, although someone with more tree knowledge might correct me.
But it got me thinking about what this stretch of Manchester Road would have been like in the middle of the 19th century.
And yes, the OS map for 1854 shows a line of trees advancing up along the road from Longford Brook to Dark Lane.
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| Manchester Road, 1854 |
This I know because both the 1854 map and the slightly earlier tithe map show the road treeless as as far as Red Gates Farm up to the Longford Brook.
They were Egerton land and farmed by William Whitelegg who lived at Red Gates Farm which is now the site of the Library.
The two fields were called Long Field and Hulme Marsh Leach.
Long field was farmed as pasture and its neighbour Hulme Marsh Leach was a mix of arable and meadow land.
While opposite on the other side of the road were King High Marsh, Horse Field and High Meadow which were arable and meadow.
You won’t find Longford Brook, it had already been culverted by 1854 while Dark Lane is now Buckingham Road.
And these too were farmed by Mr. Whitelegg who in total rented 68 acres and could include in the roll call of field names, Gilbury Marsh, United Field, Brick Croft Barn Pit, and Long Dog Platt.
Along with an orchard of 2 acres and a small garden where he grew a selection of fruit destined for the Manchester markets.
Location; Chorlton
Picture; Tree shapes, 2022, from the collection of Andrew Simpson and Manchester Road, 1854, from the OS map of Lancashire, 1854, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, https://digitalarchives.co.uk/
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