Wythenshawe, Manchester, England, United Kingdom

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wythenshawe is a district of the city of Manchester, England. Historically in Cheshire, Wythenshawe was transferred in 1931 to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the 1920s. With an area of approximately 11 square miles (28 km²), Wythenshawe became the largest council estate in Europe.

Wythenshawe includes the estates of Baguley, Benchill, Brooklands, Peel Hall, Newall Green, Woodhouse Park, Moss Nook, Northern Moor, Northenden and Sharston.

History The name of Wythenshawe seems to come from the Old English wiðign = "withy tree" and sceaga = "wood" (compare dialectal word shaw). The three ancient townships of Northenden, Baguley and Northen Etchells formally became the present-day Wythenshawe when they were merged with Manchester in 1931. Until then, the name had referred only to Wythenshawe Hall and its grounds.

Due to spending cuts, the hall was temporarily closed to the public in 2010. One proposition was that Manchester City Council could sell the building to the National Trust. A Friends Group was formed to support monthly open days and events at the hall. In March 2016, the roof of the hall and an upper floor were severely damaged by a fire in an arson attack, with the clock tower also damaged.

Immediately south of Wythenshawe is Manchester Airport, formerly called Ringway Airport. Before Ringway Airport was laid out, three farm fields between Rackhouse Road and Wythenshawe Road in Northern Moor, in what is now the north edge of Wythenshawe, were used as Manchester (Wythenshawe) Aerodrome. This was the UK's first municipal airfield, operating between April 1929 and early 1930. A barn was converted to act as the hangar and a farmhouse as the administration building. Temporary fuel pumps were installed. The last recorded flight from Wythenshawe Airport was on 19 June 1930.

Wythenshawe was in the Church of England Diocese of Chester until 1933, when it was transferred to the neighbouring Diocese of Manchester.

Housing and social history Wythenshawe is Manchester's largest district, a massive housing estate that was started in the 1920s intended as a "garden city" where people could be rehoused away from industrial Manchester. In 1920, town planner Patrick Abercrombie identified the area as the most suitable undeveloped land for a housing estate close to the city, and 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) of land were purchased.

Part of Benchill (not the area south-west of Gladeside Road) and some areas in the north were built before World War II and called the Wythenshawe Ward of the City of Manchester. The rest was built after the Second World War, starting in the late 1940s as wartime building restrictions were relaxed. Parts of Baguley were still semi-rural in the 1960s, but now there is very little open country left.

The estate was built initially without many shops, amenities or services, and there was very little employment directly to hand. Although Northenden already had a shopping area on Palatine Road, the earliest new shops were built in the 1930s and included parades on Hollyhedge Road, and on Altrincham Road in Sharston (the latter was demolished in 1973 to make way for the M56 Sharston bypass). There were smaller local shops, usually a grocers—selling general household provisions, at Minsterly Parade (Woodhouse Park) and Haveley Circle (Benchill). However, it took decades for some areas of Wythenshawe to get their own neighbourhood shops, which meant residents had to travel or visit a mobile shop van when it visited their area. Various residents' associations were set up to address those problems, but progress was very slow.

After the Second World War, Wythenshawe eventually expanded, with several further shops being built (such as Haveley Circle, built in the early 1950s but demolished in the 1990s) and businesses were attracted to the area with the expansion of the Sharston Industrial Estate and, later, the Moss Nook and Roundthorn industrial complexes. Wythenshawe gradually acquired all the amenities and facilities that the original planners had neglected to include with the building of several new schools, shops, pubs and churches. The area also got its own hospital, and Wythenshawe Hospital grew out of the earlier Baguley Hospital in 1948. The largest shopping area was built in the 1960s in the town centre, known as the Wythenshawe Civic Centre, which has been expanded further since it was first built. In 1971, the Wythenshawe Forum was opened there, which included a library, a swimming pool, a restaurant, a bar and a theatre.

From the 1990s to the 2000s, the houses that were built and owned by the council were transferred to the control of local housing associations, such as Willow Park in east Wythenshawe and Parkway Green in west Wythenshawe. Both associations merged in 2013 to form the Wythenshawe Community Housing Group which is now responsible for around 14,000 homes in Wythenshawe.

In 2007, The New York Times described the housing estates in Wythenshawe as representing an "extreme pocket of social deprivation and alienation".

Most of the farm buildings in the Wythenshawe area were demolished when the estate was built. Some of them, like Hollyhedge Farm and Floats Hall, were left among the houses but suffered from vandalism and had to be demolished later. Some of the present housing estates were named after former farms.

Peel Hall Farm (which had a moat) survived for over 20 years as its occupant lived on the proceeds of selling his land, but soon after he left, the property was vandalised and had to be demolished.

Newall Green Farm survived on the edge of the Newall Green housing estate area and was still occupied and run as a farm until the early 21st century when its last occupant died, when it was abandoned and fenced off. The buildings are listed. In 2006, a firm bought Newall Green Farm's buildings from Manchester Corporation. On 21 June 2014, vandals set fire to Newall Green Farm, and its roof was destroyed, but there are plans to turn the buildings into a care home for adults with learning disabilities, a working farm and a horse-riding centre.

Parks Wythenshawe has twelve parks and 18 woodland areas including Wythenshawe Park, which was designated a Local Nature Reserve in 2011. It covers over 270 acres (110 ha) of green space and is home to Manchester's only community farm, Wythenshawe community farm. At the centre of the park is the historic Wythenshawe Hall with its Civil War and Tatton heritage. The park also has riding stables, a horticulture centre, children's play area, athletics track, football pitches, tennis courts, bowls and golfing facilities.

Other parks include Hollyhedge Park, Peel Hall Park, Painswick Park and Baguley Park. Northenden's Riverside Park is the first new park to be established in the city in the 21st century.

Economy Approximately 43,000 people work in Wythenshawe. There are four areas of industrial activity (estates)—Moss Nook, Ringway (Airport Cargo Centre), Roundthorn and Sharston. It is home to Manchester Airport and Wythenshawe Hospital (part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust), which are two of the largest employers in the area. Many national and international companies have premises or main offices in Wythenshawe, including Timpson Ltd, HellermannTyton, Virgin Media, Vodafone and F. Duerr & Sons.

In 1934, George Hamer Scholes built the Wylex Works to produce electrical accessories. The company was later acquired by Electrium, which is now under Siemens' ownership.

Several greenfield and greyfield sites have been opened up to developers and there are several new housing developments within the area.

The town centre, known as the Civic Centre, was originally built in the 1960s. It expanded over the years and was renovated between 1999 and 2002 to include new stores and other new features, when the city council relinquished ownership and transferred it to St. Modwen Properties. The main shopping area now includes gates that are locked at night to prevent the vandalism that was seen in previous years. The Forum centre, which opened in 1971, houses a library, leisure centre, swimming pool, cafe and other amenities, has also been renovated in a more modern style. For thirty years it also housed the Forum Theatre, but this closed in 2002 and a health clinic and an adult education facility now occupy its space.

In 2007, Asda opened a new superstore on the site of the old Co-operative store (originally built by Woolco in the mid-1970s, which also features a multi-storey car park). A walkway going between the multi-storey car park and the large supermarket building now features a wall mosaic depicting various aspects of the town. After the demolition of two 1960s blocks of multi-storey flats in 2007, new buildings were constructed on the site including a new Wilko shop, office premises and a local authority services hub that provides a new frontage for the town centre from its north-facing aspect.

In June 2022, Manchester City Council announced the purchase of Wythenshawe town centre from St. Modwen Properties as part of wider plans to transform the town centre.

Transport The M56 motorway, constructed in the 1970s as a continuation of the A5103 road (Princess Parkway), bisects east and west Wythenshawe. A bypass connecting it to the nearby M60 motorway was built through Sharston and opened in 1974.

The nearest railway station to Wythenshawe was located adjacent to Longley Lane at the edge of Sharston on the Cheshire Lines Railway from Stockport to Liverpool. Named Northenden for Wythenshawe, Northenden railway station was closed on 30 November 1964. Wythenshawe did not then have a public railway service for several decades, with the nearest stations being located in the neighbouring areas of Gatley, Heald Green and Altrincham. A station at Manchester Airport was opened in 1993.

The Airport Line branch of the Manchester Metrolink tram service includes twelve stops throughout Wythenshawe. The line opened on 3 November 2014, a year ahead of schedule. In addition to the building of the new Metrolink lines and stations, a new public transport hub was built in Wythenshawe Town Centre which opened in June 2015 and includes a new bus station and tram stop.