Gorton
Gorton | ||
---|---|---|
Metropolitan county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | MANCHESTER | |
Postcode district | M18 | |
Dialling code | 0161 | |
Police | Greater Manchester | |
Fire | Greater Manchester | |
Ambulance | North West | |
UK Parliament | ||
Gorton is an area of
.A major landmark is
History
According to local folklore, Gorton derives its name from Gore Town, due to a battle between the
In medieval times, the district was a township of the
Manchester City F.C. was founded as St Mark's (West Gorton) in 1880. The club was formed with the aim of binding the local community and to combat a form of gang warfare called scuttling that existed in the 1870s.[8][9] The rector's daughter, Anna Connell, is widely credited as the founder, although churchwarden William Beastow is believed to be the person who played the main part in creating sporting activities for the parish. In 1875, St Mark's Cricket Club are known to have played and this evolved into the football club later in the decade.[10] The first recorded football game was played in November 1880.[11]
A Blackfoot Sioux chief named Charging Thunder came to Salford aged 26 as part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in 1903. Like many Lakota tribesmen, Charging Thunder was an exceptional horseman and performed thrilling stunts in Buffalo Bill's show in front of huge crowds, on the site of what is now the Lowry in Salford Quays. But when the show rolled out of town, he remained in London. He married Josephine, an American horse trainer who had just given birth to their first child, Bessie and together they settled in Darwen, before moving to Gorton. His name was changed to George Edward Williams, after registering with the British immigration authorities to enable him to find work. Williams ended up as an elephant keeper at the Belle Vue Zoo. He died on 28 July 1929 from pneumonia aged fifty-two. He was buried in Gorton's cemetery.
Twentieth century
The world-famous Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, comprising a zoo, gardens, amusement park, exhibition complex and speedway stadium, was opened in 1836 in Gorton and became one of the leading attractions in the UK. The site spanned 165 acres of land and attracted over two million visitors a year.[12] The zoo was the third-largest in the UK, and the exhibition hall held concerts from a range of national and international artists, such as Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. After 141 years, the zoo closed in 1977, with the rest of the site finally cleared for redevelopment in 1982.
Economy and development
The
The popular television series Shameless, which aired on Channel 4, was mainly filmed in West Gorton. The parade of shops used for filming in the initial series was built on the site of St Mark's Church, Clowes Street, the birthplace of Manchester City F.C.[17] The area has since been demolished and redeveloped with various new social and private housing,[18] new Medical Centre, retail and commercial spaces, as well as the "Space Project", a large-scale television and film production studio with six sound and prop stages used to film various BBC and ITV productions.
In 2006, Manchester City Council started a multimillion-pound redevelopment of the Gorton District Shopping Centre. The small market and retail area were demolished and work started in late 2007 to construct a new market hall and
Geography
The area south of the former Roman road,
Gorton also has several allotments and parks which are supported through the Gorton Horticultural Society.
Landmarks and attractions
Gorton is home to
Gorton Heritage Trail is a public trail with 20 sites of interest. The trail is partly semi-rural, largely located within the Gore Brook Valley Conservation Area, and highlights various local landmarks, including ecological and topographical sites, and grade-listed monuments and buildings. The trail starts in Sunny Brow Park, and leads northwards to Debdale Park, following the reverse course of Gore Brook.[24]
There are a number of grade-listed buildings in Gorton, most notably Gorton Monastery. Other listed buildings and monuments include:
- Anglican Church of Saint Benedict - this is the site of the Manchester Climbing Centre
- St James' Church
- The Plough Inn
- Brookfield Unitarian Church & Brookfield Sunday School
- Peacock Mausoleum - this is situated on the grounds of Brookfield Church along with many other memorial stones including that of James Rider of the Gorton Philharmonic, The Grimshaws of Stansfield Lodge (including Joseph Stansfield Grimshaw Esq.), and various workers of Gorton Foundry
- Brookfield Lodge
- 46-50 Far Lane
- 56-60 Tan Yard Brow
- Springbank Farmhouse
- 60-66 High Bank Lane
- Gorton House - situated within Debdale Park
- Our Lady and St Thomas of Canterbury Church
- Beswick Co-operative Society Building [25]
Gorton was home to the world-famous Belle Vue Zoological Gardens from 1836 until its closure in the 1980s. At its peak, Belle Vue attracted more than two million visitors a year.[26]
Transport
Railway
The area is served by several railway stations including Gorton, Ashburys, Belle Vue and Ryder Brow.
Trains on the
Until 1970, passenger services on the Great Central Railway passed through the station.
History
Another railway station in the Gorton area,
Manufacturing
A company that became renowned for its locomotives, exported world-wide, was established at Gorton on the southern side of the railway line,
Richard Peacock had previously been the chief engineer of the
Governance
The former
Gorton forms part of the
Performing arts and sport
Gorton Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1854 and is an amateur orchestra.[35] The folk comedy group Gorton Tank were based in Gorton and were popular in the Manchester area. The painter Michael Gutteridge was born in Gorton. The Gorton Morris Men were responsible for reviving the rushcart ceremony in Gorton.[36] Manchester City F.C. were founded as St. Mark's (West Gorton) in 1880. Abbey Hey F.C. club is in Gorton. "Bouncing Billy Barker" was a local man who specialised in jumping feats.[37]The current Britbowl champions (as of 2023), are the Manchester Titans, which are based in Gorton.
Folklore Traditions
John Higson (1825–1871) a Gorton antiquarian wrote about mid nineteenth-century supernatural beliefs in what was then still a rural community. He detailed a series of local boggarts including: Nell Parlour Boggart ('rough and hairy, with eyes as big as saucers'); Gorton Field Boggart; Green Stile Boggart; and Ho' Lane Boggart (which appeared in the form of 'a dog, hare, rabbit, or other small animal').[38] There was also a Boggart House (a haunted house). Fairy rings and fairy pipes (tiny early modern pipes) were frequently found, according to Higson, in the countryside round about.[39] Nell Parlour, a local place associated with the supernatural, was a clough known for a 'village damsel' who had been seduced and 'became insane'.[40] Higson also wrote a boggart poem in local dialect entitled 'Th' Boggart O' Gorton Chapelyord'.[41]
Notable residents
- John Thaw, actor best known for his role as Inspector Morse, was born in West Gorton.[42]
- Samuel Birch (military officer)
- Billy Meredith, former footballer lived on Clowes street and married at St Mark's Church.
- Tommy Johnson, a former footballer for Manchester City F.C., lived in Gorton.
- Nicky Butt, former England and Manchester United footballer, was born in Gorton.
- Bob Berry, former England and Lancashire cricketer, was born in Gorton.
- Jeff Williams, 1980 Olympic cyclist, was born in Gorton.
- Thomas Evenson, Olympian silver medalist in the 3000 meters steeplechase at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, was born in Gorton.[43]
- George Wilkinson, three-time Olympic water polo champion, born in Gorton.
- Brian Statham, former England and Lancashire cricketer, born in Gorton.
- Samuel Gorton, early settler of North America and fifth President of Rhode Island, was born and raised in Gorton in the 1590s.
- Roger Byrne, Manchester United player who died in the Munich Air Disaster lived at Wistaria Road in the 1940/50s.
- Meekz, rapper, Raised in Gorton
- John Higson (1825–1871), the antiquarian was born in a poor farming family in Gorton.[44]
See also
Notes
- ^ 53°27′59″N 02°10′37″W / 53.46639°N 2.17694°W
- ^ The name of the MS&L Railway's workshops, Gorton Locomotive Works, known locally as the Gorton Tank (location 53°28′15″N 02°10′37″W / 53.47083°N 2.17694°W), is often confused with the Gorton Foundry works of Beyer, Peacock & Company.
References
- ^ "City of Manchester ward/Gorton South population 2011". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^ "City of Manchester Ward/Gorton North population 2011". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^ Booker (1857), p. 197.
- ^ Harland & Wilkinson 1993, pp. 26–29
- ^ Farrer & Brownbill 1911, pp. 275–279.
- ^ A ditch in time, BBC Online, 1 August 2008, archived from the original on 19 December 2019, retrieved 5 January 2009
- ^ Cooper 2007, p. 80
- ^ James 1997, pp. 9–12
- ^ James 2008, pp. 55–64
- ^ James 2008, pp. 55–58.
- ^ James 1997, p. 12
- ISBN 0-7524-1571-9
- ^ Murder on the Moors: The Ian Brady and Myra Hindley Story – Crime Library, archived from the original on 30 December 2007
- ^ "The 1960s", Tameside Advertiser, M.E.N. Media, 9 October 2003, archived from the original on 10 January 2012, retrieved 10 November 2011
- ^ "Iceland Manufacturing". Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ ""Manchester production studio behind Cold Feet in £14m upgrade"". 17 May 2017. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ James (2008), p. 373.
- ^ "Place North West | West Gorton housing plans approved". Place North West. 29 September 2014. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ ""Work starts on £1.7m market"". 19 October 2007. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ "Tesco Activity report". Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ "Gore Brook Valley Conservation Area "History"". Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ "Brookfield Church Memorabilia". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
- ^ "The Churches". Sir Walter Tapper & His Churches. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
- ^ ""Take a walk on the wild side", Manchester Evening News". 9 November 2007. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ Stuff, Good. "Listed Buildings in Gorton North Ward, Manchester". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- OCLC 43031759.
- ^ Jowett's Railway Centres volume 1 (Alan Jowett, published PSL 1993).
- ^ "Townships: Gorton | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- ^ "Debdale Park". Subterranea Britannica. Disused Stations. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
- ISBN 1-872524-36-2.
- ISBN 978-0853290124.
- ISBN 978-0906899878.
- OCLC 85783106.
- ^ "Labour MP Gerald Kaufman dies at 86". The Independent. 26 February 2017. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- ^ Gorton Philharmonic Orchestra, archived from the original on 2 August 2009, retrieved 10 April 2009
- ^ Gorton Rushcart revival, archived from the original on 31 May 2008, retrieved 10 April 2009
- ^ Billy Barker, archived from the original on 20 April 2013, retrieved 10 April 2009
- ^ Higson, John South Manchester Supernatural: The Ghosts, Fairies and Boggarts of Victorian Gorton, Lees, Newton and Saddleworth (Pwca Books 2020), 8-10.
- ^ Higson, John South Manchester Supernatural: The Ghosts, Fairies and Boggarts of Victorian Gorton, Lees, Newton and Saddleworth (Pwca Books 2020), 10.
- ^ Higson, John South Manchester Supernatural: The Ghosts, Fairies and Boggarts of Victorian Gorton, Lees, Newton and Saddleworth (Pwca Books 2020), 11.
- ^ Higson, John South Manchester Supernatural: The Ghosts, Fairies and Boggarts of Victorian Gorton, Lees, Newton and Saddleworth (Pwca Books 2020), 11-16.
- ^ John Thaw, archived from the original on 19 January 2009, retrieved 21 July 2009
- ^ "Gorton Olympians". Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ Higson, John South Manchester Supernatural: The Ghosts, Fairies and Boggarts of Victorian Gorton, Lees, Newton and Saddleworth (Pwca Books 2020)
Select bibliography
- Booker, John (1857), A History of the Ancient Chapels of Didsbury and Chorlton, Manchester: Chetham Society
- Cooper, Glynis (2007), The Illustrated History of Manchester's Suburbs; updated edition, Derby: The Breedon Books Publishing Company, ISBN 978-1-85983-592-0(first published in 2002)
- Farrer, W.; Brownbill, J., eds. (1911), "Townships: Gorton", A History of the County of Lancaster [Victoria County History], vol. 4, pp. 275–279, archived from the original on 26 May 2011, retrieved 31 January 2009
- ISBN 1-897853-06-8
- James, Gary (2008), Manchester – A Football History, James Ward, ISBN 978-0-9558127-0-5
- James, Gary (1997), Manchester The Greatest City, Polar Publishing, ISBN 1-899538-09-7
External links
Media related to Gorton at Wikimedia Commons