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Didsbury

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This article is about the suburb of Manchester. For the town in Alberta, Canada, see Didsbury, Alberta.
Didsbury
PopulationExpression error: "14,292 (Census 2001)" must be numeric
OS grid referenceSJ8491
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMANCHESTER
Postcode districtM20
Dialling code0161
PoliceGreater Manchester
FireGreater Manchester
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Greater Manchester

Didsbury is a suburb of Manchester, in North West England. It is situated about six miles south of Manchester City Centre, intersected by the busy thoroughfare of Wilmslow Road, directly south of Withington.

Didsbury is an affluent area predominantly populated by young professionals, families and some students (taken from 2001 census) and is highly desirable in the residential property market. [1]

Toponymy

In 923 A.D. the now Didsbury was known as Dyddi's burgh. 'Burgh' was a Saxon term for fortification of a farm, camp, village or house and Dyddi was the name of a local chieftan or leader. He was thought to have been on Stenner Brow near Stenner Lane, above the banks of the mersey on rich fertile soil.

Geography and administration

The area is split into two electoral wards; Didsbury East and Didsbury West.

The area is generally considered to be roughly enclosed by the River Mersey to the south, Princess Parkway to the west, Kingsway to the east and the Ball Brook, just north of Lapwing Lane/Fog Lane to the north. This northern boundary is marked by a boundary stone in the front garden wall of a house on the west side of Wilmslow Road. A noticeable hump in the road at this point marks the bridge over the Ball Brook.

Civic history

In the early 13th century, Didsbury lay within the Manor of Withington, a feudal estate which encompassed the townships of Withington, Didsbury, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Moss Side, Rusholme, Burnage, Denton and Haughton, ruled by the Hathersage, Longford and Tatton families. Didsbury remained within the manor of Withington for several centuries.[2]

By 1764, Didsbury was being described as a township in its own right.[3] In 1876 Didsbury was brought under the Withington Local Board (later the Withington Urban District) and administered from 1881 by Withington Town Hall on Lapwing Lane. In 1904, when Withington UD was made part of the City of Manchester, both Didsbury and Withington became wards of the city in their own right.

History

During the English Civil War, Prince Rupert stationed himself at Didsbury Ees to the south of Barlow Moor. In the Jacobite march south from Manchester to Derby in 1745 it is likely that it crossed the old ford of the River Mersey at Didsbury, which has had recorded use since the Roman age.

During the Victorian expansion of Manchester, Didsbury developed as a prosperous settlement and was the "Stockbroker Belt" being the most outlying southerly outpost of the city. A few of the old mansions still exist on Wilmslow Road between Didsbury Village and Parrs Wood, but these are now either nursing homes or offices.

The opening of the Midland Railway line in 1880 contributed greatly to the rapid growth in the population of Didsbury, with stations at Didsbury and Withington and West Didsbury offering easy rail connections to Manchester Central Station. The line closed in 1967, although Didsbury station building remained standing until its demolition in the 1980s. The station clock and water fountain have survived, dedicated to local doctor and campaigner for the poor Dr. J. Milson Rhodes (1847-1909).[3]

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries many immigrants from Spain, Portugal and Persia settled in the area.[citation needed] Their children and grandchildren have prospered and moved out to areas such as Bowdon, Hale and Hale Barns. The area was home to one of the two large Jewish communities in and around Manchester (the other being Prestwich). The high numbers of Jewish immigrants led to Didsbury being nicknamed (some might think offensively) Yidsbury and Palatine Road (a major road running through the heart of the Didsbury/West Didsbury suburb), Palestine Road.

Daniel Adamson, promoter of the Manchester Ship Canal, lived at The Towers (blue plaque — now the Shirley Institute) on Wilmslow Road from 1874. His home (designed by Thomas Worthington) was also the venue for the 1882 meeting where it was agreed to promote the Ship Canal project.

On 28 April 1910, French pilot Louis Paulhan landed his aeroplane in Barcicroft Fields, Pytha Fold Farm, on the borders of Withington, Burnage and Didsbury. This completed the first ever powered flight from London to Manchester (195 miles/298 km), and he won a £10,000 prize offered by the Daily Mail, beating the British contender, Claude Grahame-White.[4] Two special trains were chartered to Burnage Station to take spectators and mechanics to the landing. The site, in Paulhan Road, is marked by a blue plaque.

From 1956 to 1969 Didsbury was home to the northern studios of ITV station ABC Weekend Television. These were actually converted from the Capitol cinema in Parrs Wood Lane. In 1969 ABC closed the site when it was merged with fellow ITV company Rediffusion to become London station Thames Television. For a short while the site was used by Yorkshire Television until their own facilities in Leeds were ready. In 1970 it was sold to Manchester Polytechnic (later Manchester Metropolitan University) and eventually in the late 1990s it was demolished to make way for a residential development. From this site part of ITV's history had been created - early episodes of The Avengers and Armchair Theatre were made here.

Demographics

The 2001 census reported that 87.64% of Didsbury's population considered themselves to be white, 7.77% Asian/Asian British, 1.28% Black/Black British and 1.26% as Chinese or other ethnic minority.

The census also reported that 61.20% of the population considered themselves to be Christian, 6.22% Muslim, 2.15% Jewish, 1.60% Hindu, 0.36% Buddhist and 0.31% Sikh.

Present day

Didsbury Village

Recreation

The central shopping area, along Wilmslow Road has become a popular area exhibiting cafe culture with many new bars, cafes and delis opening in the recent past. The pubs and bars on the main street of Didsbury Village have become popular with a wider public from further afield in Manchester, and represent a thriving social scene for a range of clientèle from students, to young professionals, through to older and more affluent people. The traditional independent shops and pubs are gradually and increasingly being replaced, as the profile of the area is raised, by national chain bars and pubs.

A locally famous pub crawl, taking in twelve bars in one night, is known as The Didsbury Dozen.

The Fletcher Moss Botanical Garden (named after a local alderman) is a pleasant recreational park of 85,000 square metres, south of the village centre.

Once a year, at Didsbury Festival, local schools dress up to a theme and meet in the playground of St. Catherine's Primary School from where they parade to Didsbury Park. At the end of the parade, prizes are awarded for various categories. After the award ceremony, there is a fair and a number of stalls and attractions.

Education

Primary schools

Didsbury has a number of primary schools which include:

Secondary schools

Didsbury has two secondary state schools, which are Parrswood High School (Specialist Arts and Technology College) and The Barlow Roman Catholic High (Specialist Science College). Parrswood is a non-denominational school, whilst The Barlow RC High is Roman Catholic. Both schools, however, rank highly in the local school district in terms of results achieved and attendance. Also, both schools have in excess of 1000 pupils each, as they accept children from adjacent districts such as Chorlton-cum-Hardy and Withington.

Sport

Didsbury Sports Centre on Millgate lane hosts Rugby, Gaelic football and football. Old Bedians Rugby Club, which is based at the sports centre, regularly fields three successful senior teams as well as an excellent junior section. Old Bedians is also world famous for having the oldest registered rugby player.[citation needed]

Didsbury TocH R.F.C is a successful rugby union squad in Didsbury founded in 1924. Its 1st team plays in the North Lancashire & Cumbria league. The club runs four adult male teams and a youth section. The club has run a 10-a-side competition every May since 1951 as a charity fund raiser.

Didsbury Cricket Club is a large thriving cricket club, which following a merger with All Saints CC this year is to have three Saturday teams and two Sunday teams during the 2007 season. The 1st XI play in the Cheshire County League Division 1. As well as the five senior teams, DCC is also boasts a junior section comprising under 11s, 13s, 15s and 18s. DCC is home not just to a cricket team but to Manchester Waconians Lacrosse Club and Didsbury Grey's Women's Hockey Team.

The Northern Tennis Club is one of Manchester's foremost racquet clubs annually playing host to an ATP tournament in July.

Transport

Wilmslow Road provides Didsbury Village with an extremely regular bus service due to the very strong demand for travel by students along the corridor. These are cheap and very regular with passengers rarely having to wait more than 5 minutes.

Wilmslow Road is also the busiest bus corridor in Europe.[citation needed]

The roads in the centre of Didsbury are often overcrowded but it is relatively easy to get to Manchester's motorway ring road - the M60 motorway.

The M60 also links Didsbury to Manchester Airport with the journey often taking less than 20 minutes.

East Didsbury station and Burnage railway station are on the line between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport and thereby provides a link to a number of minor suburban train stations along this route. Didsbury Village and West Didsbury were once served by train services that ran out of Central Station (now G-Mex) until that line shut in the 1960s.

The Manchester Metrolink's proposed extension to Stockport had been routed to run down the old railway cutting through Didsbury. However, this line is a lower priority than those to Manchester Airport, Ashton, Oldham and Rochdale that are due to be built in the next phase of Metrolink development. With these lines having fallen behind schedule due to the government refusing to meet costs that have escalated (largely due to the government insisting the development is funded as a Private Finance Initiative, which is more expensive than a public grant as it protects the private sector against risk) the Didsbury line is now unlikely to be built within the next decade. So, in brief:

  • Bus services: Didsbury is served by several bus routes into Manchester City Centre, The Trafford Centre, Northenden, East Didsbury and other destinations - see GMPTE.
  • Nearest rail stations: East Didsbury, Burnage.
  • Metrolink: none at present; a plan to invest in a line that would run from East Didsbury and Stockport railway station as part of the extended Metrolink tram system is yet to be realised.

Local organisations

Didsbury is the home of the Didsbury Women's Circle, a grassroots political organisation.

Social Circle also offer many activities for 20s and 30s.

Didsbury inspired the naming of a town in Canada. This town is located in the western province of Alberta, Didsbury, Alberta.

References

  1. ^ http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/districts/didsbury.html
  2. ^ Sussex & Helm (1988). Looking Back at Withington and Didsbury. Willow. p. 45. ISBN 0-946361-25-8.
  3. ^ a b France & Woodall (1976). A New History of Didsbury. E.J. Morten. p. 203. ISBN 0-85972-035-7.
  4. ^ "London to Manchester". www.thosemagnificentmen.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-12-26.

See also

Schools

Churches

Scout and Guide Groups

Rugby Clubs

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