Ardwick is an area of Manchester , in the county of Greater Manchester , England, one mile south-east of the city centre . The population at the 2011 census was 19,250.
31-699: Ardwick Green is a public space in Ardwick , Manchester , England . It began as a private park for the residents of houses surrounding it before Manchester acquired it in 1867 and turned it into a public park with an ornamental pond and a bandstand. It contains a cenotaph commemorating the dead of the Eighth Ardwicks, a former unit of the Territorial Army belonging to the Manchester Regiment . The old drill hall at one end of
62-513: A 1930s Art Deco theatre, is one of Ardwick's most famous landmarks: it was in use as a cinema from 1943 and was renamed the ABC Ardwick in 1962. An independent operator took over in 1977 and staged pop concerts interspersed with the occasional film, until dropping films entirely. The venue now plays host to national and international performing artists. Extensive demolition of dilapidated Victorian terraces took place around Ardwick during
93-458: A brick campanile tower was added in 1836. It contained a very rare Samuel Green organ, installed in 1787 or 1788, the first in which the sharp keys were distinguished in black. When the building ceased to be used as a church in 1978, the organ was rescued by an organ builder called George Sixsmith, and installed in St Paul's Church, Pendleton . There was also a memorial chapel to the dead of
124-839: A cinema, but continued to present variety acts on its stage. Stoll also owned another theatre in Manchester, the Manchester Hippodrome on Oxford Street . When this was demolished in 1935 to make way for a new Gaumont cinema , Stoll refurbished the Ardwick Empire and renamed it the New Manchester Hippodrome Theatre. Variety stars continued to appear on the stage, including Larry Adler , Max Wall and Joe Loss , and musical theatre shows such as The White Horse Inn and The Student Prince were staged. After 57 of popular entertainment,
155-573: A modern concrete structure, is a family-run business called Hyde Road Wheels and Tyres. In 2005 they abandoned their premises in the railway arches, which had become run down, and completed the construction of a new glass-fronted building in November 2005. The project was an unexpected recipient of a "Built in Quality" award in February 2006. Twelve awards are given annually, and the garage was awarded
186-668: A plaque when the grounds were turned into a sports field in 1966, included Sir Thomas Potter , the first mayor of Manchester, who died in 1845, the Chartist Ernest Charles Jones , who died in 1869, and Buglar Robert Hawthorne, of the 52nd Light Infantry, who was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1857. Following the closure, the granite top of Dalton's tomb was relocated to the John Dalton building of Manchester Metropolitan University, where it lies beside
217-489: A separate civil parish , on 26 March 1896 the parish was abolished to form South Manchester . In 1891 the parish had a population of 35,021. Ardwick railway station is on the Hope Valley line and is served by only one service every weekday from Manchester Piccadilly to Rose Hill Marple . The station opened in 1842 and was operated by a number of railway companies over the years. There were plans to close it in
248-535: A statue of the man. The Grade II*listed Church of St Benedict on Bennet Street was erected in 1880 by the noted Gothic Revival architect J. S. Crowther . Although no longer in use as a place of worship, it still stands today and its tall red brick tower is visible for miles around. Ardwick once had its own football team, Ardwick AFC, but following a meeting at the Hyde Road Hotel in 1894, it became Manchester City F.C. The Hyde Road ground, close to
279-456: Is a major character, and serves as an important symbol of the consequences of the protagonist's choices. Tiny Tim is the young, ailing son of Bob Cratchit , Ebenezer Scrooge ’s underpaid clerk. When Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present he is shown just how ill the boy really is (the family cannot afford to properly treat him on the salary Scrooge pays Cratchit). When visited by
310-547: Is a passenger multiple unit traction maintenance depot , located on the Hope Valley line . It was opened in 2006 for the servicing of Siemens -built Class 185 DMUs , which are used on the TransPennine Express franchise. It was electrified in 2012–13 to allow the servicing of Siemens Class 350/4 EMUs . Bus services in the area are provided by Stagecoach Manchester . The following routes serve Ardwick: Ardwick Green Park has recently been refurbished, and though
341-511: Is a type of kidney failure causing the blood to become acidic, was proposed as one possibility. Rickets (caused by a lack of vitamin D ) has been proposed as another possibility, as it was a not uncommon disease during that time period. Both illnesses were treatable during Dickens' lifetime, but fatal if untreated, thus following in line with the Ghost of Christmas Present remarking that Tiny Tim would die "[i]f these shadows remain[ed] unaltered by
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#1732800845840372-765: Is at a junction where the Manchester and Birmingham Railway , later the London and North Western Railway diverged from the line to Sheffield that became the Great Central Railway . Nicholls Hospital , a neo-gothic building that was later a school, was constructed on Hyde Road in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. More recently it has become the Nicholls Campus of the Manchester College . The railway bridge across Hyde Road
403-514: The First World War , chiefly men of the local territorial unit. These have been removed, and the building has been used as offices for voluntary organisations. The structure is now Grade II Listed . Grand terraces of regency houses (some of which still survive) were built either side of the church, and these were fronted by Ardwick Green , a private park for the residents, containing a pond. Similar housing developments to those around
434-417: The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come , Scrooge sees that Tiny Tim has died. This, and several other visions, leads Scrooge to reform his ways. At the end of the story, Dickens makes it explicit that Tiny Tim does not die, and Scrooge becomes a "second father" to him. In the story, Tiny Tim is known for the statement, "God bless us, every one!" which he offers as a blessing at Christmas dinner . Dickens repeats
465-547: The Industrial Revolution , Ardwick was a small village just outside Manchester in open countryside. The principal residents were the Birch family, one of whom was a major general when Oliver Cromwell (briefly) instituted direct military rule. One Samuel Birch was instrumental in providing a small chapel of ease , dedicated to St. Thomas, and consecrated in 1741. This soon expanded into a Georgian church, to which
496-400: The 1960s. Some residents remained in the area in new council-owned houses and flats, while others were moved to overspill estates such as Hattersley . (According to 2011 census ) Notes Bibliography Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol) Tiny Tim Cratchit is a fictional character from the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens . Although seen only briefly, he
527-417: The 1980s and its future looked bleak for a long period after that, but closure plans were finally scrapped in 2006. The current service is operated by Northern . The station consists of a waiting shelter on a single island platform between the tracks, access to which requires the use of steps. The station is the site of a memorial to Paul McLaughlin, who died there on 13 December 1997. Ardwick railway depot
558-621: The Ardwick Empire Music Hall (later Manchester Hippodrome) at the eastern end. The business premises of Thomas Brown , surveyor and Resident Engineer for the construction of the Peak Forest Canal , were in Manchester and by 1841 he was living in Allerton Place at 16 Ardwick Green. He died here on the 30 January 1850, aged 78 years. Allerton Place was demolished and by 1915 a tyre works had been built on
589-588: The Green took place along Higher Ardwick and the area known as the Polygon. Early inhabitants included members of Sir Robert Peel’s family. Charles Dickens drew many of his characters from life, and was a frequent visitor to Manchester. It is said that Dickens based the character of the crippled Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol on the invalid son of a friend who owned a cotton mill in Ardwick. Ardwick Cemetery
620-725: The New Hippodrome closed in 1961. There was a plan to concert it into a bowling allay, but the building was destroyed by fire in 1964 and subsequently demolished. Today, the site of the former Ardwick Empire remains empty and is used as a car park. Ardwick ward is represented by three councillors , Amna Abdullatif (Ind), Abdigafar Muse (Lab), and Tina Hewitson (Lab). Former councillor Mavis Smitheman (2008–09) served as Lord Mayor of Manchester. indicates seat up for re-election. indicates seat won in by-election. indicates councillor changed party. The village of Ardwick can be traced back to 1282, when it
651-414: The character is based on the son of a friend, who owned a cotton mill in Ardwick, Manchester. Dickens tried other names such as "Tiny Mick" after "Little Fred" but eventually decided upon "Tiny Tim". After dropping the name "Little Fred", Dickens later used it for Scrooge's nephew, "Fred". Dickens never explicitly specified the illness Tiny Tim suffered. In 1992, renal tubular acidosis (type 1), which
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#1732800845840682-459: The city's most deprived areas. Substantial development has since taken place, including the construction of facilities for the 2002 Commonwealth Games at the nearby City of Manchester Stadium . In the late nineteenth century, Ardwick had many places of entertainment, but the only remnant of that today is the Art Deco -style Manchester Apollo , a venue for pop and rock music concerts. Before
713-564: The maze of railway tracks extending outwards from Manchester Piccadilly station , was extended in a piecemeal fashion until it could hold crowds of 40,000, but the main stand was destroyed by a fire in 1923, and the club moved to a new stadium on Maine Road, Moss Side . During the nineteenth century, Ardwick became heavily industrialised and it was characterised by factories, railways and rows of back-to-back terraced houses being juxtaposed. Large numbers of Irish immigrants settled here, as they did throughout Manchester. Ardwick railway station
744-409: The park is still used by volunteer soldiers. The other end of the park contains a large boulder, a glacial erratic . The Church of St Thomas, on the north side of Ardwick Green, was consecrated as a chapel of ease in 1741. It was rebuilt and extended in the course of the late eighteenth century, and acquired a campanile tower in the 1830s. Many of the grand buildings have been demolished, including
775-461: The phrase at the end of the story, symbolic of Scrooge's change of heart. In earlier drafts, the character's name was "Little Fred". Dickens may have derived the name from his brothers, who both had "Fred" as a part of their names, one named Alfred and the other Frederick. Dickens also had a sister, Fanny, who had a disabled son named Henry Augustus Burnett (1839–1849) who may have been an inspiration for Tiny Tim. It has also been claimed that
806-407: The pond is no more, it still contains an interesting glacial erratic in the form of a boulder. There is also a cenotaph commemorating the Eighth Ardwicks, once a Territorial Army unit of the Manchester Regiment . Ardwick Green Barracks is a fine Victorian castellated structure bearing the old volunteer motto "Defence Not Defiance". It is still in military use today. The Manchester Apollo ,
837-588: The recognition, despite there being over 2,600 other construction projects in Manchester which were considered. In 1904, a new variety theatre , the Ardwick Empire, opened on the corner of Hyde Road and Higher Ardwick overlooking Ardwick Green. It was an opulent building designed by the noted theatre architect Frank Matcham for Oswald Stoll . It became established as a centre of variety entertainment and billed performers such as Fred Karno , Dan Leno , Charlie Chaplin , Buster Keaton and Harry Lauder . Occasional Bioscope shows proved popular, and in 1930 it became
868-498: The site. 53°28′17.50″N 2°13′28.50″W / 53.4715278°N 2.2245833°W / 53.4715278; -2.2245833 Ardwick Historically in Lancashire , by the mid-nineteenth century Ardwick had grown from being a village into a pleasant and wealthy suburb of Manchester, but by the end of that century became heavily industrialised. When its industries fell into decline so did Ardwick, becoming one of
899-416: Was established in 1838 as a prestigious place for fashionable burials. By the time the cemetery closed in 1950, around 80,000 people had been buried there. John Dalton , the chemist and physicist best known for his advocacy of atomic theory, was amongst them. It was reported that some 100 coaches followed the funeral cortege to the cemetery on the day of his burial in 1844. Other notable interments, recorded on
930-584: Was known as Atherdwic and the road between Manchester and Stockport runs through it. From mediaeval times Ardwick was an independent township in the ancient parish of Manchester within the Salford hundred of Lancashire . It became part of the Borough of Manchester on the borough's creation in 1838. The historic boundary between Ardwick and Manchester was the River Medlock . In 1866 Ardwick became
961-422: Was known by older residents as the "Fenian Arch". On 18 September 1867 it was the scene of an attack upon a prison van carrying two Fenian prisoners to the former Belle Vue gaol (jail). One police officer was shot dead. Three Irishmen involved in the affray were caught, tried and executed. The men are referred to by their supporters as the " Manchester Martyrs ". Close to the bridge, which has been replaced by