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90-598: Hulme Crescents was a large housing development in the Hulme district of Manchester , England. Hulme was the largest public housing development in Europe, encompassing 3,284 deck-access homes and capacity for over 13,000 people, but was marred by serious construction and design errors. Demolition of the Crescents, comprising 923 dwellings, began in 1993, 21 years after it was constructed in 1972. The Crescents were described by

180-694: A roundabout where the A57(M) originally ended. At the same time, a new flyover was built at the eastern end, over the A6, but was legally designated as the A635(M) in 1995. Just before the junction with the A34 is an unfinished slip road ( stub ) that ends 20 feet in the air, although development next to Mancuian Way has meant much of the stub was demolished in October 2018. The last 1 ⁄ 2 mile (0.80 km) of

270-481: A "Hulme look" of intense youths in baggy second-hand suits. Hatherley juxtaposes the difference between the Manchester of the 1980s and 2010s: "the very fact that [many] spaces were unused . . . led to a sense of possibility absent from the sewn-up, high-rent city of today". Burglaries in the estate were so frequent that resident Mick Hucknall of Simply Red slept with an axe by his bed; film critic Mark Kermode

360-460: A community square. Work was due to start in 2011 but failed to do so. In March 2012 enabling works for this project (now estimated to cost £130 million) began. On completion the academic building is going to be open 24 hours each day and have facilities for the public as well as provision for the university. It is expected to have a marked effect on the local economy by providing more jobs. A legacy of Hulme's post war council housing has been through

450-508: A decade, they were declared 'unfit for purpose', and several plans were drawn up that suggested various differing types of renovation and renewal for the blocks, including splitting the buildings into smaller, more manageable structures by removing sections. By 1984 the City Council, then landlord abandoned the Crescents entirely after which they became notorious. In the 1980s and 1990s many of these vacant deck-access flats were squatted and

540-522: A mix of council and privately owned housing. One part of Hulme, the Birley Fields (site of the former Birley High School, Chichester Road) has been partly developed for a series of office blocks and partly left as green urban waste land. The blocks house companies such as Michelin and Laing O'Rourke as well as the University of Manchester /IFL/Server Hotel data centre. The development site

630-418: A private balcony. To protect the occupants from noise and provide privacy, the only rooms that faced onto the decks were kitchens and dining rooms and the decks were sufficiently wide to allow milk floats to pass by. These looked onto a landscaped communal area intended for public use, containing play parks and trees were intended to be planted that would conceal the garage floor level and give the impression that

720-515: A rapid slum clearance policy, in Hulme there was resistance to building tower blocks and this led to the building of the mid-rise deck access flats of a "modular" living design. Hulme in the 1960s was an era of "socialist, post-war spirit - reflected across health, education and worker rights". The modernist and brutalist architectural style of the period, as well as practicalities of speed and cost of construction led to building what became known as

810-605: A return to traditional forms of terraced and semi-detached housing. Nevertheless, some former residents formed a housing co-operative, Homes for Change, whose new building purposely replicated the Hulme estate medium-rise construction and communal walkways, known as 'the decks'. Italics denote building under construction Hulme Hulme ( / h j uː m / ) is an inner city area and electoral ward of Manchester , in Greater Manchester , England, immediately south of Manchester city centre . It has

900-578: A significant industrial heritage . Historically in Lancashire , the name Hulme is derived from the Old Norse word for a small island, or land surrounded by water or marsh, indicating that it may have been first settled by Norse invaders in the period of the Danelaw . Hulme was formerly a township in the parish of Manchester , in 1866 Hulme became a separate civil parish , on 26 March 1896

990-583: A spine beam. Each of the 105 ft spans is made out of 14 precast concrete hollow box-units 7 ft 3in long. Freyssinet (named after Eugène Freyssinet ) multi-strand prestressing cables were threaded through ducts in the box sections. Testing of the design was carried on a 1/12th model at the Research Station of the Cement and Concrete Association at Wexham Springs in South Bucks . The design

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1080-562: A two-lane dual carriageway and passes underneath the A56 . Following this, the road widens to three lanes. At the next junction which leads to the A5103 , the road reduces to two lanes and becomes an elevated highway. This section runs atop link roads and two roundabouts before reaching the next junction with the A34 . At this point the road passes through the centre of the campuses of UMIST (now part of

1170-539: A variety of NGOs. Hulme's nearness to the city centre has meant that it has become a popular place to live for a new generation of city dwellers. The area is popular with young professionals who are attracted by apartment prices that are lower than in the city centre and yet within a 15-minute walk of the centre and the university campuses. Local amenities include the Zion Arts Centre, Hulme Community Garden Centre and Hulme Park. Shopping needs are catered for by

1260-551: A ward of the city of Manchester. The district is part of the Manchester Central parliamentary constituency, which is currently represented at Westminster by Lucy Powell MP. Hulme is currently represented on the City Council by councillors Ekua Bayunu (Green), Lee-Ann Igbon (Labour) and Annette Wright (Labour). The ward has elected exclusively Labour councillors since May 2008. In 2017, councillor Amina Lone

1350-602: Is also part of two other roads: the A57 to the west, which runs east–west through Greater Manchester linking the M602 and M67 motorways, and a short section of non-motorway A635 to the east. Part of this non-motorway section collapsed on 14 August 2015 due to a sinkhole . The road forms a major part of the Manchester–Salford Inner Ring Road and runs south of the city centre . Running eastbound, it starts as

1440-518: Is another former Anglican church. It has a tall steeple and a lofty interior. This too has been converted into apartments. The Church of the Ascension in Royce Road was built in 1970 as part of the redevelopment of Hulme. Other Anglican churches which no longer exist (in order of foundation) include: Holy Trinity, Stretford Road (1841); St Mark's, City Road; St Paul's, Stretford Road; St John

1530-571: Is known as Cornbrook from the Corn Brook, a tributary of the River Irwell. The area adjacent to Castlefield is known as St Georges. This area is named after the Church of St George , Chester Road. The Bridgewater Canal passes through Hulme. From the 2001 UK Census results, Office for National Statistics , Neighbourhood Statistics. In 1801 the population of Hulme was only 1677 but it

1620-401: Is known from records of 1246, 1273, 1277, 1285, 1332 and 1339 and del Hulme from 1284. There are other early Hulm(e)s/Holm(e)s from which they might have received their surnames (by Warrington and Lancaster, for example). In 1310 there is a mention of "the manor of Hulm with the appurtenances, near Mamcestre". In 1322 in the records of rents of the lands of the recently executed enemy of

1710-564: The Architects' Journal as " Europe's worst housing stock... hideous system-built deck-access block which gave Hulme its unsavoury reputation. " The Hulme Crescents had implications for new housing in Manchester and signalled the end of the streets in the sky idea popular throughout the 1960s and 1970s in the United Kingdom. After demolition, Hulme was redeveloped in the 1990s with a mix of low-rise to medium-rise housing. In 1945,

1800-662: The 1970s oil crisis meant that heating the poorly insulated homes became too expensive for their low income residents, and the crescents soon became notorious for being cold, damp and riddled with cockroaches and other vermin . Crime and drug abuse became significant problems in Hulme, as police did not patrol the long, often dark decks, due to the fact that they were not officially considered streets. The decks made muggings and burglary relatively easy, as any crime could be carried out in almost total privacy, with no hope for quick assistance from police below. The crescents became troublesome very shortly after their construction—within

1890-488: The Hulme Asbestos Action Group. He died in 2011 of mesothelioma , a type of cancer associated with Asbestos . Manchester City Council admitted limited liability for his death in their role as his landlord. During a Parliamentary Asbestos Seminar, it was estimated that nationally the deaths between 1968 and 2008 had exceeded 110,000. The reputation for anti-social activity that Hulme acquired in

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1980-458: The Hulme Asbestos Action Group. He died in 2011 of mesothelioma , a type of cancer associated with asbestos . Manchester City Council admitted limited liability for his death in their role as his landlord. During a Parliamentary Asbestos Seminar, it was estimated that nationally the deaths between 1968 and 2008 had exceeded 110,000. Hulme was subsequently redeveloped at a cost of £400 million with input from residents, most of whom advocated

2070-532: The Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway , as well as the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company . Thousands of people came to work in the rapidly expanding mills in the city. The number of people living in Hulme multiplied 50-fold during the first half of the 19th century. Housing had to be built rapidly, and space was limited, which resulted in low-quality housing interspersed with

2160-801: The University of Manchester ) and Manchester Metropolitan University . It then runs for around 3 ⁄ 4 mile (1.2 km) before reaching its junction with the A6 which it crosses on a bridge before dropping down to ground level. It then finishes on the A635 and continues eastbound, and also continues to be called the Mancunian Way. The Mancunian Way was conceived to form part of the South East Lancashire and North East Cheshire (SELNEC) Highway Plan of 1962, although similar proposals were developed from 1959. A parliamentary bill to authorise

2250-684: The historic county of Lancashire . Under the terms of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Hulme was in Chorlton Poor Law Union which was established on 3 February 1837 until 1915 and in Manchester Poor Law Union from 1915 until 1930. From 1824 to 1845 commissioners had powers for the improvement of the area of the township, and it became part of the Borough of Manchester in 1838. Hulme is

2340-476: The welfare state . Friedman cites the Crescents as an example of what happens where welfare policy goes even further than his previous example of public housing projects in The Bronx , New York . By 1984, the Crescents had become so undesired by prospective residents that Manchester City Council, which lacked sufficient funds to demolish the housing scheme, stopped charging rents entirely from tenants. However

2430-489: The "cities in the sky". In Hulme, a new and (at the time) innovative design for deck access and tower living was attempted with four blocks, designed for families. This consisted of curved rows of low-rise flats with deck access far above the streets, known as the Hulme Crescents , designed to house 13,000. In this arrangement, vehicles remained on ground level with pedestrians on concrete walkways overhead, above

2520-438: The 1960s a need for high-density housing had become apparent and Hulme with vacant land and housing stock perceived to be outdated was an ideal area for new housing. In 1969, during the housing development, Nikolaus Pevsner wrote of "the biggest redevelopment area of Manchester, many say of England, and some of Europe. At the time of writing whole blocks lie waste, streets are blocked and new streets are made”. The centrepiece of

2610-423: The 1970s and 1980s has declined. The counterculture that the area fostered toward the 1990s survived the redevelopment and is evident in, for example, Hulme Community Garden Centre , a not-for-profit organisation underpinned by organic principles promoting, among other things, sustainability and urban gardening and food production, and Work for Change, a large complex of cooperatives containing artists, theatre, and

2700-541: The 1970s, it was upgraded to motorway status as the A57(M) and the speed limit was raised to 50 mph (80 km/h). At the time of its opening the Manchester Evening News referred to it as the "highway in the sky". The scheme cost was £5.5   million (£126   million in today's figures). In 1992, the westbound junction was rebuilt to replace a temporary flyover , whereby the A56 passed over

2790-459: The 4 terms." In 1324 there is a record of "... ; farm of the land of Geoffrey de Hulme in Hulme which Jordan the dean formerly held in Overhulm and Netherhulm 5 s  ; ..." In 1440 there is a mention of the manor of Hulme and land exchanged for 200 pounds of silver: "Between William de Byrom, Henry de Par and John Hepe, late of Hulme, plaintiffs, and Ralph de Prestwich, deforciant of

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2880-458: The BBC written files archives has shown Hulme Hippodrome was hired as a venue in 1950-1955 on Sunday afternoons to record around 20 radio show titles, including Morecambe & Wise's first series, You're Only Young Once . Hulme had been heavily bombed during World War II and the majority of its housing was privately owned Victorian terraces, most of which were declared unfit and demolished during

2970-577: The Baptist, Emden Street; St Philip's, Chester Street; St Michael's, Lavender Street; St Stephen's, City Road; and St Gabriel's, Erskine Street (1869). The Bishop of Hulme was one of three suffragan bishops in the Diocese of Manchester from 1924 to 2009; the last Bishop of Hulme was Stephen Lowe . In 1986 Viraj Mendis , a Sri Lankan , claimed the right of sanctuary at the Church of the Ascension. He

3060-570: The Ermen & Engels factory in Weaste , Salford, three miles from Hulme though he worked in the firm's offices in Manchester. He made Little Ireland infamous throughout the world as a disastrous slum despite it being relatively short-lived (a little over 30 years) and other areas of Manchester having worse housing, poverty and disease. Little Ireland was a small slum between Oxford Road, the Medlock and

3150-686: The Hulme Shopping Centre, which includes an Asda supermarket and an indoor market. In 2008, following a tenants' vote, the area's remaining council housing stock was transferred to the City South Housing Association along with that of several neighbouring areas. Hulme emerged in the Middle Ages as a township and chapelry, in the ecclesiastical parish of Manchester in the Salford Hundred in

3240-597: The Irwell where they joined. Trafford was placed on the south bank of the Irwell to the south-west, Wordsall across the Irwell to the north-west and Manchester across the Medlock to the north. Hulme Hall was close to the River Irwell on a site near where St George's Church was later built, and the Hulme Barracks were built in 1799. Until the 18th century the area remained agricultural, and pictures from

3330-529: The King and rebel Thomas, Earl of Lancaster , the following are mentioned as in the Wapentake of Salfordshire : "Geoffrey de Hulme holds half a ploughland in Hulme and renders yearly 5 s [hillings]." or, in an alternate version: "Geoffrey de Hulme holds one ploughland in Hulme by the service of 5 s . yearly at the 4 terms for all." and "John le Ware holds one ploughland in Hulme by the service of 5 s . yearly at

3420-474: The Manchester Corporation published the long-term development plan. The development plan described the existing housing stock in Hulme as "Endless rows of grimy houses: no gardens, no parks, no community buildings, no hope.” Manchester Corporation historically refrained from the high-rise residential tower block schemes that were eminent in other British cities such as neighbouring Salford . By

3510-504: The Mancunian Way in the east is part of the A635 , the A57 heading south east from the same junction as the A6, though it states A57(M) on the signage as one enters westbound. Department for Transport documentation states differently, so officially the Mancunian Way consists of two motorways, the A57(M) and the A635(M). Part of the easternmost non-motorway section of Mancunian Way collapsed into

3600-545: The analogy we have made with Georgian London and Bath is entirely valid. By the use of similar shapes and proportions, large-scale building groups and open spaces, and, above all, by skilful landscaping and extensive tree planning, it is our endeavour to achieve at Hulme a solution to the problems of twentieth-century living which would be the equivalent in quality that reached the requirements of eighteenth-century Bloomsbury and Bath." Two years after opening, Manchester City Council deemed The Crescents unsuitable for families and

3690-742: The area acquired a ' bohemian ' reputation for its many punks, artists and musicians. During the late 1980s Viraj Mendis , an asylum seeker from Sri Lanka , sought the right of sanctuary in the Church of the Ascension in Hulme and remained there until arrested in January 1989. (For further information, see below, Religion; Church of England) The decision was made in the early 1990s to demolish Hulme's crescent blocks and replace them with low-rise flats and houses. The total amount of public and private money spent on improving Hulme and neighbouring Moss Side between 1990 and 2002 has exceeded £400 million. The area by then had become popular and desirable, containing

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3780-445: The atmosphere is poisoned by the effluvia from these, and laden and darkened by the smoke of a dozen tall factory chimneys. A horde of ragged women and children swarm about here, as filthy as the swine that thrive upon the garbage heaps and in the puddles." Reinforcement of the Medlock to protect the factories raised the level of the river above the surrounding residential hovels leading to frequent flooding with filthy river water. Hulme

3870-538: The balcony ledge by putting a foot in the aperture and lifting themselves onto the ledge. In 1974 this flaw came to a head when a five-year-old child died after falling from a balcony. After the incident, a petition was launched and was signed by 643 residents who wished to be rehoused. Manchester City Council agreed to re-house families from The Crescents and the flats were offered to students and all-adult households. The new Mancunian Way flyover and Princess Parkway road left residents feeling isolated and "cut off" from

3960-478: The buildings floated at first floor level. Similar to the Park Hill model, the estate was to contain shops, churches and public amenities to ensure that the population could exist free from traffic. Each crescent was named after a distinguished architect – Adam , Nash , Barry and Kent – a decision which appeared seriously misjudged after the failings of the Crescents surfaced. Womersley said: "We feel that

4050-523: The church and arrested Mendis, which led to questions in the House of Commons . He was deported to Sri Lanka and his fears did not materialize. Mancunian Way The Mancunian Way is a two mile long grade separated elevated motorway in Manchester , England. It is officially made up of the A57(M) and A635(M) motorways, although the latter does not appear on road signs for practical reasons. It

4140-656: The construction of the Mancunian Way was proposed and approved in 1961. During its design it was known as Link Road 17/7. The scheme lies over the geological West Manchester Fault. It would be the first elevated main road to be built outside London , and the UK's second aerial motorway after the Hammersmith flyover . The road is 3,232 ft (985 m) long and has 28 spans of 105 ft (32 m), and two spans of 60 ft (18 m). The spans are made out of precast concrete , with hollow box-units post-tensioned to form

4230-612: The corner of Ellesmere Street, dates from c1870. The foundation stone of the first school erected by the Manchester School Board was laid in Vine Street, Hulme, on 11 June 1874 by Herbert Birley, chairman of the board, and the school was opened on 9 August 1875. Other board schools in Hulme were at Hamer Street (1872), Zion Chapel (1875), Lloyd Street (1878), Mulberry Street (1881), Upper Jackson Street (1883), Bangor Street (1886) and Duke Street (1890). In 1913 it

4320-470: The council did still provide electricity to the building to those who needed it. The Crescents became an eclectic place for various subculture groups such as bohemians, criminals and squatters . Unwanted by the council, occupants resorted to altering The Crescents themselves. A recording studio called The Kitchen —"a dive ... a very basic derelict concrete room with nothing in there", created from three knocked-through flats—attracted many musicians from 1986; it

4410-476: The deadly effects of Asbestos dust. John Shiers , a campaigner and later a leading figure in Save The Children had moved to council housing in Hulme in the late 1970s, where he discovered he and thousands of his neighbours council properties were riddled with Asbestos. He had been one of the first to speak out about the asbestos in the properties, he campaigned for change and was a founding member of

4500-518: The deadly effects of asbestos dust. John Shiers , a campaigner and later a leading figure in Save the Children , had moved to council housing in Hulme in the late 1970s, where he discovered his and thousands of his neighbours' council properties were riddled with asbestos. He had been one of the first to speak out about the asbestos in the properties, he campaigned for change and was a founding member of

4590-477: The designs of Francis Goodwin in 1826–27 and has a tall tower and a fine galleried interior. It was once the garrison church for the nearby barracks as well as being the parish church of Hulme and the graveyard has many interesting gravestones. The church was consecrated on 9 December 1828 by the Bishop of Chester, Dr John Bird Sumner, who later became Archbishop of Canterbury. The total cost of building St Georges

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4680-491: The earliest example in the city and in the county of Lancashire. Records of association games in the 1860s and 1870s exist with the club surviving into the early 1870s. In the 1860s, as Hulme became more established, new facilities sprang up. Municipal buildings were developed on Stretford Road, including the Town Hall, baths and public library, and Chorlton Union Workhouse on Leaf Street. The former Turville Public House, on

4770-411: The early 20th century transport in Hulme was improved when the existing horse bus services were replaced by electric trams. These services connected Hulme with the suburbs further south, Moss Side , Whalley Range and Chorlton-cum-Hardy . Boston Street and Preston Street carried complementary single lines of track southwards from Jackson Street. From 1949 the tram services were withdrawn and replaced by

4860-399: The housing scheme became adult-only. The decks had intended to be streets in the sky where neighbours would see one another and children could play unsupervised. Serious design flaws such as thick concrete balconies prevented residents from seeing one another. Worst of all, the balconies had a horizontal aperture which allowed curious children to climb onto the balcony ledge. Children climbed

4950-568: The issue and meant that treating ducts with pesticide to remove the cockroaches was practically impossible due to the dangers of removing asbestos. The long list of failures gave the Crescents national notoriety. In 1975, just three years after opening, a survey was conducted which found 96.3% of residents wanted to leave the Crescents and be re-housed. In 1978, the Granada Television investigative programme World in Action questioned

5040-529: The manor of Hulme with the appurtenances, and of 9 messuages, 300 acres of land, 100 acres of meadow, 500 acres of pasture, and 100 acres of wood in Mamcestre, Crompton and Oldom . Hulme was evidenced as a separate community south of the River Medlock from Manchester in 15th century map prints. Christopher Saxton included Holme in his map of Lancashire of 1577 on the south banks of the Medlock and

5130-533: The motorbuses of Manchester Corporation Transport. Two existing conjoined theatres were built in Hulme, the Hulme Hippodrome and The Playhouse, opening in 1901 and 1902 respectively. The Playhouse was later used as a BBC studio for 30 years (1955-1986) and for a short time opened as the Nia Centre (1991-1997) but closed due to financial problems. It currently is run by Niamos CIC . Hulme Hippodrome

5220-710: The myriad smoking chimneys of the mills and the railway. Reports of the time suggest that at times the air quality became so poor that poisonous fumes and smoke literally "blocked out the sun" for long periods. In the Irish Poor Report of 1836 the Deputy Constable of the Township of Manchester, Joseph Sadler Thomas, found that the Irish were so fiercely neighbourly in Little Ireland (located on

5310-583: The new housing development would be the Hulme Crescents. The Crescents were designed by Hugh Wilson and J. L. Womersley – the latter was in charge of the delivery of Park Hill flats in Sheffield in the 1960s and the much-maligned Manchester Arndale retail development in the 1970s. The housing scheme consisted of four south-facing u-shaped blocks, seven storeys high. Each block contained a variety of flats, from one to five bedrooms in size, each with

5400-495: The other side of the River Medlock, just north of Hulme Ward) and the larger Irish area of Angel Meadow (north-east of Victoria Station , on the other side of central Manchester from Hulme) that: "if a legal execution of any kind is to be made, either for rent or debt, or for taxes, the officer who serves the process almost always applies to me for assistance to protect him; and, in affording that protection, my officers are often maltreated by brickbats and other missiles". Hulme Hall

5490-476: The parish was abolished to form South Manchester . In 1891 the parish had a population of 71,96. Hulme derives its name from the Old Norse holmr, holmi , through Old Danish hulm or hulme meaning small islands or land surrounded by streams, fen or marsh. The area may have fitted this description at the time of the Scandinavian invasion and settlement as it is surrounded by water on three sides by

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5580-416: The railway serving Oxford Road Station , mainly inhabited by Irish immigrant workers. Described at length by Engels, he estimated that there was one inaccessible privy for every 120 residents. "The cottages are old, dirty and of the smallest sort, the streets uneven, fallen into ruts and in part without drains or pavement; masses of refuse, offal and sickening filth lie among standing pools in all directions;

5670-577: The rest of the city. The feeling persisted for decades and the Hulme Arch Bridge , built in 1997, aimed to re-establish this link to the city. Police did not patrol the upper decks despite the intention of streets in the sky and quick responses to incidents was often complicated by the scale of the estate, which totalled over a quarter of a mile of passageways. Responses to emergencies were also complicated by faulty lifts which had been described as "usually filthy" even when in service. Construction

5760-488: The rivers Irwell , Medlock and Corn Brook. Ekwall suggested that the considerable number of Danish names to the south and south-west of Manchester, unparalleled in the rest of Lancashire, pointed to a Danish colony on the north bank of the Mersey . Ouerholm and Noranholm were recorded in 1226 and Norholm in 1227. These are thought to be variations of Overhulm and Netherhulm, although recorded earlier. The surname de Hulm

5850-436: The roller bearings upon which the elevated roadway sits. However, the first time these bearings were serviced, the fairings were removed and never replaced. This leaves the poorer appearance seen today and also allows the ingress of dirt to the bearings. Leonard Fairclough & Son were the contractors, and the prestressed concrete sections were made at its operations in Adlington , Lancashire. The contractor's site compound

5940-440: The smoke and fumes of the street. People living in the new post war council homes were, within a decade treated as second class citizens. High-density housing was balanced with large green spaces and trees below, and the pedestrian had priority on the ground over cars. The 1960s redevelopment of Hulme split the area's new council housing into a number of sections. Hulme 2 was the area between Jackson Crescent and Royce Road. Hulme 3

6030-451: The suitability of Hulme Crescent. The Guardian described the development as "a morass in which design faults and tenants' revulsion at their environment have combined to produce a staggering number of maintenance demands and angry howls of neglect". In 1980 economist Milton Friedman visited the Crescents in the fourth episode of his documentary series Free to Choose . The Crescents' residents were used as an example for his critique of

6120-433: The things bemoaned as deleterious to family life . . . the complexity of the blocks, the noise and sense of height, the lack of a feeling of 'ownership' in the communal areas" turned out to be "perfect" for a different sort of tenant, Manchester's young bohemians, who relished the estate's air of decaying modernism. By the early 80s, it had an art house cinema, club nights run by the soon-to-be-famous Factory Records , and even

6210-426: The time show an idyllic scene of crops, sunshine and country life. The area remained entirely rural until the Bridgewater Canal was cut and the Industrial Revolution swept economic change through the neighbouring district of Castlefield where the Duke of Bridgewater's canal terminated, and containerised transportation of coal and goods rose as an industry to support the growing textile industries of Manchester. It

6300-486: The time, the " Crescents " won several design awards. They were also popular because they were some of the first council homes in Manchester to have central heating. The development even had some notable first occupants, such as Nico and Alain Delon . However, what eventually turned out to be recognised as poor design, workmanship and maintenance meant that the crescents introduced their own problems. Design flaws and unreliable 'system build' construction methods, as well as

6390-452: Was a variety theatre until 1960, then as a bingo hall followed by being a social club and snooker hall until 1988. After being dark for 15 years it was purchased by the controversial religious charity, Gilbert Deya Ministries in 2003. It was sold to a property developer in November 2020 and is currently shuttered and in poor repair. A campaign group exists, Save Hulme Hippodrome . Both theatres are Grade 2 listed buildings. Recent research in

6480-509: Was also described by Engels: "the more thickly built-up regions chiefly bad and approaching ruin, the less populous of more modern structure, but generally sunk in filth." Large numbers of Irish immigrants settled in Hulme, and in various other districts of Manchester. The Tithe award for Hulme was made in 1854. In 1863 members of the Hulme Athenaeum club for working men established an association football club, believed to be

6570-409: Was an active supporter of Sri Lanka Tamils and claimed danger of death if he was sent back to Sri Lanka. After a march to protest against deportation on 20 December 1986, he ran into the church and claimed the right of sanctuary . He stayed there for two years with the help of the rector John Methuen . The church became the focus of the "Viraj Mendis Defence Campaign". On 18 January 1989 police raided

6660-591: Was between Princess Road and Boundary Road based along the pedestrianised Epping Walk, Hulme 4 was between Princess Road and Royce Road and Hulme 5 - the " Crescents " themselves were between Royce Road and Rolls Crescent. The names of the " Crescents " harked back to the Georgian era , being named after architects of that time: Robert Adam Crescent, Charles Barry Crescent, William Kent Crescent and John Nash Crescent, together with Hawksmoor Close (a small straight block of similar design attached to Charles Barry Crescent). At

6750-480: Was blocked from standing in the seat again by her party, while Nigel Murphy was de-selected by the Hulme constituency party before the postponed 2020 elections.   indicates seat up for re-election.   indicates seat won in by-election.   indicates councillor changed party. Hulme is south of Manchester city centre, beyond the River Medlock . The part of Hulme nearest to Old Trafford

6840-413: Was burgled so often he had a security door fitted—it was taken off its hinges and stolen. "Violence, muggings, poverty" were rife. In 1991, the government provided Manchester with £31 million to revive housing stock. It was decided that a tabula rasa approach was required and the entire Hulme Crescents were demolished from 1993 to 1995. A legacy of Hulmes post war council housing has been through

6930-494: Was carried out in two phases: the first stage involved the construction of a dual carriageway of 2,850 ft (870 m) to the east of the A6 road in November 1963 and was opened to traffic as part of the A635 road in November 1965. The second stage was the construction, from December 1964, of a 0.6 mi (0.97 km) long elevated highway of a motorway standard which ran between the A6 and A56 roads. The second stage

7020-510: Was demolished in 1840 with the construction of the Bridgewater Canal. By 1844, the situation had grown so serious that Manchester Borough Council had to pass a law banning further building. However, the thousands of "slum" homes that were already built continued to be lived in, and many were still in use into the first half of the 20th century. Friedrich Engels was the heir of a German cotton manufacturer who had come to work for

7110-622: Was in Loxford Street. The piling was completed by Pigott Foundations of Ormskirk with auger (screw) boring with reinforcement cages. The piling went 50 ft (15 m) deep through the boulder clay to the Bunter sandstone ( Buntsandstein ). The road on the structure and kerbing was built by Wilson and Wilkinson of Worsley in Salford. The Mancunian Way was officially opened by Prime Minister , Harold Wilson , on 5 May 1967. In

7200-433: Was in an early stage of development during the 1970s. The architects proposed underfloor heating in the proposal stages in the late 1960s and The Crescents were completed by 1972. However the architects did not foresee the 1973 oil crisis and consequently many tenants could not afford the heating costs. Pest infestation was a problem from the outset due to serious failures in the construction and design process. The subsoil

7290-474: Was later operated as a late night club, described as a "much wilder alternative" to the nearby Haçienda club. Creative residents proceeded to put their own stamp on the building and covered the dreary grey concrete surfaces in graffiti. In the book A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain (2010), Owen Hatherley said that the sense of dereliction made The Crescents a breeding ground for creativity. "All

7380-627: Was made by the consulting engineers G Maunsell & Partners , who had designed the similar Hammersmith flyover in 1961. The company was known for prestressed concrete flyovers. The design received a Concrete Society award. The designer of the bridges would go on to design the Westway dual carriageway in London, which opened as the A40(M) in July 1970, losing its motorway status in 2000. The construction

7470-418: Was not cleansed from pest infestation before construction of the Crescents. Cockroaches were prevalent in the undamp-proofed slum houses due to the high water and moisture availability. The Crescents were district heated with long ducts linking flats together. Cockroaches and mice thrived on the warmth and ducts provided a constant source of food in waste areas. The use of asbestos in construction compounded

7560-472: Was open to traffic as part of the A57 road in March 1967. The previous day it was opened to pedestrians, who were allowed to walk the whole of the high-level route as a sight-seeing publicity exercise. Many people brought picnics which they ate in the centre of the carriageway. At that time, the construction specifications had included cosmetic fairings to the tops of the support piers. These completely enclosed

7650-523: Was rushed, building techniques were improperly understood and not sufficiently applied. Furthermore, the collapse of Ronan Point in London following a gas explosion had led to gas heating being discontinued in high rise accommodation and the occupants could no longer afford to heat their homes. The resultant damp coupled with inadequate sewage system attracted vermin and the flats were no longer fit for inhabitation. The Crescents, therefore, were not heated by radiators – but by advanced underfloor heating which

7740-431: Was said "It is probable that in no northern city is the divergence between classes so marked as it is becoming in Manchester. Among the 80,000 inhabitants, for example, of Hulme, the poorest and most neglected district of the city, is to be found only a tiny minority of persons of much education and refinement, these being with rare exceptions doctors, or ministers of the various religious denominations, and their wives" In

7830-404: Was the largest of the townships surrounding Manchester. By 1831 it had increased to 9624 and then there was a greater increase to 26,982 by 1841 and roughly doubling again by 1851. The peak number was reached in 1871 when it was 74,731 and the next 30 years saw some decline to 66,916 in 1901. The Church of St George, Chester Road, Hulme , a Commissioners' Church , was an Anglican church built to

7920-569: Was the subject of a campaign by a group of Hulme residents which delayed the clearance of the site and the felling of a large tree. The "Birley Tree" was a 110-year-old Black Poplar . In 2009, Manchester Metropolitan University announced plans for the redevelopment of Birley Fields as the site of a new £120 million campus. The proposed scheme, relocating the Faculties of Education and Health, would include new academic buildings, student accommodation for approximately 1,200 students, car parking and

8010-544: Was this supply of cheap coal from the Duke's mines at Worsley that allowed the textile industry of Manchester to grow. The Industrial Revolution brought development to the area, and jobs to the poor, carrying coal from the 'starvationers' (very narrow canal boats), to be carted off along Deansgate . Many cotton mills and railway links to Hulme soon followed, with the town served by the Mid-Cheshire line railway and

8100-539: Was £20,000 of which sum Parliament, through the Church Commissioners paid nearly £15000 the rest was found by private donors and charitable bodies. The height of the tower to the top of its spires was 135 ft making it the highest in Manchester at the time. The first incumbent was Revd. Joshua Lingard M.A. After being derelict for many years it has been converted to residential use. St Mary's Church , Chichester Road (architect J. S. Crowther , 1856–58)

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