104-591: The O 2 Victoria Warehouse is a live music venue in Old Trafford , Greater Manchester , England. The venue is made up of two storage warehouses used during the early to mid-20th century. It was redeveloped as a music venue in 2012 and given its current name in 2018. The venue is on the banks of the Bridgewater Canal in Old Trafford, behind a stone quay. The premises began construction in
208-471: A 60.3% share of the vote. In 2022, Green resigned after being nominated deputy mayor of Greater Manchester; her successor was Andrew Western , who won the by-election with a majority of 9,906, representing a swing of 11% from the Conservatives . The topography of Trafford Park is either flat or gently undulating, about 144 feet (44 m) above sea level at its highest point. The local bedrock
312-552: A Chinese Medical Centre is on Ayres Road. For many years the numerous Polish community had a focal point in their ex-servicemen's club on Shrewsbury Street, now no longer there. Old Trafford is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford, and the Church of England Diocese of Manchester. Along with the rest of Trafford, Old Trafford maintains a selective education system assessed by the 11-plus examination. There
416-653: A company set up to administer 38 acres (15 ha) of land bought from the de Trafford Trustees on which it was intended to build a garden village. In 1929 the Ship Canal Company acquired Dumplington Estates, and in return gave the Estates Company land to the south of Barton, the Trafford Park Extension. The Canal Company recognised the potential for a new dock on the land, giving the area its name of Barton Dock Estate, although no dock
520-436: A decline in these numbers soon afterwards due to a fresh recession, the area was recovering well a decade later with economic growth re-established and unemployment reduced. Until the industrial development of the park began in the late 19th century, much of the area now known as Trafford Park was a "beautifully timbered deer park". Its 1,183 acres (479 ha) comprised flat meadows and grassland, and an inner park containing
624-546: A feature of the area for over a century. Irish immigrants settled in the locality from the 1880s, coming to Manchester to work on the ship canal . Polish and east European migrants arrived during and after the Second World War. The Afro-Caribbean community arrived and settled in the 1950s and 1960s. People from the Indian sub-continent started to arrive during the 1960s but settled in more significant numbers from
728-503: A few days of operation there was an accident in which a tramcar was derailed, and the service was suspended until the following year. The tram's maximum speed was 12 miles per hour (19 km/h), and their distinctive exhaust smell quickly earned them the nickname "Lamp Oil Express". The service was operated by the British Gas Traction Company , which paid a share of its takings to the Estates Company, but by 1899
832-514: A five-year lease. A polo ground was set up in the park in 1902, and 80 acres (32 ha) of land near the hall were leased to the Manchester Golf Club, who laid out a three-mile (4.8 km) long course. The club moved from Trafford Park to a new site at Hopwood Park in 1912. All of the open-field land uses were subsequently pushed out by industry. In 1908 the Estates Company decided to reverse its earlier policy of only leasing
936-462: A high start-up rate for businesses and low rates of unemployment in the area. As of 2008, there were 1,400 companies within the park employing an estimated 35,000 people. The eastern area of the park, where the first developments took place at the end of the 19th century, was then under the local government control of Stretford Urban District ; the west was controlled by the urban district of Barton-upon-Irwell . Tensions soon began to emerge between
1040-469: A lengthy stretch of disused track. Trafford Park Aerodrome was Manchester's first purpose-built airfield, laid out on a site between Trafford Park Road, Mosley Road, and Ashburton Road. The first aircraft landed there on 7 July 1911, flown from Liverpool by Henry G. Melly. The aerodrome was in use until the early years of the First World War, and possibly until 1918, when it was replaced by
1144-517: A merger with Stretford UDC , on the basis that Stretford's growth was due in large part to Trafford Park, the growth of which in turn was largely due to the Manchester Ship Canal. Manchester Corporation had provided one-third of the capital needed to build the ship canal, for which it had doubled its municipal debt, despite having also increased rates by 26 per cent between 1892 and 1895. Stretford and Lancashire County Council opposed
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#17327909648691248-467: A new Salford and The Quays constituency, along with some other wards from Salford. At the subsequent public enquiry in November 2005, Beverley Hughes opposed the change, as well as an alternative proposal to create a constituency of Salford and Old Trafford. The Boundary Commission rejected Trafford Council's proposals, noting that there was "strong opposition to the creation of a constituency that crossed
1352-482: A smaller scale, notably by the railways ( Trafford Park shed alone had over 300 staff), Duerr's Jams, Vimto , Arkady Soya Mill and Ludwig Oppenheimer Mosaics. The Royal Army Medical Corps and the Territorial Army have well-established bases in the area. Slum clearances during the 1960s and early 1970s saw some of the old Victorian housing stock demolished. However, after the perceived failure of
1456-537: A tree-lined avenue leading from an entrance lodge at Barton-upon-Irwell . It was the ancestral estate of the de Trafford family , one of the most ancient in England, and then one of the largest landowners in Stretford. The family acquired the lands around Trafford in about 1200, when Richard de Trafford was given the lordship of Stretford by Hamon de Massey , 4th Baron of Dunham. Some time between 1672 and 1720,
1560-814: A wedding licence in August 2015. On 14 May 2015, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer , George Osborne , gave a speech at the venue entitled "Building a Northern Powerhouse " and covered the government's proposed redevelopment of cities in Northern England. The venue was renamed the O₂ Victoria Warehouse as part of a longstanding deal between Live Nation Entertainment who own Academy Music Group, and O₂ . The venue has attracted several major music artists, including Thom Yorke , Sam Fender and Lizzo . In October 2019, following noise complaints at
1664-457: Is Triassic Bunter Sandstone , overlaid by sand and gravel deposited during the last ice age , around 10,000 years ago. There are some areas of peat bog in the west of the park, in the area formerly known as Trafford Moss. In 1793, William Roscoe began work on reclaiming the bog, and by 1798 that work was sufficiently advanced for him to turn his attention to the task of reclaiming the much larger Chat Moss in nearby Salford, also owned by
1768-526: Is also known as Old Trafford , is close by. The ground of the Northern Lawn Tennis Club was in Old Trafford from 1882 to 1909 (near the cricket ground): this is commemorated in the name of Tennis Street. The move to West Didsbury in 1909 was prompted by the industrialisation of Trafford Park and consequent air pollution. The half-timbered pavilion was dismantled and re-erected at the new ground. Famous people who were born or lived in
1872-465: Is located two miles (3.2 km) south-west of Manchester city centre in the historic county of Lancashire . The area represents the north-eastern tip of the parliamentary constituency of Stretford and Urmston . It is roughly delineated by two old toll gates: Brooks' Bar and Trafford Bar , to the east and west. Old Trafford is the site of Old Trafford Cricket Ground , home of Lancashire County Cricket Club , and Old Trafford football stadium ,
1976-417: Is only one secondary school in Old Trafford; a private, female-only, Muslim secondary school but there are three primary schools within the area. Old Trafford has been the site of Lancashire County Cricket Club 's Old Trafford stadium since 1857. Before the club's formation, in 1864, it had been the home of Manchester Cricket Club , who had moved here in 1856. Manchester United F.C. 's ground, which
2080-469: Is open to the elements. It has a viewing platform about 95 feet (29 m) high, offering views across Salford and the Quays towards Manchester city centre. The museum houses two extensive exhibition spaces. The largest is dedicated to the permanent exhibition covering conflicts from 1900 to the present day, and the other space is used for special exhibitions. The 11-acre (4.5 ha) Trafford Ecology Park
2184-430: Is what remains of Trafford Park's ornamental boating lake. Boating continued on the lake until the 1930s, but by then its water had become polluted by asbestos and oil seepage from the neighbouring Anglo American Oil depot. During the Second World War the site was used as a tip for foundry waste. Esso bought the land in 1974, and levelled and partly seeded it, to improve the frontage to its own site. Trafford council bought
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#17327909648692288-559: The Caribbean and Southeast Asia; its Catholic church, St. Alphonsus, frequented by a predominantly Irish congregation, the vibrant and busy St John's Community Centre and Shizhan House, the Chinese Medicine Centre, on the site of the old Vimto offices. Something of this atmosphere is evoked by Manchester poet Lemn Sissay in his poem Ayres Road . Only 45% of the residents of Clifford ward (the ward that contains
2392-777: The Cooperative Wholesale Society (CWS), bought land at Trafford Wharf and set up a large food-packing factory and a flour mill. Other companies arriving at about the same time included Kilverts ( lard manufacturers), the Liverpool Warehousing Company, and Lancashire Dynamo & Crypto Ltd. The second major American company to set up a manufacturing base in Trafford Park was the Ford Motor Company , in 1911. Initially Ford used its factory as an assembly plant for
2496-789: The Lancashire Fusiliers . Rebecca Long-Bailey , MP for Salford and Eccles and Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury was born in Trafford. Trafford Park Trafford Park is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford , Greater Manchester , England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal , 3.4 miles (5.5 km) southwest of Manchester city centre and 1.3 miles (2.1 km) north of Stretford . Until
2600-672: The Manchester Blitz of December 1940. On the night of 23 December 1940, the Metropolitan-Vickers aircraft factory in Mosley Road was badly damaged, with the loss of the first 13 MV-built Avro Manchester bombers in final assembly. The new Ford factory producing aircraft engines was bombed only a few days after its opening in May 1941. Trafford Hall was severely damaged by bombing, and was demolished shortly after
2704-522: The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford . As of 2010, most of the park is in Stretford, in the Gorse Hill ward of Trafford, while Dumplington is in the Davyhulme East ward and forms the northern tip of Urmston. Since 1997, Trafford Park has been in the constituency of Stretford and Urmston . In the 2019 United Kingdom general election , incumbent Labour MP Kate Green was re-elected with
2808-451: The Model T , although other vehicles were assembled there in later years, before moving to a new factory at Dagenham , Essex , in 1931. By 1915, 100 American companies had moved into the park, peaking at more than 200 by 1933. When the cotton industry began to decline in the early 20th century, Trafford Park and the Manchester Ship Canal helped Manchester – and to a lesser extent
2912-703: The Rolls-Royce Merlin engines used to power the Spitfire , Hurricane , Mosquito and the Lancaster. The engines were made by Ford, under licence. The 17,316 workers employed in Ford's purpose-built factory had produced 34,000 engines by the war's end. The facility was designed in two separate sections to minimise the impact of bomb damage on production. The wood-working factory of F. Hills & Sons built more than 800 Percival Proctor aircraft for
3016-508: The Trafford Park Development Corporation was formed to assume responsibility for a 3,130 acres (12.7 km ) Urban Development Area that included not only Trafford Park but also parts of Stretford, Salford Quays, and the former steelworks at Irlam , now known as Northbank. Of the four redevelopment schemes undertaken by the corporation one, Wharfside, included 200 acres (81 ha) of the eastern end of
3120-441: The development corporation attracted 1,000 companies, generating 28,299 new jobs and £1.759 billion of private sector investment. The setting up of the corporation was intended to end on 31 March 1997, but it was extended until March 1998, when responsibility for Trafford Park's development passed to Trafford Council. The park is once again a major centre of employment in Trafford, and its regeneration has led to
3224-578: The 12,000 workers working in the park, which became one of the most important engineering facilities in Britain. Trafford Park was a major supplier of materiel in the First and Second World Wars, producing the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines used to power both the Spitfire and the Lancaster . At its peak in 1945, an estimated 75,000 workers were employed in the park. Employment began to decline in
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3328-544: The 1920s by the Liverpool Warehousing Company as a storage facility for the city, with the two warehouses opening in 1925 and 1927, respectively. The site covered 300,000 square feet (28,000 m). It was later used for food storage, before being largely destroyed by fire in 1980. In 1982, a mural by Walter Kershaw was drawn on the storage buildings, showing the industries in Trafford Park, as well as players from nearby Manchester United F.C. It
3432-443: The 1960s as companies closed in favour of newer, more efficient plants elsewhere. By 1967 employment had fallen to 50,000, and the decline continued throughout the 1970s, when difficult economic conditions were pushing up unemployment nationally. The new generation of container ships was too large for the Manchester Ship Canal, which led to a further decline in Trafford Park's fortunes. The workforce had fallen to 15,000 by 1976, and by
3536-448: The 1960s employment in the park began to decline as companies closed their premises in favour of newer, more efficient plants elsewhere. Ellesmere Port and Runcorn at the western end of the Manchester Ship Canal were in the ascendency industrially and they overtook Trafford Park in economic importance. In 1967, employment had fallen to 50,000 and there was a further decline in the 1970s. In 1971, Stretford Council responded by setting up
3640-480: The 1970s The Village was also considered by Stretford Council to be a slum area, and unsuitable for residential housing. In the first phase of clearance, during the mid-1970s, 298 houses were demolished. A further 325 houses were demolished in the early 1980s, leaving only the largest 84 houses remaining. The Imperial War Museum North , opened on 5 July 2002, is in Trafford Wharf, on the southern edge of
3744-474: The 1980s - in the wake of another recession - industry had virtually disappeared from the park. The Trafford Park Urban Development Corporation, formed in 1987, reversed the estate's decline. In the 11 years of its existence, the park attracted 1,000 companies, generating 28,299 new jobs and £1.759 billion of private-sector investment. By 2008, there were 1,400 companies within Trafford Park, employing an estimated 35,000 people. Despite
3848-470: The 1980s onwards. Old Trafford is among the 10% most deprived areas in England, suffering problems of unemployment, poor housing and low educational achievement. It also has levels of youth crime well above the national average. Ayres Road and its environs are the heart of modern-day Old Trafford and a walk down this road gives a real flavour of the multi-cultural nature of the neighbourhood, with its variety of grocers' shops selling food stuffs from Europe ,
3952-530: The 19th century. The southern boundary, the Black Brook, was culverted at about the same time, under Upper Chorlton Road. Some small anomalies due to the brook's underground route were not amended until the late 1980s. Old Trafford makes up the northeastern tip of Trafford and adjoins St. Georges, Hulme , Whalley Range and Moss Side – all of which are in the City of Manchester – and Ordsall to
4056-424: The Estates Company also operated a horse-drawn bus for the use of gentlemen staying at Trafford Hall, then a hotel. The service, available 24 hours a day, was replaced by a motor car in 1907. Under an 1898 agreement between the Estates Company and the Ship Canal Company, the latter committed to carry freight on their dock railway between the docks and the park and to the construction of a permanent connection between
4160-514: The Estates Company and Stretford Council over the provision of local services and infrastructure. In 1902, W. T. Glover & Co, a cable manufacturing company that had moved to the park from nearby Salford , built a power station next to their works to supply electricity to the rest of the park; the Estates Company had previously approached Manchester Corporation, but Stretford would not allow another local authority to supply electricity within its area. In 1901 Manchester Corporation formally proposed
4264-634: The Manchester Ship Canal and ... that the Canal provided a clearly identifiable boundary which should not be breached". Old Trafford borders Firswood , Gorse Hill and Trafford Park . The area is effectively a peninsula, with its northern boundary the River Irwell, now canalised into the Manchester Ship Canal, and to the east a tributary of the Irwell, the Cornbrook, culverted as the area grew in
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4368-475: The Manchester Ship Canal, which opened in 1894, its northeastern and northwestern. Hooley's plan was to develop the Ship Canal frontage, but the canal was slow to generate the predicted volume of traffic, so in the early days the park was largely used for leisure activities such as golf, polo and boating. British Westinghouse was the first major company to move in, and by 1903 it was employing about half of
4472-568: The RAF between 1940 and 1945, which were flight tested at the nearby Barton Aerodrome . Other companies produced gun bearings, steel tracks for Churchill tanks , munitions, Bailey bridges , and much else. ICI built and operated the first facility in the UK able to produce penicillin in quantity. As an important industrial area, Trafford Park was frequently bombed by the Luftwaffe , particularly during
4576-544: The Second World War. Following the lead of its American counterpart, Metropolitan Vickers set up Manchester's and one of the UK's first radio stations at their factory in 1921. The station's first broadcast took place on 17 May 1922. In October that year the company was one of six who formed the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), which started broadcasting from the Metrovicks studio under
4680-465: The Second World War. On 7 May 1896, Sir Humphrey Francis de Trafford put the 1,183-acre (479 ha) estate up for auction, but it failed to reach its reported reserve price of £300,000 (£43.8 million as of 2024). There was much public debate, before and after the abortive sale, as to whether Manchester Corporation ought to buy Trafford Park, but the corporation could not agree terms quickly enough, and so on 23 June Ernest Terah Hooley became
4784-502: The Trafford Park Industrial Council (TRAFIC), membership of which was open to any firm in Trafford Park. One of TRAFIC's early initiatives was to encourage businesses in the park to address the general air of decay, by improving their own areas through landscaping and other environmental improvements. The park's decline was exacerbated by the decreasing use of the Manchester Ship Canal during the 1970s, which
4888-667: The Trafford Picture House in Talbot Road. Three of the buildings have survived, although not now operated as cinemas. The Imperial opened in 1913, and for a brief period in the 1970s it became an Asian films cinema. It closed in 1979, and the building is now occupied by a timber and ironmongery business. The premises occupied by The Globe were originally part of the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company 's horse-drawn tramway depot. The cinema closed in
4992-415: The Trafford family. The park occupies an area of 4.7 square miles (12 km ), and is almost entirely surrounded by water. The Bridgewater Canal forms its southeastern and southwestern boundaries, and the Manchester Ship Canal forms its northeastern and northwestern boundaries. Trafford Park is the most northerly area of Trafford, and faces Salford across the Manchester Ship Canal. Stretford lies to
5096-431: The altar and a stained glass window from the chapel at Trafford Hall, donated by Lady Annette de Trafford. The Village's design attracted criticism from the start; the streets were narrow, with few gardens, and the whole development was close to the pollution of the neighbouring industries. In that respect it resembled the terraced properties in the surrounding areas, many of which were condemned as slums in later years. By
5200-559: The area include political and social activist Sylvia Pankhurst , singer Ian Curtis of Joy Division and his wife, the author Deborah Curtis , artist L. S. Lowry , aviator John Alcock , Dodie Smith , the author of 101 Dalmatians . Old Trafford also produced two Victoria Cross winners in the First World War : Charles Coverdale , a sergeant in the Manchester Regiment , and James Marshall , an officer in
5304-496: The area's population, significantly above the less than 1% average for Trafford and England. To further add to the religious mix there is also a Buddhist temple, the Fo Kang Shang Buddhist Temple, although Buddhists are recorded as making up only 0.2% of the area's population, roughly the same proportion as for Jews. The former library on Stretford Road has been converted into a Chinese Cultural Centre, and
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#17327909648695408-461: The call sign 2ZY on 15 November 1922. Much of the station's content was musical, but news, plays, and children's programmes were also transmitted. Conditions in the small 30-by-16-foot (9.1 m × 4.9 m) studio were cramped, and the BBC moved the station to larger premises outside the park in 1923. Sir Humphrey de Trafford had retained 1,300 acres (530 ha) of land on the western side of
5512-515: The company was in serious financial difficulty, and entered voluntary liquidation. Salford Corporation then refused to provide any more gas for the trams, and the service was once again suspended until the Estates Company bought the entire operation for £2,000 in 1900. A separate electric tramway was installed in 1903, and was taken over and operated by Manchester and Salford Corporations in 1905. The gas trams continued to run until 1908, when they were replaced by steam locomotives. Between 1904 and 1907
5616-413: The de Traffords moved from the home they had occupied since 1017, in what is now known as Old Trafford , to what was then called Whittleswick Hall, which they renamed Trafford Hall. Trafford Park contained the hall, its grounds, and three farms: Park Farm, Moss Farm, and Waters Meeting Farm. From the original three entrance lodges to the park, at Throstle Nest, Barton-upon-Irwell and Old Trafford , only
5720-426: The deck-access concrete crescents of Hulme, Old Trafford's residents preferred renovation to demolition. As a result, there are still many Victorian terraced streets in the area. By 1985, employment at Trafford Park had fallen to 24,500, as unemployment in the northwest soared above 30 per cent in some inner-city areas. Nearby Manchester Docks , which had also been a major source of local employment, closed in 1982. As
5824-413: The development of the ship canal frontage for "all types of trade including timber". By that time the ship canal had been open for two years, but the predicted traffic had yet to materialise. Hooley met with Marshall Stevens , the general manager of the Ship Canal Company, and both men recognised the benefit that the industrial development of Trafford Park could offer to the ship canal, and the ship canal to
5928-414: The eastern side of the park, while the rest of it remained largely undeveloped. The first American company to arrive was Westinghouse Electric , which formed its British subsidiary – British Westinghouse Electric Company – in 1899, and purchased 130 acres (0.53 km ) on two sites. Building work started in 1900, and the factory began production of turbines and electric generators in 1902. By
6032-479: The estate. In January 1897 Stevens became the managing director of Trafford Park Estates. He remained with the company, latterly as its joint chairman and managing director, until 1930. The company initially chose not to construct buildings for letting, and instead leased land for development. But by the end of June 1897 less than one per cent of the park had been leased, and so the park's existing assets were put to use until more tenants could be found. Trafford Hall
6136-490: The first industries to arrive was the Manchester Patent Fuel Company, in 1898. The Trafford Brick Company arrived soon after, followed by J.W. Southern & Co. (timber merchants), James Gresham (engineers), and W. T. Glovers & Co. (electric cable manufacturers). Glovers also built a power station in the park, on the banks of the Bridgewater Canal . Most of these early developments were built on
6240-507: The following year, British Westinghouse was employing about half of the 12,000 workers in Trafford Park. Its main machine shop was 899 feet (274 m) long and 440 feet (134 m) wide; for almost 100 years Westinghouse's Trafford Park works was the most important engineering facility in Britain. In 1919, Westinghouse was sold to the Vickers Company and renamed Metropolitan-Vickers , often shortened to Metrovicks. In 1903,
6344-483: The gardens staged exhibitions of art treasures, the former as part of the Art Treasures Exhibition and the latter in celebration of Queen Victoria 's silver jubilee. The Hallé Orchestra was formed to participate in the first of these exhibitions. The site of the botanical gardens was purchased by White City Limited in 1907, and it subsequently became an amusement park, although the name lives on in
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#17327909648696448-535: The home of Manchester United , on opposite ends of Brian Statham Way (formerly Warwick Road) and Sir Matt Busby Way (formerly Warwick Road North). The road between them retains the name Warwick Road , and the southern section on the other side of the Metrolink line is Warwick Road South. Old Trafford was a crossing point over the River Irwell in ancient times. The name Old Trafford possibly derives from
6552-468: The land from Esso in 1983, for £50,000 (£213,000 as of 2024). Government spending restrictions delayed the park's restoration and conversion, and it was not fully opened to the public until 1990. The present lake is about one-third of its original size, but although now relatively small it supports a wide variety of wildlife, including foxes, weasels, rabbits, hedgehogs, lapwings, kestrels, herons, coot, Canada Geese, and several varieties of newt. In 2007
6656-454: The land, and began to construct what were known as Hives, 25-foot (7.6 m) wide subdivisions of a longer single building that could be internally reconfigured for each tenant's needs. A series of 19 were built initially, available to rent at £80 per annum (£11,000 as of 2024). Brooke Bond was one of the companies that took advantage of the Hives, before moving to its purpose-built factory on
6760-574: The larger part being in the former. Old Trafford is part of the parliamentary constituency of Stretford and Urmston , and represents the northeastern tip of Stretford. The current Member of Parliament is Andrew Western of the Labour Party . In 2005, Trafford Council proposed to the Boundary Commission for England that the wards of Gorse Hill, Longford, and Clifford – which includes Old Trafford – should be moved into
6864-424: The larger part of Old Trafford) reported themselves as being Christian in the 2001 Census , compared to 76% across Trafford as a whole, and 72% across England. This is reflected in the unusually high number of non Christian places of worship in the area. Since the 1980s Old Trafford has become home to two large South Asian communities – Punjabi Pakistanis – almost all being Muslim . Muslims represent
6968-761: The largest non-Christian religious group in the area, with 28% of the population, compared to 3% in the whole of Trafford. To service this community there are four mosques in the area; the Faizan-e-Islam mosque, the Masjid-e-Hidayah, the Masjid-e-Noor and the Masjid Imdadia. There is also a smaller Sikh community, with its own Gurdwara , the Sangat Bhatra Sikh Temple, Upper Chorlton Road. Sikhs account for 4% of
7072-549: The late 19th century, it was the ancestral home of the Trafford family, who sold it to financier Ernest Terah Hooley in 1896. Occupying an area of 4.7 square miles (12 km ), it was the first planned industrial estate in the world, and remains the largest in Europe well over a century later. Trafford Park is almost entirely surrounded by water; the Bridgewater Canal forms its southeastern and southwestern boundaries, and
7176-551: The latter has survived, having been relocated from its original position opposite what is today the White City retail park to become the entrance to Gorse Hill Park. In 1761, a section of the Bridgewater Canal was built along the southeast and southwest sides of Trafford Park. The canal along with the River Irwell, which marked the estate's northeast and northwest boundaries, gave the park its present-day "island-like" quality. In about 1860, an 8-acre (3.2 ha) ornamental lake
7280-403: The merger, which was rejected following a government inquiry. In 1969 Pevsner wrote: "That [neighbouring] Stretford and Salford are not administratively one with Manchester is one of the most curious anomalies of England." The tensions between Stretford and the Estates Company began to come to a head in 1906, when in response to complaints in the press about the state of one particular road in
7384-423: The mid 1960s, and is now used as a warehouse. The Lyceum opened in 1915, and it also closed in the 1960s. Its building is now used for private functions. The Trafford Picture House opened in 1922, and closed in 1958. After a period when it was used as a vehicle auction room the building became derelict, and it was demolished in 1997. Today, Old Trafford has approximately 13,000 residents. Cultural diversity has been
7488-438: The nearby Bowlers Exhibition Centre, a representative from Academy Music Group said that all Victoria Warehouse events are attended by an acoustic engineer monitoring noise levels, and that they received no direct complaints. Italics denote building under construction Old Trafford (area) Old Trafford is an area of Trafford , Greater Manchester , England, which borders the cities of Manchester and Salford . It
7592-409: The new owner of Trafford Park, for the sum of £360,000 (£52.6 million as of 2024). On 17 August, Hooley formed Trafford Park Estates Ltd, transferring his ownership of the park to the new company – of which he was the chairman and a significant shareholder – at a substantial profit. The initial plans for the estate included a racetrack , exclusive housing and a cycle works, along with
7696-502: The newly completed Alexandra Park Aerodrome . Road signs within Trafford Park refer to the subdivisions of Ashburton, Dumplington , Mossfield, Mosley and Newbridge. The Trafford Park Euroterminal rail freight terminal, which has the capacity to deal with 100,000 containers a year, was opened in 1993, at a cost of £11 million. Trafford Park is served by several bus routes. Bus 248 runs between Trafford Park and Partington . Bus 250 and X50 runs between Manchester city centre and
7800-727: The northeast, which is in the City of Salford . At the crossroads of Brooks's Bar, the boundaries between Old Trafford and Hulme and Moss Side and Whalley Range meet. On the western side of the area, Seymour Grove is named after the millionaire grocer Sir Thomas Seymour Mead. Until the mid-20th century there were four cinemas in Old Trafford: the Imperial Picture Theatre in Chorlton Road, Brooks Bar, The Globe on Cornbrook Street, The Lyceum in City Road and
7904-529: The park as well as part of the ship canal docks and the area around Manchester United F.C. 's Old Trafford football ground to the east of the Bridgewater Canal. The intention was to build "a flagship site" containing prestigious accommodation for offices, shops, and "hi-tech" industries, capitalising on the area's proximity to Manchester city centre and mirroring the earlier success of the redevelopment at nearby Salford Quays. Between 1987 and 1998,
8008-403: The park in 1922. The Estates Company also built large reinforced concrete warehouses, known as Safes. These buildings were fitted with sprinkler systems and were considered fireproof, which reduced insurance costs to 25 per cent of those of comparable warehouses elsewhere in the area. Each Safe had a capacity of 778,000 cubic feet (22,000 m ), sufficient to hold 50,000 bales of cotton. Among
8112-456: The park is used as a training centre for horticulture training and as a volunteering hub. At the end of the 19th century there were no public transport routes in, and few running close to, Trafford Park. Its size meant that the Estates Company was obliged to provide some means of travelling around the park, and therefore a gas-powered tramway was commissioned, intended to carry both people and freight. The first tram ran on 23 July 1897, but after
8216-439: The park was designated a Local Nature Reserve , one of only two in Trafford. The site was originally part of the de Trafford family estate, but was enveloped by encroaching industry in the early 1900s. In the following years the area was used as a tipping site by industry and partly filled with construction rubble and slag from steel works. Now owned and managed by Groundwork Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Tameside & Trafford,
8320-403: The park's fortunes; during a 1984 House of Commons debate, Member of Parliament for Stretford , Tony Lloyd , described the area's decline as "spectacular and disastrous". The target had been to create 7,000 new jobs over 10 years, but by 1986 only 2,557 had been created, not even enough to compensate for the ongoing job losses caused by closures within the park. On 10 February 1987
8424-423: The park, Trafford Park Road, Stretford issued formal notices demanding that all premises with frontage onto the road pay for its improvement. Further disputes over the standard of roads in the park followed until, in 1907, the Estates Company presented a petition to Lancashire County Council demanding that Trafford Park should be an urban district in its own right, independent of Stretford. The county council dismissed
8528-617: The petition, but later that year, following a petition organised by the Trafford Park Ratepayers Association, a new local government ward , Park Ward, was created within Stretford. The new ward did not include the western part of the park however, which remained under the control of Barton-upon-Irwell. As a result of the Local Government Act 1972 , the borough of Stretford was abolished and Trafford Park has, since 1 April 1974, formed part of
8632-488: The place". Despite Sir Humphrey's opposition the Ship Canal Bill became law on its third passage through Parliament, on 6 August 1885. Construction began in 1888, more than two years after Sir Humphrey's death, although a 9-foot-high (2.7 m) wall was built between the canal and the park, so as to block it off from view. Two wharves were also built, for the exclusive use of the de Traffords. The opening of
8736-497: The rest of south Lancashire – to weather the economic depression from which the rest of Lancashire suffered. During the First World War the park was used for the manufacture of munitions, chemicals and other materiel. Most firms at Trafford Park succeeded in avoiding bankruptcy during the Great Depression , unlike the rest of Lancashire. Ford moved to Dagenham in 1931, but returned temporarily to Trafford Park during
8840-650: The revitalised Salford Quays it has become an emblematic part of the regeneration of Manchester in general. Old Trafford was formerly a hamlet in the township of Stretford . It was in the Municipal Borough of Stretford until 1974. In 1974, as a result of the Local Government Act 1972 , it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester . Since the realignment of Trafford's ward boundaries in 2004, Old Trafford has been divided between Clifford and Longford wards , with
8944-518: The same site was the Royal Institute for the Deaf, where the film Mandy was made. Old Trafford expanded and became an urban area after the building of the Manchester Ship Canal in the 1890s, and the subsequent development of nearby Trafford Park Industrial Estate , in the early 20th century. Trafford Park provided employment for thousands of local residents. Employment was also provided on
9048-569: The ship canal after his 1897 sale of Trafford Park. Hemmed in as it was between the canals and "an increasingly urbanised Stretford to the east", as the industrialisation of the park neared its completion the Estates Company started to acquire parcels of the remaining de Trafford land, then in the control of family trustees, as did the Canal Company. In 1924 the Estates Company bought a half share in Dumplington Estates Ltd.,
9152-423: The ship canal in 1894 made Trafford Park a prime site for industrial development. During the following century, the park was built over with factories and some housing for workers. The deer were initially allowed to continue roaming free, but as the park's industrialisation gathered pace they were considered inappropriate and were killed, the last of them in 1900. Trafford Hall survived until its demolition following
9256-492: The ship canal looking over towards Salford Quays . An example of deconstructivist architecture , it was the first building in the United Kingdom to be designed by Daniel Libeskind . The structure consists of three interlocking sections: the air shard, the earth shard, and the water shard, representing a world torn apart by conflict. Entrance to the museum is via the air shard, which is 180 feet (55 m) in height, and
9360-460: The south and east, and Urmston to the west. In 1898, a large plot of land was sold to Edmund Nuttall & Co. for the construction of 1,200 houses. The houses were never built, but the land later became the site of Trafford Park Village, known locally as The Village. The announced arrival of the Westinghouse factory acted a spur to development, and in 1899, Trafford Park Dwellings Ltd
9464-607: The street called Botanical Gardens. From the 1950s to the 1970s, White City Stadium was used as a greyhound racing track and for stock car racing. This site is now White City Retail Park. The front entrance is all that has been preserved of the old botanical gardens. Nearby, on the site of what is now the Greater Manchester Police Headquarters, was Henshaw's Institute for the Blind, which originally opened as Henshaw's Blind Asylum in 1837. Next door on
9568-521: The time when there were two Trafford Halls, Old Trafford Hall and New Trafford Hall. The old hall was close to what is now the White City Retail Park , and was said to have been the home of the de Trafford family since 1017, until the family moved to the new hall in what is now Trafford Park , some time between 1672 and 1720. The name of the area around Old Trafford Hall may subsequently have become shortened to Old Trafford. The old hall
9672-604: The two railway networks. The West Manchester Light Railway Company was set up the following year to take over the operations of the tramway and to lay additional track. In 1904 responsibility for all of the parks roads and railways passed to the Trafford Park Company, as a result of the Trafford Park Act of that year. The railway network could subsequently be extended as required, without the need to seek additional permissions from Parliament. The network
9776-465: The war and re-opened in 1949, until which time Manchester United played their home games at Maine Road , home of Manchester City in Moss Side . At the outbreak of war in 1939 there were an estimated 50,000 people employed at Trafford Park. By the end of the war in 1945 that number had risen to 75,000, probably the peak size of the park's workforce; Metropolitan-Vickers alone employed 26,000. In
9880-478: The war ended. In the December 1940 air raids, stray bombs aiming for Trafford Park landed on the nearby Old Trafford football stadium, home of Manchester United , but this air raid only resulted in minor damage and matches were soon being played at the stadium again. On 11 March 1941, stray bombs fell onto Old Trafford for a second time, causing serious damage to the stadium. It was comprehensively rebuilt after
9984-509: Was almost completely self-contained, with its own shops, public hall, post office, police station, school, social club, and sports facilities. Three corrugated iron churches were built: a Methodist chapel in 1901, St Cuthberts ( Church of England ) in 1902, and the Roman Catholic St Antony's in 1904. St Cuthbert's was subsequently replaced by a brick building, but closed in 1982. Only St Antony's remains open; it contains
10088-488: Was also connected to the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway near Cornbrook. At its peak, the estate's railway network covered 26 route miles (42 km), handling about 2.5 million tons of cargo in 1940. Like the rest of the park, it fell into decline during the 1960s, exacerbated by the increasing use of road transport, and it was closed in 1998, although a lot of infrastructure remains including
10192-422: Was demolished in 1939. In the 1820s, Manchester scientist John Dalton chose Old Trafford as the site for a Royal Horticultural and Botanical Gardens because of its clean, unpolluted air, and so began the area's association with sports and recreation. The popularity of the botanical gardens, which was similar to The Crystal Palace , led wealthy people to build large houses in the area. In 1857, and again in 1887,
10296-569: Was dug in the north of the park, close to the River Irwell. A meeting held in 1882 at the Didsbury home of engineer Daniel Adamson began the estate's transformation, with the creation of the Manchester Ship Canal committee. Sir Humphrey de Trafford was an implacable opponent of the proposed canal, objecting that, amongst other things, it would bring polluted water close to his residence, interfere with his drainage, and render Trafford Hall uninhabitable, forcing him to "give up his home and leave
10400-540: Was ever built. The Barton Docks area was developed during and after the Second World War, but the land belonging to Dumplington Estates remained largely undeveloped until the construction of the Trafford Centre , which opened in 1998. Trafford Park was largely turned over to the production of war materiel during the Second World War, such as the Avro Manchester and Avro Lancaster heavy bombers, and
10504-548: Was formed, with the aim of providing housing for the anticipated influx of new workers. Nuttall's land was acquired, and by 1903 more than 500 houses had been built, rising to over 700 when the development was completed in 1904. In 1907 it was estimated that the population of the Village was 3,060. The development was laid out in a grid pattern, with the roads numbered instead of being named. Avenues numbered 1 to 4 run north–south, streets numbered 1 to 12 run east–west. The Village
10608-405: Was opened as a hotel in 1899, to serve prospective industrialists considering a move to the park, along with their key employees. It had 40 bedrooms, available to "Gentlemen only". The hall's stables and some other outbuildings were used for stock auctions and the sale of horses, from 1900 to 1902, and the ornamental lake was leased to William Crooke and Sons, for use as a boating lake, initially on
10712-407: Was replaced with a second mural on 1 November 1993, also by Kershaw, featuring updated images. The mural had to be temporarily dismantled in 2006 over health and safety concerns. The mural was subsequently renovated and restored, before being removed again in 2014. The site was purchased by developers in 2009 and the buildings reconstructed with modern facilities. It opened on 8 April 2012, and acquired
10816-444: Was unable to accommodate the newer, larger container ships then entering service. By 1976, the workforce had fallen to 15,000, and by the 1980s industry had virtually disappeared. On 12 August 1981, 483 acres (1.95 km ) of Trafford Park – along with Salford Quays – were declared an Enterprise Zone by the UK government, in an attempt to encourage new development within the estate. The new status did little to reverse
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