History
of the area
The
Withington area of south Manchester has a rich and fascinating
history going back at least as far as medieval times, with
enormous growth in the Victorian period, and a wealth of
modern history.
These
pages provide an account of this history, covering Withington,
Ladybarn and Old Moat. Individual pages describe aspects of
this history, including old maps, old photographs, oral
history memoirs, famous people of Withington, the story of
existing and lost buildings and the role of Withington in the
history of popular music. We also provide a guide
to historical resources for the area.
Historical
resources
Withington
Civic Society publishes
a series of books on the history of the Withington area. These
are available from the Civic Society or from
Withington Library:
- "A
walk through the history of Withington" (a guided walk
through Withington Village)
- "Wartime
Withington: Memories of World War II"
- "A
legacy of love: The story of the Harrison organ in St.
Chad's Church, Ladybarn" by Robert Nicholls.
- "Ladybarn in the 1970s: A time of conflict" by Ruth Shepherd.
A
book covering aspects of Withington's history is: "A
history of Withington" by Kenneth Whittaker
(1957, EJ Morten Publishers; Rev Ed edition, October 1969)
An
attractive booklet of old photographs of the area and
interesting historical notes is "Looking Back at
Withington and Didsbury" by Gay Sussex and Peter
Helm (Willow Publishing, 1988. Reprinted 1993).
Covering
Manchester suburbs in general is: "Illustrated
History of Manchester's Suburbs" by
Glynis Cooper (Breedon Books, in association with Manchester
Libraries, 2002. ISBN: 1-85983-292-X. Website:
www.breedonbooks.co.uk). This has several pages on each of
the larger suburbs, including Withington (but with a few
errors).
For an extensive collection of old and recent pictures of
the area and of Manchester, see the Manchester
Local Image Collection.
Maps
from the 19th century and early 20th century record
the development of Withington, Old Moat and Ladybarn. See
the Old
Maps page for
a guide to available maps.
Watercourses through the area are described in "The
Lost Rivers of Manchester" by Geoffrey Ashworth
(Willow Publishing, 1987). See the Watercourses
page.
An online summary of some aspects of the history of the area
(especially ancient and manorial history) is Victoria
County History: 'Townships: Withington', A
History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4 (1911),
pp. 288-293 (William Farrer & J. Brownbill (editors)).
Extract
from an
historical archive of
a wider area (1282) [Remains,
historical & literary, connected with the palatine
counties of Lancaster and Chester (1844-86)]
Other
sources of historical information may be found on the City
Council's website.
The
place names of Lancashire, E. Ekwall, Manchester
University Press, 1922 . Available online at http://archive.org/details/placenamesoflanc00ekwauoft.
The Wikipedia
page for Withington includes some history and has
useful links to other resources.
"Withington that was" by Kenneth Whittaker (193,
Lumb Lane, Audenshow, Manchester) is an interesting booklet
reflecting on Withington's past, as is "Withington
worthies" by the same author.
Use
of the website: If you wish to use the material of
the website, please clearly acknowledge the source of the
materials: "Information/Photographs is/are by kind permission
of Withington Civic Society" and include our website address:
"www.withingtoncivicsociety.org.uk".
If the purposes for which you wish to use the material are
commercial or commercially-related, please contact the Civic
Society at: contact@withingtoncivicsociety.org.uk to get
permission before you use any material either in print or for
any other commercial purposes.
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