Rusholme & Victoria Park Archive

Fallowfield Brow refers to that gentle rise in Wilmslow Road between Old Hall Lane and the entrance to Owens Park, the University Fallowfield Campus.
The endless number of different photographs taken in this area must have been for some good reason, the pleasure of sitting here amongst the trees with only trams & horsedrawn traffic with a distinct rural air is clearly indicated in the pictures below. The 'Boulevards' appear to have been created round about the time, (1907-10) that the City Council acquired the Platt Hall estate.
The souvenir booklet published on the day that Platt Fields Park was opened referred to the, 'Gloomy high brick walls of the eighteenth century have been removed and light iron railings substituted. A wide promenade now adorns the Wilmslow Road frontage, where the fine old trees have been carefully preserved and surrounded with seats. A view of the park is thus opened out to the thousands of citizens who daily pass along the Wilmslow Road'
The photograph above has been considerably restored by fotofurbish.co.uk - if you look at the last picture in the gallery below you will see the postcard before restoration.

'Photograph below, is the top of Fallowfield Brow, Owens Park now on the left'

*In the photograph above and to the right hand side the entrance gates to 'Oakley' can be seen.

Photograph above is of' 'Oakley', one of three large mansions built on the right hand and western side of Fallowfield Brow in the early 19th century. This building became a hotel and eventually has become an office for USDAW, a trade union.
Another of the three large mansions built on this side of Fallowfield Brow was Ashfield. This was older than Oakley, built in the early part of the 19th century on the north side of Oakley and the home of a Mr Robinson. Mrs Williamson in her little book 'Sketches of Fallowfield' was told by Mr Robinsons' gardener that he well remembered the huntsmen on horseback pursuing a fox with the dogs through the grounds of Ashfield. She also described Ashfield being surround by extensive pleasure grounds, containing plantations, fish ponds and every kind of garden.
It was eventually demolished in 1913 and the site added to Platt Fields Park. The stone pillars with the name of Ashfield still survive facing towards Wilmslow Road.
If you would like to see a photo of Ashfields follow the link below and remember to use your back button to return to rusholmearchive.org

Who can remember how bad the smog could be in Manchester? If you read the message at the bottom of the postcard below it may bring back memories.

Remember! Wherever you see a 'Gallery' of smaller pictures as below then click on the picture and it will expand.

On a previous page I wrote briefly about about the Brighton Grove & Victoria Park Estate. Two attempts appear to have been made to develop a third estate, 'The Oaks'. The land in question was owned by Alexander Bower, a drysalter according to Piggots Directory. It stretched between Old Hall Lane in a southerly direction to Mosely Rd and then in a easterly direction for several hundred yards. The original plan identified some 19 plots over 102,104 sq.yards, called 'The Oaks' in the Township of Rusholme.

In the book (above) written by Mrs Williamson, 'Sketches of Fallowfield' she states in her preface that, 'I have written nothing that has not been previously published'
She continues 'I have just dipped into this store of interest and given out scraps, but I hope the scraps may prove dainty'
Well some of those scraps are useful. She writes in 1888 about the new buildings that are taking place in Fallowfield and refers particularly to the early days of Oak Drive.
'Sketches of Fallowfield' by Mrs Williamson is now available in a print-to-order edition, having been digitally copied. Try AbeBooks search engine if you are looking for a copy!
Robert Ogden was a wealthy cotton spinner and he bought a fairly substantial plot of land from the first 'Oaks Estate' prospectus. However it seemed that only this one plot of land was taken up initially. The house he built was called 'The Oaks' and was a neo-classical design by Richard Tattersall circa 1830(?)
Edward Behrens and his family bought the house in the late 1860s and in 1908 the family gave it to the University.
In 1845 the rest of the land was offered in plots for 'Respectable Residences'. Over the next 10 -15 years or so several notable families moved into what became known as Oak Drive.
Alfred Waterhouse, the famous architect of Manchester Town Hall built his own home here in 1861. Barcombe Cottage was built to resemble a Swiss chalet; Mrs Williamson described the house as, 'Displaying the taste of the designer, both internally and externally - the exquisitely stained windows show him also to have been artistic.'
Bank Field was built for a Mr Frank Gill in 1850 and it was said that from one upper window you had a clear view across the country side as far as Alderley Edge.
The Firs was the large home built for Sir Joseph Whitworth. On part of this estate Sir Joseph had a shooting gallery built to experiment with his armaments business, it was said to be nearly half a mile long and adjacent to what is now called Whitworth Lane.
Sir Edward Donner moved from Victoria Park in 1888 to Oak Mount in Oak Drive and lived there until he died in 1934.
C.P. Scott was the Editor of the Manchester Guardian and lived at The Firs from 1881 until his death in 1932. He was apparently regularly to be seen cycling every day to his office in Cross Street regardless of the weather.

Finding photographs of individual properties in Oak Drive has been difficult. Perhaps other than family photographs surviving it is likely that in this exclusive area commercial photographers would not have been welcome. Below is a water-colour painted in 1903 by Francis Dodd RA, titled 'Evening View of a Villa in Oak Drive, Fallowfield, Manchester'. It is part of the Manchester City Art Gallery collection and I appreciate permission being given to display this picture. It does seem to evoke an atmosphere of a rather grand villa set in a generous and wooded landscape. Francis Dodd lived nearby and worked in Manchester between 1895 and 1905 before moving to London. In 1916 he painted a portrait of C P Scott, also in the Manchester City Art Gallery collection.

View below is of the row of shops, Kings Parade, on Wilmslow Road, (opposite the entrance to the Oaks and looking north to Fallowfield Brow

Remember! Wherever you see a 'Gallery' of smaller pictures as below then click on the picture and it will expand!

The illustration above is of a house on Oak Drive that was built in 1888 for Dr A Emrys-Jones.
The name of the house, 'Brynderw' is I believe, when translated from the Welsh, 'Oak Hill'. As this house was built on the Oaks estate it is an appropriate translation.
Although not a 'Cotton Magnate' clearly Dr Emrys-Jones was very successful in his medical career.
The text immeadiately below is from the 'Architect Magazine' August 17th 1888 and I have reproduced the description of the property from the magazine.

This house has just been completed for Dr D. EMRYS JONES, and is situated in a finely-wooded position which adds considerably to the general effect. As will be seen from the plan all the entertaining rooms face south and west. It is from this aspect the drawing is taken. The external brickwork is built of picked white headers relieved with red Ruabon quoins—arches, strings, chimneys also being of red Ruabon. The plinth, is formed of deep blue Staffordshire bricks, the roof being covered with EDWARDS'S red tiles, and ornamented with scolloped bands. The general contractors were Messrs. BROWN & SON, of Salford. The whole of the work (including internal fittings and decorations) was carried out under the superintendence of the architects, Messrs. EDWARD & FRANK HEWITT, of 9 Albert Square. Manchester.

Biographical notes about Dr Abraham Emrys-Jones;
Resident Medical Officer at the Hulme Dispensary: House Surgeon. Assistant Surgeon and Surgeon to the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital : Ophthalmic Surgeon to the Bolton Infirmary: Honorarv Oculist to the Manchester Industrial Schools. Girls' Jubilee Schools, etc.: Referee for Ophthalmic cases to the Manchester County-Court ; author of " Care of the Eyesight." " Disposal of the Dead." " Diseases produced by Drink '' and many papers on ophthalmic subjects :
Justice of the Peace for the City of Manchester: President of the Manchester Edinburgh University Club: Vice-President of the Manchester and Salford Sanitary Association, of which society he was for ten years Hon. Secretary; President of the Manchester Welsh National Society, and takes an active interest in Welsh educational matters: Member of the Court of Governors, University College, Aberystwith. Clubs: Reform and Brasenose, Manchester; Author's. London.

A friend of mine told that as a small boy he was taken on a walk around Oak Drive. In an almost hushed and reverential tone he was told that this is where the cotton magnates live.
'I did not understand this ' he told me, 'I knew what magnets were and I knew what cotton was but I could not understand 'cotton magnets!'

The photograph below dated 1904 looking south towards Fallowfield station gives a classic and very animated view of the time. On the one hand an open coach being driven sedately, (?) down the centre of the road with groom holding the whip, whilst parked by the kerbside is a fairly new registered car. Certainly discernible on the original postcard, the car has a registration of N79. From 1903 cars had to be registered with the local authority, Manchester was allocated the number N and it was in use from 1904 until 1913.

Photograph below is taken from outside of Fallowfield Railway station, (presently the site of Sainburys) and looking north.

Photograph below from a similar position looking south - and there are no traffic lights!

Photograph below is looking north, but taken from a similar position on the western side of the road.

View immediately below looking west along Wilbraham Road, Holy Innocents Church on the right, and below that a close-up of the right hand showing the notice indicating Wilbraham Road was a private and gated road. The words on the notice are as follows;
PRIVATE ROAD.
CYCLISTS ALLOWED ON SUFFERANCE
If found riding on paths they will be prosecuted

In the book 'Fallowfield' written by Mrs Williamson she clearly identifies the changes that took place over a half century. The two maps below illustrate the extent of the changes.

Photograph below, a leafy Ladybarn Rd, the railway station is away to the right.

Photograph below of disused Fallowfield Railway station, 1974. Now the buildings on the right and the rail track have been replaced by the Sainsburys car park.

Remember! Wherever you see a 'Gallery' of smaller pictures as below then click on the picture and it will expand.