Уитонгтон: История и современность пригорода Манчестера

the district of Manchester

Withington is a suburb of Manchester, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies 4 mile (6 km) from Manchester city centre, about 0.4 mile (1 km) south of Fallowfield, 0.5 mile (1 km) north east of Didsbury and also 1 mile (2 km) east of Chorlton cum Hardy. Withington has a population of just over 14,000 people, reducing at the 2011 census to 13,422. In the early 13th century, Withington occupied a feudal estate that included the townships of Withington, Chorlton cum Hardy, Moss Side, Rusholme, Burnage, Denton and Haughton, held by the Hathersage, Longford and Tatton families, and within the Manor of Manchester and Hundred of Salford in historic county boundaries of Lancashire. Withington was largely rural until the mid 19th century when it experienced rapid socioeconomic development and urbanisation due to the Industrial Revolution, and Manchester's growing level of industrialisation. Withington became part of Manchester in 1904. Today, the residents of Withington comprise a mixture of families, university students and affluent "young professionals"—often themselves former students. This is in a large part due to its education links—particularly the proximity to the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University. As a consequence, Withington is predominantly an area of mixed affluence. It is also a centre for clinical excellence with one of the largest cancer treatment centres in Europe—Christie Hospital—and Withington Community Hospital.

In Anglo Saxon times the area was sparsely settled by Mercians and Danes and Didsbury may have been established in King Edward the Elder's reign as a fortification against the Danes. Following the Norman Conquest the lands of south Lancashire were granted to Roger of Poitou and by the early 13th century the Manor of Withington appears to be a sub manor of the Manor of Manchester. The first recorded description of Withington referred to the area as a willow copse farmstead, and giving rise to the Anglo Saxon name Wīðign tūn, with withy meaning "willow branch used for bundling". In the early 13th century, the Manor of Withington covered a wide area including Withington, Didsbury, Chorlton cum Hardy, Moss Side, Rusholme, Burnage, Denton and Haughton. The first Lord of the Manor of Withington is thought to have been William, son of Wulfrith de Withington. Withington was one of the townships of the ancient parish of Manchester in the Salford Hundred of Lancashire, and a sub manor of the Manor of Manchester. In the 13th century, Robert Grelle (sometimes Grelley), Lord of the Manchester Manor, granted free warren in Withington to Matthew de Hathersage (or Haversage), son of William, in exchange for one knight's fee. Little is known of the Hathersage family, except that they descended to the Longford family, and are connected with the manors of Hathersage and Longford, both in Derbyshire. The lordship of Withington remained in the Hathersage/Longford family for over 300 years. There are still today some remnants of this moat underneath Old Moat Primary School, on Old Moat Lane. In the early 18th century, the Withington Manor was once again sold, this time to the Egertons of Tatton. Withington as a village developed around Wilmslow Road, a main road, connecting Manchester to Wilmslow which was the only direct route between Manchester and Wilmslow at the time. Farming still dominated the area, although there is evidence in maps of a substantial cotton house on Cotton Lane, which later appears to become Withington Hall. Some historians dispute the cotton house as there is little record of it, and claim "Cotton Lane" comes from land in the area which was jointly held by the townships of Withington, Didsbury and Burnage (a relic of the medieval open field system). This area was the old village centre however, although the only relic of its former importance is the small flower display on the corner of Wilmslow Road and Cotton Lane.

The trade in Withington, and consequent traffic on Wilmslow Road, increased steadily as the city of Manchester flourished in the early 19th century. Turnpike roads subsequently became increasingly unpopular, and were abolished completely in 1881. Cheaper transport in and out of Manchester became an important factor in the growth of the area. The Withington and West Didsbury railway station on the Manchester South District Line, run by the Midland Railway, provided train services to Manchester Central railway station. The railway station closed to passengers in 1961. Withington's Parish Church of St Paul was built in 1841; the architects of St Paul's Church were Hayley & Brown and it was extended in 1864. Many other chapels and churches proliferated, including Methodist, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic. As the population increased, the need for schools grew. A day school was held in a schoolroom underneath the Wesleyan chapel on Old Hall Lane, until the Church of England established a new church school with public donations next to its new parish church in 1844, St Paul's Primary School, on land donated by benefactor Wilbraham Egerton, 1st Earl Egerton. Withington had a Huguenot population with family and commercial ties to Germany. Among them was the Souchay family, who lived at Withington House on Wilmslow Road (the present site of the telephone exchange at Old Broadway). Charles (or Carl) Souchay and his wife Adelaide (or Adelheid) were benefactors of St Paul's church school, and the first wedding to take place at St Paul's was the marriage of the eldest Souchay daughter in 1850. The Souchays were related to Cécile Mendelssohn Bartholdy, wife of the German composer Felix Mendelssohn. In the 1840s, Mendelssohn made several visits to Britain, and stayed on occasion with friends in the Withington/Didsbury area. Mendelssohn wrote a number of letters to friends from Eltville House, the residence of another member of the Souchay family, John D. Souchay, which was situated on the south east corner of Fog Lane and Wilmslow Road (later renamed Didsbury Priory). An account exists of an occasion in April 1847 when Mendelssohn visited St Paul's Church to play the newly installed pipe organ. The composer was suffering from ill health, and this proved to be his last British tour; less than six months later, on 4 November, aged 38, Mendelssohn died in Leipzig. The Souchays are buried in St Paul's churchyard. In 1861, a public library and village hall were opened.

On 28 April 1910, French pilot Louis Paulhan landed his Farman biplane in Barcicroft Fields, Pytha Fold Farm on the borders of Withington, Burnage and Didsbury, at the end of the first powered flight from London to Manchester, with a six hour overnight stop near Lichfield, Staffordshire. Paulhan beat the British contender, Claude Grahame White, winning a £10,000 prize offered by the Daily Mail. Two special trains were chartered to Burnage railway station to take spectators to the landing. Paulhan's progress was followed throughout by a special train carrying his wife, Henri Farman and his mechanics. A house in Paulhan Road is marked by a blue plaque to commemorate his achievement. A large aerodrome was built in 1917–18 on the westerly edge of Withington, to the southwest of the junction of Mauldeth Road and Princess Road, on what is now the site of Houghend Playing Fields. The official name was Alexandra Park Aerodrome, but it was also variously referred to as "Withington" and "Didsbury". Closure came in autumn 1924 when Lord Egerton of Tatton would not agree to the site's continued use for flying. The large hangars were then demolished and Princess Road extended southwards through the eastern edge of the site.

Withington was anciently a township within the parish of Manchester and Hundred of Salford. Following the Public Health Act 1875, Withington Town Hall was built in 1881 on Lapwing Lane, originally to house Withington Local Board of Health, then later occupied by the Withington Urban District Council, under the Local Government Act 1894. In 1904, Withington formally became part of the City of Manchester. This was possibly attributable to the constituency's large student population. The previous incumbent of the seat, Keith Bradley, had held the seat for Labour for 18 years; Lucy Powell was chosen as the successor candidate to Keith Bradley in March 2007, to try to regain the seat at the next general election. However, Leech retained the seat for the Liberal Democrats at the 2010 General Election, with 44.6% of the vote (an increase of 2.4% over 2005); Powell came second with 40.5% of the vote (a decrease of 0.4%). Historically, Withington was a much larger area than today. Since the district was absorbed into the City of Manchester in 1904, the three city wards of Didsbury, Fallowfield, and Withington took on their own identities and are now seen as distinct areas. The Conservative Party could once regard this area as a heartland for them, with its largely middle class population and relatively suburban image. The 'flight of the middle classes' to rural Cheshire, however, led to many of Withington's larger homes being sold off for student flats. This resulted in a changing socio economic structure that would ultimately favour Labour and more recently, for a time, the Liberal Democrats. In the 2011, 2012 and 2014 local government elections however the Liberal Democrats lost every Council seat in Withington Constituency and in the City of Manchester as a whole that they contested, leaving Labour with 95 out of 96 Council seats. Withington and Old Moat wards are currently represented on Manchester City Council by three councillors each: Becky Chambers (Labour Party), Chris Wills (Labour and Co operative Party), and Rebecca Moore (Labour) in Withington; Gavin White (Labour), Suzannah Reeves (Labour) and Garry Bridges (Labour) in Old Moat. Council elections took place on the 2 May 2019 with each ward returning one councillor, Becky Chambers and Garry Bridges respectively in Withington and Old Moat wards.

At , Withington is located immediately below the midpoint of the Greater Manchester Urban Area, 4 mile (6 km) south of Manchester city centre.

Withington has bus links into the Manchester city centre, partly because of its position on the Wilmslow Road bus corridor which is served by very frequent buses and has been said by some analysts to be the busiest in Europe. The majority of services are operated by Stagecoach Manchester and First Greater Manchester. Other bus routes run along Burton Road and Old Moat Lane to the city centre; there are also bus routes crossing Withington East West.

Until the 1960s, Withington had a railway station on Palatine Road, Withington and West Didsbury, on the Midland Railway's Manchester South District Railway. This station was closed in 1961 by British Rail; today the nearest railway station to Withington is , located to the east in Ladybarn.

In 2013, the old Midland Railway line was reopened as a light rail line as part of the Manchester Metrolink network. Today, Metrolink trams provide a direct tram link to Manchester city centre on the South Manchester Line, serving , and tram stops. The name of Withington tram stop has been called into question as it is located on Princess Road, approximately 1 mile (2 km) from the centre of Withington. The Metrolink line through Withington was first proposed in the early 1980s but funding was not secured until the 21st century. The project was then put on hold due to escalating costs; new funding was sought through the Manchester Congestion Charge,
but this was rejected in a public referendum in 2008. The project was revived in May 2009 with a new funding package from local and national government. Clearance work began on the line in 2011 and it was completed in 2013.

Withington is covered by the South Manchester Division of Greater Manchester Police.