Fallowfield

Coordinates: 53°26′33″N 2°13′07″W / 53.4425°N 2.2186°W / 53.4425; -2.2186

Fallowfield
Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield
Fallowfield  Fallowfield shown within Greater Manchester
Population	14,132 (2001 census)
OS grid reference	SJ855935
Metropolitan borough	Manchester
Metropolitan county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MANCHESTER
Postcode district	M14
Dialling code	0161
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Manchester Gorton
List of places: UK • England • Greater Manchester

Fallowfield is an area of the city of Manchester, England. It lies roughly 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Manchester city centre and is bisected north–south by Wilmslow Road and east–west by the former Fallowfield Loop railway line, now a cycle path.

The area has a very large student population. The University of Manchester's main accommodation complex – the Fallowfield Campus – lies in its centre, and it also includes the university's Owens Park hall of residence and the Firs Botanical Grounds. In the north-west of the suburb is Platt Fields Park formed from part of the land which once belonged to the Platts of Platt Hall.

History

The early medieval linear earthwork Nico Ditch passes through Platt Fields Park in Fallowfield; it was probably used as an administrative boundary and dates from the 8th or 9th century.^[1]

Early Fallowfield was an ill-defined area of the north of Withington until the mid-19th century. The Platt Estate in the north was first owned by the Platts and later by the Worsleys. The building of Wilbraham Road to connect Fallowfield with Edge Lane in Chorlton in 1869 enabled development west of the Wilmslow Road crossing. Some wealthy people built mansions in the area and in the early 20th century the university began to establish halls of residence in the area which have become very extensive.

1986: The UK’s first drive-through McDonald’s opens in Fallowfield, Manchester

Governance

Fallowfield ward (which does not coincide with the area popularly known as Fallowfield) is represented on Manchester City Council by three Labour councillors, David Royle, Peter Morrison and Michael Lee Amesbury.^[2] It is part of the Manchester Gorton Parliamentary Constituency held by Sir Gerald Kaufman. Included in the Fallowfield ward is the Platt Fields Park and the Gita Bhavan Hindu Temple in Whalley Range, as well as William Hulme High School and Whalley Range High School.

Geography

Neighbouring districts and places.

	Moss Side	Rusholme	Longsight
	Whalley Range		Levenshulme
		Fallowfield
	Chorlton-cum-Hardy	Withington	Burnage

Ladybarn is the part of Fallowfield to the south-east. Chancellors Hotel & Conference Centre is used by the University of Manchester: it was built by Edward Walters for Sir Joseph Whitworth,^[3] as were the Firs Botanical Grounds.

Places of worship

Wilbraham Road is the site of the stylistically eclectic and, for its time, structurally innovative South Manchester Synagogue (1913). It is also the road on which the Holy Innocents Church stands: the church was built in 1870-72 by the architects Price & Linklater using sandstone masonry. The style is Gothic revival and in 1983-84 the interior of the church was altered to designs by the Ellis Williams Partnership. The tower is at the south-east corner and is topped by an octagonal spire. The stained glass windows are mostly of the 1890s. There is a Union Baptist Chapel not far away southwards.

Transport

The first flight into Fallowfield was made in 1912. The pilot was Mr Yoxall who flew the Avro 500 biplane from Trafford Park Aerodrome into a temporary air strip^{[citation needed]}

Fallowfield has an excellent bus service along Wilmslow Road and other services connect it with Levenshulme and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. It also has Mauldeth Road railway station on the Styal Line.

Fallowfield railway station was located on Wilmslow Road. What remains of the station building has been converted into a public house; the rest of the site is occupied by a Sainsbury's supermarket and a block of flats.

Sport

The 1893 FA Cup final was played at Fallowfield Stadium, in which Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Everton 1-0, with Harry Allen scoring the only goal of the game. The stadium also hosted the cycling events for the 1934 British Empire Games, and the Amateur Athletic Association championships in 1897 and 1907. It was demolished in 1994, and the site is now Manchester University's Richmond Park Halls of Residence.^[4]

Musical associations

Fallowfield was the subject of the penultimate track on Manchester band The Courteeners debut album, St Jude, entitled "Fallowfield Hillbilly".

Notable residents

• C. P. Scott, editor of the Manchester Guardian lived at The Firs
• John Stopford, Baron Stopford of Fallowfield, anatomist and academic
• Thomas Tout, historian
• Sir Joseph Whitworth, engineer, lived at The Firs

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fallowfield

Notes

Bibliography

• Nevell, Mike (1998), Lands and Lordships in Tameside, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council with the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit, ISBN 1-871324-18-1 
• Williamson, W. C. (1888) Sketches of Fallowfield and the Surrounding Manors