Wythenshawe - Housing and Social History

Housing and Social History

Wythenshawe is Manchester's largest district, a massive housing estate that was created in the 1920s intended as a "garden city" where an overspill population could be rehoused away from the slums and squalor of industrial Manchester.

The estate was built initially without shops, amenities or services, and there was very little employment directly to hand: people wanting to buy household supplies had to "wait until the mobile shop came round, or go to Northenden". Various residents' associations were set up to address these problems, but progress was very slow. Wythenshawe eventually expanded, and businesses were attracted to the area with the creation of the Sharston Industrial Estate and, later, the Moss Nook and Roundthorn industrial complexes. Wythenshawe gradually acquired all the amenities and facilities that the original planners had neglected to include, such as schools, shops, pubs and churches. The area also got its own hospital, and Wythenshawe Hospital grew out of the earlier Baguley Hospital after the Second World War in 1948. The largest shopping area was constructed in the 1960s in the town centre (known locally as the Wythenshawe Civic Centre), which has been expanded further since its initial construction. In 1971, the Wythenshawe Forum was opened, which included a library, a swimming pool and a theatre.

Many houses previously owned by the council are now under the control of local housing associations, such as Willow Park in Benchill and Parkway Green in Baguley. Parkway Green Housing Trust is based around the west Wythenshawe Region. Some of the areas where they provide houseing are; Northern Moor, Baguley, Royal Oak, Northenden and some more smaller areas.

Wythenshawe has 12 parks and 18 woodland areas including Wythenshawe Park which covers over 270 acres (1.1 km2) of green space and is home to Manchester's only community farm. At the centre of the park is the historic Wythenshawe Hall with its Civil War and Tatton heritage. The park also has riding stables, a horticulture centre, children's play area, athletics track, football pitches, tennis courts, bowls and golfing facilities. Other parks include Hollyhedge Park, Peel Hall Park, Painswick Park and Baguley Park. Northenden's Riverside Park is the first new park to be established in the city this century.

The housing projects in Wythenshawe have been described as representing an "extreme pocket of social deprivation and alienation."