Burnage was described
at the end of the nineteenth century by George Bernard Shaw as the
prettiest village in Manchester. The district managed to avoid the
worst excesses of industrialisation and by the beginning of the 19th
century it had successfully established a cottage industry in hand
weaving. Many of the original weavers cottages still survive today
and parts of Burnage Lane still have a positive "village"
feel.
The name
Burnage is probably a corruption of "Brown Hedge" from the
old brown stone walls or "hedges" which were common there
in medieval times. Located south of the city centre it is bounded
by Heaton Norris, Levenshulme and Didsbury and includes Ladybarn and
Green End. Burnage Lane still marks the path of the old road south
to Cheshire. It was incorporated into the City of Manchester in 1904.
It was in Burnage that city father and entrepreneur John Watts built
Burnage Hall in 1840. Watts' father had built the famous Watts
Warehouse in city centre Portland Street (now the Britannia
Hotel). Burnage Hall was demolished in 1911.
Mauldeth
Hall in Green End had for more than 20 years been the dwelling of
the Bishop of Manchester, before his move to Higher Broughton.
Notable
local celebrities include the writer Frances
Hodgson Burnett, who wrote "Little Lord Fauntleroy",
who spent most of her early childhood in Burnage, and musicians Liam
and Noel Gallagher who founded "Oasis"
rock group - they were born in Burnage and their mother still has
a house in the village.
1906 saw
plans to build a so-called "garden suburb" in the district.
Burnage Garden Village, as it was called, saw the building of many
new semi-detached houses as well as open recreational spaces, including
lawns, gardens, a bowling green, tennis courts, allotments and a childrens'
playground.
The 1920s
saw the construction of Kingsway (the A34) and the building of the
Kingsway Housing Estate and building has continued apace since then
- only parts of Burnage Lane still survive as original weavers' cottages.
See also:
NOTE:
We have made reference to several sources in compiling this web page,
but must make special mention of the Breedon Books' "Illustrated
History of Manchester's Suburbs" by Glynis Cooper, of which we
made particular use. Information about this book can be found on our
Books About Manchester webpage.
