Gorton, District of Manchester

Gorton
Districts & Suburbs of Manchester

The district of Gorton was incorporated into the City of Manchester in 1909. The name Gorton was known by the late 13th century and means dirty or grubby village or township, probably on account of Gore Brook, a dark water course stained brown by the surrounding peaty land. In the event, however, the "dirty" connotation was not so much real as perceived, and the water itself seems to have been perfectly "clean" (that is, free from pollutants), such that by the beginning of the 14th century a water mill is known to have existed on the brook.

Initially, Gorton also included the area of Longsight.

A distinctive geographical and historic feature of the district is the Nico Ditch, and early Danish earthwork forming the ancient boundary between Gorton and Levenshulme.

In the 1860s, the Franciscan Monastery was built by Edward Pugin on Gorton Lane. This fine building, long a notable feature of the local landscape, is currently awaiting extensive restoration after many years of suffering and neglect.

Gorton saw massive developments during the Industrial Revolution. The Ashton Canal, which passes through the district, enabled the building of the Gorton Mills alongside in 1852. These mills became the area's major employers, with some 1500 local people on its workforce by the 1880s.

Other major employment opportunities emerged with the coming of railways. These included the Manchester, Sheffield and Ashton Railway in 1845, and the Sheffield and Midland Joint Railway in 1875. There emerged a major railways maintenance yard in the area, which was known locally as "Gorton Tank". These yards serviced and maintained rolling stock (on Railway Street) under the name of the Beyer Peacock Railway Works, later to become the Gorton Foundry. More than 8000 steam railway engines were built here to serve railways all over the world during the next century. The railway works finally ceased production in 1966, and the site has been built over so that only a very close scrutiny of the landscape would reveal that they ever existed at all.

These excellent employment opportunities proved a magnet and during the latter half of the nineteenth century the resident population of Gorton multiplied eleven-fold, though modern times and declining industry have seen a rapid decline in population numbers. Most of the industries have long gone from Gorton and light industry at ICL remains as the main local employer.

The Victorians built Gorton Reservoir in Debdale Park on Hyde Road, and this has nowadays become a distinctive local landmark and a popular pleasant walk for local residents.

Return to: Suburban Districts of Manchester

See also:

• Map of City Boundaries in 1838
• Map of City Boundaries in 1938
• Map of City Boundaries in 2002
• Gazetteer of Greater Manchester Place Names

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.