Moss Side, District of Manchester

Moss Side
Districts & Suburbs of Manchester

Moss Side, as the name suggests, was originally at the edge of a "moss" or a peat bog moorland. In medieval times, turf or peat cut here would have been used as fuel for heating and cooking. The entry in the Domesday Book of 1086 actually defined the area as wasteland, and that a small village, or hamlet, was to be found there.

Moss side has, therefore, been occupied since the earliest of pre-Conquest times, and has a consistent occupation right up to the present day. It was incorporated into the City of Manchester in 1904. As a small village, by the beginning of the 19th century the official census showed that it had fewer than 200 residents and its main occupation was in farming and agriculture.

The Industrial Revolution was to change all that. By the 20th century its resident population had risen to 27,000. It saw rapid expansion and an overwhelming influx of people looking for work in the new mills that were being built throughout the region. The new houses, built to house these workers were laid out on streets that formed a grid pattern - the most efficient use of space by which the greatest number of dwellings could be squeezed into the available area. Houses were generally unregulated back-to-back terraces with little or no sanitation of facilities. Many still survive today, particularly around Main Road, Great Western Street and Princess Road. Later developments around Denmark Road were better built, thanks in part to hastily enforced building regulations, and the middle class residents who occupied these larger houses.

In the better off areas facilities were better - Alexander Park is an example of improved amenities in the more prosperous areas of the district. The Park, opened in 1876, had an ornamental and boating lake, pavilion, a bandstand for Sunday afternoon concerts and an unbroken 2 mile walk. It was frequented by elegant ladies and horse-drawn carriages accompanied by light music from the bandstand. Later it had its own council offices, fire station and a library. In 1909 a tram depot was opened on Princess Road and eventually would garage 300 trams.

Moss Side currently is also home to the Manchester City Football Club. Originally known as Ardwick Football Club, MCFC have had their football ground at Maine Road in the heart of Moss Side since 1923, but have relocated after the end of the 2002 football season to the prestigious City of Manchester Stadium at Sportcity, which will become their permanent home. The fate of the old Maine Road stadium, sadly, was to be demolished, and at present a large swathe of bulldozed land lies amid the rows of Moss Side terraced houses, awaiting some further development.

Site of the old Maine Road Stadium in Moss Side
Aerial Photo Courtesy of www.webbaviation.co.uk © 2005
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

In recent years Moss Side has had a chequered and unfortunate history due largely to the proliferation of gun and drug-related crimes in the district, so that armed police now regularly patrol its streets.

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.