Crumpsall
Districts & Suburbs of Manchester

CRUMPSALL
The name Crumpsall derives from old English and means a "crooked piece of land beside a river". The original village of Crumpsall Green actually does lie on an oxbow bend in the River Irk. This valley often flooded and the resultant marshland was notoriously difficult to farm. It was known in the 13th century as Curmisole and two centuries later as Cromshall. Originally it formed part of Blackley Forest. The district was incorporated into Manchester in 1890. Cheetham Hill Road/Bury Old Road border its western edge and Middleton Road runs through it on an east-west axis.

In 1580 the local philanthropist Sir Humphrey Chetham was born at Crumpsall Hall - he rose to become High Sheriff of Lancashire and bequeathed his fortune to the establishment of a boys' school adjacent to Manchester Cathedral - this was to become Chethams Hospital School (Now Chethams Library and Music School).

By the mid-19th century Crumpsall was still a pleasant rural village that stood well clear of Manchester sprawl and industrialisation. However, by the end of the century, expanding building schemes to house Manchester mill workers had seen the population of the district more than double. This influx required the building of new schools, churches and other facilities. Eventually, light industries also moved into the district, including a Barrel making Works, a Biscuit Factory, Printing Works and Chemical Works.

The early 20th century saw the arrival of many Jewish immigrants in the district who had fled the various pogroms that ravaged Europe at that time. In the 1920s, one local Jewish businessman, Abraham Moss, was to fund the founding of King David High School on Eaton Road. His name is still commemorated in the Abraham Moss Centre, a large modern education and community college on the southern border of the district.

Crumpsall is still a very Victorian suburb, with its large houses now mainly converted into flats and apartments at the cheaper end of the price range, and occupied mostly by students and nurses from the North Manchester Hospital nearby in Delauneys Road. Its former prettiness has evidently seen better times and it now looks rather shabby at times, though efforts are being made proactively to raise its profile and to improve its image.

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.