Firswood is a suburban area of
Stretford
Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, sited on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal; the Bridgewater Canal bisects the town. The town is located south of Manchester, south of Salfo ...
in the Metropolitan Borough of
Trafford
Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes the area of Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sa ...
, Greater Manchester, England.
Geography
Firswood borders
Whalley Range,
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
and
Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of Manchester, England, southwest of the Manchester city centre, city centre. Chorlton (ward), Chorlton ward had a population of 14,138 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census, and Chorlton Park (w ...
. It was largely occupied by Rye Bank Farm, which remained until 1930, when private housing was built along Rye Bank Road and Warwick Road. Social Housing was built on part of Firs Farm after WW2. The remainder of Firs Farm was demolished in 1960, and St.Hilda's Junior School was built on the site. Before being drained, the area was largely a peat bog, which explains the lack of development before the 20th century.
The oldest residential part of the area is Darley Park, which shares some characteristics with neighbouring
Whalley Range and Chorltonville.
St Teresa's church (1928) is a parish church in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford.
Landmarks
The Quadrant
The Quadrant, where Kings Road meets Great Stone Road is the most recognisable place in the area. In the centre are public gardens and parking, Around this leafy green space is the Quadrant
public house
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
, a former public library now a
Beacon Centre, and a number of shops, a barber and an established Holistic Therapy Centre .
Transport
Firswood is served by the
Manchester Metrolink
Manchester Metrolink is a tram/light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network has List of Manchester Metrolink tram stops, 99 stops along of standard-gauge route, making it the Transport in the United Kingdom#Trams and light ra ...
light rail network.
Firswood tram stop is on Rye Bank Road, where it opened in July 2011, after the existing disused
Cheshire Lines Committee railway track was cleared and upgraded as part of Metrolink ‘Big Bang' extension.
The tram stop is served by two lines: Rochdale to East Didsbury, and Victoria to Manchester Airport. This means there are direct services from Firswood to
Manchester city centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England, within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way, which collectively form an inner ring road. The City Centre ward had a ...
,
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
,
Oldham
Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...
,
Chorlton,
Didsbury
Didsbury is a suburb of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 26,788.
Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of ...
,
Wythenshawe
Wythenshawe () is an area of Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a large housing estate there in the 1920s. With an area of approximately , ...
and
Manchester Airport
Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2024, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers (the busiest outside of London) ...
.
The area is also served by the nearby
Old Trafford tram stop, on the
Altrincham
Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...
to
Bury line, and the number 15 bus.
Public services
Stretford Memorial Hospital, originally known as Basford House, was converted into a
cottage hospital as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the First World War. On opening it had a children's ward, a maternity unity and a geriatric ward. Until its closure in October 2015, it was managed by
Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and provided a range of services including geriatric medicine,
ophthalmology
Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders.
An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...
and pain management.
Notable residents
John Alcock, who along with
Arthur Whitten Brown was the first man to fly across the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
, was born in the lodge of Basford House on Seymour Grove, where his father was the coachman.
Edward Colquhoun Charlton lived at 12 Basford Road, prior to his conscription into the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. He was posthumously awarded the last
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
awarded in the European theatre of the Second World War. A road was subsequently named after him, on the nearby Firs Farm development.
Tom Curry member of the
Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
coaching staff who died in the 1958 Munich Air Disaster lived on Bedford Road in Firswood.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Metrolink South Manchester lineTravel by tramTravel by tram
Geography of Trafford
Areas of Greater Manchester
Stretford
{{GreaterManchester-geo-stub