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 The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated of track in the then counties of Lancashire and ...

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 Old Trafford is a tram stop on the Altrincham Line of the Metrolink light rail system in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. Before 1991, it was a railway station called Warwick Road; it reopened as a tram stop on 15 June 1992 with its ...

, 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 ...

Bury line The Bury Line is a light rail/tram line on the Manchester Metrolink in Greater Manchester. It runs from Manchester Victoria station to Bury Interchange in the north. The entire line runs along a converted heavy rail line, and was reopened with th ...

, and the number 15 bus.

Public services

Stretford Memorial Hospital Stretford Memorial Hospital was a health facility in Seymour Grove, Stretford, Greater Manchester. It was managed by Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It closed in 2015. History The building in which the hospital was ...

, originally known as Basford House, was converted into a

cottage hospital A cottage hospital is a mostly obsolete type of small hospital, most commonly found in the United Kingdom. The original concept was a small rural building having several beds.The Cottage Hospitals 1859–1990, Dr. Meyrick Emrys-Roberts, Tern Publ ...

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 Central Manchester University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, was a large NHS foundation trust in Manchester, England, that was founded in 2009 and merged with University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust in 2017 to form the curre ...

, 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 Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur Whitten Brown, (23 July 1886 – 4 October 1948) was a British military officer and aviator who flew as navigator of the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight with pilot John Alcock in June 1919. Biog ...

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 Edward Colquhoun Charlton VC (15 June 1920 – 21 April 1945) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...

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 tram

Travel by tram
Geography of Trafford Areas of Greater Manchester Stretford {{GreaterManchester-geo-stub