Belle Vue is an area of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, England, sited east of the city centre; it is bordered by the
Hope Valley line to the east and the
Glossop line
The Glossop line is a railway line connecting the city of Manchester with the towns of Hadfield, Derbyshire, Hadfield and Glossop in Derbyshire, England. It formed part of the historic Great Central Main Line between Manchester Piccadilly rail ...
to the west. It is part of the electoral ward of
Longsight.
History
In 1897, the
machine tool
A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, Boring (manufacturing), boring, grinding (abrasive cutting), grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some s ...
manufacturer ''Kendall and Gent'' opened its Victoria Works in Belle Vue. The company closed down in the late 1960s.
The area is best known for the former
Belle Vue Zoological Gardens and
Belle Vue Stadium. The zoo opened in 1836 and a small amusements area was added in the 1870s, which developed into a major amusement park in the 20th century. It occupied a 96-acre site and, at the height of its popularity, attracted two million visitors annually. In 1910, the Kings Hall was opened which housed
The Hallé for several years, hosting major concerts over the years. The zoo closed in September 1977, due to mounting debts; the amusement park remained open on summer weekends until 1980. The land was sold in 1982 and the site was finally cleared in 1987.
Sport
The
National Basketball Performance Centre, headquarters of
Basketball England, is located in Belle Vue. It the home arena of men's basketball team
Manchester Giants, women's basketball team
Manchester Mystics and women's netball team
Manchester Thunder.
The National Speedway Stadium is home to the ''Belle Vue Aces'' speedway team.
Transport
Belle Vue railway station lies on the
Hope Valley line.
On Mondays to Saturdays,
Northern Trains
Northern Trains, Trade name, trading as Northern, is a British train operating company that operates Commuter rail, commuter and Inter-city rail, medium-distance intercity services in the North of England. It is owned by DfT Operator for the Dep ...
operates an hourly service in each direction between and . There is no Sunday service.
Bus services are operated predominantly by
, which link the area with
Manchester Piccadilly
Manchester Piccadilly is the main railway station of the city of Manchester, in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England. Opened originally as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchest ...
,
Gorton
Gorton is an area of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the southeast of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw.
A ...
,
Hattersley,
Hyde,
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...
and the
Trafford Centre
The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and entertainment complex in Trafford Park, Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1998 and is third largest in the United Kingdom by retail space.
Originally developed by the Peel Grou ...
.
References
Belle Vue
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