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Levenshulme () is an area of
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, bordering
Fallowfield Fallowfield is a suburb of Manchester, England, with a population at the 2011 census of 15,211. Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east–west by Wilmslow Road and north–south by Wil ...
,
Longsight Longsight is an inner city suburb of Manchester, England, located south of the city centre. It is bounded by Ardwick and West Gorton to the north; Levenshulme to the south; and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Victoria Park and Fallowfield to the west ...
,
Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hig ...
,
Burnage Burnage is a suburb of the city of Manchester in North West England, about south of Manchester city centre and bisected by the dual carriageway of Kingsway. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the population of the B ...
,
Heaton Chapel Heaton Chapel is an area in the northern part of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it borders the Manchester districts of Levenshulme to the north, the Stockport districts of He ...
and
Reddish Reddish is an area in Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. south-east of Manchester city centre. At the 2011 Census, the population was 28,052. Historically part of Lancashire, Reddish grew rapidly in the Industrial ...
; it is approximately halfway between
Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...
and
Manchester city centre Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...
on the A6. Levenshulme is predominantly residential with numerous fast food shops, public houses and antique stores. It has a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic population of 15,430 at the 2011 Census. The Manchester to London railway line passes through
Levenshulme railway station Levenshulme railway station is in Levenshulme, Manchester, England. The station is south east of Manchester Piccadilly towards Stockport. Four tracks go through the station, with the centre tracks used by fast trains and the outer by stoppin ...
.
Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
in
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, Levenshulme is a former
township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
and became a part of Manchester in 1909. Levenshulme, like its neighbour
Longsight Longsight is an inner city suburb of Manchester, England, located south of the city centre. It is bounded by Ardwick and West Gorton to the north; Levenshulme to the south; and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Victoria Park and Fallowfield to the west ...
, was historically a wealthy and middle class district of Manchester, though in the 20th century Levenshulme and many surrounding areas suffered from inner city decline. However, the area is now displaying signs of
gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
and has been described as one of Manchester's most "up and coming" neighbourhoods.


History

The very early history is so obscure as to be virtually non-existent. Many of the nearby suburbs, such as
Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington has a population of just ...
, Didsbury,
Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hig ...
etc., had a history of developing as villages, but for some reason Levenshulme did not. It has had several names over the millennia (according to East Lancashire expert
Eilert Ekwall Bror Oscar Eilert Ekwall (born 8 January 1877 in Vallsjö (now in Sävsjö, Jönköpings län), Sweden, died 23 November 1964 in Lund, Skåne län, Sweden), known as Eilert Ekwall, was Professor of English at Sweden's Lund University from 1909 to ...
), including: in 1246 it was called "de Lewyneshulm", in 1322 "Levensholme" and in 1587 it was called "Lensom". The name itself is derived from a possessive version of a person's name, "Leofwine's" and "holm", a
Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
term meaning island (usually in a lake or river). "Lywenshulme" also is referred to in the 1322 survey of Manchester and Collegiate Church charters refer to "Leysholme" (1556), "Lensholme" (1578) and "Lentsholme" (1635).Gay Sussex, Peter Helm, Andrew Brown. ''Looking Back at Levenshulme & Burnage''. Altrincham: Willow Publishing, 1987 , page 4. The "hulme" element is common in Manchester, and was pronounced "Oom", hence Levenshulme was traditionally "Levenzoom" to the residents and nicknamed as Levy, recently mispelt as Leve. The main A6, Stockport Road, dates from 1724 when a turnpike was built between Manchester and Stockport. The district of East Levenshulme used to be known as Talleyrand. It included Talleyrand House (later renamed as Barlow House) and a street, Talleyrand Row. It was said the French statesman Talleyrand once stayed there during his exile from France (
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
), presumably at some point during 1792–94. The place name "Talley Rand" is also found on the old post office sorting labels displayed in the POD café based in the former main post office. There is now a pub called "Talleyrand", on the A6. Legend has it that the famous highwayman
Dick Turpin Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ea ...
often visited the Blue Bell Inn on Barlow Road which shares the name of his birthplace. There has been an inn on this site for 700 years. The current pub was built after the previous Blue Bell Inn was destroyed during a German bombing raid in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Levenshulme, a dependency of Withington, was once feudal land held by the Lord of the Manor of Levenshulme. In 1319, possession was given to William Legh of Baguley by his grandfather Sir William de Baguley of Baguley in Cheshire. William Legh's descendants continued to hold the Manor until the 17th century. In 1917, the McVitie & Price biscuit factory was opened.


Housing

The typical housing of Levenshulme consists of
terraced house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
s, the majority of which were built circa 1880–1890. The style of houses are what are known colloquially as "two up-two downs". With a bedroom above each lower room, the house is bisected by a steep, narrow staircase. A kitchen was to the rear. Right up to the 1980s it wasn't uncommon for the original outside toilet (to the rear of the kitchen) to still be present, and some houses still had no bathroom or central heating. The layout of the streets which contain these terraces are typical of the area and consist of grid layouts intersected with wide back entries which run the length of the terrace blocks at the rear and at each end of the block. This alley/back-entry layout is supposed to be because of an old
by-law A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...
of the Levenshulme local authority that every terraced house had to have a front garden and allow access to the back door by a horse and cart to enable rubbish to be removed without the need enter the house. These back entries are now generally considered to be a threat to home security. Accordingly Manchester City Council has, over recent years, helped residents by funding a "gated alley" response to the threat. When the majority of affected residents of a particular entry are in agreement the entries have iron gates set up at all ingress and egress points with all affected residents being issued a key.


Governance

Manchester and its districts had developed into what were referred to as the "Thirty Townships". Levenshulme was one of them and in 1865 got its own 'board' which shortly thereafter developed into an
urban district council In England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local gove ...
. Prior to the turn of the 20th century West Levenshulme was considered to be a "dormitory" for Manchester. This description eventually changed to one of "residential suburb" a decade or so later, but East Levenshulme was still primarily industrial in nature consisting mostly of print works, bleach works, dye works and mattress works. In spite of the preponderance of industrial works there were also several farms, and the area around what is now Levenshulme High School was considered to be semi-rural until the 1920s. ISBN E000043855 Until the late 19th century Manchester's outlying townships had to supply their own amenities. This was becoming increasingly difficult for the urban councils to do and as a result there was a considerable difference in prices charged to the residents compared to the prices charged by Manchester itself. Manchester refused to alleviate these difficulties unless townships agreed to come under its control. As a result the townships slowly began to amalgamate into Manchester's rule. Along with
Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington has a population of just ...
, Levenshulme protested at the discrepancy of prices for gas in the city and for the outlying townships that were already supplied by Manchester. Nevertheless many of those townships arranged to get their electricity from Manchester, possibly in the hope that they would benefit from the city's plans to electrify the tram system when the existing lease with the
Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
was due to end in 1901. Along with Gorton, Levenshulme joined Manchester in 1909. The tramways were extended to serve Levenshulme before the start of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in 1914. The ward boundaries of Levenshulme have been moved in recent ward reorganisations, and as a result large areas in the north and east of Levenshulme are now officially in the ward of
Gorton South Gorton South is a defunct Local Government ward in the Gorton area of the City of Manchester. The population of Gorton South ward at the 2011 census was 19,615. Under boundary changes by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGB ...
, to the confusion and irritation of local residents. To the west areas historically regarded as
Fallowfield Fallowfield is a suburb of Manchester, England, with a population at the 2011 census of 15,211. Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east–west by Wilmslow Road and north–south by Wil ...
are now officially part of Levenshulme and
Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, England, two miles south of the city centre. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorlton-on-Medlock to the north, Victoria Park and Longsight to the east, F ...
. Levenshulme forms part of the wider
Manchester Gorton Manchester Gorton is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Labour's Afzal Khan, who was elected at the 2017 general election. It is the safest Labour seat in Greater Manchester by numerical majority and ...
Parliamentary constituency and has been represented in
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
by Afzal Khan since June 2017. ;Councillors The Levenshulme ward is represented in
Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...
by three
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
councillors: Basat Sheikh, Zahid Hussain and Dzidra Noor. indicates seat up for re-election.


Demography

In 1830, Levenshulme had a population of 768. In 2001, Levenshulme had an Irish population of approximately 7.0% which was twice the Manchester average, and, as a consequence, it was sometimes called ''County Levenshulme'' in reference to the county structure in Ireland, though the 2011 census figures show the Irish population has shrunk to 4.1%. Increasing numbers of Irish have moved to inner
Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...
or back to develop their homeland. The demographics within the district have changed, with increasing numbers of (mostly
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
) people of
South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...
origin and an ever-increasing number of Africans have settled in Levenshulme. Over a third of the population belong to an ethnic minority. In recent times, Levenshulme has also seen an influx of Eastern Europeans moving into the area, bringing about Polish confectionery shops. Many students also rent accommodation in the area. In the 2011 Census, the ethnic make up of Levenshulme was:


Culture

Levenshulme is evolving into an area typical of south Manchester: a mix of pubs, bars, restaurants, takeaways, solicitors, pound shops and booking agents, along with terraced housing. The area is in south-east Manchester and neighbours
Heaton Chapel Heaton Chapel is an area in the northern part of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it borders the Manchester districts of Levenshulme to the north, the Stockport districts of He ...
to the south, which is one of the most affluent parts of
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
. Levenshulme Market was launched in March 2013 and operates every Saturday, between March and December, from 10 am to 4 pm. It is a social enterprise-run market which prides itself on its diverse range of high quality traders. It has a changing roster of 50 artisan traders selling produce, street food, plants, gifts, vintage clothing and homeware. Since 1998, the annual ''Levenshulme Festival'' usually features 120+ multi-cultural events from firework displays to music concerts. The community radio station ALL FM is based in Levenshulme. There is a local amateur dramatic society, ''Levenshulme Players'', who have produced stage plays, comedy reviews, Murder Mystery Evenings and radio plays for ALL FM. They write much of their own material.


Religion


Statistics

Levenshulme has a varied ethnic mix. According to the 2011 Census the breakdown by religion is:


Places of worship

Image:St Marks Church Levenshulme.jpg, St Mark's Church File:St Mary of the Angels external view.jpg, St Mary of the Angels Church Image:Madina Mosque.jpg, Madina Mosque & UK Islamic Mission Image:St Peter's Church Levenshulme.jpg, St Peter's Church


Recreation and leisure


Parks


Green Bank Fields

This park is a green area stretching between Manor Road in the north, Mount Road in the east and Barlow Road in the south and west. It is primarily open grassland but also houses an open-air, enclosed 5-a-side football pitch adjacent to the Mount Road exit. Until about 1920 the land that Green Bank Fields was on held a dairy farm called Green Bank Farm (Wolfenden's) and a small house called Botany Bay Cottage. The entrance to the farm was originally where the main entrance to the park is now on Barlow Road adjacent to Byrom Parade shops. Manchester City Council fomented a local controversy by selling off part of Mellands (
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive was the Passenger transport executive, public body responsible for public transport in Greater Manchester between 1974 and 2011, when it became part of Transport for Greater Manchester. SELNEC PTE ...
) Playing Fields, Gorton to Dappa Homes to build 149 houses. Dappa is obliged to replace the land they are using to build the homes. In May 2004 Dappa Homes submitted plans to build 3 football pitches, a clubhouse and surround the park with a 10-foot fence on Green Bank Fields. This would have had the effect of reducing the versatile open-space into a restricted use site. The plans were later withdrawn by Dappa.


Highfield Country Park

Highfield Country Park is a area of open land that stretches to the east of Broom Avenue across to the back of Reddish Golf Course and over to the junction of Longford Road and Nelstrop Road. In the 1970s it was designated as a country park by the council, but at the time it wasn't much more than a
landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
site that was formerly the site of the UCP
tripe Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pigs and sheep. Types of tripe Beef tripe Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's st ...
factory, Jackson's Brickworks, Levenshulme Dye and Bleach Works and High Field Farm. The claypit formed by the extracted clay for the brickworks was much used by local children as a play area, known as "the Brickie". Until 2004 the park was jointly maintained by
Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...
and a group of volunteers called the 'Friends of Highfield Park'. In July 2004 the park came to the attention of the Prudential Grass Roots campaign (run by the
BTCV The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) is a British community volunteering charity focused on environmental conservation through practical tasks undertaken by volunteers. Until 1 May 2012, it traded as BTCV – British Trust for Conservation Volunt ...
conservation charity). Over a 12-month period the park was transformed from a dreary, vandalised wasteland into a pleasant country park with a picnic area and mapped out country walks.


Nutsford Vale Country Park

Nutsford Vale is a formally declared 'open space' ensuring that it remains green space, and that it does not suffer from adverse building development. The area is a local oasis for bird life, insects and other wildlife, made up of rough grassland and a wide variety of trees, providing a home for a variety of plants and animal species. The Friends of Nutsford Vale and a committee provide a management and maintenance plan for the site. There are various access points with the main entrances located at the end of Bickerdike Avenue M12 5SZ and on Matthews Lane M19 3DS.


Cringle Park

Cringle Park is a recreational park located next to Levenshulme High School on Errwood Road, adjoining Crossley Road. It is a small park; however, it features facilities such as a children's play area, football court, basketball court, two tennis courts and a boxing club. A sundial in the centre of a Stonehenge was erected on top of a small hill in this park, which serves as an aesthetically pleasing spot for families to visit. A small mobile coffee shop on a bicycle serves drinks and snacks. Cringle Park is managed by Manchester City Council. It has a strong and active ''Friends of'' group, who support community events and actively campaign for improvements in the park. It is a peaceful open space with many spots to relax in and is also a very popular dog-walking park.


Paths

The
Fallowfield Loop The Fallowfield Loop is an off-road cycle path, pedestrian and horse riding route in the south of Manchester, England, which is one of the National Cycle Network routes and paths; it was developed and built by Sustrans, forming part of routes 6 ...
shared use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. ...
passes through the suburb. It follows the route of the former Fallowfield Loop railway line, which was closed in October 1988. It is approximately 8 miles long and connects
Chorlton-cum-Hardy Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of Manchester, England, southwest of the city centre. Chorlton ward had a population of 14,138 at the 2011 census, and Chorlton Park 15,147. By the 9th century, there was an Anglo-Saxon settlement her ...
in the west with Fairfield in the east. It can be accessed beside the site of the former
Levenshulme South railway station Levenshulme South was a railway station in Levenshulme, Manchester, England; it was sited on the Fallowfield Loop railway line The Fallowfield Loop railway line was a local railway route in south Manchester, England. Trains on the Manches ...
on the A6.


Sport


Swimming

Levenshulme Swimming Baths was built in the late 19th century and was formerly called "Levenshulme Public Baths and Washhouse" as it also housed the public washhouse at the side. In the late 1920s and early 1930s Levenshulme Baths was used as a training pool for Longsight resident
Sunny Lowry Ethel "Sunny" Lowry MBE (2 January 1911, in Longsight, Manchester, Lancashire – 21 February 2008) was claimed to be the first British woman to swim the English Channel in 1933. (An earlier claim was successfully made by Mercedes Gleit ...
, who, in 1933, was the first British woman to swim the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
(from France to England).


Arcadia Sports Centre

Located on Yew Tree Avenue, this sports facility was formerly home to Manchester Roller Hockey Club and affectionately known to locals as "the Shed". On 20 February 2016, the new Arcadia Leisure Centre opened on the site of the old sports hall.


Community


Library

Levenshulme Library is a " Carnegie library" as it was gifted to the people of Levenshulme by industrialist and philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
. The ceremonial laying of the first brick (in reality an engraved stone plaque) took place on 5 December 1903. The stone was laid by George Paulson in his role as Chairman of the Free Library Committee. The library actually opened its doors to the public in 1904. At the time the money was gifted there was a minor local furore as some Levenshulme residents expressed the opinion that it was "immoral" for the then urban district council to accept the money from Carnegie as they believed the money to be "tainted". This was allegedly due to Carnegie's suppression of trade unions in the United States. In 2012 proposals were put forward by Manchester Council to replace the library by a new building shared with the replacement for the swimming pools. In 2013 these proposals were amended to close both library and pools immediately and to only provide a reduced "book drop-off" service. These proposals were strongly contested by local groups and the building was symbolically taken over for a 24-hour ''"read-in"'' as a protest. In February 2016, Levenshulme Library closed and was replaced by the new Arcadia Library and Leisure Centre on Stockport Road, despite yearly protests.


Education

There are other nearby secondary schools, including Burnage Academy for Boys.


Transport


Railway

A spur of the
West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
passes through Levenshulme, which is located between Manchester Piccadilly and
Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...
. The area is served by
Levenshulme railway station Levenshulme railway station is in Levenshulme, Manchester, England. The station is south east of Manchester Piccadilly towards Stockport. Four tracks go through the station, with the centre tracks used by fast trains and the outer by stoppin ...
, which provides local Northern stopping services between Manchester, Stockport and locations in
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
. The suburb was once served by
Levenshulme South railway station Levenshulme South was a railway station in Levenshulme, Manchester, England; it was sited on the Fallowfield Loop railway line The Fallowfield Loop railway line was a local railway route in south Manchester, England. Trains on the Manches ...
. It was sited on the Fallowfield Loop railway line, which closed to passenger services in 1958; the former trackbed is now a
shared-use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...
between
Chorlton Chorlton may refer to: Places * Chorlton, Cheshire East, in Cheshire, England *Chorlton, Cheshire West and Chester, in Cheshire, England *Chorlton-cum-Hardy, in Manchester, England **Chorlton (ward), an electoral ward of Manchester, England **Chorl ...
and Fairfield.


Buses

Bus services in the area are provided by . The 192, according to Stagecoach, is the busiest bus route in Great Britain, with around 9 million passengers carried annually. The service runs every 5–10 minutes daily until the late hours. The following routes serve Levenshulme: * 150: Gorton – Levenshulme – Chorlton-cum-Hardy – Stretford – The Trafford Centre * 191: Manchester (Albert Sq.)– Longsight – Levenshulme – Stockport – Stepping Hill Hospital – Hazel Grove * 192: Manchester (Piccadilly) – Longsight – Levenshulme – Stockport – Stepping Hill Hospital – Hazel Grove * 197: Manchester (Albert Sq.) - Longsight – Levenshulme – Green End – Stockport


Roads

The A6, which connects Carlisle with Luton, passes through Levenshulme; it connects the suburb with Stockport and Manchester city centre.


Tourism


''The street with no name''

Due to several reports in both local and national newspapers, and on several internet blogs, tourists are now making visits to Levenshulme railway station since the news broke of a street with no name in the area. The street that the railway station is on is 160 years old and 77 yards long, yet it has no official name and never has had. In May 2007, as a benefit of a £5,000 grant awarded to the ''Friends of Levenshulme Station'' by the Awards For All lottery grants scheme, an unofficial road sign was erected at the entrance to the street. The sign gave the name of the street as ''The Street With No Name''. According to local residents, the street had been informally called this for years and it seemed appropriate that it now had a sign so that people could find it. The first sign was fitted approximately three feet from the ground, but was stolen a short time later. The replacement was refitted above the road so as to discourage would-be thieves, although the sign is still stolen regularly. An increasing number of day trippers visit from other cities across the North of England to visit friends and give business custom.


Notable people

*
Ernest Marples Alfred Ernest Marples, Baron Marples, (9 December 1907 – 6 July 1978) was a British Conservative politician who served as Postmaster General (1957–1959) and Minister of Transport (1959–1964). As Postmaster General, he oversaw the introdu ...
, a Conservative politician, was born and brought up in Levenshulme. Served as the Minister of Transport in the
Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...
and Alec Douglas-Home governments and was elevated to the peerage in 1974. *Rock and pop singer
Wayne Fontana Glyn Geoffrey Ellis (28 October 19456 August 2020
*The architect
Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...
was brought up in Levenshulme. *''
Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...
s "Captain Mainwaring", Arthur Lowe, attended Chapel Street School. *
Beryl Reid Beryl Elizabeth Reid, (17 June 1919 – 13 October 1996), was a British actress of stage and screen. She won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for ''The Killing of Sister George'', the 1980 Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performan ...
, the comedian, grew up in Manchester where she attended Withington and Levenshulme High Schools. *Actor
Graeme Hawley Graeme Hawley (born 28 November 1975) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as John Stape in the British soap ''Coronation Street''. Career Hawley graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1996 with a degree in Drama, b ...
who played John Stape in ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...
'' is a resident. *Professor
Terry Callaghan Terence Vincent Callaghan (born 1945) is a British biologist specialized in the ecology of the Arctic. Much of his work on arctic plants has taken place in Abisko in northernmost Sweden, based at the Abisko Scientific Research Station where he s ...
, who was a member of the Lead Authors of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) a ...
which won the
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
in 2007, together with
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
. He was brought up in Levenshulme and went to Chapel Street School and Burnage Grammar School. At 14 he struck up a friendship with Alec Cowan, (Councillor, Levenshulme Ward 2004–2010) and the two have remained friends ever since. *Drummer
Tony McCarroll Anthony McCarroll (born 4 June 1971) is an English drummer and one of the founding members of the English rock band Oasis, as their drummer from 1991 until his dismissal in April 1995. He played the drums on their debut album, ''Definitely May ...
, formerly of Manchester band
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
*
Harry Hancock Henry Bentley Hancock (late 1874 – 1924) was an English professional footballer. An inside left or centre forward, he played in the Football League for Blackpool, Oldham Athletic and West Bromwich Albion, but was also on the books of Stockpo ...
, a professional footballer, was born in Levenshulme. *
Gwyneth Powell Gwyneth Powell (5 July 1946 – 8 September 2022) was an English actress. She was best known for her portrayal of headmistress Bridget McClusky in the BBC television series ''Grange Hill'' for eleven series between 1981 and 1991. Background P ...
, an English actress best known for her portrayal of headmistress Bridget McClusky in the BBC television programme ''
Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...
'', was born in Levenshulme.


See also

*
Listed buildings in Manchester-M19 Manchester is a city in Northwest England. The M19 postcode area is to the south of the city centre, and contains the areas of Burnage, and Levenshulme. The postcode area contains five listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed buil ...
* ALL FM


References


External links


Levenshulme then and now: A personal viewLevenshulme Festival websiteLove LevenshulmeLevenshulme Community AssociationLevenshulme ChurchesManchester City Council: Image library
containing 1420 images of Levenshulme (as of September 2007) {{Manchester Areas of Manchester Irish diaspora in England Manchester City Council Wards History of Manchester