Miles Platting is an
inner city
The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...
part 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, northeast of
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. ...
along the
Rochdale Canal and
A62 road A6, A 6 or A-6 can refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*A6, a mutated flu virus in the short story "Night Surf" by Stephen King
*A-6, a renamed version of the US Security Group in the 1997 comic book movie ''Spawn''
Electronics and software
* A6 rec ...
, bounded by
Monsall to the north,
Collyhurst
Collyhurst is an inner city area of Manchester, England, northeast of the Manchester city centre, city centre on Rochdale Road (A664) and A62 road, Oldham Road (A62), bounded by Smedley, Manchester, Smedley, Harpurhey and Monsall tram stop, Mons ...
to the west,
Newton Heath
Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883.
Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial Re ...
to the east, and
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
,
Holt Town and
Ancoats to the south.
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 ...
part of the
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 ...
of
Newton Heath
Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883.
Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial Re ...
,
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 ...
, Miles Platting expanded into a
factory district as a result of the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. That industrial growth resulted in a population that became very large for the size of the district, resulting in densely packed terraced housing that had degenerated into slums by 1950. As a result of this, crime rose and the area became an economically deprived part of the city.
Miles Platting has undergone extensive redevelopment and regeneration, with former slum terraces removed to make way for council housing.
History
![Rochdale Canal, Miles Platting](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Rochdale_Canal%2C_Miles_Platting.jpg)
Miles Platting first appeared on a map in 1790
at the point where Oldham Road crossed Newton Brook
and a track led to Collyhurst Hall. The track became Collyhurst Street and the track on the opposite side of Oldham Road became Varley Street.
The name is derived from platting, a local word, meaning a small bridge across a stream. The Court leet records of the manor of Manchester dated 13 October 1742 record "Mr Henry Booth for suffering his Platting leading from Tib Lane into the Long Pitfield to lye broken in such manner that severall persons have fall'n and been ill brused". The footnote says "Platting, a local word, meaning a small bridge across a stream".
This platting was a mile from Manchester (measured from New Cross at the bottom of Oldham Road). Hence Miles Platting.
Miles Platting had many mills towards the end of 19th century: Holland Mill,
Victoria Mill
, owner_2 = Fine Cotton Spinners and Doublers Association
, acquisition_date_2 = 1898
, owner_3 =
, acquisition_date_3 =
Victoria Mill is a Grade II* listed nineteenth century cotton spinning mil ...
and Ducie Mill were among the largest. By the 1870s a chemical works, timber yard, gas works and a tannery were also operating in the area alongside the many mills. This volume of industry in such a relatively small area inevitably led to the construction of densely packed back-to-back housing to provide homes for the necessary workforce. By the middle of the 20th century, with the decline in manufacturing industry and the closure of its local industries, Miles Platting had become a slum area inhabited by a deprived community. Today, Miles Platting contains just under 2,000 housing units, many of them managed by Adactus Housing Association on behalf of
Manchester City Council, including 12 multi-storey blocks.
The area, once recognised as being amongst the most deprived in the UK, has benefited from the substantial urban regeneration scheme for east Manchester initiated in the late 1990s.
Miles Platting railway station lay at the junction of the lines from Manchester Victoria to Oldham and Stalybridge, but this closed in 1995, and the station was subsequently demolished. The railway line, which remains open for passenger traffic, separates Miles Platting from
Collyhurst
Collyhurst is an inner city area of Manchester, England, northeast of the Manchester city centre, city centre on Rochdale Road (A664) and A62 road, Oldham Road (A62), bounded by Smedley, Manchester, Smedley, Harpurhey and Monsall tram stop, Mons ...
and
Monsall.
Between 1839 and 1844, the area was also the location of
Oldham Road railway station, the original terminus for the
Manchester and Leeds Railway
The Manchester and Leeds Railway was a British railway company that built a line from Manchester to Normanton where it made a junction with the North Midland Railway, over which it relied on running powers to access Leeds. The line followed the ...
until the line was extended to
Manchester Victoria station
Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is a combined mainline railway station and Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral, it adjoins Manchester Arena which was co ...
in the latter year. The station was then converted to become a major railway goods depot by the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...
, remaining in use until the 1960s.
Governance
Miles Platting was incorporated into the City of Manchester in 1838.
Geography
Landmarks
A prominent building of Miles Platting is Victoria Mill, a huge former
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Althou ...
that looms over the district and now houses offices and apartments. Its restoration was directed by Fr Dominic Kirkham of Corpus Christi.
Religion
Historically, much of the population of Miles Platting was of Irish Catholic or Italian descent, as evidenced by the large
Corpus Christi Priory on Varley Street. The
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
has been served since 1889 by the Norbertine (Premonstratensian) Order, becoming an independent canonry of the order in 2004. Due to falling numbers and mounting repair and maintenance costs the basilica is now closed; the final Mass was celebrated by the
Bishop of Salford on 27 April 2007. The basilica has been converted into the Usmania Banqueting Hall.
From 1880 until the slum clearances of the 1970s there was a
Salvation Army
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
corps in Cash Street.
Miles Platting is in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford is centred on the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England.
The diocese was founded in 1852 as one of the first post-Reformation Catholic dioceses in Great Britain. Since 1911 it has formed part of th ...
,
and the
Anglican Diocese of Manchester.
Miles Platting does also have a very small Muslim minority.
Transport
The majority of bus routes are operated by
. Buses from the city centre include 74, 76, 76A. Little Gem and Stagecoach also offers the 217 service from
Piccadilly Gardens to
Ashton via
Clayton.
References
{{Manchester
Areas of Manchester