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, Fallowfield to the south and Moss Side to the west. It has a large student population, with several student halls and many students renting terraced houses, and suburban houses towards Victoria Park.

History

Etymology

Rusholme, unlike other place names in Manchester with the suffix ''-hulme/holme'' is not a true water meadow. Its name derives from ''ryscum'' the dative plural of the Old English ''rysc'', a " rush" meaning at the rushes. The name was recorded as Russum in 1235, Ryssham in 1316 and Rysholme in 1551.

Early history

Late in the Roman occupation of Britain a hoard of about 200 gold coins was hidden in the valley of the Gore Brook. These date from the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE and were found where Birchfields Road crosses the brook in the 1890s. They are now held in the Manchester Museum.Sussex (1984); p. 3.

The name Rusholme first appears in the mid-13th century, when "Russum" is mentioned. A house is known to have existed at Platt at that time, which was replaced by a larger one of black-and-white construction. This remained the home of the Platts until the present classical building replaced it in the mid-18th century. An early record of the Platt estate mentions the Nico Ditch, an 8th or 9th-century Anglo-Saxon linear earthwork running east–west through the area and probably marking an administrative boundary. Tales of battles between Danes and Normans associated with the road names Danes Road and Norman Road are not accepted by historians. Another black-and-white hall at Birch was probably built in the 16th century.

The economy of the area was dependent on agriculture until the 18th century; however during the 17th and 18th centuries there was a growth of cottage industries such as spinning, weaving and brickmaking.

Social history

Over the Victorian era, there were several different socio-political meanings of Rusholme. Primarily, it was a township based around a general area known as Rusholme since at least the 13th century. The area grew into a township, and by the beginning of the 19th century, it had its own government responsible for public health, roads, policing, poor relief, and other local government tasks. Rusholme was originally a politically autonomous entity, which was vital to its self-conception as a discrete area even after its incorporation into Manchester. Low-cost terraced housing built between 1880 and 1930 dominates the landscape, along with a sprawling council housing estate from the interwar period.

Political history

Richard Cobden, William Royle (author of a history of the township), and Thomas Lowe (1815–1892) were long-time residents. Lowe began working as a baker and became a flour dealer, later a nurseryman and finally the proprietor of a dairy. Prime Minister H. H. Asquith was married here in 1877 to Miss Helen Melland.

The Conservative Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw was for 26 years one of the councillors for Rusholme on Manchester City Council, before becoming Lord Mayor of Manchester in 1975–1976. Other local politicians included ward Councillor Paul Shannon, a Liberal Democrat and former deputy leader of the Manchester City Council Liberal Democrat group who was defeated by Ahmed Ali (Labour) in May 2012. Rabnawaz Akbar was elected as a Labour councillor for Rusholme ward in May 2010. Councillor Akbar served on the Citizenship and Inclusion Committee.

Governance

Rusholme was a separate town until it was incorporated into Manchester in 1885. It is served in Westminster by the MP for Manchester Gorton, currently Afzal Khan.

;Councillors
Rusholme is represented on Manchester City Council by three Labour councillors, Ahmed Ali, Jill Lovecy and Rabnawaz Akbar.

indicates seat up for re-election.
indicates seat won in by-election.

Geography

The community is surrounded by Fallowfield to the south, Moss Side to the west, Victoria Park to the east and Chorlton-on-Medlock to the north.

Platt Fields Park

A large public park in the south-west, it opened in 1910 and proved popular; it was maintained by a team of up to 50 gardeners until the second half of the 20th century. The centrepiece is a large pleasure lake used for boating and fishing. The grounds contain Platt Hall, several formal gardens, and three dedicated show fields for outdoor events. In 2010, Platt Fields Park received a Green Flag Award for achieving the national standard for parks and green spaces.

Churches

The Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity is in Platt Lane. At Birch in Rusholme is the now disused, much older chapel of ease of St James (formerly known as Birch Chapel). The present building was built in 1845–1846 to replace an earlier chapel of 1595. The architect was J. M. Derick and it is in Gothic revival style. The south-west tower is topped by a broach spire; the aisle arcades have five bays.N. Pevsner (1969) ''Lancashire; 1''. Harmondsworth: Penguin; p. 321. Since its conversion into a nursing home it has been known as St James House. The Housing Group of the St James', Birch, Fellowship investigated housing conditions in Chorlton-on-Medlock in 1931.

In Thurloe Street is the Roman Catholic Church of St Edward. The architect was E. W. Pugin and the church was built in 1861–1862. It is small and the exterior sober; the planned south-west tower was never built and there is an apse at the east end. The arcades have short polished granite columns.

A Wesleyan Church once stood on Dickenson Road near the junction with Wilmslow Road. It was designed in the Gothic Revival style by the architects William Hayley & Son, and opened in 1862. The chapel closed to worship in 1937 and after some years in use as a film and television studio, it was demolished in 1975.

Culture and cultural references

John Ruskin gave the lectures later published as ''Sesame and Lilies'' in 1865 at Rusholme Town Hall.

In 1947 the disused Wesleyan church on Dickenson Road was converted into a film studios by Mancunian Films. Between 1947 and 1954 the company produced many feature films at Dickenson Road Studios, including the first Manchester-made feature film, ''Cup-Tie Honeymoon'' starring Sandy Powell and Pat Phoenix. Many Mancunian productions were filmed in local streets. In 1963 the BBC
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