Trafford Park Aerodrome (Manchester) was the first purpose-built airfield in the

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 ...

area. Its large all-grass landing field was just south of the

Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...

between Trafford Park Road, Moseley Road and Ashburton Road and occupied a large part of the former deer park of

Trafford Hall Trafford Hall is an 18th-century country house standing to the east of the village of Wimbolds Trafford in Cheshire, England, about northeast of the city of Chester. It is owned by The Regenda Group and operated as a youth hostel and training ce ...

. Today's Tenax Road runs north–south through the centre of the site of the old airfield, which was 0.7 miles northeast of today's

Trafford Centre The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and entertainment complex in Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1998 and is third largest in the United Kingdom by retail space. Originally developed by the Peel Group, the Trafford C ...

Operations in 1911–1912

Manchester Aerodrome Ltd was formed in late 1910 to rent the land and prepare the surface for flying and this work was completed by summer 1911. The first known use of Trafford Park airfield was by Henry Melly on 7 July 1911 when he flew his Blériot monoplane, with A. Dukinfield-Jones as passenger, from his base at Waterloo just north of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

to meet

Alliott Verdon Roe Sir Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe OBE, Hon. FRAeS, FIAS (26 April 1877 – 4 January 1958) was a pioneer English pilot and aircraft manufacturer, and founder in 1910 of the Avro company. After experimenting with model aeroplanes, he made flight tr ...

for lunch at Trafford Hall. By prior arrangement, A.V. Roe had laid out white sheets on the aerodrome to indicate the location of the landing area. Melly's return flight later that day was the first heavier-than-air flight to depart from Manchester.Scholefield (2004) p. 213 Melly's flight was re-enacted a 100 years later on 7 July 2011 when four light aircraft flew in formation from Liverpool Airport via Waterloo, overflying the Trafford Park airfield site. At the end of July, the remaining competitors in a 'Round Britain Air Race' reached Trafford Park from Edinburgh via Carlisle to be greeted by a large crowd of spectators. French aviator Lt. Conneau arrived first in his Bleriot, leaving for Bristol and

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

to win the race. Only three others completed the course, including James Valentine of

Mottram Hall Mottram Hall (also known as Mottram New Hall or the Mottram Hall Hotel) is a former country house to the northeast of the village of Mottram St. Andrew, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated ...

who reached Manchester in his Deperdussin on 29 July.

Operations in 1914–1918

A major public event was held at the aerodrome on 20 June 1914, when it was the turning point for a Hendon-Birmingham-Manchester and return air race. A crowd of 100,000 persons witnessed the flying.

Louis Strange Louis Arbon Strange, (27 July 1891 – 15 November 1966) was an English aviator, who served in both World War I and World War II. Early life Louis Strange was born in Tarrant Keyneston, Dorset, and was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford, jo ...

arrived first in his Blériot monoplane, being greeted by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, who stepped on a bracing wire, which broke on takeoff, and put Strange out of the race,Hearn (1994) p. 56 which was won by a French airman. Other competitors included John Alcock in his

Farman Farman Aviation Works (french: Avions Farman) was a French aircraft company founded and run by the brothers Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French national ...

biplane. The airfield latterly saw little use and closed during 1918.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * ''History of British Aviation'' R. Dallas Brett {{Defunct airports in the United Kingdom Defunct airports in England History of Manchester Airports in Greater Manchester 1911 establishments in England 1918 disestablishments in England History of transport in Greater Manchester