Oxford Road, Manchester
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Wilmslow Road is a major
road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...
in
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, running from Parrs Wood northwards to
Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, two miles south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. The population of the ward at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorl ...
where it becomes the Oxford Road. The name of the road changes again to Oxford Street when it crosses the
River Medlock The River Medlock in Greater Manchester, England rises in east Oldham and flows south and west for to join the River Irwell in Manchester city centre. Sources Rising in the hills that surround Strinesdale just to the eastern side of Oldham M ...
before reaching
Manchester city centre Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England, within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way, which collectively form an inner ring road. The City Centre ward had a ...
. The road runs through the centres of
Didsbury Didsbury is a suburb of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of ...
,
Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington had a population at the 2011 ce ...
and
Fallowfield Fallowfield is a bustling area of Manchester with a population of 14,869 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east&n ...
, including the major student residential campus of Owens Park, to
Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, two miles south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. The population of the ward at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorl ...
. Oxford Road passes through the
University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
campus, the Institute for Contemporary Theatre campus of BIMM University and the All Saints campus of the
Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...
. Several hospitals including the
Christie Hospital The Christie, formerly known as Christie Hospital and The Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute, is a specialist National Health Service, National Health Service (NHS) single site cancer centre in Manchester, United Kingdom. The hospital is ...
and Manchester Royal Infirmary have been built along the road. It also features several parks and gardens such as Fletcher Moss Gardens, Platt Fields and Whitworth Park. The road is part of a major bus corridor with bus movements of over one a minute at peak times and is a key centre for business, culture and higher education.


Route

Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road and Oxford Street are part of an 18th-century route from Manchester to
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, and from there to
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, which can be traced on modern maps by locating roads which are called (or used to be called) the A34. Wilmslow Road was designated the A34 until 1967. Many sections of the route have been re-designated when motorways and bypasses took the A34 away from its original route and they took names such as the A3400 and A44. The ancient route goes via Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme,
Wilmslow Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is south of Manchester. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the parish had a population of 26,213 and the built up area had a p ...
,
Congleton Congleton is a market town and civil parish in Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is on the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 28,497 and the built-up area ha ...
,
Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...
,
Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...
,
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
,
Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...
and
Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...
.


Boundaries and designations

Oxford Road and Oxford Street are the continuation of Wilmslow Road into the centre of Manchester. Oxford Street begins at St Peter's Square and the name changes from Oxford Street to Oxford Road as the road crosses the
River Medlock The River Medlock in Greater Manchester, England rises in east Oldham and flows south and west for to join the River Irwell in Manchester city centre. Sources Rising in the hills that surround Strinesdale just to the eastern side of Oldham M ...
, placing Oxford Road railway station closer to Oxford Street than Oxford Road. Wilmslow Road starts at the junction with Hathersage Road and continues to Parrs Wood where it crosses the ancient county boundary into
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
. It crosses the
River Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...
over the Cheadle Bridge into Cheadle. Its route is then called Manchester Road for a short time but there is a Wilmslow Road on the other side of Cheadle. Oxford Street and a section of Oxford Road together form part of the A34. The B5117 consists of part of Oxford Road and part of Wilmslow Road. Though a continuous thoroughfare, part of Wilmslow Road also contains part of the A6010, the whole of the B5093, part of the A5145 and the whole of the B5095.


History


Turnpike trust

In 1753, the Manchester and Wilmslow
Turnpike Trust Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road toll road, tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain from the 17th ...
was created by Act of Parliament, with powers to build, maintain, and improve the most northerly stretch of the Manchester to Oxford route, funded by the collection of tolls. In 1755 the trust built the first stone bridge over the
Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it ...
. This collapsed in 1756 and was rebuilt in 1758. The bridge was replaced in 1780 and again in 1861. The improved transport links spurred the development of villages such as
Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, two miles south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. The population of the ward at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorl ...
and
Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington had a population at the 2011 ce ...
along the route. These villages eventually
merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
and became part of the
city 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 ...
.
Chorlton-on-Medlock Chorlton-on-Medlock is an inner city area of Manchester, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, Chorlton-on-Medlock is bordered to the north by the River Medlock, which runs immediately south of Manchester city cen ...
, the district nearest the town centre, was developed as a residential suburb in 1793–94 by the three landowners. Most of the important streets were given impressive names, Oxford Street, Cambridge Street and Grosvenor Street being three of these. Over the next fifty years residential development spread southwards as far as High Street (the old name of Hathersage Road). The very few remaining dwellings of that period include Waterloo Place, 323, 325, 327 and 333 Oxford Road and Grove House (316–324). In 1861 the turnpike trust was threatened with abolition but survived by offering to build Palatine Road from Withington to West Didsbury. All turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were abolished by 1881. Until some time in the 1880s all of Oxford Road and Oxford Street was called ''Oxford Street'' (as far south as High Street). The present street and road with different series of house numbers were introduced so that Oxford Street ended at the old township border of the
River Medlock The River Medlock in Greater Manchester, England rises in east Oldham and flows south and west for to join the River Irwell in Manchester city centre. Sources Rising in the hills that surround Strinesdale just to the eastern side of Oldham M ...
. The
Chorlton-on-Medlock Chorlton-on-Medlock is an inner city area of Manchester, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, Chorlton-on-Medlock is bordered to the north by the River Medlock, which runs immediately south of Manchester city cen ...
section became Oxford Road and from
Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, two miles south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. The population of the ward at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorl ...
to Parrs Wood remained Wilmslow Road.


Trams

Horse-drawn omnibuses operated along Wilmslow Road from before 1850. In 1877 the Rusholme Board of Health gained Parliamentary approval to lay tramlines. The trams were horse drawn and operated by the Manchester Carriage Company. Rusholme was incorporated into the City of Manchester in 1885. The city electrified the route in December 1902 and operated the new trams. The Tram Sheds, a feature of Wilmslow Road at the time were no longer needed and became a riding school and later the Rusholme Theatre.


Congestion

Kingsway was constructed in stages, from 1928, and completed in 1930. It was built as relief road to ease congestion on Wilmslow Road to the west. It was named after
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...
and was originally numbered A5079. It was one of the earliest purpose-built roads especially for motor vehicles, and built as a dual carriageway. In 1959, it was extended south across the River Mersey to bypass Cheadle and later renumbered to become the A34 in 1967.


Bus corridor

Wilmslow Road is reputed to be the busiest bus corridor in Europe. Several bus companies operate services along all or part of the corridor, competing for the large numbers of passengers who use the route. The main operators are (along with its low cost brand Magic Bus) and First Greater Manchester. Other buses along sections of route are provided by companies including Arriva North West and Bullocks Coaches. The number of competing companies has reduced in recent years, as since bus deregulation in 1986 it had been common for four or five different operators to run services along the length of the route at any one time. The bus corridor is popular with passengers for its frequent bus services, relatively low fares, and services that run at any hour of the day. Other factors responsible for the high patronage include the high density of students and the notable public facilities that can be found along the route. Wilmslow Road is designated a ''Quality Bus Corridor'' by
Transport for Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is a local government body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. It is an executive arm of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), ...
.


Oxford Road Corridor

The Oxford Road Corridor innovation district is a square mile in the south of Manchester's city centre where two of the UK's largest universities, the
University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
and
Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...
, are based alongside
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS Acute Foundation Trust which operates 10 hospitals throughout Greater Manchester. It is the largest NHS trust in the United Kingdom, with an income of £2.2 billion and 28,479 staff in 2021– ...
. These organisations oversee the area in a partnership incorporated in 2007 alongside
Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been re ...
and Bruntwood. In 2015, The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) invited consortia, formed around geographic and technological themes, to apply to be involved in the science and innovation audit (SIA) process. The Greater Manchester and East Cheshire SIA highlighted that 50% of the City Region's science and innovation assets were located in the Oxford Road Corridor. Recognising the region's ‘Core Strengths’ in Health Innovation and Advanced Materials, and ‘Fast Growth Opportunities’ focused on the future potential of Digital, Energy, and Industrial Biotechnology. In 2018, Manchester City Council adopted a Strategic Spatial Framework for the Oxford Road Corridor to guide future development and protect the area's unique innovation eco-system. The Oxford Road Corridor is home to a wide concentration of public, private, academic, and clinical institutions, generating 20% of Manchester's GVA and providing 79,000 jobs. It is home to 50% of Manchester's life sciences businesses, 74,000 students including 16,220 international students, with 42% of all students studying STEM related disciplines. Property companies Bruntwood and Bruntwood SciTech have invested significantly into assets in the area, acquiring the Manchester Technology Centre in 2003 and developing Manchester Science Park, and Citylabs both of which have designated Life Sciences Enterprise Zone status, and Circle Square which is home to over 35 digital tech businesses including
Hewlett Packard Enterprise The Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) is an American multinational information technology company based in Spring, Texas. It is a business-focused organization which works in servers, storage, networking, containerization software and ...
, Northcoders, Blair Project and Tootoot. The Oxford Road Corridor partnership shapes the direction of Oxford Road, using cultural activity to animate the area such as 2021's Corridor of Light.


Landmarks

Sorted from north to south, although there is some overlap.


Oxford Street

* One St Peter's Square, a 14 storey office building on the junction of Oxford Street and Mosley Street adjacent to St Peter's Square which was completed in 2014. Previously Elisabeth House, which was demolished in 2012. *
Odeon Cinema Odeon Cinemas Limited, trading as Odeon (stylised in all caps), is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Greece, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsid ...
(demolished), originally the Paramount, opened on 6 October 1930, in its later period converted to a multi-screen cinema. It once had a fine theatre organ, and was where comedy duo Morecambe and Wise first met. The cinema closed in 2004, and it was believed the interior was deliberately destroyed to avoid listing of the building which would create difficulty if the owners wanted to demolish the building. In 2012, the building remained empty and derelict. In 2017 it was demolished to provide space for the
Landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...
office development. * St James's Buildings, at no. 65 (Grade II listed), contain offices for various companies with shops and other facilities at street level. This building was designed by architects Clegg, Fryer & Penman for the
Calico Printers' Association The Calico Printers' Association Ltd was a British textile company founded in 1899, from the amalgamation of 46 textile printing companies and 13 textile merchants. The industry had prospered in the latter half of the 19th century but the fierc ...
and built in 1912–13. It is high and broad and the façade is all of Portland stone. The central entrance block is crowned by a tower; the entrance hall is the most opulent in surviving Manchester warehouses. It has green marble columns and the walls are clad with grey and white marble. * Tootal, Broadhurst and Lee Building, Manchester (formerly Churchgate House) at no. 56 (Grade II*) Originally built as a cotton warehouse. * Palace Theatre on the junction of Whitworth Street. One of the premiere theatres in the United Kingdom outside of the West End. *
Manchester Oxford Road railway station Manchester Oxford Road is a railway station in Manchester, England, at the junction of Whitworth Street West and Wilmslow Road, Oxford Street. It opened in 1849 and was rebuilt in 1960. It is the third busiest of the Manchester station group, fo ...
(Grade II): although named Oxford Road, the railway station is located on Whitworth Street West which begins at 68 Oxford Street; access to the station is by Station Approach. * Bridgewater Heights (also known as 17 New Wakefield Street) is a tall building on Great Marlborough Street south of the railway line (because of its height, it overlooks Oxford Street). * Artisan Heights (also known as 1-5 Wakefield Street) is a tall student accommodation tower. * Red brick and terracotta Refuge Assurance Building (Grade II*) has a tower and now houses the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel.


Oxford Road

* New Broadcasting House (now demolished) was the regional headquarters of the
BBC North West BBC North West is the BBC English Regions, BBC English Region serving Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, as well as parts of North Yorkshire (western Craven District, Craven), Derbyshire (western High Peak, Derbyshire, High ...
from 1975 until 2012. The BBC has moved down the
River Irwell The River Irwell ( ) is a tributary of the River Mersey in north-west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup and flows southwards for to meet the Mersey near Irlam Locks. The Irwell marks the bound ...
from the city centre to
MediaCityUK MediaCityUK is a mixed-use property development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in City of Salford, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The project was developed by The Peel Group, Peel Media; its principal tenants are Mass media, ...
. *All Saints Campus of
Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...
, the fourth largest university in the United Kingdom. ** The Union MMU, the students' union for Manchester Metropolitan University at 99 Oxford Road (previously the site of the
Northern School of Music The Northern School of Music was a music college located in Manchester which operated between 1920 and 1972 before merging with the Royal Manchester College of Music to form the Royal Northern College of Music. History The Northern School of ...
). The students' union moved to Cambridge Street in January 2015. * Royal Northern College of Music has 696 students and is at 124 Oxford Road with an entrance on Booth Street West. *
Manchester Aquatics Centre The Manchester Aquatics Centre, abbreviated MAC, is a public List of water sports, aquatics sports facility south of the city centre of Manchester, England, north of the main buildings of the University of Manchester near Manchester Metropolit ...
, a host venue of the
2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...
, now owned by the University of Manchester. *
University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
is the largest "single-site" university in the United Kingdom with over 40,000 students. It includes the
neogothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...
Manchester Museum Manchester Museum is a museum displaying works of archaeology, anthropology and natural history and is owned by the University of Manchester, in England. Sited on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road (A34 road, A34) at the heart of the university's group ...
. Its Oxford Road campus extends on both sides of Oxford Road south of Booth Street and north of Grafton Street and Denmark Road. * Manchester Royal Infirmary is the chief site for Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust. * Whitworth Art Gallery is north of Whitworth Park.


Wilmslow Road

* Curry Mile is the stretch of Wilmslow Road in central Rusholme: it boasts at least 50 restaurants, take-aways and
kebab Kebab ( , ), kebap, kabob (alternative North American spelling), kebob, or kabab (Kashmiri spelling) is a variety of roasted meat dishes that originated in the Middle East. Kebabs consist of cut up ground meat, sometimes with vegetables an ...
houses specialising in the cuisines of
South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
and the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
. *
Fallowfield Campus The Fallowfield Campus is the main residential campus of the University of Manchester. It is located in Fallowfield, Manchester, 2 miles (3 km) south of the main university site, to which it is connected by Wilmslow Road and the A34 road (E ...
is the main residential campus of the University of Manchester; Ashburne Hall is one of the halls on Wilmslow Road. ** Owens Park is a large former hall of residence that housed 1,056 students. *Withington Public Library *
Christie Hospital The Christie, formerly known as Christie Hospital and The Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute, is a specialist National Health Service, National Health Service (NHS) single site cancer centre in Manchester, United Kingdom. The hospital is ...
is one of the largest cancer treatment centres in Europe. * Didsbury Campus, formerly part of
Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...
, now residential properties. * Fletcher Moss Gardens * Parrs Wood High School is the fourth largest
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
in the UK with 2,480 pupils. * The Towers is a research establishment. * Appleby Lodge is a set of eight 1930s blocks of flats.


Theatres and cinemas

Prince's Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. It opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, with a capacity of 2,500. The current capacity is 1,416. The title "Shaftesbury Theatr ...
was a theatre in Oxford Street from 1864 to 1940. It was built on a site on the corner of Lower Mosley Street by the architect Edward Salomons for the theatrical manager Charles Alexander Calvert. The theatre was the scene of a series of public-spirited dramatic enterprises, including those remarkable Shakespearean revivals organised successively by John Knowles and Charles Calvert. Later it became known for its pantomimes, from the mid-1890s until 1914. By the 1930s, it was in some financial difficulty and closed in 1940. After demolition and many years of delay the office block of Peter House was built on the site. The Palace Theatre on the junction of Whitworth Street opened in 1891. The Hippodrome, designed by
Frank Matcham Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design of theatres and ...
for Sir Oswald Stoll, was a 3,000-seat theatre built on the corner of Great Bridgewater Street, on part of the site of Hengler's Grand Cirque, and opened in December 1904. In 1934, it started showing films but the theatre was sold to Granada Theatres and closed in February 1935. The Hippodrome was demolished and replaced in October 1935 by the
Theodore Komisarjevsky Fyodor Fyodorovich Komissarzhevsky (; 23 May 1882 – 17 April 1954), or Theodore Komisarjevsky, was a Russian, later British, theatrical director and designer. He began his career in Moscow, but had his greatest influence in London. He was note ...
-designed 2,300-seat Gaumont, who acquired it from Granada shortly before opening. It was the grandest of Manchester's cinemas with a fine theatre organ. Norman Cocker was a notable organist there. After its eventual closure in January 1974 it was converted into Rotters nightclub and operated under several names until its closure in 1990. It was demolished and replaced by a NCP car park. Other cinemas which have existed in Oxford Street, Oxford Road or Wilmslow Road are: * Cornerhouse at no. 70, either side of Station Approach; Cornerhouse 1 was opened as the Tatler News Theatre in May 1935 designed by Peter Cummings. It closed in September 1959 and reopened as the Tatler Classic in November 1961. It was renamed the Tatler Cinema Club in 1969 and closed in August 1981 before the establishment of Cornerhouse with three cinemas in 1985. The Cornerhouse closed in 2015. * Grosvenor Picture Palace was on the corner of Oxford Road and Grosvenor Street from 1915 to 1968 and is now the Footage pub. * Manchester News Theatre on the corner of Hall Street was also designed by Peter Cummings and opened in December 1936. It became known as the Tatler Theatre until it closed in September 1967. It reopened as the Manchester Film Theatre from October 1967 to April 1973. It reopened again in August 1973 and later became the Cameo Cinema until it was demolished in 1981. * New Oxford Cinema built by Provincial Cinematograph Theatres on the corner of Chepstow Street, next to the Hippodrome, opened in 1911. The opening programme on 15 December 1911 included footage of Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition. On the next day the cinema opened to the public and before long became known as the Oxford Picture House and in 1927 was renamed first the Oxford Theatre and four months later the New Oxford Theatre. By 1930 it was owned by the European Motion Picture Company Ltd and in 1949 was acquired by the Buxton Theatre Circuit. A wide screen was installed in 1954 and after a period of stiff competition with the two Rank cinemas in the street the New Oxford was taken over by the
Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation (founded as the J. Arthur Rank Organisation) is a British entertainment conglomerate founded in 1937 by industrialist J. Arthur Rank. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the Uni ...
in June 1960. After Rank introduced two and then three screens to the Odeon the New Oxford closed on 25 October 1980. After closure part of the ground floor was converted into a
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
fast food restaurant. * Paramount Theatre was a 2,920-seat theatre opened in October 1930 opposite the Hippodrome. It was acquired by
Odeon Cinemas Odeon Cinemas Limited, trading as Odeon (stylised in all caps), is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Greece, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsi ...
in 1939 and reopened in 1940. It once had a fine theatre organ. It closed in 1973 to be converted into a two screen
multiplex Multiplex may refer to: Science and technology * Multiplex communication, combining many signals into one transmission circuit or channel ** Multiplex (television), a group of digital television or radio channels that are combined for broadcast * ...
in January 1974 and converted into a triplex in 1979 and added four more screens in 1992. It closed in September 2004 * Regal Twins - Built in 1929-30 originally containing two large meeting halls over a parade of shops, before the interior of the halls was completed, they were converted into two cinemas with fashionable 1930
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
interiors, the world's first
multiplex Multiplex may refer to: Science and technology * Multiplex communication, combining many signals into one transmission circuit or channel ** Multiplex (television), a group of digital television or radio channels that are combined for broadcast * ...
in 1930. These were converted in 1972, to a five-screen complex (Studios 1 to 5) by Star Group, as the first five-cinema complex in Britain, before closing in the 1980s. In 1994 it became the Dancehouse Theatre. * The Scala Cinema was on Wilmslow Road in
Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington had a population at the 2011 ce ...
from 1912 to 2001. * Trocadero Picture Palace - in
Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, two miles south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. The population of the ward at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorl ...
was opened in 1912 and closed in the 1970s.Trocadero Cinema; Cinema Treasures
/ref>


See also

*
List of notable streets and roads in Manchester The following is a list of notable streets and roads in Manchester, England. References

{{Manchester A&S Streets in Manchester, Lists of streets by city, Manchester Manchester-related lists, Streets and roads ...
* An Instinct for Detection: 1996 Lionrock album with a track named after the road


References


Bibliography

* * {{Commons category, Wilmslow Road, Manchester Streets in Manchester