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Didsbury is a suburb of Manchester, in North West England. It is situated about six miles south of Manchester City Centre, intersected by the busy thoroughfare of Wilmslow Road, directly south of Withington. It has a total population of 14,292.[citation needed]
Geography and administrationThe area is split into two electoral wards; Didsbury East and Didsbury West. The area is generally considered to be roughly enclosed by the River Mersey to the south, Princess Parkway to the west, Kingsway to the east and Lapwing Lane/Fog Lane to the north According to the 2001 Census, Didsbury had a population 14,292. Of this figure 87.64% recognise themselves as White, 7.77% as Asian/Asian British, 1.28% Black/Black British and 1.26% as Chinese or other ethnic minority. Civic historyIn the early 13th century, Didsbury lay within the Manor of Withington, a feudal estate which encompassed the townships of Withington, Didsbury, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Moss Side, Rusholme, Burnage, Denton and Haughton, ruled by the Hathersage, Longford and Tatton families. Didsbury remained under the manor of Withington for several centuries.[1]
HistoryDuring the English Civil War, Prince Rupert stationed himself at Didsbury Ees to the south of Barlow Moor. In the Jacobite march south from Manchester to Derby in 1745 it is likely that it crossed the old ford of the River Mersey at Didsbury, which has had recorded use since the Roman age. During the Victorian expansion of Manchester, Didsbury developed as a prosperous settlement and was the "Stockbroker Belt" being the most outlying southerly outpost of the city. A few of the old mansions still exist on Wilmslow Road between Didsbury Village and Parrswood, but these are now either nursing homes or offices. The prosperity of the area continues to this day, the houses along Palatine Road, previously occupied by prosperous textile merchants and the like, now converted in many cases to multiple occupation or offices, are ample evidence of this. The opening of the Midland Railway line in 1880 contributed greatly to the rapid growth in the population of Didsbury, with stations at Didsbury and Withington and West Didsbury offering easy rail connections to Manchester Central Station. The line closed in 1967, although Didsbury station building remained standing until its demolition in the 1980s. The station clock and water fountain have survived, dedicated to local doctor and campaigner for the poor Dr. J. Milson Rhodes (1847-1909).[2] During the late 19th and early 20th centuries many immigrants from Spain, Portugal and Persia settled in the area.[citation needed] Their children and grandchildren have prospered and moved out to areas such as Bowdon, Hale and Hale Barns. The area was home to one of the two large Jewish communities in and around Manchester (the other being areas north of the city such as Crumpsall). The high numbers of Jewish immigrants led to Didsbury being nicknamed (some might think offensively) Yidsbury and Palatine Road (a major road running through the heart of the Didsbury/West Didsbury suburb), Palestine Road. Daniel Adamson, promoter of the Manchester Ship Canal, lived at The Towers (blue plaque — now the Shirley Institute) on Wilmslow Road from 1874. His home (designed by Thomas Worthington) was also the venue for the 1882 meeting where it was agreed to promote the Ship Canal project. On 28 April 1910, French pilot Louis Paulhan landed his aeroplane in Barcicroft Fields, Pytha Fold Farm, on the borders of Withington, Burnage and Didsbury. This completed the first ever powered flight from London to Manchester (195 miles/298 km), and he won a £10,000 prize offered by the Daily Mail, beating the British contender, Claude Grahame-White.[3] Two special trains were chartered to Burnage Station to take spectators and mechanics to the landing. The site, in Paulhan Road, is marked by a blue plaque. From 1956 to 1969 Didsbury was home to the northern studios of ITV station ABC Weekend Television. These were actually converted from the Capitol cinema in Parrs Wood Lane. In 1969 ABC closed the site when it was merged with fellow ITV company Rediffusion to become London station Thames Television. For a short while the site was used by Yorkshire Television until their own facilities in Leeds were ready. In 1970 it was sold to Manchester Polytechnic (later Manchester Metropolitan University) and eventually in the late 1990s it was demolished to make way for a residential development. From this site part of ITV's history had been created - early episodes of The Avengers and Opportunity Knocks were made here. DemographicsWith quite a high ethnically diverse population proclaiming permanent residence, in Manchester it only seems natural that most of this wave of emigrants from far and beyond to prosper in Didsbury. With this in mind, the 2001 census reveals that 61.20% of the population stated themselves as Christian, 6.22% as Muslim, 2.15% as Jewish, 1.60% as Hindu, 0.36% as Buddhist, 0.31% as Sikh and 0.32% as other religion not majorly listed. (c30% declined to associate themselves with any religion.) Present dayImage:Didsbury Village 20-02-2005.jpg Didsbury Village RecreationThe central shopping area, along Wilmslow Road has become a popular area exhibiting cafe culture with many new bars, cafes and delis opening in the recent past. The pubs and bars on the main street of Didsbury Village have become popular with a wider public from further afield in Manchester, and represent a thriving social scene for a range of clientele from students, to young professionals, through to older and more affluent people. The traditional independent shops and pubs are gradually and increasingly being replaced, as the profile of the area is raised, by national chain bars and pubs. A locally famous pub crawl, taking in twelve bars in one night, is known as The Didsbury Dozen. West Didsbury is an adjacent district to Didsbury Village and is filled with a large variety of restaurants and eateries, one of the most famous being The Great Kathmandu which was voted the best Indian restaurant in the UK by the readers of The Observer newspaper (The Great Kathmandu). The Parrs Wood leisure complex comprises a Bowling Alley, Cinema, Gym and a number of restaurants. The Fletcher Moss Botanical Garden (named after a local alderman) is a pleasant recreational park of 85,000 square metres, south of the village centre. Once a year, at Didsbury Festival, local schools dress up to a theme and meet in the playground of St. Catherine's Primary School from where they parade to Didsbury Park. At the end of the parade, prizes are awarded for various categories. After the award ceremony, there is a fair and a number of stalls and attractions. EducationPrimary schoolsDidsbury has a number of primary schools which include:
Secondary schoolsDidsbury has two secondary state schools, which are Parrswood High School (Specialist Arts and Technology College) and The Barlow Roman Catholic High (Specialist Science College). Parrswood is a non-denominational school, whilst The Barlow RC High is Roman Cahtolic. Both schools, however, rank highly in the local school district in terms of results achieved and attendance. Also, both schools have in excess of 1000 pupils each, as they accept children from adjacent districts such as Chorlton-cum-Hardy and Withington. HousingThe house prices in Didsbury are substantially higher than they are in the surrounding suburbs of Manchester. The average house-price is approximately £270,000. But this can be even higher in areas such as Didsbury Park and near the Withington golf course where they can rise to more than £430,000. Such extremes make this area highly desirable. As it states above, it is usually young entrepreneurs or professionals in their field of speciality, who purchase such property. Also, it is permissible to note that some "famous" footballers and others of that profession have resided in one of Didsbury's many tree lined roads. A prestigious flat (a norm for a weekly commuting professional) costing around £850,000 and furnished elegantly with many penthouses available. SportDidsbury has a variety of different sports clubs. Didsbury Sports Centre on Millgate lane hosts Rugby, Gaelic football and football. Old Bedians Rugby Club, which is based at the sports centre, regularly fields three successful senior teams as well as an excellent junior section. Old Bedians is also world famous as they have the oldest registered rugby player!(see http://www.oldbedians.co.uk). Didsbury TocH R.F.C is a successful rugby union squad in Didsbury, founded in 1924 with their 1st Team playing in North Lancashire & Cumbria. The club runs four adult male teams who train at Ford Lane on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and a vibrant youth section who meet on Sunday mornings. The club has run a 10-a-side competition every May since 1951 as a charity fund raiser. See http://www.didsburyrfc.co.uk/ Also at Ford Lane are Burnage Metro FC, who enter 5 teams in local leagues. Inter Didsbury are an 11-a-side Sunday League football team playing their home games at Fog Lane park. Despite an inexplicable habit of losing games they really should win, they are easily of one of the most professional clubs in South Manchester! See http://www.interdidsbury.co.uk Didsbury Albion is a 5-a-side football club which play at The Powerleague, Stockport. The club have a rich, successful history and are currently playing in the top flight. See http://www.freewebs.com/didsburyalbion Didsbury Cricket Club on Wilmslow Road, is a large thriving cricket club, which following a merger with All Saints CC this year is to have three Saturday teams and two Sunday teams during the 2007 season. The 1st XI play in the Cheshire County League Division 1. As well as the five senior teams, DCC is also boasts a junior section comprising under 11s, 13s, 15s and 18s. DCC is home not just to a cricket team but to Manchester Waconians Lacrosse Club and Didsbury Grey's Women's Hockey Team. It also holds regular jazz gigs. The Northern Tennis Club is one of Manchester's foremost racquet clubs annually playing host to an ATP tournament in July. TransportWilmslow Road provides Didsbury Village with an extremely regular bus service due to the very strong demand for travel by students along the corridor. These are cheap and very regular with passengers rarely having to wait more than 5 minutes. Wilmslow Road is also the busiest bus corridor in Europe. The roads in the centre of Didsbury are often overcrowded but it is relatively easy to get to Manchester's motorway ring road - the M60 motorway. The M60 also links Didsbury to Manchester Airport with the journey often taking less than 20 minutes. East Didsbury station and Burnage railway station are on the line between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport and thereby provides a link to a number of minor suburban train stations along this route. Didsbury Village and West Didsbury were once served by train services that ran out of Central Station (now G-Mex) until that line shut in the 1960s. The Manchester Metrolink's proposed extension to Stockport had been routed to run down the old railway cutting through Didsbury. However, this line is a lower priority than those to Manchester Airport, Ashton, Oldham and Rochdale that are due to be built in the next phase of Metrolink development. With these lines having fallen behind schedule due to the government refusing to meet costs that have escalated (largely due to the government insisting the development is funded as a Private Finance Initiative, which is more expensive than a public grant as it protects the private sector against risk) the Didsbury line is now unlikely to be built within the next decade. So, in brief:
Local organisationsDidsbury is the home of the Didsbury Women's Circle, a grassroots political organisation. Social Circle also offer many activities for 20s and 30s. International LinksDidsbury inspired the naming of a town in Canada. This town is located in the western province of Alberta, Didsbury, Alberta. References
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