is an area of the
Metropolitan Borough Of Stockport , in
England . The population is 30,055 in an area of 7.08 square kilometres (2.73 mi&
2).Figures taken from the
North Reddish and
South Reddish 2001 England & Wales Census, neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. URLs accessed March 14, 2007.
Reddish grew and developed rapidly during the
Industrial Revolution and still retains landmarks from that period, such as Houldsworth Mill. Today Reddish is a predominantly residential area, seeing a renewed period of growth and development as residents from nearby affluent areas such as
Heaton Moor and
Bramhall look to Reddish as a way of affording housing.
Reddish Vale is a
Country Park close to the locality and home to local businesses such as Reddish Vale Tea Room and the Parndon racing
Greyhound kennels.
, the railway viaduct, and the clock monument to
Sir William Houldsworth ]]
Reddish borders
Heaton Chapel and
Brinnington of
Stockport ,
Denton of
Tameside , and
Gorton and
Levenshulme of the
City Of Manchester .
The extents have been well-defined for at least several hundred years. Reddish was a township in the
Ancient Parish Of Manchester , but lay outside the Manor of Manchester. This had the effect that boundaries of Reddish were described by the boundaries of the Manor of Manchester, with the exception of that with
Cheshire , which was the
River Tame . The manor boundaries were surveyed and recorded in 1322, and the relevant part was:
1
following the said water to the mid [stream between the county of Chester and Assheton unto the Mereclowe at Redyshe so following Mereclowe unto Saltergate, from thence following the ditch of Redyshe unto Mikeldiche, following that unto Peyfyngate, following that unto Le Turrepittes between Heton Norreyes and Redishe, from thence following Le Merebroke unto the confluence of the waters of Tame and Mersey
"
Mere " means boundary in this context. The description was traced into early twentieth century features by Crofton
23 and can be cast as
following the middle of the Tame as far as Denton Brook at Reddish; and so following Denton Brook and a tributary as far as Thornley Lane South; and then following Thornley Lane as far as Nico Ditch; and following Nelstrop Road as far as the turf-pits between Heaton Norris and Reddish (these are lost); and from there following Black Brook as far as near the conjunction of the waters of the Tame and Goyt.
However, Black Brook cannot be le Merebroke as it does not flow to the Tame, but joins Cringle Brook, which flows into the Mersey several miles away via Chorlton Brook. With this exception, Crofton’s interpretation of the 1322 boundaries matches those shown on
Ordnance Survey maps of the 1800s.
Administratively, Reddish became an
Urban District in 1894. By 1901 the neighbouring
County Borough Of Stockport had effectively run out of land, and was overflowing into abutting districts. In 1901, after petitioning the
Local Government Board , Stockport expanded into several areas including the whole of Reddish, described by Arrowsmith as Stockport's "greatest prize".Arrowsmith, p. 239. Astle, pp. 73-4. Cronin, pp. 8, 35.
4 Cited at
5 Stockport gained Reddish’s
Tax Income and building land, and in return Reddish received several civic amenities, including the building housing Reddish Library, Fire Station (now the community centre), and Swimming Pool (closed 2005). The separate civil parish was merged into Stockport parish in 1935.The County of Chester Review Order, 1936; 1 April 1935 The Stockport Extension Act, 1934. Cited at
6
Reddish's position north of the Tame means it was
Historically part of
Lancashire .
7 Cited at
8 On the merger with Stockport in 1901 the boundary between Lancashire and Cheshire was moved to place it in Cheshire.
9 In 1974 Stockport and several adjacient territories became a unified
Metropolitan Borough in the newly-created
Metropolitan County of
Greater Manchester .
Reddish is recorded as Redich (1205, 1212), Redych, Radich (1226), Radish, Rediche (1262), Redditch (1381), Redwyche, Radishe and Reddishe (1500s).Farrer and Brownbill,
pp. 326-9 .Booker, p. 197. The name either means "reedy ditch" (
OE ''hrēod-dīc'') or "red ditch" (OE ''rēad-dīc''). Ekwall (1922) allows either form, stating "red" is less probable; Mills (1991) and Arrowsmith (1997) only give the "reed" option.
10Arrowsmith, p. 23.
11 The ditch referred to is possibly the
Nico Ditch , an earthwork of uncertain origin bordering Reddish, Manchester and Denton.Hartwell ''et al'', p. 197. Folklore has it that the names
Gorton and Reddish arose from a battle between Saxons and Danes.
1213 John Higson wrote in 1852
The neigh’ring trench is called the Nicker Ditch
Flowing with blood, it did the name convey
To th’ bordering hamlet, Red-Ditch. Near here, Where
the last ‘tween the foes was fought,
Where victory was won, that memorable
Eminence proudly was distinguished
By the name of Winning Hill. The streamlet
Aforemention’d gains appellation
Of Gore Brook, also the contiguous
Happy hamlet through which it floweth still
Bears, in glorious commemoration,
And e’er shall, the honour’d name of Gore Town.
Farrer and Brownbill dismiss this interpretation as "popular fancy".Farrer and Brownbill,
pp 275-279, footnote 1. "Out of Gore-ton and Red-ditch, with the help of the intervening Nico Ditch, popular fancy has made the story of a great battle in the neighbourhood; Harland and Wilkinson, ''Traditions of Lancs''. 26"
Reddish is not rich in history. The
Nico (or Nicker) Ditch which skirts the north end of the area forming part of the border with the
City Of Manchester , is pre-
Norman and visible in places. Six coins from the reigns of the
Anglo-Saxon English Kings Edmund (reigned 939-946) and
Eadred (reigned 946-955) were found during ploughing at Reddish Green in 1789.
14 There is contrasting source material about the significance of this; Arrowsmith takes this as evidence for existence of a settlement at that time, but Morris states the find could be "an isolated incident".
Reddish does not appear in the
Domesday Survey ; this is in common with most of the then southeast Lancashire area.Hartwell ''et al'', p. 18. A corn mill is known to have existed at the junction of Denton Brook and the River Tame from about 1400 onwards.Downham, p. 142. The two main mediaeval houses were Reddish Hall at (demolished 1780, but visible on maps dated 1840) and Hulme Hall at , later known as Broadstone, then Broadstone Hall (demolished 1945Cronin, p. 45.). The Reddish family were major landowners in the area from at least 1212 to 1613 when title passed by marriage to the Coke family. It passed down the family to
Thomas Coke, 1st Earl Of Leicester who sold his land in Reddish at the end of the 18th century, and in 1808 it was bought by
Robert Hyde Greg and John Greg. There were Hulmes in Reddish in the 13th century, and the land passed through the family until about 1700 when it was given to a charitable trust.
The
Stockport Branch Canal passed through Reddish and opened in 1797.Cited in many places, eg Downham
p. 144 . It seems to have had little effect by 1825, when Corry's description of Reddish, in full, was "The population of Reddish is but thin".
15 Booker states that in 1857 Reddish was almost entirely agricultural, being made of meadow and pasture (1320 acres); arable land (90 acres); wood and water (50 acres); and buildings and streets (44 acres). At that time, Reddish contained "neither post-office, schoolmaster, lawyer, doctor, nor pawnshop".Booker, p. 200, repeated verbatim by Farrer & Brownbill. The population increased over tenfold in the next fifty years with the Industrial Revolution.
The water-powered calico printworks in Reddish Vale on the
River Tame is known to have been working before 1800. Industrial development followed the line of the canal Downham, p. 149. and was steam-powered throughout. A variety of manufacturers moved into Reddish during this period.
Robert Hyde Greg and John Greg, sons of Samuel Greg of
Quarry Bank Mill , who owned about a third of Reddish by 1857,Booker, p. 201. opened Albert Mills for cotton spinning in 1845. Moor Mill, manufacturing knitting machines, was built around the same time. William Houldsworth’s Reddish Mill for cotton spinning was opened in 1864. Hanover Mill was built in 1865 for cotton spinning, but in 1889 was converted to make silk, velvet, woven fur etc.
The Reddish Spinning Company, partly owned by Houldsworth, opened in 1870. Furnival’s steelworks, making printing presses, opened in 1877. Andrew’s Gas Engine works opened in 1878. The
Manchester Guardian ’s printworks opened in 1899. Craven Bothers’ engineering works, making cranes, opened in 1900. Broadstone Spinning Company opened a large double mill in 1906/7. These major employers were accompanied by numerous smaller concerns, including dyeworks, bleachworks, wire ropeworks, brickworks, screw manufacturers, makers of surveying equipment, and a tobacco factory.Downham.
Reddish has been home to at least three breweries. Richard Clarke & Co brewed in the area for over 100 years, before being taken over, and later closed, by
Boddingtons in 1962.
1617 David Pollard's eponymous brewery opened in the former print works in Reddish Vale in 1975, moving out to Bredbury in 1978; the business went into liquidation in 1982.
18 The small 3 Rivers Brewery has been brewing in Reddish since August 2003.
19
The pub stock is not well-regarded: "Never offering the best selection of pubs in the borough, it is now easily the worst area for real ale availability ..."
20 is a typical description. It has been suggested that this may be a consequence of
Robert Hyde Greg 's disapproval of alcohol, (due to the alcoholism of an uncle of his father, see also
Samuel Greg ). Of the nine pubs in Reddish, two are currently closed and boarded up.
The pubs are supplemented by several
Working Men's and political clubs. The Houldsworth WMC was awarded a
Blue Plaque by Stockport MBC in December 2006.
21 Reddish WMC was founded by in 1845 by millowner Robert Hyde Greg as a Mechanics Institute and Library. It is claimed to be the oldest club registered with the
CIU .In the early stages of the blue plaque campaign that saw the Houldsworth WMC honoured, the council's web site mistakenly listed and described Reddish WMC. The web page was originally at
www.stockport.gov.uk/content/councildemoc/council/campaigns/blueplaqueselection/reddishworkingmensclub , now removed, and stated "The club was founded by Robert Hyde Greg in 1845 as a Mechanics Institute and Library and located within the Albert Mills. It was acknowledged to be the oldest club on the Club and Institute Union Register. From 1878, it occupied part of the Albert British School until 1891, when a new building was erected on the present site."
The
Ashton Canal and the Stockport Branch Canal were built to join Manchester and Stockport to the coal mines in Oldham and
Ashton-under-Lyne . The branch was dependent on the main for its utility, and hence its planning, passing through parliament, and construction came after that of the main. The main opened in 1796 and the branch in 1796. The branch was just under five miles (8 km) long, and left the Ashton Canal at Clayton, passed through Gorton and Reddish, and terminated just over the boundary in Heaton Norris, adjacent to what was then the main
Turnpike between Manchester and Stockport. The
Beat Bank Branch Canal was planned as a sub-branch and was intended to cross Reddish Vale to a colliery at Denton, but the scheme was abandoned by 1798.Arrowsmith, p. 161.Ashmore, pp. 58-70. By 1827 the canal was bringing coal to Stockport from as far as
Norbury and
Poynton .
22
The canal was purchased by the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway in 1848. Traffic declined and the canal was described as derelict as early as 1922.Downham. Commercial traffic ceased in the 1930s and the canal was declared officially closed in 1962 and filled in.Arrowsmith, p. 263.
The road currently designated the B6167 (Sandy Lane, Reddish Road, Gorton Road, and Reddish Lane) was turnpiked by the Manchester, Denton and Stockport Trust following an Act of 1818.Arrowsmith, p. 160.
The history of the development of rail infrastructure in the UK is complicated, with lines and stations being built by a myriad of railway companies and joint ventures. Routes did not always follow the best path, but were created, altered, or blocked through lobbying of parliament by interested parties intent on protecting their interests and preventing competition. Due to their strategic position between Manchester and London, Stockport and Reddish played their parts. Reddish played host to three railway lines, two railway stations, and a traction depot.
To improve readability, the names of the stations and lines are the latest (or last) used.
The
West Coast Main Line running between
Manchester Piccadilly and London via
Crewe was opened in 1840-2 by the
Manchester And Birmingham Railway (M&B), crossing the
Mersey valley on a large viaduct at Stockport. In 1849 a line was opened from the north side of the viaduct via
Reddish South and
Denton Stations to join the
Woodhead Line (Piccadilly to Sheffield) of the
Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne And Manchester Railway (SA&MR) at
Guide Bridge . A short branch went to Denton Colliery. The station at Reddish South contained a large goods yard, and trade through the station played an important role, alongside the canal, in the industrialisation of the area.Arrowsmith, pp. 231-6
The M&B became part of the (MS&L) in 1847. At this stage both companies used Piccadilly as their Manchester terminus. The LNWR held a monoply on the important London route.
In 1862 the MS&L built a line from
Hyde Junction to near
Compstall on the
River Goyt . In 1865 this was extended over the river to
New Mills , and later joined the
Midland Railway 's Derbyshire lines. By 1867 Midland trains were running from London to Piccadilly via this (considerably longer) route, providing competition to the LNWR. In 1875 the
Sheffield And Midland Railway Companies' Committee , a joint venture between the MS&L and the Midland, opened a new more direct route from near Romiley to Piccadilly, and gave Reddish its second station,
Reddish North .
The Midland was given notice to leave Piccadilly in the same year that Reddish North opened, and construction of
Manchester Central Railway Station started. The
Fallowfield Line was opened in 1892 to allow access from the Woodhead Line to Manchester Central and
Trafford Park , and passed through a corner of Reddish. Stations were built just outside Reddish at
Hyde Road and
Levenshulme South .
23 In 1936 the MS&L's successor, the
London And North Eastern Railway , planned to electrify the Woodhead Line and the Fallowfield Line, primarily for shipping coal from
Yorkshire , but World War II interrupted progress. After the war, the railways were nationalised as
British Rail (BR). The electrification plan was put in place as the
Manchester-Sheffield-Wath Electric Railway , opening in 1954 using a 1500 V DC system. A 400 ft (120 m) depot was constructed at Reddish to maintain the
Class 76 and
77 locomotives. However, electrification was not continued beyond the depot to Trafford Park.
24 Shortly afterwards, BR adopted the
25 kV AC system for electrification, with the effect that the Woodhead Line "pased very quickly from ultra-modern to obsolescent."
25
Local passenger services stopped using the Fallowfield Line in 1958 (though through trains continued until 1969). The
Beeching Report of 1963 recommended that the Woodhead Line be retained and the Hope Valley line (serving Reddish North Station) closed; in 1966 BR controversially implemented the reverse.
The depot was used to house the prestiguous
Midland Pullman in the early 1960s and continued to service locomotives until it and the Woodhead Line were closed in 1981. Despite rumours that the depot would be used to service the
Manchester Metrolink , the depot fully closed in 1983, was quickly vandalised, and has been demolished. The Fallowfield line closed completely in 1988 and the track was taken up.
26
The most recent data is from the
United Kingdom Census 2001 . The census data below is based on the North Reddish and South Reddish wards. The modern South Reddish ward contains a small area that was traditionally part of
Heaton Chapel and
Heaton Norris , and some of Reddish has been transferred to Heaton Chapel.
White British is the predominant
Ethnicity . For the North Reddish ward, just under 97% of the population of 16120 were identified as white (including
Irish and other white), 1.48% as
Mixed-race , 0.73% as black, 0.6% as Chinese, and 0.43% as Asian. For the South Reddish ward, just under 96% of the population of 13935 were identified as White, 1.28% as mixed race, 1.28% as Asian, 0.86% as Black, and 0.84% as Chinese.
The housing stock remains mainly terraced and semi-detached. For the North Reddish ward, the 6914 housing units were divided into 8% detached house, 46% semi-detached, 36% terraced, and 10% flats. For the South Reddish ward, the 6598 housing units were divided into 5% detached house, 29% semi-detached, 44% terraced, and 22% flats. There are no
Tower Block s in Reddish,Cronin, p. 8. unlike several neighbouring areas.
Some housing built by factory owners for their employees remains. Greg Street, Birkdale Road, and Broadstone Hall Road South have mid-nineteenth century terraces built by the Gregs for the workers at their (demolished) Victoria and Albert Mills.Ashmore pp 28, 84. Cronin, pp. 7, 41. Furnival Street was built in 1886 to house workers at the (demolished) Furnival’s ironworks Cronin, pp. 7, 12. The largest collection is that built by Houldsworth near to his Reddish Mill, even though only Liverpool Street and Houldsworth Street remain after clearance in about 1974Ashmore, pp. 28-9. The houses on Houldsworth Street, directly facing the mill, are grander, and would have been for the higher placed workers.Cronin, pp. 40-1. Hartwell ''et al'', p. 582.
Hartwell dates a small group of farm buildings and cottages at Shores Fold, near the junction of Nelstrop Road and Marbury Road, to the sixteenth and late seventeenth to early eighteenth century. These would have been on the traditional Reddish – Heaton Norris border, but are now firmly inside Heaton Chapel.Hartwell ''et al'', p. 230.
The area is home to many tertiary services. Houldsworth square (named after local
Victorian Era mill-owner,
William Houldsworth ) has many shops and banks, serving the local population. There are also many well-performing schools such as
Reddish Vale Technology College in South Reddish, which in 2006 became the only school in Greater Manchester to be announced by the Government as a 'Trust Pathfinder' school. It is served by two railway stations
Reddish North and
Reddish South , the latter being used mainly for freight services, apart from the once-a-week "
Parliamentary Train " to
Stalybridge .
In 1935
Norman Foster was born in
Reddish and went onto study architecture at Manchester University. Baron Foster is one of the leading architects in the world and is noted for his works in London which include the
Millennium Bridge ,
City Hall ,
30 St Mary Axe and the new
Wembley Stadium .
Reddish is a densely populated area and is close to some of the richest parts of the country (such as
Alderley Edge in
Cheshire ). However, in common with many urban areas of the
United Kingdom Reddish suffers from a certain degree of crime-related activity. Despite this, Reddish continues to be an attraction to many people in the
Greater Manchester area to work, live and relax.
On a narrower level, the estimated household weekly income for the period April 01 to March 02 for North & South Reddish wards was £440 and £400 respectively. In comparison with nearby wards, this is higher than Gorton North, Gorton South and Brinnington (at £350, £330, and £340), slightly lower than Denton West (£480), and significantly lower than Heaton Moor and Heaton Mersey (£590).
National Statistics Online , Model-Based Estimates of Income for Wards (April 01 to March 02), retrieved
2006 .
Reddish's only
Secondary School is
Reddish Vale Technology College . Sited on the edge of the
Green Belt , the school has its own farm and is characterised by
OFSTED as " a good school". It teaches about 1400 pupils from the ages of 11 to 16, but does not have a
Sixth Form .
30313233
As of
2007 Reddish has ten nursery and primary schools, including some church schools (
Roman Catholic and
Church Of England ).
3435 It has been proposed to close three of these and build a new school. The site chosen was formerly a clay pit for a brickworks, and later a landfill site. Much of the landfill took place before modern controls, and there is local concern about the suitability of the site.
363738
The shopping area around Houldsworth Square contains about eighty small shops
39 and has been chosen as one of eight areas to benefit from the Agora Project
4041 an
EU -funded project to reverse the decline in local shopping areas.
Stockport MBC describes Reddish as one of the eight major district centres in the borough that offer "local history, modern convenient facilities and traditional high street retailing". The other seven are
Bramhall ,
Cheadle ,
Cheadle Hulme ,
Edgeley ,
Hazel Grove ,
Marple , and
Romiley .
42
The B6167 is the main road through Reddish. It allows access to the and
New Mills , with some trains continuing to
Sheffield . Reddish South station does not provide a significant service. A few dedicated cycle routes cross the area.
Reddish is located in the parliamentary constituency of
Denton And Reddish .
Andrew Gwynne (
Labour ) has represented the seat since the 2005 General Election, and the seat has been in Labour hands since its creation. The seat rose briefly to national prominence in April 2006, when Joan Howarth, a
Conservative candidate in local elections, suggested that a black or Asian Conservative parliamentary candidate "wouldn't work", because of the "traditional working class" electorate.
4546 David Cameron , the leader of the Conservative Party, disowned the comments, saying that the candidate was in "the wrong party". At the 2005 general election, Gwynne attracted 57.4% of the votes cast, and the second-placed candidate 19.3%.
47
North and South Reddish each return three councillors to .
Reddish falls in the
Diocese Of Manchester for the
Church Of England , and the
Diocese Of Salford for the
Roman Catholic Church .
- St Agnes, Gorton Road;4849 (Church of England). 1908, brick, some good glass.Hartwell ''et al'', p. 372.
- Bethel Christian Centre/Reddish Community Church/Bethel Apostolic Church, Sykes Street; ( Apostolic Church ).
