Strangeways, Manchester


Strangeways is an area of inner north Manchester, England, around Strangeways Prison just north of the city centre.

Toponymy

Strangeways was recorded in 1322 as Strangwas, from the Anglo-Saxon Strang and gewæsc meaning " a stream with a strong current". It was also recorded as Stranways, Strangways, Strangewayes, Strangwyshe, and Strang wayes. The Strangways family, which originated in the village, adopted the earlier spelling as a surname.
Until the 19th century, Strangeways was a rural village, with Strangeways Hall, Park and Gardens.

Strangeways Brewery

[Image:Strangeways Brewery chimney.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The chimney of Strangeways Brewery in 2005]
Strangeways Brewery was famous as the home of Boddingtons Bitter. It closed in 2005 and was demolished in 2007.

Timeline

  • 1459: First known mention of the de Strangeways family in the area.
  • 1544: A settlement document describes widespread property attached to Strangeways Hall, including 24 houses, 20 town properties, 20 cottages, and various land up to several miles away.
  • 1641: Strangeways Hall appears on a map. It was in Elizabethan or Jacobean style.
  • 1624: John Hartley bought Strangeways Hall. His father Nicholas Hartley and elder brother Richard were wool merchants in Manchester.
  • Early 18th century: A grey stucco, palladian-style addition to Strangeways Hall was built.
  • 1713: The Reynolds family took over the hall.
  • 1768: Francis Reynolds granted a lease to Robert Norton to build a house and silk dyeing works by the Hall's fish pond.
  • 1777: Strangeways Hall first known to be let to a tenant.
  • 1788: Strangeways Hall was run as a girls' boarding school.
  • 1816: Start of the area being built over with houses.
  • 1838: Land in Strangeways area was sold to the Manchester and Leeds Railway Company; Manchester Victoria station is there now.
  • 1858: Strangeways Hall demolished and its materials sold
  • 1859: A newspaper report that the Hall was "several times rebuilt".
  • 1864: Completion of building of the Assize Courts on the site of Strangeways Hall..
  • 1868: Strangeways Prison opened. It was built on the site of Strangeways Hall's fish ponds.
  • late 19th century: Jewish immigration to the area, fleeing from violence in Russia.