Carrington Moss
Encyclopedia
Carrington Moss is a large area of peat bog
near Carrington
in Greater Manchester
, England. It is south of the River Mersey
, approximately 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Manchester
, and occupies an area of about 1100 acres (445.2 ha). The depth of peat varies between 17 and 20 ft (5.2 and 6.1 m).
Originally an unused area of grouse moorland
, the Moss was reclaimed
in the latter half of the 19th century for farming and the disposal of nearby Manchester's waste. A system of tramways was built to connect the Moss with the Manchester Ship Canal
and a nearby railway line. During the Second World War the land was used as a Starfish site
, and in the latter half of the 20th century a large industrial complex was built along its northern edge. More recently several sporting facilities have been built on Carrington Moss.
Today, the land is still used for farming, and several nature reserves have been established within its bounds. Parts of the Moss are accessible to the public over several rights of way.
root Cathair, a fortress, but a more recent theory is that the name is from an Anglicised form of a Scandinavia
n personal name. A Carrington Hall once existed to the north of Carrington Moss, at the junction with the modern-day A6144 and B5158 roads. The hall was the seat of the Carrington family, descended from William de Caryngton. Moss, the first use of which is in the 15th century, forms part of the local name for a lowland peat bog, "mosslands". Today the term is also used to describe former bogs that have been converted to farmland.
methods of sewage disposal to pail closet
s, which began in the 1870s. Pail closets required regular emptying, and by the 1880s Manchester was producing more than 200000 LT (203,210 t; 224,000.7 ST) of refuse annually, about 75% of which was night soil
.
Along with parts of Moss Side
and Withington
, in 1885 Bradford, Harpurhey
, and Rusholme
were added to the City of Manchester. To cope with the extra demand for refuse disposal, Manchester Corporation began to look for disposal sites. A number of locations were considered, including one on Deeside
, and another in Nottinghamshire
, but Carrington Moss was chosen due to the nature of the land, and its accessibility. In 1886 the corporation bought the Carrington Moss Estate—an area of grouse
moorland—from Harry Grey, 8th Earl of Stamford
.
The purchase was part of the corporation's ultimately unsuccessful plan to retain the pail closet
system (which would be superseded by the water closet), and followed a public scandal when the daily dumping of 30–60 tons of human faeces
into the Medlock
and Irwell
rivers was discovered at their Holt Town sewage works. The purchase price was about £38,000 (£ as of ), but due to the depth of the bog (between 17 and 20 ft (5.2 and 6.1 m) deep) the total development cost was almost £94,000 (£ as of ). The 1101 acres (445.6 ha) estate included 600 acres (2.4 km²) of wild mossland, 209 acre (0.84579374 km²) of partly cultivated mossland, 282 acres (1.1 km²) of mossland under cultivation, and 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) of incomplete roads. A number of brick buildings were included with the estate, along with Asphodel Farm and Ash Farm, both with wooden farmhouses. The corporation rented 700 acres (2.8 km²) of land in small holdings to local farmers, and kept 400 acres (1.6 km²) for itself.
The virgin moss which lay on the bog was cultivated, and a series of drainage channels was cut through at regular intervals. Drainage was the first step in the reclamation of the area, and because of this the characteristically convex Moss began to sag noticeably; some residents of Dunham Town
commented that they could then see parts of Carrington
they once could not. A network of tramways and roads was constructed using clinker
and other materials brought from the city. Drains were laid, and the land was cleared of scrub. A water supply was also installed. Some of the more dangerous buildings were demolished, and others were repaired or replaced.
Refuse was loaded from a number of locations, and was initially transported along the Mersey and Irwell Navigation until its closure on 11 November 1888. For several years until the completion of the Ship Canal therefore, the corporation was reliant on the railway network. Refuse was loaded at the corporation's Water Street Depot on to Cornbrook sidings, and in waggons to Carrington on a junction from the Cheshire Lines Committee
's (CLC) Glazebrook
to Stockport Tiviot Dale
line. The canal company installed a temporary dock on the new canal, but this was considered impractical and was rarely used before a more permanent arrangement was made several years later. New railway sidings were also built, and once complete refuse was loaded from near Oldham Road railway station, and also the corporation's Water Street Depot. It was then transported along the Manchester Ship Canal
to the newly built wharf, and thereafter by tramway across the Moss.
Refuse was normally placed in heaps and allowed to dry before being put into the ground. The naturally acidic
water was a perfect receptacle for pail closet content, rich in urea
and nitrogen
. Bacteria quickly broke the refuse down into ammonium
compounds and free ammonia, which neutralised the acidity of the soil and created ammonium nitrate—an essential fertiliser for arable land
.
By the 1890s, over 70,000 long tons of excrement annually were being disposed of on the Moss. The success of the project helped persuade Manchester Corporation to purchase 2,583 acres of nearby Chat Moss
in 1895. In 1897, 37,082 long tons of nightsoil, 587 long tons of sweepings and litter, and 11,673 long tons of cinders were sent to Carrington. Various crops were grown, including wheat, oats, potatoes and carrots. A variety of ornamental shrubs, including rhododendron
s, were grown in a nursery and used in the parks and gardens of Manchester.
The land was a useful source of income for Manchester; for the year ending 31 March 1900 the estate made a profit of £777 5s
2d
(by comparison, the larger Chat Moss made £2,591 13s 4d).
The extensive use of the water closet meant that the amount of night soil being delivered to Carrington Moss had dropped significantly by the 1930s. During this period, the majority of refuse placed on the Moss was from ash bins, although some was from slaughterhouse
s and lairage facilities. In 1923, manure of only moderate value was being delivered to the Moss, supplemented by sulphate of potash, sulphate of ammonia, and super-phosphates. Altrincham Sewage Farm, visible on the map above, was used to flood the surrounding fields with sewage water, and to the west a series of disused marl-pits formed the Timperley
Sewage Beds, a further source of manure.
Carrington Wharf had fallen out of use by 1934, and with the advent of the Second World War five miles (8 km) of railway were lifted, and all the waggons scrapped. At the request of the Ministry of Supply
much of the infrastructure supporting both Carrington Moss and Chat Moss was sold. The sidings at Carrington continued to be used by the CLC for waggon storage, but Carrington Wharf was subsumed in 1946 by the construction of Carrington Power Station
.
.jpg)
During the Second World War Carrington Moss was one of four sites in Manchester used as a Starfish site
—decoy targets for enemy aircraft. The site contained an air raid shelter for the operational crew along with several combustible devices to simulate fires and lights. Operational control was the responsibility of RAF Balloon Command
. The site was activated in December 1940 but closed several years later following a reduction in enemy aircraft attacks and lack of manpower.
In 1948, the estate was valued at £82,615. In the year ending March 1971, it produced an income of £20,268. By that time the entire Moss had been fully reclaimed; 872.785 acres (3.5 km²) of cultivated land, 39.012 acres (157,876.1 m²) of roads and plantations, and 30.14 acres (121,972.4 m²) of 'industrial area' were available for use. The principal activities were dairy
, arable farming, and glasshouse culture. No refuse was delivered for the year ending March 1971, and the Moss had by that time taken a total of 1,305,822 tons of refuse.
The estate was leased to Shell Chemicals
on 1 October 1968, however they had already purchased a propylene oxide
plant along the northern edge of Carrington Moss in 1957. Shell had then built an ethylene oxide
plant in 1958, and had begun to produce polyether polyols in 1959. Council housing was built nearby at Carrington
and Partington to cater for workers and their families. By 1985 the plant had a turnover of about £200M, and employed 1,150 people, however a major restructuring of the business meant that the workforce had been reduced to less than 500 by 1986. By 1994, four distinct plants were operating on the 3500 acres (14.2 km²) site, producing a range of chemicals as well as polystyrene
, polyethylene
, and polypropylene
. In 2005 it was reported that Shell would close their polyols and ethoxylates units, a decision which came into effect in 2007. The estate is currently managed by chartered surveyors Bell Ingram.
On 26 July 2000, Manchester United
opened their Trafford Training Centre
training ground
and Academy on land formerly owned by Shell. Manchester City also have a training ground on Carrington Moss. Because of the Moss's history as a dumping ground for waste, bottle diggers often frequent the area. Several rights of way cross the Moss, and a horse-riding
school operates in the area.
overlaid with marl
s laid down during the Late Triassic
period. These rocks are themselves overlaid by a layer of boulder clay
deposited during the last ice age
, about 10,000 years ago. The combination of the flat topography and the underlying clay resulted in extensive peat bogs developing along the Mersey
Valley, and overflowing beyond the valley. Along with large parts of Chat Moss
and Holcroft Moss, Carrington Moss began to form during the Flandrian period
from 7100 to 5000 BP
.
and fauna
; Sphagnum balticum
, a medium-sized bog moss, was recorded on Carrington Moss in the 1880s, although locally it is now presumed to be extinct. Lancashire- or bog asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum), white beak-sedge (Rhynchospora alba
), Cranberries
, Bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia), and the cotton sedge have also been recorded. In 1923 species of trees recorded by E. Price Evans for the Journal of Ecology included English Oak (Quercus robur), and Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior). Undergrowth included Common Hazel (Corylus avellana
), Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus), and European Holly (Ilex aquifolium). Several species of ground vegetation included Creeping Soft Grass (Holcus mollis), Common Bluebell (Scilla non-scripta), Common Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea
), Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis), Iris (Iris pseudacorus
), Mad-dog weed (Alisma plantago-aquatica
), and Cat-o'-nine-tails (Typha latifolia
).
Birch Moss Covert is a small woodland containing birch
, alder
and willow
trees, as well as various species of flora and fauna. The small mammal population includes the wood mouse
(Apodemus sylvaticus), which attract both kestrel
(Falco tinnunculus) and sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus). Fox
es, stoat
s, weasel
s, and badger
s, are often seen. The area is part of Shell's estate, covering about 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) of land managed by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust
. The trust also manages a small nature reserve located within Manchester United's training ground. This provides a habitat for a number of species including the Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta), Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis), and Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix
). Carrington Moss is home to the only recorded pairs of breeding Grey Partridge in Trafford
. Six pairs of Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula
) were recorded in 2003. The reduction in the population of these and similar birds is attributed to modern farming methods, the loss of broad hedgerows, and the lack of winter stubble. Action for Nature in Trafford has therefore included the site in its Biodiversity Action Plan. The group intends to develop Carrington Moss as a home for other species, such as Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus
). Stigmella continuella
(a species of moth
occurring in southern and north-west England) has been observed in the area.
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
near Carrington
Carrington, Greater Manchester
Carrington is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Cheshire, the village is west of Greater Manchester Urban Area, and is the site of a large gas and chemical works, which produce gases by fractional distillation of...
in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England. It is south of the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
, approximately 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, and occupies an area of about 1100 acres (445.2 ha). The depth of peat varies between 17 and 20 ft (5.2 and 6.1 m).
Originally an unused area of grouse moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
, the Moss was reclaimed
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
in the latter half of the 19th century for farming and the disposal of nearby Manchester's waste. A system of tramways was built to connect the Moss with the Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
and a nearby railway line. During the Second World War the land was used as a Starfish site
Starfish site
Starfish sites, or bombing decoy sites, were deliberately created simulations of burning towns that were constructed in Britain during World War II. The name came from the code name for one of the sites, "Starfish", itself from the original code, SF, for Special Fire.Starfish sites were used to...
, and in the latter half of the 20th century a large industrial complex was built along its northern edge. More recently several sporting facilities have been built on Carrington Moss.
Today, the land is still used for farming, and several nature reserves have been established within its bounds. Parts of the Moss are accessible to the public over several rights of way.
History
In the History of Flixton, Urmston, and Davyhulme (1898) the author claims that Carrington may be derived from the Goidelic CelticGoidelic languages
The Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...
root Cathair, a fortress, but a more recent theory is that the name is from an Anglicised form of a Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n personal name. A Carrington Hall once existed to the north of Carrington Moss, at the junction with the modern-day A6144 and B5158 roads. The hall was the seat of the Carrington family, descended from William de Caryngton. Moss, the first use of which is in the 15th century, forms part of the local name for a lowland peat bog, "mosslands". Today the term is also used to describe former bogs that have been converted to farmland.
19th century
The population of Manchester increased by more than 150% between 1831 and 1851, which put considerable pressure on refuse disposal, a problem exacerbated by the gradual switch from the older cesspitCesspit
A cesspit, or cesspool is a pit, conservancy tank, or covered cistern, which can be used to dispose of urine and feces, and more generally of all sewage and refuse. It is a more antiquated solution than a sewer system. Traditionally, it was a deep cylindrical chamber dug into the earth, having...
methods of sewage disposal to pail closet
Pail closet
A pail closet was a room used for the disposal of human excreta, under the pail system of waste removal. The closet was a small outdoor privy which contained a seat, underneath which a portable receptacle was placed. This pail, into which the user would defecate, was removed and emptied by the...
s, which began in the 1870s. Pail closets required regular emptying, and by the 1880s Manchester was producing more than 200000 LT (203,210 t; 224,000.7 ST) of refuse annually, about 75% of which was night soil
Night soil
Night soil is a euphemism for human excrement collected at night from cesspools, privies, etc. and sometimes used as a fertilizer. Night soil is produced as a result of a waste management system in areas without community infrastructure such as a sewage treatment facility, or individual septic...
.
Along with parts of Moss Side
Moss Side
Moss Side is an inner-city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre and has a population of around 17,537...
and Withington
Withington
Withington is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury, and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near the centre-to-south edges of the Greater Manchester Urban Area; in the...
, in 1885 Bradford, Harpurhey
Harpurhey
-Landmarks:Harpurhey Edwardian Swimming Baths, situated on Rochdale Road was built between 1909-10 by Henry Price, Manchester's first City Architect. Listed grade II in, the baths were closed to the public in 2001 after serious defects were discovered and the entrance building is currently being...
, and Rusholme
Rusholme
-Etymology:Rusholme, unlike other areas of Manchester which have '-holme' in the place name is not a true '-holme'. Its name came from ryscum, which is the dative plural of Old English rysc "rush": "[at the] rushes"...
were added to the City of Manchester. To cope with the extra demand for refuse disposal, Manchester Corporation began to look for disposal sites. A number of locations were considered, including one on Deeside
Deeside
For Strathdee in Scotland see River Dee, AberdeenshireDeeside is the name given to the predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages that lie on, or near the River Dee in Chester. These include, Connah's Quay, Mancot, Pentre, Shotton, Queensferry, Sealand, Broughton, Hawarden,...
, and another in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, but Carrington Moss was chosen due to the nature of the land, and its accessibility. In 1886 the corporation bought the Carrington Moss Estate—an area of grouse
Grouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...
moorland—from Harry Grey, 8th Earl of Stamford
Harry Grey, 8th Earl of Stamford
Revd Harry Grey, 8th Earl of Stamford was an English peer.Harry Grey was born in England, the son of Revd. Harry Grey and Frances Elizabeth Ellis...
.
Pail closet
A pail closet was a room used for the disposal of human excreta, under the pail system of waste removal. The closet was a small outdoor privy which contained a seat, underneath which a portable receptacle was placed. This pail, into which the user would defecate, was removed and emptied by the...
system (which would be superseded by the water closet), and followed a public scandal when the daily dumping of 30–60 tons of human faeces
Human feces
Human feces , also known as a stool, is the waste product of the human digestive system including bacteria. It varies significantly in appearance, according to the state of the digestive system, diet and general health....
into the Medlock
River Medlock
The River Medlock is a river of Greater Manchester in North West England. It rises near Oldham and flows, south and west, for ten miles to join the River Irwell in the extreme southwest of Manchester city centre.-Source:...
and Irwell
River Irwell
The River Irwell is a long river which flows through the Irwell Valley in the counties of Lancashire and Greater Manchester in North West England. The river's source is at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup, in the parish of Cliviger, Lancashire...
rivers was discovered at their Holt Town sewage works. The purchase price was about £38,000 (£ as of ), but due to the depth of the bog (between 17 and 20 ft (5.2 and 6.1 m) deep) the total development cost was almost £94,000 (£ as of ). The 1101 acres (445.6 ha) estate included 600 acres (2.4 km²) of wild mossland, 209 acre (0.84579374 km²) of partly cultivated mossland, 282 acres (1.1 km²) of mossland under cultivation, and 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) of incomplete roads. A number of brick buildings were included with the estate, along with Asphodel Farm and Ash Farm, both with wooden farmhouses. The corporation rented 700 acres (2.8 km²) of land in small holdings to local farmers, and kept 400 acres (1.6 km²) for itself.
The virgin moss which lay on the bog was cultivated, and a series of drainage channels was cut through at regular intervals. Drainage was the first step in the reclamation of the area, and because of this the characteristically convex Moss began to sag noticeably; some residents of Dunham Town
Dunham Town
Dunham Town is a village in the civil parish of Dunham Massey in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It was historically a part of Cheshire.- History :...
commented that they could then see parts of Carrington
Carrington, Greater Manchester
Carrington is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Cheshire, the village is west of Greater Manchester Urban Area, and is the site of a large gas and chemical works, which produce gases by fractional distillation of...
they once could not. A network of tramways and roads was constructed using clinker
Clinker (waste)
Clinker is a general name given to waste from industrial processes — particularly those that involve smelting metals, burning fossil fuels and using a blacksmith's forge which will usually result in a large buildup of clinker around the tuyère...
and other materials brought from the city. Drains were laid, and the land was cleared of scrub. A water supply was also installed. Some of the more dangerous buildings were demolished, and others were repaired or replaced.
Refuse was loaded from a number of locations, and was initially transported along the Mersey and Irwell Navigation until its closure on 11 November 1888. For several years until the completion of the Ship Canal therefore, the corporation was reliant on the railway network. Refuse was loaded at the corporation's Water Street Depot on to Cornbrook sidings, and in waggons to Carrington on a junction from the Cheshire Lines Committee
Cheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
's (CLC) Glazebrook
Glazebrook railway station
Glazebrook railway station is in the Warrington unitary authority in the north west of England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Northern Rail...
to Stockport Tiviot Dale
Stockport Tiviot Dale railway station
Stockport Tiviot Dale was one of two main railway stations serving the town of Stockport, Cheshire, England, the other being Stockport Edgeley .-Location and operating companies:...
line. The canal company installed a temporary dock on the new canal, but this was considered impractical and was rarely used before a more permanent arrangement was made several years later. New railway sidings were also built, and once complete refuse was loaded from near Oldham Road railway station, and also the corporation's Water Street Depot. It was then transported along the Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
to the newly built wharf, and thereafter by tramway across the Moss.
Humic acid
Humic acid is a principal component of humic substances, which are the major organic constituents of soil , peat, coal, many upland streams, dystrophic lakes, and ocean water. It is produced by biodegradation of dead organic matter...
water was a perfect receptacle for pail closet content, rich in urea
Urea
Urea or carbamide is an organic compound with the chemical formula CO2. The molecule has two —NH2 groups joined by a carbonyl functional group....
and nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
. Bacteria quickly broke the refuse down into ammonium
Ammonium
The ammonium cation is a positively charged polyatomic cation with the chemical formula NH. It is formed by the protonation of ammonia...
compounds and free ammonia, which neutralised the acidity of the soil and created ammonium nitrate—an essential fertiliser for arable land
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
.
By the 1890s, over 70,000 long tons of excrement annually were being disposed of on the Moss. The success of the project helped persuade Manchester Corporation to purchase 2,583 acres of nearby Chat Moss
Chat Moss
Chat Moss is a large area of peat bog that makes up 30 percent of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of the River Irwell, to the west of Manchester, and occupies an area of about...
in 1895. In 1897, 37,082 long tons of nightsoil, 587 long tons of sweepings and litter, and 11,673 long tons of cinders were sent to Carrington. Various crops were grown, including wheat, oats, potatoes and carrots. A variety of ornamental shrubs, including rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s, were grown in a nursery and used in the parks and gardens of Manchester.
20th century
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
2d
Penny (British pre-decimal coin)
The penny of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, was in circulation from the early 18th century until February 1971, Decimal Day....
(by comparison, the larger Chat Moss made £2,591 13s 4d).
The extensive use of the water closet meant that the amount of night soil being delivered to Carrington Moss had dropped significantly by the 1930s. During this period, the majority of refuse placed on the Moss was from ash bins, although some was from slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
s and lairage facilities. In 1923, manure of only moderate value was being delivered to the Moss, supplemented by sulphate of potash, sulphate of ammonia, and super-phosphates. Altrincham Sewage Farm, visible on the map above, was used to flood the surrounding fields with sewage water, and to the west a series of disused marl-pits formed the Timperley
Timperley
Timperley is a village within the Altrincham area, of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Situated within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, Timperley is approximately seven miles southwest of Manchester....
Sewage Beds, a further source of manure.
Carrington Wharf had fallen out of use by 1934, and with the advent of the Second World War five miles (8 km) of railway were lifted, and all the waggons scrapped. At the request of the Ministry of Supply
Ministry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...
much of the infrastructure supporting both Carrington Moss and Chat Moss was sold. The sidings at Carrington continued to be used by the CLC for waggon storage, but Carrington Wharf was subsumed in 1946 by the construction of Carrington Power Station
Carrington Power Station
Carrington Power Station refers to a now demolished coal-fired power station, built at the meeting of the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey in Trafford, Greater Manchester in North West England...
.
Starfish site
Starfish sites, or bombing decoy sites, were deliberately created simulations of burning towns that were constructed in Britain during World War II. The name came from the code name for one of the sites, "Starfish", itself from the original code, SF, for Special Fire.Starfish sites were used to...
—decoy targets for enemy aircraft. The site contained an air raid shelter for the operational crew along with several combustible devices to simulate fires and lights. Operational control was the responsibility of RAF Balloon Command
RAF Balloon Command
Balloon Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling all the United Kingdom-based barrage balloon units during World War II.- History :...
. The site was activated in December 1940 but closed several years later following a reduction in enemy aircraft attacks and lack of manpower.
In 1948, the estate was valued at £82,615. In the year ending March 1971, it produced an income of £20,268. By that time the entire Moss had been fully reclaimed; 872.785 acres (3.5 km²) of cultivated land, 39.012 acres (157,876.1 m²) of roads and plantations, and 30.14 acres (121,972.4 m²) of 'industrial area' were available for use. The principal activities were dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
, arable farming, and glasshouse culture. No refuse was delivered for the year ending March 1971, and the Moss had by that time taken a total of 1,305,822 tons of refuse.
The estate was leased to Shell Chemicals
Shell Chemicals
Shell Chemicals is the petrochemicals arm of Royal Dutch Shell. The name "Shell Chemicals" refers to the nearly seventy companies engaged in chemicals businesses for Shell, which together make up one of the largest petrochemical producers in the world....
on 1 October 1968, however they had already purchased a propylene oxide
Propylene oxide
Propylene oxide is an organic compound with the molecular formula CH3CHCH2O. This colourless volatile liquid is produced on a large scale industrially, its major application being its use for the production of polyether polyols for use in making polyurethane plastics...
plant along the northern edge of Carrington Moss in 1957. Shell had then built an ethylene oxide
Ethylene oxide
Ethylene oxide, also called oxirane, is the organic compound with the formula . It is a cyclic ether. This means that it is composed of two alkyl groups attached to an oxygen atom in a cyclic shape . This colorless flammable gas with a faintly sweet odor is the simplest epoxide, a three-membered...
plant in 1958, and had begun to produce polyether polyols in 1959. Council housing was built nearby at Carrington
Carrington, Greater Manchester
Carrington is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Cheshire, the village is west of Greater Manchester Urban Area, and is the site of a large gas and chemical works, which produce gases by fractional distillation of...
and Partington to cater for workers and their families. By 1985 the plant had a turnover of about £200M, and employed 1,150 people, however a major restructuring of the business meant that the workforce had been reduced to less than 500 by 1986. By 1994, four distinct plants were operating on the 3500 acres (14.2 km²) site, producing a range of chemicals as well as polystyrene
Polystyrene
Polystyrene ) also known as Thermocole, abbreviated following ISO Standard PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry...
, polyethylene
Polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...
, and polypropylene
Polypropylene
Polypropylene , also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes...
. In 2005 it was reported that Shell would close their polyols and ethoxylates units, a decision which came into effect in 2007. The estate is currently managed by chartered surveyors Bell Ingram.
On 26 July 2000, Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
opened their Trafford Training Centre
Trafford Training Centre
The Trafford Training Centre, often referred to simply as Carrington, is the training ground and Academy base of English football club Manchester United. It is located in the village of Carrington in Greater Manchester...
training ground
Training ground
A training ground is an area where professional association football teams prepare for matches, with activities primarily concentrating on skills and fitness...
and Academy on land formerly owned by Shell. Manchester City also have a training ground on Carrington Moss. Because of the Moss's history as a dumping ground for waste, bottle diggers often frequent the area. Several rights of way cross the Moss, and a horse-riding
Riding academy
A riding academy or riding center is a school for instruction in equestrianism, or for hiring of horses for pleasure riding.At the time of the Napoleonic Wars large buildings were constructed for them, like Moscow Manege, Mikhailovsky and Konnogvardeisky maneges in St Petersburg....
school operates in the area.
Geography and ecology
At 53°25′14"N 2°23′16"W (53.42056, 2.38778), 65.6 feet (20 m) above sea level, Carrington Moss lies along the southern edge of the Lancashire Plain, an area of Bunter sandstonesBunter (geology)
Bunter beds are sandstone deposits containing rounded pebbles, such as can notably be found in Warwickshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Devon and Dorset in England...
overlaid with marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
s laid down during the Late Triassic
Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group that has a roughly corresponding age...
period. These rocks are themselves overlaid by a layer of boulder clay
Boulder clay
Boulder clay, in geology, is a deposit of clay, often full of boulders, which is formed in and beneath glaciers and ice-sheets wherever they are found, but is in a special sense the typical deposit of the Glacial Period in northern Europe and North America...
deposited during the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
, about 10,000 years ago. The combination of the flat topography and the underlying clay resulted in extensive peat bogs developing along the Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
Valley, and overflowing beyond the valley. Along with large parts of Chat Moss
Chat Moss
Chat Moss is a large area of peat bog that makes up 30 percent of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of the River Irwell, to the west of Manchester, and occupies an area of about...
and Holcroft Moss, Carrington Moss began to form during the Flandrian period
Flandrian interglacial
The Flandrian interglacial or stage is the name given by geologists and archaeologists in the British Isles to the first, and so far only, stage of the Holocene epoch , covering the period from around 12,000 years ago, at the end of the last glacial period to the present day. As such, it is in...
from 7100 to 5000 BP
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
.
Flora and fauna
Carrington Moss is a lowland raised bog. The area drains slowly, which slows the decomposition of plant life and leads to the accumulation of peat. Over thousands of years this raises the level of peat and forms a gently sloping dome (hence, raised). Such areas support a wide range of floraFlora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
; Sphagnum balticum
Sphagnum
Sphagnum is a genus of between 151 and 350 species of mosses commonly called peat moss, due to its prevalence in peat bogs and mires. A distinction is made between sphagnum moss, the live moss growing on top of a peat bog on one hand, and sphagnum peat moss or sphagnum peat on the other, the...
, a medium-sized bog moss, was recorded on Carrington Moss in the 1880s, although locally it is now presumed to be extinct. Lancashire- or bog asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum), white beak-sedge (Rhynchospora alba
Rhynchospora alba
Rhynchospora alba, the white beak-sedge, is a plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is a tufted herbaceous perennial plant found in fairly acidic wetlands which have few plant nutrients....
), Cranberries
Cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
, Bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia), and the cotton sedge have also been recorded. In 1923 species of trees recorded by E. Price Evans for the Journal of Ecology included English Oak (Quercus robur), and Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior). Undergrowth included Common Hazel (Corylus avellana
Corylus avellana
Corylus avellana, the Common Hazel, is a species of hazel native to Europe and western Asia, from the British Isles south to Iberia, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, north to central Scandinavia, and east to the central Ural Mountains, the Caucasus, and northwestern Iran. It is an important component of...
), Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus), and European Holly (Ilex aquifolium). Several species of ground vegetation included Creeping Soft Grass (Holcus mollis), Common Bluebell (Scilla non-scripta), Common Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea
Digitalis purpurea
Digitalis purpurea , is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae , native to most of Europe.-Description:...
), Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis), Iris (Iris pseudacorus
Iris pseudacorus
Iris pseudacorus is a species of Iris, native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Common names include yellow iris and yellow flag...
), Mad-dog weed (Alisma plantago-aquatica
Alisma plantago-aquatica
The Common Water-plantain , also known as Mad-dog weed, is a perennial flowering plant native to most of the Northern Hemisphere, in Europe, northern Asia, and North America. It is found on mud or in fresh waters....
), and Cat-o'-nine-tails (Typha latifolia
Typha latifolia
Typha latifolia is a perennial herbaceous plant in the genus Typha. It is found as a native plant species in North and South America, Europe, Eurasia, and Africa...
).
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
, alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
and willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
trees, as well as various species of flora and fauna. The small mammal population includes the wood mouse
Wood mouse
The wood mouse is a common murid rodent from Europe and northwestern Africa. It is closely related to the yellow-necked mouse but differs in that it has no band of yellow fur around the neck, has slightly smaller ears, and is usually slightly smaller overall: around 90 mm in length...
(Apodemus sylvaticus), which attract both kestrel
Common Kestrel
The Common Kestrel is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European Kestrel, Eurasian Kestrel, or Old World Kestrel. In Britain, where no other brown falcon occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".This species...
(Falco tinnunculus) and sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus). Fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es, stoat
Stoat
The stoat , also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel, is a species of Mustelid native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip...
s, weasel
Weasel
Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....
s, and badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
s, are often seen. The area is part of Shell's estate, covering about 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) of land managed by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust
Cheshire Wildlife Trust
The Cheshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Cheshire and parts of the counties of Greater Manchester and Merseyside, England...
. The trust also manages a small nature reserve located within Manchester United's training ground. This provides a habitat for a number of species including the Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta), Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis), and Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix
Grey Partridge
The Grey Partridge, Perdix perdix, also known as the English Partridge, Hungarian Partridge, or Hun, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds...
). Carrington Moss is home to the only recorded pairs of breeding Grey Partridge in Trafford
Trafford
The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston...
. Six pairs of Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula
Eurasian Bullfinch
The Bullfinch, Common Bullfinch or Eurasian Bullfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. In Anglophone Europe it is known simply as Bullfinch, as it is the original bird to bear the name bullfinch.This bird breeds across Europe and temperate Asia...
) were recorded in 2003. The reduction in the population of these and similar birds is attributed to modern farming methods, the loss of broad hedgerows, and the lack of winter stubble. Action for Nature in Trafford has therefore included the site in its Biodiversity Action Plan. The group intends to develop Carrington Moss as a home for other species, such as Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus
Reed Bunting
The Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....
). Stigmella continuella
Stigmella continuella
Stigmella continuella is a moth of the Nepticulidae family. It is found from Fennoscandia to the Pyrenees, Alps and Hungary, and from Ireland to central Russia and Ukraine, east to the eastern part of the Palearctic ecozone....
(a species of moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
occurring in southern and north-west England) has been observed in the area.