Deansgate
Encyclopedia
Deansgate is a main road (part of the A56
) through the city centre
of Manchester
, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile long.
connecting the River Irk
to the River Irwell
, at the northern end of Deansgate. ("gate" derives from the Norse gata, meaning way). It begins now at Victoria Street but that street was a 19th-century creation: at the time the east side of Deansgate was occupied by Victoria Buildings (built by Manchester Corporation in 1876 but ruined during a bomb raid in December 1940 during the Second World War) on a triangular site (later a statue of Oliver Cromwell
was placed at the northern corner commemorating Manchester's support for Parliament in the English Civil War
). The statue was a gift to the city by Mrs. Abel Heywood
in memory of her first husband Thomas Goadsby; it was the first large statue of Cromwell to be raised in the open anywhere in England.
At the northern end of Deansgate it becomes Victoria Street, on which lies Manchester Cathedral
, and at the southern end is Deansgate railway station
. At this point Deansgate connects with Bridgewater Viaduct and Chester Road (Whitworth Street
West also meets it at this point). The section to the south of Peter Street was until the end of the 18th century known as Aldport Street (Aldport being the former name of the Castlefield
area once separate from medieval Manchester).
It contains many shops including a House of Fraser
department store (known as Kendals
from the 1830s until 2005), and opposite this the booksellers Waterstones along with many public house
s and bars including The Moon Under Water
, formerly the Deansgate Cinema (or ABC Deansgate). At 820 square metres (980.7 sq yd), able to accommodate 1,700 customers, and employing 60 staff, it has been listed in The Guinness Book of Records as the largest public house in Britain
. Elliot House was once the Manchester Registry Office and before that the offices of the Corporation's Education Department.
The northern end of the street used to adjoin a retail area known as The Shambles
. This was badly damaged in the IRA bombing in 1996. The area was eventually redeveloped and is home to several new buildings, including No. 1 Deansgate
and the Manchester branch of Harvey Nichols
. Other recent additions to the Deansgate area include the Royal Bank of Scotland
building, the Beetham Tower
, and the redevelopment of the Great Northern Warehouse
. These stand in contrast with historic buildings, such as the John Rylands Library
and the Barton Arcade
shopping mall. The disused Manchester and Salford Junction canal
runs directly underneath Deansgate and below the Great Northern Warehouse.
By the late 19th century Deansgate had changed into an area of very varied uses: the northern end had shopping and substantial office buildings while further south were notorious slums and a working class area around St John's Church (St John Street remaining upper middle class). The Wood Street Mission
began to address the social problems in 1869 and its work still continues in a very different form. From Peter Street southwards the eastern side was dominated by the viaducts of the Great Northern and Manchester South Junction Railways, while the Rochdale Canal crossed below Deansgate to connect with the other waterways beyond.
In the late 20th century it was home to the head office of the Manchester Evening News
newspaper, since replaced by part of the Spinningfields development.
drove a McLaren MP4-23
along Deansgate as part of the Vodafone
Vip Live Manchester festival.
In 2009 the inaugural Great City Games took place on Deansgate, which featured a 150-metre sprinting track down Deansgate. The event has since become an annual fixture which occurs on the Great Manchester Run
weekend during mid-May. Usain Bolt
set a world record for the 150 m straight in 2009 and Tyson Gay
ran another for the 200 m straight
in 2010.
Deansgate was for the first half of the 20th century an important tram route
and subsequently carried numerous bus services. During the 1970s many of these were diverted elsewhere or separated into two services terminating in the City Centre and adjoining streets such as King Street
were pedestrianised.
Today, the main transport links on Deansgate are the National Rail
and Metrolink
stations which lie at its northern and southern ends:
Deansgate is served by a number of bus routes, including the Metroshuttle
services.
As it is one of the main roads that connects the northern and southern areas of Manchester, Deansgate has a great deal of traffic, and the many shops, pubs and bars ensure it is busy with pedestrians both during the day and late into the night.
In 2009 there were calls for traffic to be banned on Deansgate and for it to be pedestrianised. The calls were triggered in response to road works which closed parts of Deansgate. Some argue that the disablement of a major traffic route in Manchester
could have a damaging economic effect for the city whilst others argued a vehicle-free Deansgate would attract more shoppers.
A56 road
The A56 is a road in England which extends between the city of Chester in Cheshire and the village of Broughton in North Yorkshire. The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections, and traverses environments as diverse as the dense urban sprawl of inner city Manchester and the...
) through the city centre
Manchester City Centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...
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...
, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile long.
History and geography
The road is named after the lost River Dene, which may have flowed along the Hanging DitchHanging Bridge
Hanging Bridge is a medieval bridge spanning the Hanging Ditch, which connected the rivers Irk and Irwell in Manchester, England. The first reference to the bridge was in 1343, when it was called Hengand Brigge, but the present structure was built in 1421, replacing an earlier bridge. Material...
connecting the River Irk
River Irk
The River Irk is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England that flows through the northern suburbs of Manchester before merging with the River Irwell in Manchester city centre....
to the River 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...
, at the northern end of Deansgate. ("gate" derives from the Norse gata, meaning way). It begins now at Victoria Street but that street was a 19th-century creation: at the time the east side of Deansgate was occupied by Victoria Buildings (built by Manchester Corporation in 1876 but ruined during a bomb raid in December 1940 during the Second World War) on a triangular site (later a statue of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
was placed at the northern corner commemorating Manchester's support for Parliament in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
). The statue was a gift to the city by Mrs. Abel Heywood
Abel Heywood
Abel Heywood was an English publisher, radical and mayor of Manchester.-Early life:Heywood was born into a poor family in Prestwich, who moved to Manchester after Heywood's father died in 1812. Abel obtained a basic education at the Anglican Bennett Street School, and at the age of nine started...
in memory of her first husband Thomas Goadsby; it was the first large statue of Cromwell to be raised in the open anywhere in England.
At the northern end of Deansgate it becomes Victoria Street, on which lies Manchester Cathedral
Manchester Cathedral
Manchester Cathedral is a medieval church on Victoria Street in central Manchester and is the seat of the Bishop of Manchester. The cathedral's official name is The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George in Manchester...
, and at the southern end is Deansgate railway station
Deansgate railway station
Deansgate is a railway station in Manchester city centre, England. It is situated approximately west of Manchester Piccadilly in the Castlefield area, at the junction of Deansgate and Whitworth Street West....
. At this point Deansgate connects with Bridgewater Viaduct and Chester Road (Whitworth Street
Whitworth Street
Whitworth Street is a street in Manchester, England. It runs between London Road and Oxford Street . West of Oxford Street it becomes Whitworth Street West which then goes as far as Deansgate . It was opened in 1899 and is lined with many large and grand warehouses. It is named after the engineer...
West also meets it at this point). The section to the south of Peter Street was until the end of the 18th century known as Aldport Street (Aldport being the former name of the Castlefield
Castlefield
Castlefield is an inner city area of Manchester, in North West England. The conservation area which bears its name is bounded by the River Irwell, Quay Street, Deansgate and the Chester Road. It was the site of the Roman era fort of Mamucium or Mancunium which gave its name to Manchester...
area once separate from medieval Manchester).
It contains many shops including a House of Fraser
House of Fraser
House of Fraser is a British department store group with over 60 stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891 it was known as Fraser & Sons. The company grew steadily during the early 20th century, but after the Second...
department store (known as Kendals
Kendals
Kendals, Kendal Milne, Kendal, Milne & Co, Kendal, Milne & Faulkner or Watts' was the name of a department store in Manchester, England.-History:...
from the 1830s until 2005), and opposite this the booksellers Waterstones along with many public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s and bars including The Moon Under Water
The Moon Under Water (public house)
The Moon Under Water is a public house situated on Deansgate in Manchester, in the building of a former cinema. The pub, which is and can hold 1700 customers has been noted by the Guinness Book of Records as being the largest in Britain...
, formerly the Deansgate Cinema (or ABC Deansgate). At 820 square metres (980.7 sq yd), able to accommodate 1,700 customers, and employing 60 staff, it has been listed in The Guinness Book of Records as the largest public house in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Elliot House was once the Manchester Registry Office and before that the offices of the Corporation's Education Department.
The northern end of the street used to adjoin a retail area known as The Shambles
Shambles Square, Manchester
Shambles Square is a square in Manchester, England, created in 1999 to house the rebuilt Old Wellington Inn and Sinclair's Oyster Bar next to The Mitre Hotel.- Etymology :...
. This was badly damaged in the IRA bombing in 1996. The area was eventually redeveloped and is home to several new buildings, including No. 1 Deansgate
No. 1 Deansgate
No. 1 Deansgate is the name and location of a medium-rise apartment building in central Manchester, England. It is the tallest all-steel residential building in the United Kingdom and one of the most expensive addresses in Manchester...
and the Manchester branch of Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols, founded in 1813, is an upmarket department store chain. Its original store is in London. Founded in 1813 as a linen shop, it sells many international brands of clothing for women and men, fashion accessories, beauty products, wine and food...
. Other recent additions to the Deansgate area include the Royal Bank of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...
building, the Beetham Tower
Beetham Tower, Manchester
Beetham Tower is a landmark 47-storey residential skyscraper in Manchester city centre, England. Completed in 2006, it is named after the developers, Beetham Organization, was designed by Ian Simpson, and built by Carillion....
, and the redevelopment of the Great Northern Warehouse
The Great Northern Warehouse
The Great Northern Warehouse is a former railway goods warehouse building of the Great Northern Railway, which has been redeveloped as a car park and leisure complex. The building is located at the junction of Deansgate and Peter Street in Manchester city centre, England...
. These stand in contrast with historic buildings, such as the John Rylands Library
John Rylands Library
The John Rylands Library is a Victorian Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. The library, which opened to the public in 1900, was founded by Mrs Enriqueta Augustina Rylands in memory of her late husband, John Rylands...
and the Barton Arcade
Barton Arcade
Barton Arcade, Deansgate, Manchester, is a small Victorian shopping arcade between Deansgate and St Ann's Square. The arcade was listed as a Grade II* listed building on the 25 January 1972...
shopping mall. The disused Manchester and Salford Junction canal
Manchester and Salford Junction Canal
The Manchester and Salford Junction Canal was a canal in the city of Manchester. It was originally built to provide a direct waterway between the Mersey and Irwell Navigation and the Rochdale Canal...
runs directly underneath Deansgate and below the Great Northern Warehouse.
By the late 19th century Deansgate had changed into an area of very varied uses: the northern end had shopping and substantial office buildings while further south were notorious slums and a working class area around St John's Church (St John Street remaining upper middle class). The Wood Street Mission
Wood Street Mission
-Wood Street Mission:Wood Street Mission is a registered children's charity located in the centre of Manchester. Its office is in Wood Street, off Deansgate, near the John Rylands Library. It was founded in 1869 by Alfred Alsop, a Methodist minister, and Wood Street's aim is to alleviate the...
began to address the social problems in 1869 and its work still continues in a very different form. From Peter Street southwards the eastern side was dominated by the viaducts of the Great Northern and Manchester South Junction Railways, while the Rochdale Canal crossed below Deansgate to connect with the other waterways beyond.
In the late 20th century it was home to the head office of the Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
The Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It is published every day except Sunday and is owned by Trinity Mirror plc following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010. It has an average daily circulation of 90,973 copies...
newspaper, since replaced by part of the Spinningfields development.
Events
Deansgate is noted for its long straight, which provides an ideal route for sporting events in the heart of the city. In 2006 A1 Racing cars visited the city to launch A1 Grand Prix, and used Deansgate as part of the street route. In August 2011 thousands packed the street as Jenson ButtonJenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...
drove a McLaren MP4-23
McLaren MP4-23
The McLaren MP4-23 was Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes' Formula One car for the 2008 Formula One season. It was revealed at Mercedes-Benz's motor sport museum in Stuttgart on 7 January 2008, and it had its first on-track appearance at Jerez in Spain on 9 January...
along Deansgate as part of the Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
Vip Live Manchester festival.
In 2009 the inaugural Great City Games took place on Deansgate, which featured a 150-metre sprinting track down Deansgate. The event has since become an annual fixture which occurs on the Great Manchester Run
Great Manchester Run
The Bupa Great Manchester Run is an annual 10 kilometre run through the streets in Manchester city centre, which was established in 2003. Usually held in mid-May, it is among the largest and most prestigious mass participation runs in the United Kingdom...
weekend during mid-May. Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt
The Honourable Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D. , is a Jamaican sprinter and a five-time World and three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and the 4×100 metres relay...
set a world record for the 150 m straight in 2009 and Tyson Gay
Tyson Gay
Tyson Gay is an American track and field sprinter. His primary events are the 100 meters and 200 meters. His personal bests establish him as the second fastest athlete in the 100 meters and the fifth fastest athlete in the history of the 200 meters, with times of 9.69 and...
ran another for the 200 m straight
200 metres straight
The 200 metres straight is a track and field outdoor event of 200 metres on a straight track.In the 1960s, the straight 200 metres was a separate world record event for men until IAAF deleted this variation from its list of official records....
in 2010.
Transport
Manchester Corporation Tramways
Between 1901 and 1949 Manchester Corporation Tramways was the municipal operator of electric tram services in Manchester, England...
and subsequently carried numerous bus services. During the 1970s many of these were diverted elsewhere or separated into two services terminating in the City Centre and adjoining streets such as King Street
King Street, Manchester
King Street is one of the most important thoroughfares of the city of Manchester, England. Once the centre of the north-west banking industry it is now predominantly an affluent shopping area.-History:...
were pedestrianised.
Today, the main transport links on Deansgate are the National Rail
National Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
and Metrolink
Manchester Metrolink
Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
stations which lie at its northern and southern ends:
- Deansgate-Castlefield Metrolink station
Deansgate is served by a number of bus routes, including the Metroshuttle
Metroshuttle
Metroshuttle is a free bus system that operates in Manchester city centre and Bolton and Stockport town centres, all in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester's Metroshuttle consists of three routes that traverse the city centre, linking the city's major thoroughfares and stations with its main...
services.
As it is one of the main roads that connects the northern and southern areas of Manchester, Deansgate has a great deal of traffic, and the many shops, pubs and bars ensure it is busy with pedestrians both during the day and late into the night.
In 2009 there were calls for traffic to be banned on Deansgate and for it to be pedestrianised. The calls were triggered in response to road works which closed parts of Deansgate. Some argue that the disablement of a major traffic route in 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...
could have a damaging economic effect for the city whilst others argued a vehicle-free Deansgate would attract more shoppers.