Longsight
Encyclopedia
Longsight is an area of Manchester
, England, about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the city centre
. Its population is about 16,000.
. Most of the violence came from tensions between 2 gangs; The Longsight Crew and their rivals, The Gooch Close Gang from nearby Moss Side. Both gangs fought turf wars between each other since late 90s, which resulted in many shootings and several deaths.
since boundary changes in 1983. Since then, Gorton has been represented in the House of Commons
by the Labour MP
, the Rt Hon Sir Gerald Kaufman
. At the 2005 General Election
, Labour won a majority of 5,808 with 53.2% of the vote. The Liberal Democrats
came second with 33.2% of the vote, and the Conservatives
third with 9.8%.
The area is represented on Manchester City Council
by Liberal Democrat
Liaqat Ali, first elected in 2003, Abid Chohan elected in 2004 and Labour's Maryam Khan elected in May 2006.
Previously known as Grindlow Marsh, it was incorporated into the City of Manchester in 1890. The district is bordered by Ardwick
to the north, Rusholme
to the west, Levenshulme
to the south, and Gorton
to the east. Longsight is currently defined by Hyde Road, Grey Street, Stockport Road, Plymouth Grove, Richmond Grove, Hathersage Road, Anson Road, Dickenson Road, Beresford Road, Old Hall Lane, Stockport Road, East Road, Pink Bank Lane, Nutsford Vale, Buckley Road and Mount Road. The Old Roman Road to Buxton
(the A6 or Stockport Road) roughly bisects the area.
are of Irish descent and the current Irish population stands at 4.3% of the local population - slightly higher than the Manchester average of 3.8%. The largest religious groups are Christian (38.6%) and Muslim (34.7%), with 23.6% of the population not stating a religion. The Census tended to underestimate immigrant communities, and it is likely that these groups in Longsight were underestimated are now proportionately larger. There is still inward immigration and there is now a substantial West African community in the area. There are a number of churches in the area, a large Pakistani community centre, and a Jain temple.
The religious affiliation of Longsight residents is one-third Muslim and around one-third Christian. The area is home to a number of mosques plus several other churches of varying denomination, including the Russian Orthodox Church of the Pokrov, Saint Agnes' Church, Bethshan International Church and Saint Robert's Church.
As of 2001
The area of Longsight contains many of the notable buildings of Victoria Park
. Daisy Bank Road is a particularly good example, featuring Edgar Wood
's Grade I listed First Church of Christ, Scientist and the Edwardian art nouveau Chadlington House, as well as the residences of Charles Hallé
and Emmeline Pankhurst
. Pankhurst's family house is also situated on the edge of Longsight at Plymouth Grove.
Larger Victorian period properties are predominantly clustered around the leafy western parts of Longsight, an area informally known as Westpoint. Some Victorian villas can also be found overlooking Crowcroft park in the most southern part of Longsight.
The architectural view of new Longsight library building is nice. It is situated on the Stockport road near the main market of Longsight.
The Apollo Theater, Longsight Market, Crowcroft Park and new Longsight Library are the important places in the Longsight area.
The railway line from Manchester to Stockport
passes through the area, though Longsight station
closed in 1958. The nearest stations are now at Ardwick
and Levenshulme
. Longsight is the site of Longsight Electric TMD
and Longsight Diesel TMD
which service trains for Virgin Trains
, Northern Rail
and TransPennine Express. A plan to house Eurostar
trains at Manchester International Depot
was abandoned.
The earliest railway works was set up in 1842 by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway
(M&BR). Little is known about its early history, except that it produced fifteen single wheeler passenger engines to a design by Sharp Stewart and Company. In 1846 the M&BR was amalgamated with the London and North Western Railway
(LNWR) under John Ramsbottom
. One 0-6-0
was produced in 1858 but then the works closed down as the LNWR transferred its operations to Crewe. The Longsight steam locomotive depot provided engines for express trains to London and elsewhere, and for local passenger trains.
The Bus:
The Famous 192 ! According to the Stagecoach Group, the route is the busiest in Britain, with around 9 million passengers carried annually. The bus runs every 5–10 minutes daily until the late hours .
, the founder of the Hallé Orchestra, in 1848. The pre-raphaelite artist Ford Madox Brown
lived at the same address from 1883 to 1887.
Ethel 'Sunny' Lowry
, the first British woman to swim the English Channel
, was born in Longsight in 1911.
The Manchester United
players Wes Brown
and Danny Welbeck
were both born in the area..
Keith Bennett, one of the Moors Murders victims, was from Longsight. He was 12 years old when he disappeared on his way from his house to that of his grandmother on 16 June 1964. His disappearance was reported to police the following morning, but in spite of endless police searches he was not found. 22 years later, in 1986, Moors Murderers Ian Brady (who also lived in Longsight) and Myra Hindley revealed that he was one of their victims; just as police had suspected when arresting them for three other murders in 1965. Despite numerous searches for his body on Saddleworth Moor, it has yet to be found.
formerly of The Stone Roses
on his album Solarized
. The song was titled 'Longsight M13' reflecting the postcode of the area, which begins with M13. Graffiti
appeared locally saying 'Stone Roses RIP' when the band split up, and 'Free Ian Brown' when he was jailed. The song was written with Brown's former bandmate, guitarist Aziz Ibrahim
, who still lives in Longsight. Brown also mentions the area in The Stone Roses
song "Daybreak" which contains the line "From Atlanta, Georgia
, to Longsight, Manchester
". In recent times Longsight has suffered like surrounding south inner-city areas, with gangs, drugs and high-profile shootings.
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, about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of 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...
. Its population is about 16,000.
History
Longsight has been known over the past for its gang related violence, similar to that of nearby Moss SideMoss 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...
. Most of the violence came from tensions between 2 gangs; The Longsight Crew and their rivals, The Gooch Close Gang from nearby Moss Side. Both gangs fought turf wars between each other since late 90s, which resulted in many shootings and several deaths.
Governance
Longsight has been in the parliamentary constituency of Manchester GortonManchester Gorton (UK Parliament constituency)
Manchester, Gorton is a parliamentary constituency in the city of Manchester, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-1885–1918:...
since boundary changes in 1983. Since then, Gorton has been represented in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
by the Labour MP
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, the Rt Hon Sir Gerald Kaufman
Gerald Kaufman
Sir Gerald Bernard Kaufman is a British Labour Party politician, who has been a Member of Parliament since 1970, first for Manchester Ardwick, and then subsequently for Manchester Gorton...
. At the 2005 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, Labour won a majority of 5,808 with 53.2% of the vote. The Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
came second with 33.2% of the vote, and the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
third with 9.8%.
The area is represented on Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
by Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
Liaqat Ali, first elected in 2003, Abid Chohan elected in 2004 and Labour's Maryam Khan elected in May 2006.
Geography
Ardwick
Ardwick is a district of the City of Manchester, in North West England, about one mile east of Manchester City Centre.By the mid-19th century Ardwick had grown from being a village into a pleasant and wealthy suburb of Manchester, but by the end of that century it had become heavily industrialised...
to the north, 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"...
to the west, Levenshulme
Levenshulme
Levenshulme is an urban area of the City of Manchester, in North West England. It borders Longsight, Gorton, Burnage, Heaton Chapel and Reddish, and is approximately halfway between Stockport and Manchester City Centre on the A6 road. The A6 bisects Levenshulme. The Manchester to London railway...
to the south, and Gorton
Gorton
Gorton is an area of the city of Manchester, in North West England. It is located to the southeast of Manchester city centre. Neighbouring areas include Longsight and Levenshulme....
to the east. Longsight is currently defined by Hyde Road, Grey Street, Stockport Road, Plymouth Grove, Richmond Grove, Hathersage Road, Anson Road, Dickenson Road, Beresford Road, Old Hall Lane, Stockport Road, East Road, Pink Bank Lane, Nutsford Vale, Buckley Road and Mount Road. The Old Roman Road to Buxton
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...
(the A6 or Stockport Road) roughly bisects the area.
Demography
Longsight has a very ethnically diverse population. According to the 2001 UK census, 52.7% of the population is from non-white ethnic groups. This includes 36.1% who describe themselves as Asian or Asian British (including 24.6% Pakistani, 7.2% Bangladeshi), and 9.1% Black or Black British. Many of the white peopleWhite people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
are of Irish descent and the current Irish population stands at 4.3% of the local population - slightly higher than the Manchester average of 3.8%. The largest religious groups are Christian (38.6%) and Muslim (34.7%), with 23.6% of the population not stating a religion. The Census tended to underestimate immigrant communities, and it is likely that these groups in Longsight were underestimated are now proportionately larger. There is still inward immigration and there is now a substantial West African community in the area. There are a number of churches in the area, a large Pakistani community centre, and a Jain temple.
The religious affiliation of Longsight residents is one-third Muslim and around one-third Christian. The area is home to a number of mosques plus several other churches of varying denomination, including the Russian Orthodox Church of the Pokrov, Saint Agnes' Church, Bethshan International Church and Saint Robert's Church.
As of 2001
- White British - 39.85%
- White Irish - 4.31%
- White Other - 3.15%
- Asian or Asian British - 36.14%
- Black or Black British - 9.13%
- Chinese - 1.62%
- Other - 1.32%
- Mixed: White and Black - 2.40%
- Mixed: White and Asian - 1.37%
- Mixed: Other Mixed - 0.70%
Economy
The main shopping centre is near the corner of Stockport Road and Dickenson Road, and contains a library and supermarket as well as many smaller shops. The Longsight Market, one of the busiest markets in the North West of England, is located on Dickenson Road. It can be easily spotted by its brightly-coloured profiled roofs. The market hosts a general market every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and a second-hand market every Tuesday. There are a large number of takeaway food shops and restaurants and a very wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables and other supplies to cater for the interests of the various immigrant communities in the area.Architecture and housing
Victoria Park, Manchester
Victoria Park is an suburban area of Manchester, England. Victoria Park lies approximately 3 kilometres south of Manchester city centre, between Rusholme and Longsight.It is east of Wilmslow Road and west of Anson Road.-History and description:...
. Daisy Bank Road is a particularly good example, featuring Edgar Wood
Edgar Wood
Edgar Wood was an architect who practised from Manchester at the turn of the 20th century and gained a considerable reputation both in Britain and abroad, notably in Germany. British design was then of European significance. His work is principally domestic, but he designed several churches and...
's Grade I listed First Church of Christ, Scientist and the Edwardian art nouveau Chadlington House, as well as the residences of Charles Hallé
Charles Hallé
Sir Charles Hallé was an Anglo-German pianist and conductor, and founder of The Hallé orchestra in 1858.-Life:Hallé was born in Hagen, Westphalia, Germany who after settling in England changed his name from Karl Halle...
and Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst was a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement which helped women win the right to vote...
. Pankhurst's family house is also situated on the edge of Longsight at Plymouth Grove.
Larger Victorian period properties are predominantly clustered around the leafy western parts of Longsight, an area informally known as Westpoint. Some Victorian villas can also be found overlooking Crowcroft park in the most southern part of Longsight.
The architectural view of new Longsight library building is nice. It is situated on the Stockport road near the main market of Longsight.
The Apollo Theater, Longsight Market, Crowcroft Park and new Longsight Library are the important places in the Longsight area.
Transport
Train:The railway line from Manchester to Stockport
Stockport railway station
Stockport railway station is in Greater Manchester, England, 8 miles south-east of Manchester Piccadilly station on the West Coast Main Line from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston. It was opened on 15 February 1843 by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, following completion of the large...
passes through the area, though Longsight station
Longsight railway station
Longsight railway station was built by the Manchester & Birmingham Railway Company .-History:The first station opened in June 1840. Its original location was on Stockport Road near its junction with Slade Lane in Longsight, Manchester, England. Its creation coincided with the then new Belle Vue Zoo...
closed in 1958. The nearest stations are now at Ardwick
Ardwick railway station
Ardwick railway station serves Ardwick in Manchester, England. It is about one mile south of Manchester Piccadilly. It was opened by the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway in 1842.-History:...
and Levenshulme
Levenshulme railway station
Levenshulme railway station serves the Levenshulme area of the city of Manchester, England. The station is south east of Manchester Piccadilly towards Stockport....
. Longsight is the site of Longsight Electric TMD
Longsight Electric TMD
Longsight Electric TMD is an AC Electric railway locomotive Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Longsight, Manchester, England. The depot code is LG....
and Longsight Diesel TMD
Longsight Diesel TMD
Longsight Diesel TMD is a railway diesel locomotive Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Longsight, Manchester, England. The depot code is LO. There are many various roads in which individual train sets can be overhauled.-References:...
which service trains for Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
, Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
and TransPennine Express. A plan to house Eurostar
Eurostar
Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
trains at Manchester International Depot
Manchester International Depot
Manchester International Depot is a train maintenance depot in Manchester, England. It was constructed next to the Longsight depot in the early 1990s as part of a plan to operate Eurostar international train services to locations in the United Kingdom beyond London, known as Regional Eurostar.By...
was abandoned.
The earliest railway works was set up in 1842 by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway
Manchester and Birmingham Railway
The Manchester and Birmingham Railway was built between Manchester and Crewe and opened in stages from 1840. Between Crewe and Birmingham, trains were worked by the Grand Junction Railway...
(M&BR). Little is known about its early history, except that it produced fifteen single wheeler passenger engines to a design by Sharp Stewart and Company. In 1846 the M&BR was amalgamated with the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
(LNWR) under John Ramsbottom
John Ramsbottom (engineer)
John Ramsbottom was an English mechanical engineer who created many inventions for railways, including the piston ring, the Ramsbottom safety valve, the displacement lubricator, and the water trough.- Biography :...
. One 0-6-0
0-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
was produced in 1858 but then the works closed down as the LNWR transferred its operations to Crewe. The Longsight steam locomotive depot provided engines for express trains to London and elsewhere, and for local passenger trains.
The Bus:
The Famous 192 ! According to the Stagecoach Group, the route is the busiest in Britain, with around 9 million passengers carried annually. The bus runs every 5–10 minutes daily until the late hours .
Notable residents
3 Addison Terrace, on the north side of Daisy Bank Road, Victoria Park, was the home of Charles HalléCharles Hallé
Sir Charles Hallé was an Anglo-German pianist and conductor, and founder of The Hallé orchestra in 1858.-Life:Hallé was born in Hagen, Westphalia, Germany who after settling in England changed his name from Karl Halle...
, the founder of the Hallé Orchestra, in 1848. The pre-raphaelite artist Ford Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown was an English painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painting was Work...
lived at the same address from 1883 to 1887.
Ethel 'Sunny' Lowry
Sunny Lowry
Ethel "Sunny" Lowry MBE was the first British woman to swim the English Channel.Lowry, a student at Manchester High School for Girls and a keen swimmer from a young age, joined the Victoria Ladies Swimming Club of Victoria Baths, Longsight, Manchester...
, the first British woman to swim the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, was born in Longsight in 1911.
The 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...
players Wes Brown
Wes Brown
Wesley Michael "Wes" Brown is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Sunderland. Before joining Sunderland, Brown had spent his entire career at Old Trafford, having joined the Manchester United youth team in 1996...
and Danny Welbeck
Danny Welbeck
Daniel Nii Tackie Mensah "Danny" Welbeck is an English footballer who plays for Manchester United and the England national football team. He is a centre forward who can also play on the wing....
were both born in the area..
Keith Bennett, one of the Moors Murders victims, was from Longsight. He was 12 years old when he disappeared on his way from his house to that of his grandmother on 16 June 1964. His disappearance was reported to police the following morning, but in spite of endless police searches he was not found. 22 years later, in 1986, Moors Murderers Ian Brady (who also lived in Longsight) and Myra Hindley revealed that he was one of their victims; just as police had suspected when arresting them for three other murders in 1965. Despite numerous searches for his body on Saddleworth Moor, it has yet to be found.
Cultural references
Longsight was immortalised in song by local singer Ian BrownIan Brown
Ian George Brown is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has pursued a solo career...
formerly of The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
on his album Solarized
Solarized
Solarized is the fourth solo album released by Ian Brown, the former lead singer of The Stone Roses. The album was first released in the United Kingdom on 13 September 2004.-Background:...
. The song was titled 'Longsight M13' reflecting the postcode of the area, which begins with M13. Graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
appeared locally saying 'Stone Roses RIP' when the band split up, and 'Free Ian Brown' when he was jailed. The song was written with Brown's former bandmate, guitarist Aziz Ibrahim
Aziz Ibrahim
Aziz Ibrahim is a British musician. He was born in Longsight, Manchester to Pakistani parents. He is best known for his work as guitarist with Simply Red, The Stone Roses and their former vocalist Ian Brown in whose support band he regularly performs – both in the studio and live...
, who still lives in Longsight. Brown also mentions the area in The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
song "Daybreak" which contains the line "From Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, to Longsight, 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...
". In recent times Longsight has suffered like surrounding south inner-city areas, with gangs, drugs and high-profile shootings.
External links
- Longsight Local Services Directory
- Longsight Memories Our Manchester