Wythenshawe
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Wythenshawe is a housing estate to the south of Manchester. It is known by locals as Europe's biggest council estate.
For many centuries the Tatton family owned Wythenshawe Hall and much land in what is now Wythenshawe. Manchester Corporation, who were in desperate need of land to house the rapidly increasing population, pressured Mr.Tatton to part with the land in 1926. What was once farmland was transformed into one of the largest housing estates in Europe. Part of Benchill was built before WWII, and the rest afterwards. Wythenshawe is now a parliamentary constituency and also 3 electoral wards of the city of Manchester.
Wythenshawe is made up of nine areas: Baguley, Benchill, Moss Nook, Newall Green, Northenden (previously a village), Peel Hall, Sharston, Northern Moor and Woodhouse Park.
The name of Wythenshawe seems to come from Anglo-Saxon Withigensceaga = "small wood of withy trees". This name originally referred only to Wythenshawe Hall or its site.
Immediately south of Wythenshawe is Manchester International Airport, formerly called Ringway Airport. Before Ringway Airport was laid out, farmland around Rackfield Road in what is now the north of Wythenshawe was used as an airfield.
As well as a council estate, the centre of Wythenshawe has a shopping complex called the Civic Centre, which also has an indoor and outdoor market and a bus station in which people can travel to destinations such as Manchester, Stockport, Altrincham and Manchester Airport
Famous Wythenshawe people
- Caroline Aherne - actress, Mrs Merton and The Royle Family
- Edmund "Ed Banger" Garrity - singer, Ed Banger and The Nosebleeds
- Nicholas Cochrane - actor, Coronation Street
- Harry H Corbett - actor, star of Steptoe and Son
- Jamie Draven - actor
- Simon Gregson - actor, Coronation Street
- Johnny Marr - guitarist, The Smiths
- Jason Orange - singer, Take That
- Tony Wilson - TV presenter, journalist, nightclub owner, record label owner
- Paul Young - singer, Sad Café, Mike & the Mechanics.
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