|
History of Ellesmere Park Although the name of Eccles did not appear in the Domesday Book, the
manor of Barton has had a long history, the lords of this manor having the
right of nomination to the benefice of Eccles. The Lordship of Barton
passed to the Booth family by marriage and then, again through the female
line, to the de Traffords who were lords of the neighbouring manor of
Trafford which they held in unbroken succession from Norman times until
1896. Other notable local families were the Worsleys and the Breretons,
both of whom figured in the Eccles story.
The affluent residential area of Ellesmere Park grew up around the turn
of the 20th century, and contemporary views showed pleasant, tree-lined
roads, protected from the outside world by gates at the main entrances.
|
|
Ellesmere House
References to “Ellesmere House” 1
Sandwich Road -
Author: Kevin Conroy
In
1881 the Cotton Industry accounted for a third or more of all listed occupations
of the residents. A Calico Printer, John H. Worthington lived at Ash
Leigh. A Silk Weaver, Henry
Barnford lived at Meltham House.
He was the son-in-law of the occupier, a Commercial Traveller.
At Rose Bank lived a Master Bleacher Thomas G. Watson.
A Master Cotton Spinner, Thomas Knowles was the occupant of Ellesmere
House. Cotton Spinners were
found in Victoria Road. On
Sandwich Road, Charlotte Hargreaves' son was a Cotton Merchant.
Beechmount was occupied by a Cotton Spinner, William Hall,
whose eldest son James was also so employed.
By
the 1890s the Park was well established. No
doubt the deaths of husbands left several widows quite well off.
A number of widows are listed as living on independent means. Katherine Edwards of Ellesmere Villa was a
widow living with one son, a Merchant and one a Chartered Accountant. At Ellesmere House lived Eliza Murray with her
son, Edward, a Bank Cashier and William, an Insurance Clerk.
At Granville House Margaret Duncan lived on her own
attended by two daughters and two servants.
At Fieldhead, Edmund Johnson is one of two men to be
described as living on his own income. At East Dene Elizabeth Scott lived on her own
income with her daughter, Jame, and her sons, William, a Cotton Salesman, Fred,
19, a Book-keeper, Frank, 16, a Calico Printer's Apprentice and Edward, 14, a
Scholar. They kept only one
resident servant so perhaps the independent means were not all that extensive.
Another
eminent Wesleyan was Edward Graham Wood of 1 Sandwich Road (Ellesmere
House), Ellesmere Park, Eccles and owner and founder of the Ocean
Ironworks, Salford. The son of the
Rev. Thomas Wood he had been born in Leicester in 1854, educated at Kingswood
School, Bath and was apprenticed to Messrs. Craven Brothers, tool manufacturers
of Manchester. He was a Member of
the Manchester Association of Engineers to whom he read a paper on "The Use
of Steel in Buildings". He was
also a Member of the Iron and Steel Institute.
He started business as a manufacturer of constructional iron works in Red
Bank Manchester but moved to larger premises in Salford near the Ship Canal
Docks in 1889.
His
contracts included Manchester Corporation, the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board,
the Ship Canal Company, Cotton Mills in Lancashire, India, America and Japan.
He was involved in the introduction of electric lighting to the principal
towns of Lancashire. His business
grew so greatly that it became a limited liability company in 1897 under the
style of Edward Wood and Co. Ltd. He
married Elizabeth Fox, daughter of Edward McKenna of Manchester.
He was a Governor of Salford Royal Hospital and Treasurer of the South
Salford Liberal Association. Like
Alfred Whitworth he was a strong Wesleyan and occupied many official positions
in the Church. He was Steward of
the Chapel to which he belonged in 1899.
|
