Misplaced Pages

Deansgate

Aerial view of Deansgate from the Beetham Tower
Length	1.0 mi (1.6 km)
Location	Manchester, UK
North end	Victoria Street
South end	Castlefield
Other
Known for	Shopping, Kendals, the Great Northern Warehouse, the John Rylands Library, Beetham Tower, Manchester Cathedral

Deansgate is a main road (part of the A56) through Manchester City Centre, 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 in length.

History

Deansgate is one of the city's oldest thoroughfares. In Roman times its route passed close to the Roman fort of Mamucium and led from the River Medlock where there was a ford and the road to Deva (Chester). Along it were several civilian buildings and a mansio in the vicinity of the Hilton Hotel. Part of it was called Aldport Lane from Saxon times. (Aldport was the Saxon name for Castlefield.) Until the 1730s the area was rural but became built up after the development of a quay on the river.

The road is named after the lost River Dene, which may have flowed along the Hanging Ditch connecting the River Irk to the River Irwell at the street's northern end. (‘Gate’ derives from the Norse gata, meaning way).

By the late 19th century Deansgate was an area of varied uses: its northern end had shopping and substantial office buildings while further south were 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 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, whilst the Rochdale Canal crossed below Deansgate to connect with the other waterways beyond. In the late 20th century Deansgate was home to the head office of the Manchester Evening News newspaper, now replaced by part of the Spinningfields development. In early 2023, the road had cycle lanes and cycle laybys installed on the road.

Geography

Deansgate begins at Victoria Street, a 19th-century creation. Its east side was occupied by the Victoria Buildings built on a triangular site by Manchester Corporation in 1876, but destroyed during a bomb raid in the Manchester Blitz in December 1940. A statue of Oliver Cromwell at the northern corner commemorated 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 and was the first large statue of Cromwell to be raised in the open anywhere in England.

At the northern end of Deansgate is 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 meets it at this point). The section to the south of Peter Street was known as Aldport Street until the end of the 18th century.

The street contains many shops including a House of Fraser department store (known as Kendals from the 1830s until 2005), and Waterstones along with many public houses and bars including the Moon Under Water, formerly the Deansgate Cinema (or ABC Deansgate). At 820 square metres (8,800 sq ft), 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 the Manchester Registry Office and before that the offices of the corporation's Education Department.

The northern end of the street adjoined the Shambles and was badly damaged in the 1996 Manchester bombing. The area was redeveloped and houses several new buildings, including No. 1 Deansgate and the Manchester branch of Harvey Nichols. Other buildings in the Deansgate area include the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Beetham Tower and the redeveloped Great Northern Warehouse. Historic buildings include the John Rylands Library and the Barton Arcade shopping mall. The disused Manchester and Salford Junction canal runs underneath Deansgate below the Great Northern Warehouse.

Transport

Today, the main transport links on Deansgate are the National Rail and Manchester Metrolink stations and a number of bus routes, including the Metroshuttle services.

Deansgate Station was opened at Knott Mill on 20 July 1849 by the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway. It is linked to Deansgate-Castlefield Metrolink station on the Metrolink system.

In the first half of the 20th century, Deansgate was a route for trams operated by Manchester Corporation Tramways, and subsequently carried numerous bus services. During the 1970s, many bus routes were diverted or separated into two services terminating in the city centre and adjoining streets such as King Street were pedestrianised.

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 that closed parts of Deansgate. Some argued that the disablement of a major traffic route in the city centre could have a damaging economic effect, while others argued that a vehicle-free Deansgate would attract more shoppers. Victoria Street, the short section at the North end of the road by Manchester Cathedral has been pedestrianised.

In 2019, Extinction Rebellion occupied a section of the road from St Mary’s Gate to John Dalton Street for four days, with tents and organised talks on climate change, sustainable living and resistance. This reignited calls for it to be pedestrianised.

In 2022, widened cycle lanes were put in place, and a bus lane opened at the junction of Blackfriars Street and Deansgate for southbound buses, taxis and bicycles. From Bridge Street to Quay Street it will be permanently one-way only, in a southbound direction.

The 'free bus' services 1, 2 and 3 operate around the city centre and all three routes have stops on Deansgate.

Events

Deansgate is a long straight street which has provided a venue for sporting events in the city centre. In 2006, A1 Racing cars visited the city to launch A1 Grand Prix, and used Deansgate as part of the route. In August 2011, thousands packed the street as Jenson Button drove a McLaren MP4-23 along Deansgate as part of the Vodafone Vip Live Manchester festival.

In 2001, the inaugural Great City Games took place on Deansgate, which featured a 150-metre sprinting track. The event has become an annual fixture 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 the 200 m straight in record time in 2010.

References

Notes

1. "Manchester Deansgate Bars", manchesterbars.com, retrieved 4 August 2011, Located at the top end of Deansgate, the mile long road that runs through the city centre
2. When Manchester was Mamucium, Manchester Council, retrieved 25 April 2012
3. Deansgate/Peter Street Conservation Area, Manchester Council, retrieved 25 April 2012
4. Cooper 2003, p. 52
5. Heaton 1995, p. ?
6. There were 31 shops on the ground floor of Victoria Buildings and many offices on the floors above. Victoria Arcade ran through the block and at the northern end was the Victoria Hotel with 100 rooms.
7. Hardy, Clive (2000) Francis Frith's Greater Manchester. Salisbury: Francis Frith Collection; pp. 67–69, 71
8. Laurent (1793) "Plan of Manchester and Salford illustrated", in: Bradshaw (1985), p. 20
9. Parkinson-Bailey 2000, p. 287
10. "Should traffic be banned from Deansgate?", Manchester Evening News, 24 August 2009
11. Thompson, Dan (25 August 2009), "Deansgate car ban `could kill city centre'", Manchester Evening News
12. "Extinction Rebellion have taken over Deansgate - and Manchester's reaction is massively divided". Manchester Evening News. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
13. "'It's a lethal mess right now': Commuters hit out over traffic chaos on Deansgate". Manchester Evening News. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
14. "Free bus – free travel around Manchester city centre", TfGM, retrieved 6 September 2022
15. Scheerhout, John (14 August 2006), "Race cars roar down city streets", Manchester Evening News, retrieved 22 August 2011
16. Bolt runs 14.35 sec for 150m; covers 50m-150m in 8.70 sec!, IAAF, 17 May 2009, retrieved 14 September 2011
17. "Tyson Gay breaks Tommie Smith's 200m mark in Manchester", BBC Sport, 16 May 2010, retrieved 17 September 2011

Bibliography

• Cooper, Glynis (2003), Hidden Manchester, Breedon Books Publishing, ISBN 1-85983-401-9
• Heaton, Frank (1995), The Manchester Village: Deansgate remembered, Neil Richardson
• Parkinson-Bailey, John J. (2000), Manchester: An Architectural History, Manchester University Press, ISBN 0-7190-5606-3

Further reading

• Atkins, Philip (1976). Guide Across Manchester. Manchester: Civic Trust for the North West. ISBN 0-901347-29-9.
• Bradshaw, L. D. (1985). Origins of Street Names in the City of Manchester. Radcliffe: Neil Richardson. ISBN 0-907511-87-2.

• Streets in Manchester
• Shopping streets in Manchester
• Tourist attractions in Manchester