Friends of Longford Park (FOLP)

Posted by rylands on December 1st, 2008 in The Rylands Legacy

John Rylands was the first native Lancastrian to become a self made textile millionaire and reigned supreme in Manchester as ’Cotton King’. He moved to Longford Hall in 1857 and used his wealth to provide the people of his adopted home town of Stretford with a town hall, a public baths, a church, homes for elderly women and a coffee house. Some of these buildings still stand today.

Stretford Public Hall was built in 1878 by  John Rylands. It was designed by N. Lofthouse and is located on the western side of the A56 Chester Road.  Stretford’s first public lending library was established in the building in 1883. At John Ryland’s death in 1888, his widow placed the building at the disposal of the local authority for a nominal rent, and on her own death in 1908, the building was bought by Stretford Council for £5,000.

The building found a later role as Stretford Civic Theatre, with a well equipped stage for the use of local groups. Over time  the building fell into disrepair, despite being designated a Grade II listed structure in 1987.  Trafford Council later refurbished and converted the hall to serve as council offices in the mid-1990s. It was re-opened in 1997, once again named Stretford Public Hall.

John Rylands took a leading role in the erection of the Union Church for Congregregationalists and in 1867 laid the foundation stone of the Union Church on Edge lane in Stretford. The first service took place the following year.The Union Church has now been converted for use by St Vincent’s Housing Association(SVHA) and has been renamed Rylands Hall.

Within Longford Park can be found several properties built as part of the original Longford Hall Estate. They are now all privately owned.

The facade of the original Longford Hall also remains along with the original coach house and stable buildings.

Find out more about Longford Hall and Park

 

Posted by rylands on November 1st, 2008 in The Rylands Legacy

Longford Park’s current layout dates back to 1857 when Longford Hall and its associated grounds were constructed and laid out by John Rylands, the famous cotton merchant and benefactor of many of Stretford’s civic buildings. The landscape was laid out in the style of Chatsworth House and Pevsner in 1969 described Longford Hall ‘ as the only surviving example of the Italianate style of architecture in the Manchester district’ (Source: The Buildings of England South Lancashire).

John Rylands was a shy and humble man but his business acumen created a company that was considered the ‘monarchs of the cotton industry in England’. From modest beginnings he created a company that was worth 0.19 per cent of GNP by 1888, employing 15,000 people in his 17 mills and factories and producing 35 tons of cloth a day. On his death he was crowned the ‘cotton king’ . The fact that his fame subsequently faded somewhat can perhaps be attributed to John Ryland’s strong christian ideals which meant that he had lived modestly out of the public eye and much of his philanthrophy was kept secret.

John Rylands married Enriqueta Tennant in 1875 and they spent 13 years together before John died at Longford Hall in 1888. John Rylands left an estate of £2,574,922 and Enriqueta followed John’s philanthropic disposition by devoting much of her time and money to good causes. As a tribute to her husband Enriqueta Rylands founded the John Rylands Library in 1899. Through the purchase of many remarkable private collections, Enriqueta created a library of international distinction.

Enriqueta died in 1908. Following her funeral, she was cremated and the ashes interred with her husband’s in the nearby Southern Cemetery. Longford Estate was sold to Stretford Urban District Council in 1911 for the nominal amount of £14,500 and books from its extensive library joined the collection at John Rylands Library.

The Rylands estate became a public park. The estate which originally comprised 63 acres including the Hall, outbuildings, greenhouses, five villas and eighteen cottages, was enlarged in 1925 by the addition of a further eighteen acres.

The North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University have permitted the Friends of Longford Park to display a rare film of Longford Park celebrations on Stretford becoming a Borough Council in 1933.

After the the incorporation of Stretford Borough Council, Longford Hall was subsequently extended to improve the accommodation for civic and private functions and Longford Park became a focal point for civic events and activity.

One such activity was the Stretford pageant, which has been continuously hosted in Longford Park every year since 1919. The pageant festivities form an important strand of the history of the park and large crowds came to the May and Rose queen festivities, a source of civic pride and celebrations.

Extensive gardens and conservatories were a feature of the Longford Hall estate under John Rylands:- ‘19 gardeners [were] employed [with] special houses to the rear of the hall. The kitchen garden was doubled from 2 acres in 1862 to 4 in 1867. 14 conservatories with ¾ of an acre under glass in 1862 were doubled to 31 by 1875, with 2 miles of steampipes, served by 6 boilers, a steam engine and a gas-works. Exotic fruit ..were cultivated on a large scale, regularly carrying off prizes. (Farnie 1993: 19-20)’.

After the Longford Hall Estate became a public park, impressive art-deco ornamental gardens and glass houses were made available to the public. The colour flim clip of a visit to Longford Park by the Women’s institute was made available courtesy of the The North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Longford Hall became the home of the council’s permanent art collection. It was utilised as an art gallery and exhibition space as well as being used for civic occasions and social functions.

New stairs were added in front of Longford Hall in preparation for the 1977 Royal Garden Party at Longford Park.

In June 1977 Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, escorted by the Mayor of Trafford and Sir William Downward attended the Royal Garden Party at Longford Park.

More than 4,000 guests attended the Royal Garden party at Longford Park. Many thousands more attended the royal procession that passed through the Stretford town centre.

Longford Hall was demolished in 1995 but the facade of the old hall still stands in the centre of the park, and its foundations are now a walk-through area. The park still contains the historic coach house and stable buildings dating back to when the hall was built.

On Sunday 29th February 2004, over 100 people attended the unveiling of a blue plaque in honour of John Rylands. The year 2008 represented the centenary of the death of Enriqueta Rylands and the blue plaque within Longford Park was updated to reflect more accurately her important contribution.

The Friends of Longford Park seek the preservation of the remaining heritage features within the park as well as the creation of new facilities that will ensure Longford Park remains a valued and popular asset for the community into the future.

Posted by rylands on March 28th, 2008 in Longford Park Memories

Do you remember the Queen’s visit to Longford Park? Have you attended pageants, festivals and events in the park? Did you grow up in the area and have a story to tell?

Terry Christian, the well known Manchester music presenter, recalls when he was a kid, kicking a ball around in Longford Park and meeting Sir Matt Busby and Joe Mercer. Enthralled, Terry wanted to get their autographs and the two football legends were still there waiting for him after he had raced home to fetch his autograph book!

A slightly less cheery recollection was provided by Morrissey, the famous Manchester singer. When asked in January 2006 what he most remembered about growing up in Stretford:-
“Of Stressford….mostly Longford Park, where I more or less lived every day - every corner a dark memory.”
Source: http://true-to-you.net/morrissey_news_060104_01

The BBC recently published an account by John Parkinson, who grew up in Old Trafford during the second world war:-

Back in Old Trafford life was back to normal for a while and I remember seeing from Longford Park Stretford all the vapour trails in the sky as some of the Battle of Britain spilled over into the North. Barrage balloons were the norm, one being based in Hullard Park nearby.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/

If you have any interesting stories, pictures, facts or reflections that you would like to share with us then please add your comments below or email us at:- info@folp.org.uk .