Panel 4: “Before” (1879-1912) Henry and Emily Simon, and the Young Ernest

The birth of Manchester’s garden city was protracted and politically diffi cult. It would take over twelve years from William Turner Jackson publicly announcing his idea to develop Wythenshawe as a garden city in 1919 before the area would become offi cially part of Manchester. The fi rst immediate obstacle was the refusal of the landowner Thomas Egerton Tatton to sell his Wythenshawe estate to the council. This was overcome, however, when he died in 1924. The emergence of the possibility of developing Wythenshawe only led, however, to serious wrangling within Manchester City Council over whether to undertake the expensive purchase of Wythenshawe. With no real progress being made, Ernest and Shena took a decision which would prove pivotal to the future of Wythenshawe.

On the 8th April 1926 the Simons announced to the Lord Mayor and the council that they were about to purchase Wythenshawe Hall and 250 acres of its surrounding parklands, and that they would donate their acquisition to the council for use as a beautiful open space for the citizens of Manchester. Their shrewd private purchase, which cost over £25,000, the modern equivalent of nearly £1,700,000, helped to reduce the burden faced by the council who decided to buy the rest of the Wythenshawe estate soon after on 5th May.

(Below) There were strong views opposing the purchase of Wythenshawe estate for housing by Manchester Corporation. Source: Manchester Guardian, 6th January 1926, p. 11.

(Above) Ernest’s letter to the Manchester City Council expressing the Simons’ wish to give Wythenshawe Hall and park to the people of Manchester. Source: Shena Simon Papers, Manchester Archives+.

(Above) The deed plan for the purchase of Wythenshawe Hall and grounds by the Simons. Source: Legal Records Centre, Manchester City Council.

(Left) A single paragraph on the Manchester Guardian’s frontpage succinctly summarised a momentous decision that would reshape the city. Source: Manchester Guardian, 6th May 1926, p.1. (Above) The deed plan for the purchase of land (highlighted in red) of the Tatton’s Wythenshawe estate by Manchester Corporation. Mostly farming and open pasture land, it comprised 2,568 acres across the Cheshire parishes of Baguley, Northenden and Northen Etchells. Source: Legal Records Centre, Manchester City Council.

The purchase of Wythenshawe by the council did not give the green light for the construction of Manchester’s garden city however. While Manchester owned the land, it did not have administrative authority over Wythenshawe. To resolve this issue the council sought sanction from Parliament to extend the boundaries of Manchester so as to give the city control over Wythenshawe. In 1930 a committee of MPs decided that the local Cheshire councils were unable to provide the infrastructure required for the housing development. They thus decided that Manchester should have control, with Parliament giving Manchester the requisite authority over Wythenshawe in the autumn. It would increase the size of the city by about a quarter, with the addition of some 5,567 acres of land which was larger than Salford at the time. The struggle for Wythenshawe was thus over and on midnight 1st April 1931 Wythenshawe was incorporated into Manchester.

(Right) Graph presented by Manchester’s Medical Offi cer of Health during the 1930 parliamentary committee hearing to demonstrate the contrasting levels of daylight in Manchester and Timperley next to Wythenshawe. The prevailing winds meant Wythenshawe was unaffected by the smog from Manchester’s factories. Source: Shena Simon Papers, Manchester Archives+. (Right) Source: Shena Simon Papers, Manchester Archives+.

The deed plan for Manchester’s purchase of the Tatton’s Wythenshawe estate (highlighted in red). Source: Legal Records Centre, Manchester City Council