The Place Names of Manchester, UK

[@justynaksiazkiewicz2562]

I am from Poland. I live in Oldham 13years and is good to now some history of new place where we live😀 Thank you !

[@markorollo.]

My family are from Oldham, My Grandmother was from Poland, somewhere called Bakow i think?

[@TheNewOriginals450]

I am from Oldham. I live in Poland 13 years and is good to now some history of new place where we live too😀 Thank you !

[@christschin3708]

Live in Wythenshawe, family has roots in Ancoats. Love where I’m from. Wouldn’t want to be from anywhere else. Manc and proud.

[@stevenashford8029]

Top man!

[@andrewbocho3896]

I am a Manc, born in Byron Street in the city, now living in Mexico.

[@danielaltmann8493]

Do Salford next... And the other Boroughs' district names too, please!!!

[@homoerectus6953]

You mean Salfordshire or The Hundred of Salford

[@michaelmortimer3775]

I'm sure seen this before 😉 Good video. Great channel. Deserves more viewers. Keep up the Manchester history. Greatest city in the world 🐝

[@Aannan]

My ancestor was transported to Australia in the late 18th century for stealing from a shop in a place near Manchester Cathedral called Smithy Door. I did some research and it turns out that Smithy Door got its name from a man who once took his whole front door to court to prove that he was owed money by someone who had scribbled an IOU on the door.

[@RobertLund-d7d]

I was raised in Smedley road, Cheetham. Its not mentioned here. It was bordered by collyhurst. Harpurhey, crumpsal, and cheetham hill. Most people didnt seem to know that Cheetham was a district in its own right.

[@Lorenzo-cp7qs]

Belle Vue was one of the biggest tourist attractions in the country which hosted music halls, a zoo and a theme park. The likes of T Rex played there for example at the concert hall. Also, the ‘dogs’ as I called it as a kid was a great night!

[@unklejon4690]

Don’t forget the speedway track

[@Lorenzo-cp7qs]

@@unklejon4690 They’ve got rid of that now haven’t they?

[@TalesOfWar]

I believe Bell Vue was also in direct competition with Pomona when it was still outside of the industrialised centre of Manchester as a sort of pleasure resort.

[@patagualianmostly7437]

Rod Stewart played there too I believe.

[@mr.b.4048]

Saw the Stones and Quo there back in the 70s

[@lawrencelowe193]

Absolutely beautifully done sir. LOVE the time and brilliance put in. Impressive and VERY enjoyable....Well done

[@davidthompson-trace9458]

You certainly packed a lot of information into 18 minutes Ollie. I like your presentation style and the green screen along with your logo T shirt really gave the video a 'buzz'. Well done.

[@Thefox2856]

Hey Ollie. Brilliant vlog. Proper pissed my pants watching this. Your enthusiasm and engaging character really make what you do really interesting and educational. I now know where shit comes from. 🤔 lol. The outtakes at the end were so funny, Definitely need more of that.

[@mikeclarke3882]

Well done Ollie. Your 'weatherman' approach made good use of your green wall, and a fun way to have a tour of the city...10 out of 10 for imagination and ingenuity. Early life spent in C-on-M, teenage years in Fallowfield, and I've just learnt things I never knew about either....cheers! Thanks for giving me a chuckle 😂👍

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Thanks mate. Glad you liked it!

[@SeanysShow]

A brilliant, funny and Informative video Thanks for uploading !

[@mikedakin2016]

I love how you just made all that shit up and kept a straight face , well done !

[@SunshineMix101]

'Great video. 'Thanks for sharing.

[@trecker59]

Another great vid. I have a book on the Pennine Alps West by The Alpine Club and always woundred about the conection. Thanks for that Pete.

[@amandaleeborchert3745]

Quite interesting to hear more about each name and where it came from. Thank you for sharing!

[@PeterCrighton]

Thanks for your videos, just came upon them! For most of the 19th century my forefathers lived in Manchester, where they were involved in the cotton industry as brass & iron founders, engineers, and machine makers. So these videos are super interesting to me, especially this one, having read all those names all the time for years, but never really having heard anything about them apart from their name, or even having heard them being pronounced. Someday I’ll visit the city! Until then I’ll be always looking forward to the next video.

[@judymay9801]

Gosh, do visit Manchester! There are so many interesting places to see there. My forebears all came to Manchester from various places in the 19th century. It must have been a hard place to live then. I'm from Manchester. I don't live too far away now but I'm fiercely proud of what Manchester has achieved. Best wishes to you.

[@lewiswilde7676]

Salford? the true beating heart of Mancville through the ages ;-) Great vid thanks

[@andrewbocho3896]

From 6 to 9 yrs old, I lived at 102 Phillips Park Road in Beswick. My gran and granddad had a shop in Rowsley St, close by.

[@Derecq]

Thank you for that interesting talk about what was my home city many years ago. The 1841 census has my ancestors living in Pump Yard, Cock Gates which is now where the Print Works stands. My first 20 years were spent in Levenshulme before moving away via Withington, Heaton Chapel, Reddish and finally rural Worcestershire. I've seen it suggested that "wic" in a placename implied a industrial settlement as a opposed to an agricultural settlement.

[@Theemilythompson]

funniest one and my favourite!! I want to see the street names one now!

[@unklejon4690]

Having been born on Every Street in Manchester I think it would be very interesting to look at the street names

[@neilwilkins7686]

Absolutely loved this video

[@Jacobhouse605]

This was very interesting

[@EleMentalJesus]

I live in Moss Side on Parkside Road, the Moss is still here, primarily on north facing fences that don't get all day sunlight.

[@jakeblues5854]

Ancoats,,,,,,,,,,, angel meadow book Manchester scuttlers great read

[@martiningham6761]

Good info, didn’t mention north Manchester ie bury. Maybe next time. A lot of history,👍

[@markfaz8689]

You have done it again Ollie a superb video 👍, Could you do one about Trafford (Stretford, Sale, Alty, Urmston, Trafford Park etc) pls, I am very interested in the history of Gorse Hill.

[@MD-tv5fp]

Lessons in Latin taught me that "-chester" came from "castra", the Roman word for an army camp. I would suggest that the "Man" part of today's name does indeed refer to the official Roman name of the town, but the rest is a nod to the military settlement, just like Lancaster, Chester, and many others I am curious about the explanation for the river Mersey, being the boundary between Northumbria and Mercia. Mersey sounds a lot like Mercia, doesn't it?

[@bernardmcmahon5377]

Excellent presentation thanks

[@superiorbeing95]

Nothing like being given a fact with the word "probably" at the end of the phrase lol Great video, probably lol

[@Andrew-xs1sg]

Brilliant. Looking forward to a GM one

[@BeeHereNowuk]

You and me both!

[@spinnerdick]

Fantastic video and very funny.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Thanks glad you liked it!

[@andzzz2]

I was reliably informed that it was called Whalley Range as it offered a range of wallies.

[@andzzz2]

@@TheBenson51 lmao

[@megagrinn9666]

Love it. Another great video Ollie. Well done!

[@afdcomp6534]

I used to live in Cheetham in the 60s and 70s. We always distinguished between Cheetham and Cheetham Hill; Cheetham being the lower (or southern) part and Cheetham Hill being the upper (or northern) part of the borough. The boundary is the junction on Cheetham Hill Road at Waterloo Road and Greenhill Road. There are areas like Hightown and Cheetwood, which may or may not have been part of Cheetham, but were distinct areas. The boundary between Manchester and Salford here is also worth an investigation, as it wanders about a bit, following some old ditch (?) perhaps!!

[@johnd8538]

Funny how us northerners see ourselves and that north south thing. Going back as far as the old northumbria border, Aethelstan and all that, Sheffield was half in, half out and to this day, if you're born roughly above that line you're a true Sheffield, northern lad and below it, a bit poncey half southern 🤣. Mad but true, and the difference can be nowt more than a mile or so.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Thank you. I like Cheetham Hill by the way, despite my little joke in the video. I've felt really bad about it since

[@iangrange7124]

Amazing how you managed to pronounce those words without more chuckling, loved the outtakes, keep them coming Ollie 👍

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Cheers Ian!

[@ivorsmyle8937]

Have we missed , Castlefield, Knot Mill, Chorltonvil, High Town, New Islington, and Abbey Hey, plus a few more? Maps are a very useful tool!

[@jennyl5169]

Really informative

[@patrickmorgan7913]

Ollie, I love your content, your presentation style, but most of all your accent! What’s not to love? Keep up the good work.

[@mrmrsm7185]

Fabulous vlog. I learned so much . And it all makes such sense. 😘😘

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Thank you!

[@fp30e]

Very good Ollie. Enjoyed the video.

[@markcharles3969]

Very interesting...and thanks for adding the bloopers.

[@kingyung1689]

Thank you for your sharing! I’m a new Manc.

[@andrewbocho3896]

Stuart St. Near the Velodrome and Phillips Park is named after one of my great-great possible another great ancestor. He worked for Manchester Council and died middle aged. hence the street naming.

[@jayneharding6546]

I am really loving your videos! Keep them coming!

[@MrRalphellison]

All of Manchester's suburbs? What about old Trafford, Stretford, Urmston, flixton, partington, sale, Altrincham, timperley,Hyde, Denton ? And I'm sure there's loads I've missed. I loved hearing the etymology of the place names but it was far from as comprehensive as was made out, I think we need a part 2.

[@BethsVintageStitchedHome]

None of those are in Manchester (i.e., the modern borough, which is what this video is about). The first few are in Trafford, the last ones are in Tameside.

[@muttman325]

Being an exiled collyhurst kid I miss manchestor every day. Until I go back there. 60'/70's/80's were ace. Wonder what happened, particularly to cheetham hill and Gorton?

[@sihop9220]

My parents were from Gorton and it got its name from some middle ages battle or other where there was so much bloodshed that the river ran red. Hence the word Gore meaning blood and Ton meaning town. Its no coincidence that Gorton borders Reddish which was named after a similar fashion meaning Red Ditch. You forgot to mention Abbey Hey which i suppose is really a suburb of Gorton sandwiched between Gorton and Openshaw, and i also might mention that Gorton used to be its own town having its own town hall which closed down i think in the late 60z.

[@martinjones7998]

Hi Ollie. Any sign of the next episode of road names and the Salford boroughs yet? (While you have nothing better to do….) 😉👍

[@stationsixtyseven67]

Dr Johnny Clarke might want a word about Salford! ;) Great video by the way :)

[@antonycharnock2993]

Don't know about that but Morrissey's "miserable now". Like he ever was 😂

[@stationsixtyseven67]

@@antonycharnock2993 LOL! :D

[@markvickers6641]

Have you done the salford one yet? As a resident of Swin(e)to(w)n I would like to see it. Keep up the good work

[@chrism8705]

Fascinating

[@marvinegreen]

That was fun 😀

[@Nathan.Manchester]

Another great video 😂😂 I'll share it to my friends again 👍

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Haha thanks mate! Sorry for the multiple uploads.

[@achillesStar]

So you've missed places like Failsworth and Droylsden, I assume because they now do not form part of Manchester, however prior to 1972 you would definitely have included them. Failsworth now part of Oldham (Met Borough) and Droylsden part of Ashton-u-Lyne (Tameside) but most of the residents consider themselves Mancs and is certainly reflected in their accents.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

True true. I was quite strict with the modern-day boundary but I know lots of people identify as Mancs from just over the invisible lines.

[@stevenashford8029]

Totally agree with you. Tameside to me is part of Manchester. I was born and bred in what is now called Tameside but I identify as a Mancunian.

[@joekramer3596]

They never formed part of Manchester. Whether or not they identify more with Manchester than Oldham, they were independent districts before 1974. The only change to Manchester in 1974 was the addition of Ringway. A lot of these outer suburbs like Droylsden, Failsworth, or Stretford had the opportunity to become a part of Manchester when the city was rapidly expanding in area between 1885 and 1909 and their local leaders (and often residents) refused. The only major change to Manchester’s shape in the last century was when the corporation bought up what is now Wythenshawe for its slum clearance and resettlement scheme.

[@sueg2470]

Yes please for Salford

[@TheKayleigh124]

1:03 HEYWOOD! HEYWOOD! I saw Heywood shout out for my home town woop woop

[@andrewbocho3896]

I believe Mosley St. is named after Mosley family, Oswald Mosley being of the same family

[@paulhughes7362]

I've often wondered, is there a Kirkmanhulme. There is a Kirkmanshulme lane that leads to Belle Vue.

[@lyndaa7560]

Love this one, thanks xx

[@leod-sigefast]

Really fun and interesting that! Thanks. By the way, if you see an Anglo-Saxon/Old English word with sc- it is pronounced 'sh' not 'sk' ...so the Shooters Brooke explanation makes a bit more sense (scites!) and Old English 'g' is more often than not pronounced 'y' (or sometimes 'w' such as the ancestral word for 'shaw': sceag). Just a few tips for Anglo-Saxon/Old English words you might encounter. Anyway, I really enjoyed the video. I look forward to more!

[@npe1]

I'm sure you must know that before it became a massive used car sales place, Belle Vue was an amusement park, zoo and gardens.

[@Martin-se3ij]

What 'appened to Stretford? As for roads "Great Stone Road" there is a stone outside Gorse HIll Park (I think) which was said to be used in the great plague, it has hollows in it that vinegar was put in and money for goods was exchanged through this putting it in this vinegar, or so the story went. The stone was still there when I went to Great Stone Secondary Modern school. Raised to the ground when I last looked at Google Maps. There is an Edward Charlton Road named after Eddie Charlton who won the Victoria Cross in the second world war. His exploits were illustrated in a local comic when I was a kid, "The Lion" maybe. I remember they had to change the street name because they'd spelled it wrong, with and "O" as Chorlton. There was a Tib street which used to have Army & Navy stores in it and I guess was over the culverted Tib river you noted.

[@reubenjelley3583]

Moss side, I think may just mean south side. As moss in the northern hemisphere grows far faster on tree trunks that’ll get the south facing sun. And often plants were used as navigation, looking for stronger roots that’ll burrow southwards. Ofc flipped for Southern Hemisphere.

[@Derecq]

It borders or at the side of a moss, ie a "moss" being a large area of boggy ground or a peat bog.

[@scottgoodski]

Brilliant, informative and funny too 😁

[@lifeschool]

Reminds me of the Map Men channel, thats great work on these place names. Always wondered about these origins. Of course, Whalley is pronounced Wall-E or Wall-y. :)

[@shirleymilton5178]

Ollie my father was born in Manchester.He told me that an uncle of his was general manager of a theatre and as a young boy he was able to stand at the back of the theatre for nothing and watch the shows. I am sure he said the theatre was Adsheads or something similar? I have not been able to find anything about it. Also he said that the buses ran from ‘ Allsaints , Rushome to .? I just can’t remember.

[@nickcaunt750]

River Tib (Tiber) is interesting as I have previously hypothesised that it originally continued a westerly course near its end to pass the Roman Fort and join the Medlock further on. Being spring fed, it would have been an obvious water source for the fort. Has anyone got a pre industrial map of the city?

[@shrutiswami6264]

Can anyone recommend a site online/offline where I can buy cheap and detailed maps of Manchester city!

[@kistomerces]

Where do you buy that beautiful pijama 😂😂😂👍

[@Garient]

What about Trafford?

[@redlioness6627]

How did you get "Ir" from Roebuck/Deer? You also said a lot of "possibly's" and "probably's" and " I think's" and "I guess so's", so does this mean those place names are not definites and are just you hazarding a guess at best? Also, "Black-ley" with "Ley" meaning "Wood", I think not, "Ley" in a name whether it be a place or a person comes from "Lea", "Leigh" and "Ley" all variants of the same name meaning "meadow", "a fallow or untilled flat open field".

[@geoffreyashworth2877]

Thank you for mentioning my book in your references. However, Miles Platting is named for the road that crosses Newton Brook, not Shooters Brook. Newton Brook joins Shooters Brook near Butler Street. And The River Tib was not named by a homesick Roman; that was meant to be a joke!

[@michaelroebuck1340]

I care about the Saxon name Roebuck. It traced back to 1113 by my father. Spelling different because it was recorded by monks and many wrote what they heard . Good to have explanation, I live in Africa and my grandchildren always ask what it was like in my childhood. When i told them thought i was telling lies.

[@daleheat8455]

How about a video on why so many places are named Heaton in the North West area🤔?

[@sarahduffy3118]

This is interesting and hilarious in equal measures 😂

[@chrisshaw9836]

top vid, enjoyed it

[@westporton]

Hey Oli! I was born in Davyhulme (which you mention) and grew up around urmston and flixton. I always thought I was Manc. But I'm not.....? (Sad face emoticon) My mum's people were all Oldham folk, which will please you...)

[@stevenashford8029]

I would consider you as a Mancunian. To me anybody in Greater Manchester is a, "Manc".

[@semaJ455]

Back in the 16th century one of my ancestors married into the Strangeways family. They lived in a manor called Strangeways. Strange, innit?

[@lindsayheyes925]

It seems that there was once a habitation in Manchester called Seddon (possibly meaning "wooded marsh", which is consistent with the character of the locality). Seddon can't be identified as a place from records, but survives as a habitation-derived surname which was most prevalent in Manchester and first recorded in the 14th Century. Habitation and topographic surnames have remained very strongly geographically correlated with their places of origin, well into the era of the National Census even centuries after they are disused as place-names.

[@davidsumner4335]

Great vid.........where did you get the t-shirt please

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Thanks! There's a shop on Oldham St called Thunder Egg that sells them and it's made by a company called Run and Fly 👍

[@davidsumner4335]

@@BeeHereNowuk Thanks

[@simondavids9438]

Any chance of you doing the whole skelton junction ,lymm to latchford disused railway pls.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Yes this is something I've been looking into doing one day

[@RingwayManchester]

@@BeeHereNowuk I did this, if you want any pointers on access points let me know!

[@BeeHereNowuk]

@@RingwayManchester Cheers mate, I'll let you know

[@captainanopheles4307]

The Pennines were only named in the 17th Century. Until then only individual hills had names. Chorlton means "Cheorls town" a cheorl being a peasant.

[@josieleggett6373]

What about droylsden

[@jaycee7594]

Urmston?

[@poppasmurf]

I must take issue with your description of the name Gorton. Gore does not mean 'dirty' it refers to 'blood' and Gore Brook is reputed to have run red with blood from a battle fought in the valley between the Vikings and the Anglo Saxons.

[@jakeblues5854]

Bradford was renamed beswick, I remember Bradford pit , belle Vue was a prison ,the ghost train being the centre with spokes leading off it there use to be cottages on hunters Lane ( Hyde Road to red gate lane ) that where prison guards Houses

[@paulcharleshampson]

No traffod area ? 😢

[@1Three8Fiver]

Mersey still is the border river between Lancashire and Cheshire, North of the Mersey is Lancashire south of it is Cheshire. Before anyone says otherwise look up the Historic and never disbanded County Palatine of Lancashire.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Nice!

[@ibbobo5162]

very interesting - great film - I think Irk and Irwell far older names than anglo-saxon though. I read that Irk means 'little mad (i.e. fast-flowing) river, the 'k' being a diminutive suffix now only found in Slavik languages - like 'ska' in Polish or Russian... presumably Irwell meant river with some other properties... River names very mysterious - see here for example: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_European_hydronymy

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Thanks! And that's very interesting to know about the rivers 👍🏽

[@davidsedlickas8222]

I was born in the Manchester Northern Hospital. And played as a child in the terraced streets of Cheetham Hill. The borough was a poor area and poverty and deprivation existed. I remember leaving my cycle outside the house unlocked and it never got stolen. We were all poor but looked after each other. That poverty still exists in our country today some 70 years later which is a serious failure of society. Those who have, those who have not. The rough tough violence area of Manchester back then was Moss Side I seem to remember.

[@olenakremenetska5839]

What a thrilled story, but your surname sounds like it has not English roots.

[@GWJUK]

Pennines to the West?

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Not a great start

[@sosig1341]

I have not seen but did you talk about altringham

[@andrewwells3367]

which you've spelt incorrectly.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

No I didn't sorry. That'll have to be for another day when I do Trafford I think

[@sosig1341]

Andrew Wells *Altrincham

[@trecker59]

Years ago Manchester would dump It's sewage in Liverpool Bay and they had two boats with opening bottoms for this, there was a TV programm about them and the captain said It might be a load of shit to you but It's my bread and butter.

[@JBeesting3417]

Just like the businessman who set up Whalley Range, I was born in Whalley, Lancashire. However they are pronounced differently. You correctly pronounced Whalley Range, which phonetically is Wol-e but the one in Lancashire is pronounced Wall-e.

[@christopherwhittaker2620]

Ace

[@queenmothrathebluelight458]

Harpurhey is my home

[@adman123456]

Is Sale and Stretford not in Manchester

[@andzzz2]

They're both in Trafford. He's talking about Manchester in the narrow sense.

[@futurenewmedia]

Very interesting and informative as usual Ollie 🤗

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Cheers Mark!

[@socklesslad]

I'm wondering if you've got an other half who watched you make the video and tried really hard not to laugh too much and ruin the take. ;-) Do you know why there are two suburbs of Manchester called Chorlton? It seems strange the name is reused within a couple of miles!