Greengate, Salford
Coordinates: 53°29′03″N 2°15′09″W / 53.4843°N 2.252377°W
Greengate is an area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, bounded by Chapel Street, Gravel Lane and Sacred Trinity Church and across the River Irwell from Manchester Cathedral.
Historically it was a location for textiles and dyeing, but during the Industrial Revolution developed a reputation for poverty and slum housing alongside sections of manufacturing.
The area housed Salford's workhouse from 1793 until 1853.[1]
In 1926, the second birth control clinic outside London opened its doors to women seeking free family planning advice here. The clinic provided birth control information to working class women who were unable to pay for private advice. The controversial clinic faced opposition from the Catholic Church and the medical profession but continued to offer its services to women until birth control advice was widely and freely available in the 1970s.[2]
Collier Street Public Baths (named after the Methodist Minister, Samuel Francis Collier) were opened by Manchester and Salford Baths and Laundry Company Inc in 1855. It was usual for public baths to offer facilities for both bathing and the washing and drying of clothes and bedding, since many workers cottages had either grossly inadequate facilities or none at all. This remained common practice until after World War One. The Baths closed in 1880 when Salford Corporation opened their own baths on nearby Blackfriars Street. The men's pool was larger and more ornate than the ladies' pool. An unusual feature of the Baths were the laminated wooden roof arches. The Baths closed in the early 20th century and later became a matchbox factory. During World War Two an air raid shelter was built in the deep end of the ladies' pool.[3]
The area has undergone a process of regeneration.[4] The redevelopment of the former Greengate Bus Station close to Manchester Cathedral, includes Greengate Square which has an amphitheatre for events, concerts and markets, and office, hotel and retail space[5]
References
- ↑ Salford, Lancashire, workhouses.org, retrieved 28 June 2013
- ↑ Herbert, Michael (5 September 2012), Salford's birth control pioneers, London: The Guardian, retrieved 28 June 2013
- ↑ Glynis Cooper, Salford: An illustrated history, Breedon books, 2005
- ↑ Greengate, Salford Council, retrieved 28 June 2013
- ↑ Opening of Greengate Square launches £400m revamp for bus station site, retrieved 2 July 2013