Sharston

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Sharston is an area of Wythenshawe in south Manchester, England. At the 2011 census it had 16,754 residents.

It was built on former farming land and became an industrial area, with Sharston Industrial Estate housing a post office, a dairy, a Bisto factory and other businesses. In 1942 Manchester Corporation Transport built the Sharston Bus Garage on Sharston Road to service 100 double-decker buses. Northenden railway station near Sharston Road closed in 1964.

Boundary changes later extended Sharston to include more residential housing along Wythenshawe’s east side.

The estate’s sectors are named after Greek letters. The Beta sector once housed the Ramsees Piso Bush jam factory, which later became Jam Factory Records.

A large public swimming baths opened in March 1961; at the time it was Manchester’s largest pool (32 metres) with diving facilities and seating for 800.

Sharston had a shopping parade on Altrincham Road, built in the 1930s, but it was demolished in 1973 when the M56 bypass was built. A new Sharston Green shopping precinct opened behind the baths in 1973 with more than twenty shops and a bank, and the Wythenshawe Labour Club moved there. The precinct struggled and by the 1980s many shops were empty. The baths were closed in 1990, and the vacant building was damaged by arson in 1991. The precinct declined, the Labour Club closed in 1994 and was also damaged by arson. The whole precinct and the baths were later demolished for new housing. Some pedestrian tunnels were closed and replaced by pelican crossings.

Two high schools were in the area. Sharston High School (later South Manchester High School - upper) stood near Brownley and Altrincham Roads; one of its pupils was actor Harry H Corbett. St Augustine’s Grammar School (later St John Plessington RC High, then St Paul’s RC High) near Stancliffe Road; notable former pupils include Johnny Marr and Andy Rourke of The Smiths. Both schools closed in the 1980s and were demolished; the sites were used for housing with part of St Augustine’s land used to extend Hollyhedge Park.

Sharston Hall, built on Altrincham Road in 1701, gave the area its name. It was once the home of the Worthington and Egerton families, later owned by the Manchester Local Authority, fell into disrepair, and was demolished after a fire in the 1980s. A Georgian-style office building was completed on the site in 1986, now housing a private medical clinic along with a nearby housing development called Grosvenor Gardens.

The grounds included Shenton Fields, a large recreational area that extended toward Gatley. Some woodland survives, but the playing fields became Sharston Green Business Park (completed 2001) with warehouses and other businesses.

Sharston is in the Wythenshawe and Sale East constituency; the MP is Mike Kane (Labour). It is a ward of Manchester City Council, represented by three councillors. The area is policed by the Wythenshawe Neighbourhood Policing Team, part of the South Manchester Division of Greater Manchester Police.