User:RyebankFields/sandbox

Ryebank Fields
Ryebank Fields is a 4.6 hectare patch of open land in Chorlton-cum-Hardy bordering Firswood, Longford Park, Greater Manchester & St. John's RC primary school in South Manchester. It is popular with dog walkers, nature enthusiasts and joggers.

History
Some of the earliest historical recognition of the area comes from the tithe map of 1845, which shows the fields as ‘Hankinson’s Reap Acre’. The area around the fields was farmed as meadow and pasture & the OS map for 1933/4 again shows open land from Longford up to the Trafford Border and it appears that Ryebank Fields had never been developed. The whole area stretching west from Oswald Road was traditionally known as ‘the Isles’ and contained many pits which had been excavated from the 17th century for marl (lime used in agriculture) and clay. By the 20th Century, some of the pits had become quite extensive, and the newspapers during the wars carried stories of children drowning, events that are still just in living memory.

It was then used by local brickworks and its clay pits became ponds which were later filled in with rubble and various waste, including Asbestos. Assessed as unsuitable for housing due to drainage & toxicity, the land was conditionally bequeathed by the council to Manchester Metropolitan University for sports & recreation. Topsoil was partially overlaid & it was made into playing fields but has been left untended since 1989, vacant since 1996. Following this it has re-wilded into a mosaic of natural habitat including trees and meadow flora. The ancient Nico Ditch, mentioned in the Domesday Book crosses it's centre.