History and Map of Old Trafford

For most people the name Old Trafford conjures little more than a world class Football Stadium and Cricket Ground; but for those of us who live here it is far more, it is one of the most vibrant integrated multicultural areas in Greater Manchester.

Old Trafford derives its name from the de-Trafford family, who owned large estates in the area and had Trafford Hall as their family home. This grand Hall was a stately home similar to the great house in Tatton Park and had the area that is now Trafford Park Industrial Estate as its country estate, gardens and plantations. Old Trafford was a rural area consisting mainly of farms and smallholdings and largely remained so up to the later half of the 1800's. This was a time when the Manchester Ship Canal was being built, joining up with the Bridgewater Cannel and providing a waterway across Manchester and beyond. On seeing the industrial development and finding much of their lands 'cut off' by the new waterways, the de-Trafford family sold their lands and industrial development began in Old Trafford. The area that is now Trafford Park Industrial Estate, became developed into the largest and most heavily industrialised site in Europe.

By 1908 Old Trafford had moved from being farmland to a heavily developed urban area with housing, shops and places of worship. The Hullard Hill Farm had been demolished and lands built upon. In the urban planning of Old Trafford green spaces were included and where the Hullard Hill farmhouse once stood, Hullard Park was developed.

With industry developed there was a need for labour to maintain and drive it, and this lead to the multicultural area you see today. Many communities migrated, and were welcomed into the area. This included in the early days, Irish and Polish communities, and later with the arrival of Windrush, a West Indian community. More recently the area has included a large Pakistani community; all of which has enriched the wider neighbourhood.

Some of Old Trafford's history can now be seen in new ways with some of the older building receiving a new lease of life in interesting ways the former Technical Free Library on Stretford Road is now a Buddhist Temple and the White City Retail Park is on the site of what was originally the Royal Botanical Gardens, with only the original Arch entrance remaining. However, one local institution still remains. Duerr's Jams opened their factory on Prestige St, off Ayres Rd in 1890 and the factory continues to produce jam today.

For more information on Old Trafford and the surrounding areas a visit to the Local Studies section of the Local Library can be an enlightening experience.

The map accessible by the link below is designed to show Old Trafford as it is now and allow a newcomer to the area to easily identify the location of the local amenities. Friends of Old Trafford, work to support the people of Old Trafford in the areas development.

To open the map of the Old Trafford Area, please click on the map. Please note this is a large file PDF (Adobe Acrobat) and may take some time to open.