Great Ancoats Street

Much of Great Ancoats Street was originally named Ancoats Lane and was the location of Ancoats Hall.^[2] The street passed through a thriving manufacturing area during the 19th century. It was in close proximity to the Ashton and Rochdale canals. A number of cotton mills built in the early and mid-Victorian period are nearby, some of which have been converted into residential or office buildings, such as Albion Mill.^[3] The Pin Mill Works at the junction with Fairfield Street was a late 18th-century pin works, that became a cotton mill run by J & J Thompson and works for dyeing and calico-printing.^[4] Brownsfield Mill, a Grade II* listed building, was built in 1825.

In 1939, the Grade II* listed Daily Express Building designed by engineer Sir Owen Williams was built on the street.^[5]

In the 1980s, a significant area by Great Ancoats Street was redeveloped as the Central Retail Park, which was described as a "row of big-box stores fronted by sterile parking space".^[3] Before its closure in 2019, it contained branches of Toys "R" Us, Mothercare and others.^[6] An Ibis hotel is at the corner of Pollard Street, south of the Ashton Canal and there are other hotels including a Travelodge and The City Warehouse Aparthotel near the junction with Oldham Road and where Great Ancoats Street becomes Swan Street.

The street has been reported as being gentrified.^[7] Great Ancoats Street forms the western boundary of the regenerated New Islington area of Manchester on the side of the Rochdale Canal.

Citations

Bibliography

• Ashmore, Owen (1982), The Industrial Archaeology of North-west England, Manchester University Press, ISBN 978-0-7190-0820-7
• Hartwell, Clare (2002), Manchester, Pevsner Architectural Guides, Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-09666-8
• Knox, Paul (2012), Palimpsests: Biographies of 50 City Districts. International Case Studies of Urban Change, Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 978-3-0346-1212-8

53°28′51″N 2°13′30″W / 53.48083°N 2.22500°W / 53.48083; -2.22500