Visit Trafford Park Places

Welcome to Visit Trafford Park Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Trafford Park

  

Trafford Park Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Trafford Park

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Trafford Park history

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Pre-industrial

Trafford Park was the ancestral estate of the de Trafford family, one of the most ancient in England. The family acquired the lands around Trafford in about 1200, when Richard de Trafford was given the lordship of Stretford by Hamon de Massey, 4th Baron of Dunham. In 1761, a section of the Bridgewater Canal was built along the southeast and southwest sides of Trafford Park. The opening of the ship canal in 1894 made Trafford Park a prime site for industrial development.

Early development

Sir Humphrey Francis de Trafford put the 1,183-acre (479 ha) estate up for auction in 1896. The sale failed to reach its reported reserve price of £300,000 (£35 million as of 2021) Manchester Corporation could not agree terms quickly enough to buy the estate. Ernest Terah Hooley became the new owner of Trafford Park in June 1896.

Industrialisation

The first American company to arrive was Westinghouse Electric, which formed its British subsidiary in 1899, and purchased 130 acres (0.53 km) on two sites. By 1915, 100 American companies had moved into the park, peaking at more than 200 by 1933. Ford moved to Dagenham in 1931, but returned to Trafford Park during the Second World War. Metropolitan Vickers set up Manchester’s and one of the UK’s first radio stations at their factory in 1921.

Westwards expansion

Sir Humphrey de Trafford had retained 1,300 acres (530 ha) of land on the western side of the ship canal after his 1897 sale of Trafford Park. In 1924 the Estates Company bought a half share in Dumplington Estates Ltd., a company set up to administer 38 acres of land bought from the de Trafford Trustees on which it was intended to build a garden village. The Canal Company recognised the potential for a new dock on the land, giving the area its name of Barton Dock Estate, although no dock was ever built. The Barton Docks area was developed during and after the Second World War.

Second World War

Trafford Park was largely turned over to the production of war materiel during the Second World War, such as the Avro Manchester and Avro Lancaster heavy bombers. The area was frequently bombed by the Luftwaffe, particularly during the Manchester Blitz of December 1940. At the outbreak of war in 1939 there were an estimated 50,000 people employed at Trafford Park.

Decline and regeneration

In the 1960s employment in the park began to decline as companies closed their premises in favour of newer, more efficient plants. Ellesmere Port and Runcorn at the western end of the Manchester Ship Canal were in the ascendency industrially and they overtook Trafford Park in economic importance. In 1971, Stretford Council responded by setting up the Trafford Park Industrial Council (TRAFIC), membership was open to any firm in Trafford Park. By 1976, the workforce had fallen to 15,000, and by the 1980s industry had virtually disappeared.

Trafford Park landmarks

The Imperial War Museum North is the first building in the United Kingdom to be designed by Daniel Libeskind. The museum houses two extensive exhibition spaces. The 11-acre (4.5 ha) Trafford Ecology Park is what remains of the ornamental boating lake. The site was originally part of the de Trafford family estate, but was enveloped by industry in the early 1900s.

Trafford Park geography / climate

The topography of Trafford Park is either flat or gently undulating, about 144 feet (44 m) above sea level. The local bedrock is Triassic Bunter Sandstone, overlaid by sand and gravel deposited during the last ice age, around 10,000 years ago. The park occupies an area of 4.7 square miles (12 km) and is almost entirely surrounded by water.

You can visit Trafford Park places with Walkfo Trafford Park to hear history at Trafford Park’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Trafford Park has 130 places to visit in our interactive Trafford Park map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Trafford Park, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Trafford Park places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Trafford Park & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 130 audio facts unique to Trafford Park places in an interactive Trafford Park map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Trafford Park Places Map
130 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Trafford Park historic spots	Trafford Park tourist destinations	Trafford Park plaques	Trafford Park geographic features
Walkfo Trafford Park tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Trafford Park

  

Best Trafford Park places to visit

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Trafford Park has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Trafford Park’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Trafford Park’s information audio spots:

Chill Factore Chill Factor is the UK’s longest indoor ski slope; a £31M real snow centre . Designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects, the centre opened in November 2007 at which time it was the widest in the world, at 180 metres (590 ft) long .

Chorlton Poor Law Union Chorlton Poor Law Union was founded in January 1837 in response to the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 . It was overseen by an elected board of 19 guardians representing the 12 parishes in the area it served .

St Ann’s, Stretford St Ann’s Church, Stretford is a Grade II listed Roman Catholic church . It was constructed between 1862 and 1863, on the east side of the A56 Chester Road . The parish functions under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford .

Municipal Borough of Stretford Stretford was, from 1868 to 1974, a local government district coterminate with the town of Stretford, Lancashire.

St Martin’s Church, Ashton upon Mersey St Martin’s Church is in Church Lane, Ashton upon Mersey, a district of Sale, Greater Manchester. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

Real Radio XS Real Radio XS was a radio station brand operated by Real and Smooth Ltd (formerly GMG Radio) based in Salford, Greater Manchester, broadcasting a variety of peak-time news, rock music and talk output. The Manchester-based version of the service was broadcast to Greater Manchester on FM, and to a number of areas on DAB.

St Thomas’ Church, Pendleton St Thomas’ Church is on Broad Street, Pendleton, Salford, Greater Manchester. It was a Commissioners’ church, having received a grant towards its construction from the Church Building Commission. It is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.

Langworthy (ward) Langworthy (ward) is an electoral ward of Salford, England. It is represented in Westminster by Rebecca Long-Bailey MP Rebecca Long Bailey. A profile of the ward recorded a population of 12,980 in 2014.

Peel Building The Peel Building is the University of Salford’s oldest building in current use. It is located in their Peel Park campus adjacent to the A6 Crescent.

Working Class Movement Library The Working Class Movement Library (WCML) is a collection of English language books, periodicals, pamphlets, archives and artefacts. The collection relates to the development of the political and cultural institutions of the working class created by the Industrial Revolution.

Visit Trafford Park plaques