Radcliffe Park Road

Background information

The Radcliffe Park Road Conservation Area lies close to The Irlams o’ th’ Height Village and is bounded by Radcliffe Park Road, The Oakwood Nursing Home, Swinton Park Road and Park Lane.

The Radcliffe Park Road Conservation Area is characterised by the large detached and semi-detached properties set in extensive gardens and dating from the late 19th century. The properties are located on a sweeping tree lined avenue, with broad pavements and areas of grassed verge.  

Oakwood is a large mid-19th century house, almost mansion sized, built in the Italian Renaissance style, of brick and Derbyshire stone. Known locally as “Teapot Hall”, the property was originally built for Thomas Binyon, a member of the well known tea merchanting firm of Binyons and Robinson. The entrance to Oakwood Nursing Home is marked by twin gate posts in dressed stone and a section of the original setted roadway. The properties to the south of Radcliffe Park Road when first built between 1881 and 1885 were surrounded by fields and open farm land.

These properties were all designed by the Manchester-based architect, Henry Goldsmith. A fellow of the Manchester Society of Architects and a member of Manchester Surveyors Society, Goldsmith's works include numerous residences, places of worship, public and philanthropic institutions and business premises.

In 1895 he published the first edition of his book “Economical Houses” which expounded the author's experience and philosophy in the design and building of individual residences which would be better than “the ordinary uniformity of suburban villas, both as regards plan and elevation”.

Goldsmith believed that the plan, form and orientation of any dwelling was very important and should reflect the concerns for light, warmth and functionality. His use of specific materials and cavity walling were designed to improve the running of the properties. He was forward looking in expounding ideas on the rationalisation of the layout of houses, ideas which would not come fully to prominence for a further 30 years.

Update

The large property to the southern boundary, “Glencors", and the large pair of semi-detached properties at the junction of Radcliffe Park Road and Park Lane have recently been renovated.

Although some alterations have been made to the properties in the conservation area they continue to present an interesting collection of period dwellings characteristic of the living conditions at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries.

This page was last updated on 4 October 2009