Gorton House


Gorton House is a grade two listed building that lies in the heart of Debdale Park.

Sadly at this moment in time she lies in a state of disrepair, time has forgotten this once beautiful house & although still lovely she needs some TLC as all old girls do from time to time ;0)

I often walk past this beautiful house,and wish that I could go back in time to see her in her glory days, I imagine the people that have passed through her doors, the ladies in all their finery & wonder what secrets & scandals she holds within her walls.

Thankfully there are people out there they have the same vision for this beautiful building to be restored, for her heart to beat again, she will be part of the community,no longer will she lie dormant, but with funding, love & dedication she will be brought back to life.

Everybody has different ideas as to where her future lies with regards to what her purpose will be.

I personally would love to see her restored to her former glory, with conference rooms, a museum showing the history of the local area, and a lovely cafe where the public could sample the produce that is currently grown within the area.

I have been looking at Vernon Park in Stockport which has all the above & is wonderful!

So here is a little bit about the history of Gorton House.

The exact date of construction of Gorton House is unknown but it is believed to have probably been in the late 1780s. It is not marked on Yates' map of Lancashire of 1786 but is marked on Greenwood's map of 1818. It is believed to have been built for Robert Grimshaw, a local mill owner who was living in the house in 1790. Grimshaw had a patent right with Rev. Dr. Cartwright. He was the first person to introduce power looms to Manchester at Knott Mill. This was a brief introduction as the mill was destroyed by arsonists in 1790. 

In the early-C19 Gorton House was owned by Joseph Howard and leased to various tenants who used outbuildings as a hat manufactory. In the 1820s land to the north of the house was purchased by a water company in order to construct reservoirs. Ownership of the reservoirs passed to Manchester City Council in 1851, and in 1874 they acquired further land to the south, which included Gorton House.

In the early 1840s Gorton House was used as a school for young ladies, and in 1851 it was occupied by the Marion Place School for the sons of gentlemen, which provided boarding accommodation. By 1864 the house was being used as a residence by Edward Pinder, a local steel manufacturer, who operated a steelworks near the house until c.1877. In the late-C19/early-C20 the house was lived in by Thomas Parker (chief mechanical engineer of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway). 

In 1918 the land surrounding the house (excluding the immediate front and rear gardens) was transformed into a public park known as Debdale Park.