Gorton Lane
Gorton Lane south east of the city centre of Manchester has been an ever changing landscape. The name 'Gorton' is derived from 'Gore', meaning muddy in Old English, and 'ton' meaning farm or homestead in Anglo-Saxon. It probably dates from the early 7th century and refers to muddy or marshy land beside the brook. The industrial revolution bought huge changes to Gorton with the opening of the Beyer-Peacock Railway Works (Gorton Foundary) in 1855. The combination of factories, mills and rows of houses to accommodate the workers had a significant impact on the appearance and character of the area. The 1960's saw the closure of foundary which bought with it economic decline to the area.
Since this point a series of urban regeneration programmes has left the area with contrasting styles of housing and industrial estates. Gorton Lane's current topography has it placed between a network of major A roads. At one end it is at the junction with the A6010 Pottery Lane, while the other it seemlessly merges into Wellington Street, which runs to the junction with the A57 Hyde Road. Gorton Lane makes for a convenient cut through for the driver commuting through East Manchester. It is also the main thoroughfare for vehicles heading to and from Manchester City Council's waste disposal and maintenance depot located at the old Gorton Foundry site on Hammerstone Road. The imposing stature of the Manchester Monastery stands prominatley in the middle of Gorton Lane. Originally built and funded by Franciscan Monks and the local community in 1872, it was closed in 1989 when the building and grounds were sold to property developers for a project that was later abandoned. The Monastery was subsequently stripped, vandalised and left tragically derelict. Again with the initiative of community involvement, funds were raised the building was refurbished and the doors reopened in 2010.
