Sharston
| Sharston | |
  Sharston Sharston shown within Greater Manchester | |
| OS grid reference | SJ835885 |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan borough | Manchester |
| Metropolitan county | Greater Manchester |
| Region | North West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MANCHESTER |
| Postcode district | M22 |
| Dialling code | 0161 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | Wythenshawe and Sale East |
| |
Sharston is an area of Wythenshawe, a district of south Manchester, in North West England.
History
Built on former farming land (as was most of Wythenshawe when the estate was first being built in the 1920s), the area was initially mostly industrial, with Sharston Industrial Estate containing a post office (with an area sorting office), a dairy, a Bisto factory, and various other businesses. However, more recent boundary changes in the Wythenshawe district now consider Sharston to cover a considerable portion of residential housing along Wythenshawe's east side. The industrial estate consists of sectors named after letters of the Greek alphabet. The Beta sector was once the home of the Ramsees Piso Bush Jam factory. This building later became the headquarters of Jam Factory Records who kept most of the original plant machinery which is still used to make speciality jams to promote album releases.
Sharston once had its own shopping parade on Altrincham Road (next to the junction of Mullacre Road), but this was demolished in the early 1970s when the M56 motorway 'Sharston bypass' was built through the area (the M56 connects to the nearby southern section of the M60 motorway). A large public swimming baths was built in the area in the early 1960s, and a new shopping/business precinct (including the "Wythenshawe Labour Club" public house) was built in the late 1960s/early 1970s directly behind it on Sharston Green/Freshpool Way. However, all of these were demolished in the 1990s, as was the former Sharston/South Manchester High School, and the land has since been used for new housing developments. Several pedestrian subway tunnels that linked the area under the busy main roads have now been closed off and replaced with various pelican crossings.
Sharston Hall
"Sharston Hall" (from which the area gained its name) was a large manor house that was situated on Altrincham Road. It was built in 1701 and remained standing until 1986 when it was demolished following years of neglect and vandalism. A private medical clinic now stands in its place. The grounds behind the hall included a small woodland area which led onto Shenton Fields (informally known as "Shents Fields"), a large recreational playing field that ran up to the border of neighbouring Gatley in Stockport. Although some of the woodland area still stands, the playing fields were turned into an industrial area (Sharston Green Business Park) in recent years and now house several large warehouses and business premises.
Public services
Sharston is policed by the Wythenshawe Neighbourhood Policing Team, part of the South Manchester Division of Greater Manchester Police.