Carrington Moss
| Carrington Moss | |
|---|---|
 Farming at Carrington Moss |
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 Carrington Moss
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| Carrington Moss shown within Greater Manchester | |
| OS grid reference | SJ746918 |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
Carrington Moss is a large area of peat bog near Carrington in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of the River Mersey, approximately 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Manchester, and occupies an area of about 1,100 acres (450 ha). The depth of peat varies between 17 and 20 feet (5.2 and 6.1 m).
Originally an unused area of grouse moorland, the moss was reclaimed in the latter half of the 19th century for farming and the disposal of Manchester's waste. A system of tramways was built to connect it with the Manchester Ship Canal and a nearby railway line. During the Second World War the land was used as a Starfish site and in the latter half of the 20th century, a large industrial complex was built along its northern edge. More recently, several sporting facilities have been built on Carrington Moss.
Today, the land is still used for farming and several nature reserves have been established within its bounds. Parts of Carrington Moss are accessible to the public over several rights of way.
A History of Flixton, Urmston, and Davyhulme (1898) claims that the name Carrington might be derived from the Goidelic Celtic root Cathair, a fortress, but a more recent theory is that it derives from an Anglicised form of a Scandinavian personal name. A Carrington Hall, seat of the Carrington family (descended from William de Caryngton) once existed to the north of Carrington Moss, at the junction formed by the modern-day A6144 and B5158 roads. The word moss, first used during the 15th century, forms part of the local name for a lowland peat bog, "mosslands". Today the term is also used to describe former bogs that have been converted to farmland.
Manchester's population increased by more than 150% between 1831 and 1851. This placed considerable pressure on the city's ability to dispose of refuse, exacerbated during the 1870s by a gradual switch from the older cesspit methods of sewage disposal to pail closets. These needed to be emptied regularly and by the 1880s, night soil accounted for about 75% of Manchester's 200,000 long tons (200,000 t; 220,000 short tons) of refuse.
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Wikipedia