Hyde Fold Farmhouse, Off Bibby Lane
Text
The farm house of Hyde Fold Farm is still one of the largest houses in the area. Originally it was the home of farmer John Bibby, who lived with his wife Elizabeth and their eight children. In 1861 they had 30 acres of farmland (one acre is about the size of a football pitch!) and worked the land with the help of a number of employees, including Maria Cheetham, a 15 year old house servant, and James Hampson, a 25 year old carter.
By 1871, their farmland land had shrunk by almost half and in 1901 it was even smaller. There were lots of external pressures on them from all sorts of organisations including North Western Railway who wanted to build train tracks through Burnage.
By the time the farm was sold in 1938, there were just two acres of farm land remaining which included a cattle shed for five cows, a barn, a three stalled stable, a pigsty and a henhouse!
Later when Manchester Corporation wanted to build houses for the public, any remaining land was sold.