The Roles of William and John Henry Royle in the Development of ...

28
The Roles of William and John Henry Royle in the
Development of Pool Plat, Flixton. Part Five.
The origins and development of Pool Plat; The Heywood, Beckwith
and Royle - Higginson families.
In ‘Part Five’ details of William and John Henry Royle’s business and family
connection to the Heywood, Beckwith and Royle - Higginson families will be
discussed and their development of Pool Plat will be detailed. Further connections with
the Royle - Higginsons of Urmston will be analysed and all these factors then placed in
their correct historical context. In the 1890s and 1900s Flixton Village began to expand
substantially, with increased urban development and transport links designed to service
the employment needs of neighbouring Manchester. This increase in urban activity
along Carrington Road, which until a few years previously had been nothing more than
a country lane, acted as a catalyst for the land - owning Royles. By 1906, on what was
once Pool Plat , they had built a row of eight terraced properties. What had previously
been a meadow had now become prime development land and it was not long before
other property speculators were erecting housing in this vicinity. Such was the
attraction of this corner of Flixton and the new terrace, that we can note William Royle
and his family at 44 Carrington Road. This was the sixth property of the eight terraced
houses and he is listed here on the 1911 Census (RG14 23623/1)
One thing notable about the Royles’ terrace is the fact that it is built at a relatively
acute angle to Carrington Road. This is for two reasons. The first is the fact that, as
Nelly Brook forms the eastern boundary of Pool Plat, it makes the ground here
unsuitable for deep foundations of the type which would support the wall of a house.
Therefore, the angle allows the developer to build more properties on a size -
compromised plot of land, without encroaching upon the ground around Nelly Brook,
or the adjoining cottages on Whatcroft. Today, there is no sign of the former Nelly
Brook, with the development of the 1930s residential area to the east of Lansdowne
Road removing all trace. However, there is a space between the Royles’ terrace and the
adjoining cottages, where the bridge, removed by house development and road
widening, once crossed Nelly Brook at this point. The second reason for the terrace
being built at an angle to Carrington Road lies in the fact that there had been several
applications by Barton Rural District Council to widen the road here and the Royles,
obviously mindful of the fact that the building of a new road bridge was imminent,
realised that there would be more applications. They did not want this factor to affect
their property interests in any way, so the in - built angle would take into account any
future encroachment in front of these properties. Indeed, in 1906, when the terrace had
been recently constructed, it was fronted by a small raised earth bank topped by a
wooden fence, marking the boundary between Carrington Road and the front gardens
of the terrace. By 1910, when the last applications to widen the road in this area had
been submitted, the whole frontage had been replaced by a low wall of Accrington
Brick, complete with gateposts and the front gardens of the terrace were much smaller