History - MFFG

The history of Mirrlees Fields

Mirrlees Fields have only ever been put to two uses – firstly as agricultural land supporting dairy farming between the 17th and 20th century and, secondly, as sports fields for employees of the Mirrlees Factory between 1907 and 1986, apart from a short period during World War 1 when it was used for testing tanks built in the factory.

If you look at the tithe map from 1842 and compare with the aerial photo, its apparent how little it has changed.

The history of Mirrlees fields is very interesting and there are many ancient remnants of its past still remaining today. You can read more about the History of Mirrlees Fields in Sue Bailey’s book, ‘A History of Woodsmoor’, which is available to purchase from Woodsmoor Post Office.

Since the sports fields were closed the fields were unofficially adopted by local residents and used for leisure activities.

In 2020 MAN energy solutions announced a proposal to build on approximately 20% of the land (the big field) and in return they would gift the remainder of the land to ‘The Land Trust’ along with funds to maintain it in perpetuity, which if approved would bring an end to the decades long uncertainty of future development and making 80% of the land a well-managed and publicly accessible open space.

The history of Mirrlees Fields Friends Group

The Mirrlees Fields Friends Group, originally SCRAM (Sports Committee and Residents against Mirrlees) was formed in 1986 when the then owners Mirrlees Blackstone announced they wanted to sell the land for housing development.

MAN Diesel purchased the land in 2000, in 2007 SCRAM became MFAG (Mirrlees Fields Action Group) after MAN Diesel entered into talks with housing developers to build on the land. Stockport Council however designated the land as a ‘Strategic Open Space’ and the proposal did not go ahead.

MFAG evolved into Mirrlees Fields Friends Group in around 2014, and there began a productive dialogue with MAN Diesel, a contract was signed with the Cheshire Wildlife Trust to manage the fields with the financial support and cooperation of MAN, and over the next few years there was much activity on the fields. A community orchard was planted, double sided interpretation / noticeboards, bird boxes, benches and bicycle sculptures containing maps were installed, and an orienteering course was also introduced enabling community groups including the Scouts and local schools to use the land with the firm’s permission.

Many events were also organised during this time, including bat walks, natural history walks, dog shows, litter picks and also improvements were made to the entrance to the fields from Kinross Avenue.

Even though all of these activities took place with MAN’s permission and in many cases their financial support, the land remained private, and signage has always been present to indicate this.

MFFG continues to maintain a regular dialogue with MAN, and although the fields are now fenced off they have indicated that organised events can still take place if their permission is sought.