Editing Rusholme (section)

==History==
===Etymology===
Rusholme, unlike other place names in Manchester with the suffix ''-hulme/holme'' is not a true water meadow. Its name derives from ''ryscum'' the [[dative|dative plural]] of the [[Old English language|Old English]] ''rysc'', a "[[Juncus|rush]]" meaning at the rushes. The name was recorded as Russum in 1235, Ryssham in 1316 and Rysholme in 1551.<ref>{{Harvnb |Mills |1976 |p=129}}</ref>

===Early history===
Late in the Roman occupation of Britain a hoard of about 200 gold coins was hidden in the valley of the Gore Brook. These date from the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE and were found where Birchfields Road crosses the brook in the 1890s. They are now held in the [[Manchester Museum]].<ref name="Sussex 1984; p. 3">Sussex (1984); p. 3.</ref>

The name Rusholme first appears in the mid-13th century, when "Russum" is mentioned. A house is known to have existed at Platt at that time, which was replaced by a larger one of black-and-white construction. This remained the home of the Platts until the present classical building replaced it in the mid-18th century. An early record of the Platt estate mentions the [[Nico Ditch]], an 8th or 9th-century Anglo-Saxon linear earthwork running east–west through the area and probably marking an administrative boundary.<ref>{{Citation |last=Nevell |first=Mike |year=1998 |title=Lands and Lordships in Tameside |publisher=Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council with the [[Manchester University|University of Manchester Archaeological Unit]] |pages=40–41 |isbn=1-871324-18-1}}</ref> Tales of battles between Danes and Normans associated with the road names Danes Road and Norman Road are not accepted by historians. Another black-and-white hall at Birch was probably built in the 16th century.<ref name="Sussex 1984; p. 3"/>

The economy of the area was dependent on agriculture until the 18th century; however during the 17th and 18th centuries there was a growth of cottage industries such as spinning, weaving and brickmaking.<ref>Sussex (1984); pp. 3–4.</ref>

===Social history===
[[File:Platt Lane in Rusholme.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Platt Lane in Rusholme]]
Over the [[Victorian era]], there were several different socio-political meanings of Rusholme. Primarily, it was a township based around a general area known as Rusholme since at least the 13th century. The area grew into a township, and by the beginning of the 19th century, it had its own government responsible for public health, roads, policing, poor relief, and other local government tasks. Rusholme was originally a politically autonomous entity, which was vital to its self-conception as a discrete area even after its incorporation into Manchester. Low-cost terraced housing built between 1880 and 1930 dominates the landscape, along with a sprawling [[council housing]] estate from the interwar period.

===Political history===
[[Richard Cobden]], William Royle (author of a history of the township), and Thomas Lowe (1815–1892) were long-time residents. Lowe began working as a baker and became a flour dealer, later a nurseryman and finally the proprietor of a dairy.<ref>Edward Strutt (1892), ''Memorials of Mr. Thomas Lowe, of Rusholme''.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.marisancestry.co.uk/Trees/n_a3.htm#9 |title=Genealogy Data Page 164 |work=Maris Ancestry |access-date=25 July 2010}}</ref> Prime Minister [[H. H. Asquith]] was married here in 1877 to Miss Helen Melland.<ref>Sussex (1984); p. 14.</ref>

The [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] Dame [[Kathleen Ollerenshaw]] was for 26 years one of the councillors for Rusholme on Manchester City Council, before becoming Lord Mayor of Manchester in 1975–1976. Other local politicians included [[ward (politics)|ward]] [[Councillor]] Paul Shannon, a [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] and former deputy leader of the [[Manchester City Council]] Liberal Democrat group who was defeated by Ahmed Ali (Labour) in May 2012. Rabnawaz Akbar was elected as a Labour councillor for Rusholme ward in May 2010. Councillor Akbar served on the Citizenship and Inclusion Committee.