page_title: Withington
section_title: Aviation
hierarchical_section_title: Withington / History / Aviation
caption_attribution_description: English: Louis Paulhan landing his Farman III biplane at Didsbury, Manchester, winning the Daily Mail 1910 London to Manchester air race.
context_page_description: Withington is a suburb of south Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies 4 miles from Manchester city centre, about 0.4 miles south of Fallowfield, 0.5 miles north-east of Didsbury and 1 mile east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington has a population of just over 14,000 people, reducing at the 2011 census to 13,422.
  In the early 13th century, Withington occupied a feudal estate that included the townships of Withington, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Moss Side, Rusholme, Burnage, Denton and Haughton, held by the Hathersage, Longford and Tatton families, and within the Manor of Manchester and Hundred of Salford in historic county boundaries of Lancashire.
  Withington was largely rural until the mid-19th century when it experienced rapid socioeconomic development and urbanisation due to the Industrial Revolution, and Manchester's growing level of industrialisation. Withington became part of Manchester in 1904.
  Today, the residents of Withington comprise a mixture of families, university students and affluent "young professionals"—often themselves former students.
context_section_description: On 28 April 1910, French pilot Louis Paulhan landed his Farman biplane in Barcicroft Fields, Pytha Fold Farm on the borders of Withington, Burnage and Didsbury, at the end of the first powered flight from London to Manchester, with a six-hour overnight stop near Lichfield, Staffordshire. Paulhan beat the British contender, Claude Grahame-White, winning a £10,000 prize offered by the Daily Mail. Two special trains were chartered to Burnage railway station to take spectators to the landing. Paulhan's progress was followed throughout by a special train carrying his wife, Henri Farman and his mechanics. A house in Paulhan Road is marked by a blue plaque to commemorate his achievement.
  A large aerodrome was built in 1917-18 on the westerly edge of Withington, to the southwest of the junction of Mauldeth Road and Princess Road, on what is now the site of Houghend Playing Fields. The official name was Alexandra Park Aerodrome, but it was also variously referred to as "Withington" and "Didsbury". Closure came in autumn 1924 when Lord Egerton of Tatton would not agree to the site's continued use for flying. The large hangars were then demolished and Princess Road extended southwards through the eastern edge of the site.
caption: Louis Paulhan landing his aircraft in Barcicroft Fields in 1910
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