The Old Parsonage Stenner Lane Didsbury Manchester M20 2RQ info@didsburycivicsociety.org 0161 445 7661

The Old Parsonage

Venue: Stenner Lane, Didsbury, Manchester M20 2RQ –

Open:

Saturday 10th September 2pm to 5pm

Sunday 11th September 10am to 5pm

Website: Didsbury Parsonage Trust

Home of Fletcher Moss Alderman, philanthropist, JP and author. The house is now a community space.

Original parts of this magnificent house probably date back to the mid-sixteenth century with fine extensions added between 1820 and 1830. Its most famous owner was Fletcher Moss, Alderman, JP, philanthropist and author, who left the building, gardens and other land to Manchester Corporation in 1919. After a long life as a Museum and Art Gallery it was then turned into offices. In September 2012 the building was opened as a community hub by the Didsbury Parsonage Trust who acquired it on a lease from Manchester City Council and raised over £160,000 for renovation. It is now a community venue for classes, art exhibitions, seminars, local group meetings, weddings etc..

When Fletcher Moss lived in the Old Parsonage there was a Stained Glass Sundial in the library. Stained Glass Sundials are rare and the Trustees of the Old Parsonage have installed a modern facsimile. Exhibition about its design and fabrication.

This year the Didsbury Parsonage is celebrating its 10th birthday as a community hub.  We
will be celebrating the successful renovation of a historic Grade II Listed Building and how it
has enabled local community groups and initiatives to thrive.

On display will be a Story Board presented as a birthday present by the builders, who carried
out the renovation, showing the building before, during and after renovation.  This was all
funded by a lottery grant and the generosity of local people and companies who were
delighted to see this historic house brought back to life.

There will also be a visual summary of how the local community have been served;
especially giving an affordable base for local enterprises to start up and thrive, a welcome
base for support groups to meet in an uplifting environment, an art gallery that encourages
new and amateur artists to exhibit their work and which attracts new and regular visitors. We
will show how we adapted during the Covid pandemic producing virtual tours of our
exhibitions which made them more inclusive.

Over the years the house and courtyard have been lovingly maintained with major repairs
needed but also projects like the restoration of the stained-glass sundial which won an
award from the Sundial Society for ‘best restoration’.

We are very proud that the house is fulfilling the legacy left by Fletcher Moss who
bequeathed it to the good folk of Manchester.  We love how visitors feel the warm welcome
the house offers and often comment how much they feel it is ‘their home’.