Strangeways - prison or area?

[Whipby]

I'm not sure whether I've asked this question before. I've done a search and can't find it, but apologies if I have!

I have an ancestor who got married in September 1871 in St John's Church, Manchester.  His address is given as Strangeways.

I'd like to know whether this would be the prison itself, or was there simply an area in Manchester called Strangeways?  His wife's address was New Bank, I think it says.

Many thanks for any help.

[Mart 'n' Al]

Wikipedia, The jail was built on the grounds of Strangeways Park and Gardens, from which it was named. Strangeways was recorded in 1322 as Strangwas from the Anglo-Saxon Strang and gewęsc meaning "[a place by] a stream with a strong current.

Martin

[goldie61]

The prison was built in 1868.
If you look on Google maps, there still seems to be a residential area named Strangeways, and the information on wikipedia suggests there was a residential area at the time the prison was built - on the old fish ponds of Strangeways Hall.
So not just the prison was/is called Strangeways.

[Viktoria]

Sometimes on old maps the area Cheetwood appears it is very close to where Strangeways is.
Cheetham   Hill Rd. and Bury New Rd ,which changes to Great Ducie St. at the prison form  two sides of the area.
Viktoria.

[stanmapstone]

You can see Strangeways area on this 1845 map https://maps.nls.uk/view/102344087#zoom=5&lat=6702&lon=6547&layers=BT

Stan

[Little Nell]

There is a small piece on the history of the area here:

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol4/pp259-262

Strangeways Hall was demolished in the 19th century to make way for the new assize building & prison.

Nell

[Whipby]

Thank you everyone, that's all very useful and interesting!

I've never been able to find this man for sure in the 1871 census.

• He was born in Scotland in 1844.
• In 1869, he had a daughter in Ripon, North Yorkshire, with the woman he went on to marry in 1871.  His daughter was registered with her mother's surname, but was given her father's surname as a middle name.

I was rather hoping that his address of Strangeways indicated that he was in prison, and maybe that's why I couldn't find him, and why they hadn't married until two years after their daughter's birth.

But this throws up more questions:

He would still have been enumerated in prison, so why isn't he showing up?

If I could find the prison's 1871 census returns, I could look through them for a likely candidate (his surname of Reddie is often mis-heard, mis-transcribed, or spelled wrongly). How do I find them?

If he *was* in prison, would he have been allowed out to get married, and would that church have been the likely one used?

I do feel that I've been down this route before, so apologies if anyone has answered these questions previously.  I can't find any answers in my notes!

[goldie61]

Somebody may be able to tell you  much more specifically how to find the prison records in 1871, but I know when I was doing my OH's tree, an ancestor of his was in "Strangeways" - this was in 1901, but it wasn't indexed as that. It came under  "Institution: His Majestys Prison, Southall Street Cheetham".
Just an idea.

[Whipby]

That's a great map, Stan, thank you! I think I've looked at that before - another reason for suspecting that I've asked all these questions previously.  Maybe it wasn't on Rootschat, but I'm getting deja vu 

But I'm happy to be directed to this fab map site again, so thanks, it's much appreciated