Urmston Cottage

Urmston Cottage and its farm, the entrance to which was on Humphrey Lane, were probably built in the early 1800s. The grounds covered 15 acres, reaching north from Stretford Road to the site of Humphrey Park Allotments and east from Humphrey Lane to the Stretford boundary. There was a stable, coach house, harness room and greenhouse to the rear.

From about 1859, the estate was owned by the Taylor family of Newcroft, but the Leech family remained as tenants, one of whom, Thomas Bosdin Leech, later served as Lord Mayor of Manchester from 1891 to 1892. He was also one of the founders of the Manchester Ship Canal Company and was knighted in 1894 while living in Timperley, becoming Sir Bosdin Thomas Leech, Kt JP.

Over the following years, portions of the land that made up Urmston Cottage farm were gradually sold off.

A tree near 8 Humphrey Lane still stands close to the site of the original gates to Urmston Cottage. A blue plaque marks the site at 8 and 10 Humphrey Lane.

The land that made up the Urmston Cottage estate now forms part of the Humphrey Park roads, Link Avenue, Lemon Tree Grove, and Firwood Avenue.

Field House

Around 1888, Urmston Cottage, along with 5 acres of the land adjacent to Humphrey Lane, was sold to George Bebbington of Bowden for £1,925. The name of the dwelling was changed to Field House.

By about 1929, Field House was empty, and became known locally as "The Haunted House". Field House and its 5 acres of land were sold to Messrs. Longworth & Taylor on 12 March 1932 for building purposes. 

Link House

On 3 May 1889, James Howard Parkinson, a dental surgeon, bought two fields within the Urmston Cottage estate for £1,175.

He submitted plans to Urmston Council to build a house fronting Stretford Road, which was completed later that year and named Link House. There was a sunken garden, orchard, coach house, stables and a row of large poplar trees fronting Stretford Road. There was also a pond further back in the grounds.

Firwood Avenue

The most easterly part of the land that made up the Urmston Cottage farm was sold for the building of the terraced houses in Firwood Avenue (possibly around 1910).

Simpson Ready Foods

Link House was sold to William Simpson, a food specialist, in 1910. He altered and enlarged the house to create a factory known as Link Works, where jellies, custards, Christmas puddings, cordials, lemon cheese, jams and mincemeat were produced. It was known as the Garden Factory due to the very neat and tidy sunken garden.

In 1907, some of the land was sold for the building of houses in Link Avenue. 

William Simpson moved out of Link House in 1919 and went to live in Washway Road, Sale. Link House became offices and further extensions were made.

During the late 1920s and 30s, an old canteen was used as a Sunday School for the children of Firwood Avenue and Link Avenue. Once a year, the children were taken by horse-bus to a field in Sale for a day out.

When William Simpson died on 16 February 1931, his son, also William, inherited the business. The name changed in 1932 to Simpson's Ready Foods Ltd, and with the widening of Stretford Road in 1939, the tall poplar trees were cut down.

On 20 April 1936, Longworth & Taylor bought 2 acres of land from William Simpson which was located to the rear of the Link House estate. Together with the Field House land purchased in 1932, this land now forms part of the small group of roads known as Humphrey Park. The location of the pond which was in the grounds can still be detected as there is a gap between houses 50 and 56 Humphrey Park where the ground was thought to be too damp for building.

Further extensions to the factory over the years eventually caused the orchard and sunken garden to disappear completely, and Link House became hardly recognisable.

The factory closed in 2015 and the land was sold to build Lemon Tree Grove.