Belle Vue, Manchester

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Belle Vue
Manchester-belle-vue-stadium-01.JPG
Frontage of Belle Vue Stadium
Greater Manchester UK location map 2.svg
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Belle Vue
Location within Greater Manchester
OS grid reference SJ875965
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town MANCHESTER
Postcode district M18
Dialling code 0161
Police Greater Manchester
Fire Greater Manchester
Ambulance North West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Greater Manchester
53°27′55″N2°11′15″W / 53.4652°N 2.1875°W / 53.4652; -2.1875

Belle Vue is an area of Manchester, England, east of the city centre, bordered by the Hope Valley line on the east and the Glossop line on the west. Belle Vue is part of the electoral ward of Longsight. [1] [2] Belle Vue railway station lies on the Hope Valley line.

In 1897, the machine tool manufacturer Kendall and Gent opened the Victoria Works. The company closed down in the late 1960s. [3]

The area is best known for the former Belle Vue Zoological Gardens and Belle Vue Stadium. The zoo opened in 1836 and in the 1870s a small amusements area was added which developed into a major amusement park in the 20th century. It occupied a 96-acre site and at the height of its popularity attracted 2,000,000 visitors annually. [4] In 1910 the Kings Hall was opened, housing The Hallé for several years and hosting major concerts over the years. The zoo closed in September 1977 due to mounting debts. The amusement park remained open on summer weekends until 1980. The land was sold in 1982, and the site finally cleared in 1987. [5]

Belle Vue is currently home to the National Basketball Performance Centre, headquarters of Basketball England. It the home arena of men's basketball team Manchester Giants, women's basketball team Manchester Mystics, and women's netball team Manchester Thunder. It is also the home of the Belle Vue Aces Speedway team and is also known as the National Speedway Stadium.

Related Research Articles

Belle Vue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to:

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longsight</span> Suburb of Manchester

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belle Vue Zoological Gardens</span> Former establishment in Manchester, England

Belle Vue Zoological Gardens was a large zoo, amusement park, exhibition hall complex and speedway stadium in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, opened in 1836. The brainchild of John Jennison, the gardens were initially intended to be an entertainment for the genteel middle classes, with formal gardens and dancing on open-air platforms during the summer, but they soon became one of the most popular attractions in Northern England. Before moving to Belle Vue, Jennison, a part-time gardener, had run a small aviary at his home, the beginnings of the zoo that over the years grew to become the third-largest in the United Kingdom.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashburys railway station</span> Railway station in Greater Manchester, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belle Vue Aces</span>

The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 13 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, with home matches usually taking place on Monday evenings. They also run a second team in the National Development League, known as the Belle Vue Colts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Collins (speedway rider)</span>

Peter Spencer Collins MBE is a former speedway rider who spent his whole career (1971–1986) with the Belle Vue Aces, the team he supported as a child. The only other club he rode for was the now defunct Rochdale Hornets, with whom he spent the first season of his career on loan.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyde Road railway station</span> Former railway station in east Manchester, England

Hyde Road was a railway station in Gorton, Manchester, England, on the Fallowfield Loop Line. It opened in 1892 and closed in 1958, when local passenger services on the line were withdrawn. The station was sometimes advertised as Hyde Road for Belle Vue, given its close proximity to Belle Vue Zoo which was about one mile away. The line was closed completely in 1988 and the track was taken up. The station has long since been demolished and the site was partly redeveloped. The former trackbed is now a popular shared use path called the Fallowfield Loop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belle Vue Stadium</span> Greyhound racing track in Manchester, England

Belle Vue Stadium was a greyhound racing track in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, where the first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. It has also been used for motorcycle speedway, as the home ground of Elite League team Belle Vue Aces from 1988 until 2015, and from 1999 until 2019 for stock car racing and banger racing.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyde Road (speedway)</span>

Hyde Road Stadium, in Manchester, England, often referred to as Belle Vue was the home of the Belle Vue Aces speedway team. The stadium's capacity was 40,000 and it was built in 1928 and used until demolished in 1987. It was claimed, incorrectly, to have been the first purpose-built speedway track in Britain.

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White City Greyhounds was the greyhound racing operation held at White City Stadium in London. The venue was regarded as the sport's primary track during its existence.

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White City Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England.

The National Speedway Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium on Kirkmanshulme Lane, in Gorton, Manchester, England and is the home of the Belle Vue Aces and Belle Vue Colts speedway teams and the Manchester Titans American football team.

The National Basketball Performance Centre (NBPC) is a 2,000 capacity, three-court basketball arena located in Manchester, England.

References