Homeowners at Didsbury’s newest retirement community recently discovered the fascinating history of the Spath Road site, spending the afternoon with the granddaughter of the incredible lady whose name now appears above the door of their new home.
McCarthy Stone, the UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities, completed work on Jessiefield Court in 2024, and a new community is now forming as homeowners get settled in their new homes. The developer named the new apartments after the house which previously stood on the site, but it wasn’t until recently that the significance and history of that name came to light.
House Manager Kim Russell was contacted by Patricia Hughes, who realised the apartments had been built on the site of, and named after, the house her grandparents had built and lived in over 80 years ago. Patricia revealed the ‘Jessiefield’ name came from her grandmother, Jessie Stewart, with her grandfather having affectionately referred to the plot of land he’d found as ‘Jessie’s Field’. Kim says “Until I picked up the phone that morning, I had no idea how the original house had got its name, but it was wonderful to speak to Patricia and hear Jessie’s life story, which is truly remarkable and inspiring. I immediately knew our new homeowners would want to hear all about it too!”
But Jessie Stewart, nee Menzies, didn’t move to Didsbury until 1937, after a difficult start in life. She was born in 1897 and was only six years old when her father William died of diabetes at the age of 28. After this she spent time in an orphanage before going to live with her paternal grandparents in Edinburgh.
After her grandmother’s death and during the First World War she remained in Edinburgh and became a nanny to a naval commander’s family. It was there that she met her future husband, Hugh Stewart, on the steps of Waverley Street Station. He was serving in the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, and they married in 1918 shortly before the war ended. The naval commander hosted the wedding at his home and even stepped in to give Jessie away as she had no family of her own. After marrying, the couple set up home in Manchester, as Hugh had inherited his father’s business – James Stewart and Sons of Ardwick. They went on to have four children, before unexpectedly finding themselves awaiting the birth of their fifth child.
Needing a larger home, Hugh found a plot of land in Didsbury, and began building a new house for his growing family. Having dubbed the land ‘Jessie’s Field’, he gave the house the same name, and after the birth of their youngest son John, the couple had a brick with his initials and date of birth placed in the wall to commemorate his arrival.
With five children now, life at home was hectic but the house was large enough to accommodate live-in maids and a cook to help. Jessie’s two daughters were married from the house, and with her husband posted overseas by the RAF, Jessie’s eldest daughter returned home to live in 1943 when her daughter was born. Sadly, Jessie’s time at Jessiefield was tragically cut short by her husband Hugh’s untimely death from heart failure, in 1948 at the age of 60. The house had to be sold to cover what was then called ‘death duties’ when Jessie was just 50 years old.
This was when Jessie’s true spirit came to the fore, continually challenging the expectations and stereotypes of life as a widow in the 1950s and 60s. She visited her sister-in-law in Canada, crossing the Atlantic by sea several times, and did the same to see relatives in South Africa. At the age of 60 she decided she should learn to drive, and passed first time. She drove frequently to Scotland to visit relatives and was excited about the opening of the M6 motorway in 1958, only to return later saying she hadn’t been able to find it! She continued driving until the age of 91 when failing sight put an end to her adventures.
After Jessiefield, she lived in Bramhall with two of her sons before returning to Didsbury to live in a flat in Elm Road. After a short spell in Mottram, her youngest son John and his wife built a ‘granny flat’ over the garage at their home where she spent many happy years.
Jessie became the matriarch of a large and expanding family. At the time of her death, aged 98 in 1995, she had 12 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren, living to see five generations of women. Granddaughter Patricia remembers Jessie as being “A great socialiser, needlewoman, generous to a fault and played a mean hand of bridge – she didn’t believe in idle-hands”.
Her story and life at ‘Jessie’s Field’ has come full circle, with the retirement development recently enjoying a visit from Patricia. She brought a framed photo of Jessie and shared the history and stories of Jessie’s life, along with pictures of the house that her grandfather had built on the site in the 1930s. Jessie’s whole family are so happy that she will be remembered long into the future by homeowners at Jessiefield Court, with her picture proudly displayed in the homeowners lounge.
Jessiefield Court has just 26 one and two-bedroom apartments and offers homeowners a range of superb communal facilities on site. Providing an ideal space for homeowners to forge new friendships, the development’s communal lounge sits at the heart of day-to-day life, alongside attractive landscape gardens and a handy guest suite for friends and family to stay overnight. Residents have full access to all of these amenities, plus the development’s social events and activities, allowing them to enjoy the lifestyle to the max.
For peace of mind, a House Manager is on-site during office hours to oversee the day-to-day running of the development, while a 24/7 emergency call system and camera entry system in each property means homeowners can feel safe and secure.
Purchase prices at Jessiefield Court start from £359,995 for a one-bedroom apartment, or £449,995 for a two-bedroom apartment with part exchange or McCarthy Stone’s Smooth Move offer available to help make the move as effortless as possible. Jessiefield Court is located on desirable Spath Road in Didsbury, and is set within generous grounds on a tree-lined residential street. The apartments are just half a mile from the wide range of high street and independent shops, eateries and amenities of Didsbury Village centre and West Didsbury. There’s also good transport links to central Manchester and beyond.
To find out more about Retirement Living and life at Jessiefield Court please call 0800 882 1829 or visit www.mccarthystone.co.uk/
