Humphrey Lane, once nicknamed Humpty Dumpty Lane, is thought to have got its name from Sir Humphrey de Trafford of Trafford Hall, who used to ride his horses and travel with his hounds throughout the area in the mid 1800s, apparently regardless of people's gardens and hedges. It was a narrow lane with trees and shrubs on both sides and it reached in a straight line northwards to the Stretford boundary (Cars Ditch).

 

In a Deed dated 1866, part of Humphrey Lane close to Gorse Hill Farm was named as Cow Lane - the name has been added to this 1846 map of the area.

 

 

When the Humphrey Park estate was built in 1937/8, the lane from its junction with Chadwick Lane (now Bradfield Road - where the mini roundabout is) was made to gradually swing eastwards, and it now joins on to Derbyshire Lane West. The map to the right shows overlaid maps from 1888 (in black) and 1938 (in red) which indicate the original and more recent routes of the lane. The community centre location is shown in green. The aerial image of the area shows a definite line across the bowling green, apparently following the route of what would have been the original Humphrey Lane.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Humphrey Lane 1930s