Didsbury the Mersey at Didsbury in the Jacobite march south from Manchester to Derby, and again in the subsequent retreat. Didsbury was largely rural until the mid-19th century, when it underwent development and urbanisation during the Industrial Revolution. It became part of Manchester in 1904. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was formed in Didsbury in 1889. Didsbury derives its name from the Anglo-Saxon "Dyddi's burg", probably referring to a man known as Dyddi whose stronghold or township it was on a low cliff overlooking a place where the River Mersey could be forded. In the 13th century Didsbury
Didsbury was variously referred to as Dydesbyre, Dydesbiri, Didsbury or Dodesbury. A charter granted in about 1260 shows that a corn-grinding mill was operating in Didsbury, along the River Mersey, but the earliest reference to Didsbury is in a document dating from 1235, recording a grant of land for the building of a chapel. The church was named St James Church in 1855. It underwent major refurbishment in 1620 and again in the 19th century, although most of the stonework visible today dates from the 17th century. A parsonage was built next to one of the two public houses that flanked