Didsbury Road". During the Victorian expansion of Manchester, Didsbury developed as a prosperous settlement; a few mansions from the period still exist on Wilmslow Road between Didsbury village and Parrs Wood to the east and Withington to the north, but they have now been converted to nursing homes and offices. The opening of the Midland Railway line in 1880 contributed greatly to the rapid growth in the population of Didsbury, with stations at Didsbury and Withington and West Didsbury offering easy rail connections to Manchester Central. The line closed in 1967, although Didsbury station building remained standing until its demolition in
Didsbury David Beckham. Born with a rare condition in which her heart is back-to-front, she has been a resident in Didsbury's Francis House Hospice, for which she has raised over £5 million. Lord Marcus Joseph Sieff, the chairman of Marks & Spencer from 1972 to 1982, was born in Didsbury in 1913. Francis French, author and noted space historian, grew up in Didsbury, and attended the same school as noted poet and novelist Sophie Hannah. Carol Ann Duffy, the first female Poet Laureate, lives in West Didsbury as of 2009. Nigel Henbest – astronomer, author and television producer – was born