{"id":3318,"date":"2020-12-03T10:30:24","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T10:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/science-engineering\/?p=3318"},"modified":"2023-06-21T09:21:10","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T08:21:10","slug":"the-fascinating-history-and-future-of-firs-environmental-research-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/science-engineering\/2020\/12\/03\/the-fascinating-history-and-future-of-firs-environmental-research-station\/","title":{"rendered":"The fascinating history – and future – of FIRS Environmental Research Station"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following our recent post<\/a> on the newly renovated FIRS greenhouses, we wanted to take a look at the interesting history of the site – and what the future might hold.<\/p>\n

Joseph Whitworth<\/h2>\n

The story of the FIRS starts with Manchester and the birth of Joseph Whitworth in 1803. Whitworth, an engineer and entrepreneur, is perhaps known for the invention of one of the world\u2019s first sniper rifles. This made him a wealthy man and he purchased some 60 acres of land to form an estate in the heart of Fallowfield. Upon his death in 1887, he bequeathed some his fortune and land to The University of Manchester.<\/p>\n

His money went towards a host of things, including the Whitworth Art Gallery and the Christie Hospital in Manchester. His generosity also enabled the Whitworth Scholarship to be created, which 15 recipients still receive every year. The scholarship is awarded to engineering students in the UK and it still uses the money Whitworth donated in 1868. It also created the Whitworth Society, which brings together engineers who may benefit from the Whitworth Scholarship, and further engineering research around the world.<\/p>\n

The founding of the FIRS<\/h2>\n

His estate in Fallowfield is now better known as The Chancellor\u2019s hotel<\/a> and the FIRS Environmental Research Station. The FIRS was quickly established as a place of plant research by the University\u2019s botany group, and it built upon the legacy of the pioneering Professor of Botany F E Weiss. What was Whitworth\u2019s old shooting range was quickly transformed into a vegetable patch and greenhouse facility.<\/p>\n

The greenhouses in particular proved incredibly important in Britain\u2019s World War One campaigns, as they were used to grow drugs obtained from the A.\u00a0 belladonna<\/em> and Hyoscyamus niger<\/em> plants. Over the 20th<\/sup> century and into the 21st<\/sup>, a number of incredibly important plant science research studies have been carried out at the FIRS and it continues to this day as an important and active part of The University of Manchester\u2019s research life.<\/p>\n