Originally an unused area of grouse moorland, the moss was reclaimed in the latter half of the 19th century for farming and the disposal of Manchester's waste.

In the Second World War, the land was used as a Starfish site and in the latter half of the 20th century a large industrial complex was built along its northern edge.

A number of locations were considered, including one on Deeside and another in Nottinghamshire, but Carrington Moss was chosen due to the nature of its land and its accessibility.

[9][10][11] The purchase was part of the corporation's ultimately unsuccessful plan to retain the pail closet system (now superseded by the water closet), and followed a public scandal created by the daily dumping of 30–60 tons of human faeces into the Medlock and Irwell rivers, at Holt Town sewage works.

[17] The bog's virgin moss was cultivated[18] and drainage channels cut through at regular intervals, the first step in the area's reclamation.

[21] Refuse was loaded from a number of locations and was first transported along the Mersey and Irwell Navigation, until that waterway was closed on 11 November 1888.

[20] The naturally acidic water was a perfect receptacle for the contents of pail closets, rich in urea and nitrogen.

[33] By the 1930s, extensive use of the water closet meant that the amount of night soil being delivered to Carrington Moss had dropped significantly.

[36] Carrington Wharf had fallen out of use by 1934 and with the advent of the Second World War, five miles (8 km) of railway were lifted and all the waggons scrapped.

The site contained an air raid shelter for the operational crew and several combustible devices used to simulate fires and lights.

The site was activated in December 1940 but closed several years later, following a reduction in enemy aircraft attacks and lack of manpower.

[40] The estate was leased on 1 October 1968 to Shell Chemicals,[39] who in 1957 had purchased a propylene oxide plant along the moss's northern edge.

[43] By 1994, four distinct plants operated on the 3,500-acre (14 km2) site,[44] producing a range of chemicals, and materials including polystyrene, polyethylene and polypropylene.

[51]At 53°25′14″N 2°23′16″W / 53.42056°N 2.38778°W / 53.42056; -2.38778 (53.42056, 2.38778), 65.6 feet (20.0 m) above sea level,[52] Carrington Moss lies along the southern edge of the Lancashire Plain, an area of Bunter sandstones overlaid with marls laid down during the Late Triassic period.

[55] Bog asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum), white beak-sedge (Rhynchospora alba), cranberries, bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia), and the cotton sedge have also been recorded.

[56] In 1923 species of trees recorded by E. Price Evans for the Journal of Ecology included English oak (Quercus robur), and common ash (Fraxinus excelsior).

Undergrowth included common hazel (Corylus avellana), blackberry (Rubus fruticosus), and European holly (Ilex aquifolium).

Several species of ground vegetation included creeping soft grass (Holcus mollis), common bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), dog's mercury (Mercurialis perennis), iris (Iris pseudacorus), mad-dog weed (Alisma plantago-aquatica), and cat-o'-nine-tails (Typha latifolia).

The area is part of Shell's estate, covering about 15 acres (61,000 m2) of land managed by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

The reduction in the population of these and similar birds is attributed to modern farming methods, the loss of broad hedgerows, and the lack of winter stubble.