Prior to the 1930s, the area was mostly rural, with housing only along the main roads. In the Victorian period, Sheffield’s main depository for human waste lay in the Manor area.
The estate was begun in the 1930s as a garden city type development, to alleviate overcrowding in central Sheffield. Unlike true garden cities, places of work were not included in the scheme.
Manor is named for Sheffield Manor, which is adjacent to Manor Park. Manor Top is now served by the Sheffield Supertram. Large areas of the estate were demolished, and in some cases rebuilt with private funding, from the late 1990s on.