Bury is a town in
Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England. It lies on the
River IrwellThe River Irwell is a long river which flows through the Irwell Valley in the counties of Lancashire and Greater Manchester in North West England. The river's source is at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup, in the parish of Cliviger, Lancashire...
, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east of
BoltonBolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, 5.9 miles (9.5 km) west-southwest of
RochdaleRochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
, and 7.9 miles (12.7 km) north-northwest of the city of
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Bury is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the
Metropolitan Borough of BuryThe Metropolitan Borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Lying to the north of the City of Manchester, the borough is composed of six towns: Bury, Ramsbottom, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich, and has a population of 181,900...
, with Bury as the largest settlement and administrative centre.
HistoricallyThe historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
a part of
LancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, Bury emerged during the
Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
as a
mill townA mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories .- United Kingdom:...
centred on
textile manufactureThe industrial revolution changed the nature of work and society. Opinion varies as to the exact date, but it is estimated that the First Industrial Revolution took place between 1750 and 1850, and the second phase or Second Industrial Revolution between 1860 and 1900. The three key drivers in...
.
Bury is regionally notable for its open-air market -
Bury MarketBury Market is an open-air retail market located in the town of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It started in 1444. It consists of a large market hall, with extensive stalls outside, selling fruit, flowers, clothing and hardware. There is a new fish and meat market hall, constructed in the...
- and its popularity has been increased since the introduction of the
Manchester MetrolinkMetrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
tram system, which terminates in the town. The market is known for its supply of a local traditional dish - black pudding, served hot or cold and can be eaten either as a takeaway snack, or more commonly as an accompaniment or main ingredient of a meal starter or main course.
One of Bury's most famous residents was Sir
Robert PeelSir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
,
Prime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
and founder of the
Metropolitan Police ServiceThe Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
. A monument to Peel is outside Bury parish church and another, the austere
Peel MonumentThe memorial tower to Sir Robert Peel high above Ramsbottom was planned and erected at the same time as Bury was preparing its statue to the then recently deceased statesman who was born in Bury....
, stands on a hill overlooking the locality.
Toponymy
The name Bury, (also earlier known as "Buri" and "Byri") comes from an Old English word, meaning "castle", "stronghold" or "fort", an early form of modern English
borough.
Early history
Bury was formed around the ancient
market placeA marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
but even prior to this there is evidence of activity dating back to the period of Roman occupation. Bury Museum has a Roman Urn containing a number of small bronze coins dated for AD 253-282 and found north of what is now the town centre. Under
AgricolaGnaeus Julius Agricola was a Roman general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. His biography, the De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae, was the first published work of his son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, and is the source for most of what is known about him.Born to a noted...
the road building programme included a route from the
fortThe Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
at Manchester (Mamucium) to the fort at
RibchesterRibchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston.The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze Age beginnings...
(
BremetennacumBremetennacum was a Roman fort which is now the village of Ribchester in Lancashire . The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The first Roman activity on the site was the establishment of a timber fort believed to have been constructed during the campaigns of Petillius Cerialis around AD 72/3...
) that ran through
RadcliffeRadcliffe is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the course of the River Irwell, south-west of Bury and north-northwest of Manchester. Radcliffe is contiguous with the town of Whitefield to the...
and
AffetsideAffetside is an upland village located in the West Pennine Moors area, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, bordering Bolton in North West England. Historically, it was part of Lancashire. It is also in the Local Council Ward of Tottington, and is situated in the Bury North...
. The modern
Watling StreetWatling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
, that serves the Seddons Farm estate on the west side of town, follows the approximate line of the route.
The most imposing early building in the town would have been
Bury CastleBury Castle is an early medieval moated manor house in Bury, Greater Manchester . It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The manor house was built by Sir Thomas Pilkington – lord of the manors of Bury and Pilkington, and an influential member of Lancashire's gentry – in 1469...
, a medieval fortified
manor houseA manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
. The castle was built in 1469 by Sir Thomas Pilkington,
lord of the manorThe Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
s of Pilkington and Bury and a powerful member of Lancashire's gentry. It sat in a good defensive position on high ground overlooking the Irwell Valley. At that time the Pilkingtons had been lords of Bury for nearly a century, having inherited the manor from a family named de Bury.
The Pilkington family suffered badly in the
Wars of the RosesThe Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
when, despite the geography they supported the
House of YorkThe House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three members of which became English kings in the late 15th century. The House of York was descended in the paternal line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III, but also represented...
. When
Richard IIIRichard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
was killed in the Battle of Bosworth, in 1485, Thomas Pilkington was captured and later executed. The outcome of the battle was that the Duke of Richmond, representing the
House of LancasterThe House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
was crowned
Henry VIIHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
by
Sir William StanleySir William Stanley was an English soldier and the younger brother of Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby. Stanley fought with his troops in several battles of the Wars of the Roses.-Private life:...
. As a reward for the support of his family
Thomas StanleyThomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, KG was titular King of Mann, an English nobleman and stepfather to King Henry VII of England...
was created
Earl of DerbyEarl of Derby is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279...
and amongst other land the confiscated Pilkington estate in Bury was presented to him.
The ancestral home of the Earls of Derby is
Knowsley HallKnowsley Hall is a stately home near Liverpool within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, in Merseyside, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building, and is the ancestral home of the Stanley family, the Earls of Derby. The hall is surrounded by of...
on the outskirts of
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. The family maintain a connection with Bury in various ways - the Derby High School is named after them. When the school opened in 1959 the
Earl of DerbyEarl of Derby is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279...
was patron and the school's badge is based on the Earl's coat of arms.
For many years the castle remains were buried beneath the streets outside the Castle Armoury. From time to time it was the subject of archaeological excavations. These established that there was an earlier manor house on the site. In 2000 the castle site was properly excavated as a focal point in the town centre. The remains of the old walls are now displayed in Castle Square.
Between 1801 and 1830 the population of the town more than doubled from 7072 to 15086. This was the time when the factories, mines and foundries began to dominate the landscape with their spinning machines and steam engines.
Industrial Revolution
Probate evidence from the 17th century and the remains of 18th century weavers' cottages in Elton, on the west side of Bury, indicate that domestic textile production was an important factor of the local economy at a time when Bury's textile industry was dominated by woollens and based upon the domestic production of yarn and cloth as well as water-powered fulling mills.
Development was swift in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The establishment of Brooksbottom Mill, in
SummerseatSummerseat is a village in the Ramsbottom district of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It lies in the Irwell Valley, on the course of the River Irwell to the north of Bury, along the course of the M66 motorway....
north of the town, as a calico printing works in 1773 by the family of Sir Robert Peel marked the beginning of the cotton industry in Bury. By the early 19th century cotton was the predominant textile industry with the
River RochThe River Roch is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tributary of the River Irwell that gives Rochdale its name.-Course:...
and River Irwell providing power for spinning mills and processing water for the finishing trades. Development was further promoted when the town was linked to the national canal network by the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal, fully opened in 1808. The canal is provided with water from Elton Reservoir, fed by aqueducts from a weir on the River Irwell, north of what is now the
Burrs Country ParkBurrs Country Park covers a 36 hectare site located on the banks of the River Irwell, 1.5km north west of Bury, Greater Manchester. It was acquired by Bury Metroplolitan Borough Council in 1986 and transformed from a derelict industrial site into a modern country park...
. The Burrs is also the site of another mill developed by the Peel family, first founded in 1790. The remains are displayed for the public. There were seven
cotton millA cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
s in Bury by 1818 and the population grew from 9,152 in 1801 to 58,029 in 1901.
Following this, railways opened, linking the town from
Bury Bolton Street railway stationBury Bolton Street railway station is a railway station in Bury, Greater Manchester.- History :It was formerly the main station serving the town, with links north to Ramsbottom, thence via Stubbins Junction either to Rawtenstall and Bacup or to Haslingden and Accrington; and south to Radcliffe...
to Manchester,
RadcliffeRadcliffe is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the course of the River Irwell, south-west of Bury and north-northwest of Manchester. Radcliffe is contiguous with the town of Whitefield to the...
,
RawtenstallRawtenstall is a town at the centre of the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire, England. It is the seat for the Borough of Rossendale, in which it is located. The town lies 18 miles north of Manchester, 22 miles east of the county town of Preston and 45 miles south east of Lancaster...
and
AccringtonAccrington is a town in Lancashire, within the borough of Hyndburn. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, north of Manchester city centre and is situated on the mostly culverted River Hyndburn...
and from the old Knowsley Street railway station to the neighbouring mill towns of Bolton,
HeywoodHeywood is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Roch and is east of Bury, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north of the city of Manchester. The town of Middleton lies to the south, whilst to the north is the...
and Rochdale. As well as the many cotton mills other industries which thrived included paper–making,
calicoCalico is a plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may contain unseparated husk parts, for example. The fabric is less coarse and thick than canvas or denim, but owing to its unfinished and undyed appearance, it is still very cheap. Originally from the...
printing and some light engineering. The town expanded to incorporate the former townships of Elton,
WalmersleyWalmersley is small settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England.-History:The name Walmersley is said to be derived from Old English, and translates as Waldmer's wood, or clearing....
and Heap and rows of terraced housing encircled the town centre by the turn of the 19th century. Districts such as Freetown,
FishpoolFishpool is a locality to the south of Bury town centre in Greater Manchester, England. The area is roughly-speaking, a square bounded by Wellington Road to the north, Manchester Road to the west, Gigg Lane to the south and Market Street to the east.-History:...
and Pimhole were transformed from farmers' fields to rows of terraced housing, beside the factories and mills.
The houses were of the most limited kind without basic facilities, sewers or proper streets. The result was the rapid spread of disease and high mortality rates in crowded areas. In 1838 out of 1,058
working classWorking class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
houses in Bury investigated by the Manchester Statistical Society 733 had 3-4 people in each bed, 207 had 4-5 and 76 had 5-6. Social reformers locally and nationally were concerned about such issues, including
Edwin ChadwickSir Edwin Chadwick KCB was an English social reformer, noted for his work to reform the Poor Laws and improve sanitary conditions and public health...
. One report that prepared the ground for the reform of public health matters, commissioned by then Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, asked local doctors for information. King Street, Bury was highlighted. It had 10 houses, each with one bedroom, and a population of 69. The average age of death in Bury was 13.8 years. Towns like Bury were likened to 'camps' where newcomers sought work in mill, mine or forge. Many, often from Ireland found shelter in lodging houses. 38 in Bury were surveyed. 73% had men and women sharing beds indiscriminately, 81% were filthy and the average was 5.5 persons to a bed.
Although Bury had few of the classic late 19th century
spinning millsSpinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...
that were such a feature of other Lancashire towns a group, known as Peel Mills, are still in use at Castlecroft Road, immediately north of the town centre, their name another reminder of the link with the Peel family.
Lancashire Fusiliers
According to writer
Geoffrey MoorhouseGeoffrey Moorhouse, FRGS, FRSL, D.Litt was an English journalist and author. He was born Geoffrey Heald in Bolton and took his stepfather's surname. He attended Bury Grammar School. He began writing as a journalist on the Bolton Evening News...
, a history of Bury is not complete without reference to its role as the regimental town of the
Lancashire FusiliersThe Lancashire Fusiliers was a British infantry regiment that was amalgamated with other Fusilier regiments in 1968 to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.- Formation and early history:...
.
In 1688
Prince William of OrangeWilliam III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
(later King William III) landed at
BrixhamBrixham is a small fishing town and civil parish in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Brixham is at the southern end of Torbay, across the bay from Torquay, and is a fishing port. Fishing and tourism are its major industries. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of...
,
DevonDevon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. He was met by a number of noblemen who were then commissioned to raise Regiments to help him oppose
James IIJames II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
. Colonel Sir Robert Peyton raised a Regiment containing six independent companies in the Exeter area. In 1782 the title was changed to the XX or East Devon Regiment of Foot and from 1 July 1881 became the XX The Lancashire Fusiliers. The link with Bury and the Fusiliers started at this time when, following successful recruiting in
LancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
a Regimental Depot was established in Bury, Wellington Barracks, in 1881. Wellington Barracks became XX The Lancashire Fusiliers Regimental Headquarters in 1961.
The regiment has been involved in many campaigns and peace keeping duties including the Jacobite uprising, the American War of Independence, the
Napoleonic WarsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, the Indian Mutiny and both
world warA world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
s. Since moving to Bury the Lancashire Fusiliers were part, in 1898, of the force that relieved
KhartoumKhartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
and fought in the
Battle of OmdurmanAt the Battle of Omdurman , an army commanded by the British Gen. Sir Herbert Kitchener defeated the army of Abdullah al-Taashi, the successor to the self-proclaimed Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad...
and in 1899–1902 during the
Boer WarThe Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
took part in the battles of
Spion KopThe Battle of Spion Kop was fought about west-south-west of Ladysmith on the hilltop of Spioenkop along the Tugela River, Natal in South Africa from 23–24 January 1900...
and the
Tugela HeightsThe Battle of Tugela Heights, consisted of a series of military actions lasting from 14 February through 27 February 1900 in which General Sir Redvers Buller's British army forced Louis Botha's Boer army to lift the Siege of Ladysmith during the Second Boer War.-Background:Buller's army had made...
, leading up to the
Relief of LadysmithWhen the Second Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899, the Boers had a numeric superiority within Southern Africa. They quickly invaded the British territory and laid siege to Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking...
.
In 1914, the regiment was 4th Battalion of the British Expeditionary Force, the first force to enter France against the
GermansThe German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
. On 24 April 1915 the taking of W beach at
GallipoliThe Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
six men were each awarded the
Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
. The six were chosen by their comrades for the 'action before breakfast'.
The losses in the Dardanelles had a sharp impact on the town. They were all the more pronounced because many of those killed and wounded were from the regiment's Territorial Battalion based in the town. Like the Pals battalions, it recruited from a small area. It also consisted largely of part-time soldiers who had volunteered for regular service at the outbreak of war and who therefore had strong community ties. They were literally, the local butcher, baker and candlestick maker - who had wives and children resident in the town.
As a consequence, for many years afterwards Gallipoli Day was as much a part of the town's mourning for
World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
dead as
Armistice DayArmistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...
or latterly
Remembrance SundayIn the United Kingdom, 'Remembrance Sunday' is held on the second Sunday in November, which is the Sunday nearest to 11 November Armistice Day. It is the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War at 11 a.m...
.
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the regiment fought at the
Battle of Monte CassinoThe Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
, where Fusilier Jefferson won a VC in July 1943. They were also involved in the D-Day landings, with a successful attack on
Villers-Bocage
in July 1944. Subsequently they were involved in Burma, at the
Suez CanalThe Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
and
KenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
at the time of the Mau Mau rebellion.
In 1968 four fusiliers regiments, the Lancashire,
Royal NorthumberlandThe Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Originally raised in 1674, the regiment was amalgamated with three other fusilier regiments in 1968 to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.-Origins:...
, Royal Warwickshire and Royal Fusiliers were amalgamated to create the
Royal Regiment of FusiliersThe Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on April 23, 1968, as part of the reforms of the army that saw the creation of the first 'large infantry regiments', by the amalgamation of the four English fusilier...
. The bringing together of the various regiments saw the demise of the Lancashire regiment's distinctive primrose
hackleThe hackle is a clipped feather plume that is attached to a military headdress.In the British Army and the armies of some Commonwealth countries the hackle is worn by some infantry regiments, especially those designated as fusilier regiments and those with Scottish and Northern Irish origins. The...
- the yellow feathers worn above the cap badge. In its place all the battalions adopted the red and white emblem of the Northumberland Fusiliers who were the senior (oldest) regiment to be absorbed into the newly created Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
After the end of
national serviceNational service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
, with less need to recruit and train soldiers most of Wellington Barracks was redeveloped for housing and playing fields. Parts of the perimeter wall are still visible but the only part of the site still in military use is the Regimental Headquarters and social club. Sited in Elton on the west side of Bury the barracks fronted Bolton Road, the
A58The A58 is a major road in northern England that runs between Prescot, Merseyside and Wetherby, West Yorkshire.It runs north east from Prescot on the outskirts of Liverpool via St Helens, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Hindley, Westhoughton, Bolton, Bury, Heywood, Rochdale and Littleborough then over the...
at the corner with Haig Road. This and other local streets in the estate opposite, including Kitchener, Connaught, White, Buller and Powell Streets were named after prominent army figures.
A memorial to the Lancashire Fusiliers who died in the First World War was placed at the front of the former barracks. Designed by
Edwin LutyensSir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...
, architect of the
WhitehallWhitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
cenotaphA cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
, the memorial is a grade 2 listed monument. Because his father and great uncle had been officers in the regiment Lutyens declined a fee for his work. The monument, 5.88 m high and built of Portland stone, was unveiled in April 1922. In 2009, and after some local controversy, the memorial was moved to Bury town centre where in now stands adjacent to a new regimental museum.
In 1859, the 8th Lancashire (Bury) Rifle Volunteer Corps was formed and a new drill hall was proposed. In 1868 the drill hall, or Castle Armoury, was built on the historical site of
Bury CastleBury Castle is an early medieval moated manor house in Bury, Greater Manchester . It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The manor house was built by Sir Thomas Pilkington – lord of the manors of Bury and Pilkington, and an influential member of Lancashire's gentry – in 1469...
. To reflect the 'castle' the drill hall has a fortified style with castellations, gargoyles, turrets, towers, arrow slits and other
NormanThe Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
architectural features on the façade. Above the main gate, with a large semi-circular arch, is a large coat of arms incorporating the Lancashire Fusiliers' badge and motto "Omnia Audax", translating to "Dare Anything". Three plaques on the east wall of the drill hall commemorate those who fell in two world wars and the Boer War.
A platoon of Fusiliers still resides at Castle Armoury. It is also HQ East Lancashire Wing of the
Air Training CorpsThe Air Training Corps , commonly known as the Air Cadets, is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Air Cadet Organisation and the Royal Air Force . It is supported by the Ministry of Defence, with a regular RAF Officer, currently Air...
and the Bury Detachment of the Manchester
Army Cadet ForceThe Army Cadet Force is a British youth organisation that offers progressive training in a multitude of the subjects from military training to adventurous training and first aid, at the same time as promoting achievement, discipline, and good citizenship, to boys and girls aged 12 to 18 and 9...
and accommodates G Squadron of 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital (Volunteers).
The front of the Castle Armoury building has been used regularly as the fictional entrance to 'HMP Weatherfield' in the soap opera Coronation Street.
Recent history
In the post-war period, there was a major decline in the cotton industry, and in common with many neighbouring towns, Bury's skyline was soon very different, with countless factory chimneys being pulled down and the associated mills closing their doors forever. The old shopping area around Princess Street and Union Square was demolished in the late 1960s, and a concrete precinct emerged to replace it. This development was replaced by the Mill Gate Shopping Centre in the late 1990s.
Another large shopping area is located around the Rock. The main street is populated mainly by independent shops and food outlets. At the top end of the street, however, is a modern shopping area. It has a multi screen cinema, bowling alley and department stores including
Marks & SpencerMarks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
,
DebenhamsDebenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
and
PrimarkPrimark is a clothing retailer, operating over 223 stores in Ireland , the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium...
.
Bury has also benefited from other facilities in the early 2010s including a new medical centre and office accommodation close to Bury Town Hall. Bury is competing as a destination with
BoltonBolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
and
RochdaleRochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
. A decision by Marks and Spencer to vacate its store in the Mill Gate Shopping Centre and move into a large new one on the Rock emphasised a change in the makeup of the town.
The town centre is still famous for its traditional market, with its "world famous" black pudding stalls.
Bury MarketBury Market is an open-air retail market located in the town of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It started in 1444. It consists of a large market hall, with extensive stalls outside, selling fruit, flowers, clothing and hardware. There is a new fish and meat market hall, constructed in the...
was also once famous for its tripe, although this has declined in the past few decades. The Bury Black Pudding Co provide black pudding to retailers such as
HarrodsHarrods is an upmarket department store located in Brompton Road in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air...
as well as supermarkets.
The last 30 years has seen the town developing into an important
commuter townA commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
for neighbouring
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Large scale housing development has taken place around
UnsworthUnsworth is a residential area of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It is seven miles north of the city of Manchester and four miles south of Bury.-History:...
,
RedvalesRedvales is a residential district to the south of Bury town centre in Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. Roughly-speaking, the area occupies the area from Manchester Road to the River Irwell, crossed by Radcliffe Road, Redvales Road and Tarn Drive....
, Sunnybank,
BrandlesholmeBrandlesholme is a suburb north of Bury in Greater Manchester, England, half-way between Bury town centre and Ramsbottom.Brandlesholme Road is the main road through the area. At its furthermost south junction it meets with Tottington Road and Crostons Road, providing access to Bury Town Centre...
, Limefield, Chesham and Elton. The old railway line to Manchester Victoria closed in 1990, and was replaced by the light rapid transit system
MetrolinkMetrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
in 1992. The town was also linked to the
M66 motorwayThe M66 is a motorway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is long and provides part of the route between the M62 and M60 motorways and the M65, with the rest being provided by the A56.-Route:...
network, opening in 1978, accessed from the east side of the town.
Governance
In terms of local administration the town was originally a parish, then a
select vestry, first with a
board of guardians for the poor.
Improvement commissionersBoards of improvement commissioners were ad-hoc boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom. They were an early form of local government.The first Improvement Commission was the Manchester Police Commission, established in 1765...
were added before full borough status was granted. The borough charter was received in 1876 and by 1889 this was raised to that of a
county boroughCounty borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
.
The coat of arms was granted in 1877 and the symbols represent local industry. In the quarters are representations of the anvil, for forging, the golden fleece, for wool, a pair of crossed shuttles, for the cotton industry and a papyrus plant for the paper trade. Above them is a closed visor capped by a mayfly and two red roses. The motto
"Vincit Omnia Industria" means
"work conquers all".
With the passage of the
Local Government Act 1972The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, Bury merged with the neighbouring municipal boroughs of
RadcliffeRadcliffe is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the course of the River Irwell, south-west of Bury and north-northwest of Manchester. Radcliffe is contiguous with the town of Whitefield to the...
and
PrestwichPrestwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies close to the River Irwell, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury....
, together with the urban districts of
WhitefieldWhitefield is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the south bank of the River Irwell, south-southeast of Bury, and to the north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
,
TottingtonTottington is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England.Historically a part of Lancashire, Tottington's early history is marked by its status as an important Medieval fee, a type of Royal Manor which encompassed several townships...
and
RamsbottomRamsbottom is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on the course of the River Irwell, in the West Pennine Moors. Historically within Lancashire, it is located north-northwest of Bury, and north-northwest of Manchester...
to become the Metropolitan Borough of Bury in 1974. This borough is part of the
metropolitan countyThe metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million...
of
Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
.
On 3 July 2008 there was a referendum across the borough to decide whether the borough should be ruled by a directly elected mayor. The proposal was rejected by the voters.
Geography
Bury is located on the edge of the western
PenninesThe Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
in North West England in the northern part of the
Greater Manchester Urban AreaThe Greater Manchester Urban Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics consisting of the large conurbation that encompasses the city of Manchester and the continuous metropolitan area that spreads outwards from it, forming much of Greater Manchester in North West England...
. The River Irwell flows through the town and this position has proved important in its history and development. Flowing from north to south the river effectively divides the town into two parts on the east and west sides of the valley respectively. The town centre sits close to and above the river on the east side. Bury Bridge is a key bridging point linking the east side of town and the town centre to the western suburbs and Bolton beyond. Other bridges across the river are limited - there is one at Radcliffe Road to the south and at Summerseat to the north. There is also a bridge at the Burrs but this serves a cul-de-sac and does not allow full east–west access. To the south the main tributary, the River Roch, flowing from the east, joins the Irwell close to another significant bridging point, Blackford bridge. This carries the main route south, now the A56, towards Manchester.
The market town was first mentioned as a parish in AD 962.
For purposes of the
Office for National StatisticsThe Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
, Bury is part of the
Greater Manchester Urban AreaThe Greater Manchester Urban Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics consisting of the large conurbation that encompasses the city of Manchester and the continuous metropolitan area that spreads outwards from it, forming much of Greater Manchester in North West England...
.
Demography
The town of Bury has a total population of 60,718, whereas the wider Metropolitan Borough has a population of 183,300.
| Population growth Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
in Wigan since 1901 |
| Year |
1801 |
1811 |
1821 |
1831 |
1839 |
1851 |
1881 |
1891 |
1901 |
1911 |
1921 |
1931 |
1951 |
1961 |
| Population |
19,915 |
24,986 |
30,655 |
42,305 |
55,577 |
63,803 |
39,238 |
41,038 |
58,029 |
58,648 |
56,403 |
56,182 |
58,838 |
60,149 |
Source: Vision of Britain
|
Landmarks
Attractions in Bury include:
- The East Lancashire Railway
The East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England.-Overview:After formal closure by British Rail in 1982, the line was reopened on 25 July 1987. The initial service operated between Bury and Ramsbottom, via Summerseat. In 1991 the service was extended...
, a heritage railway which runs from the town to HeywoodHeywood is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Roch and is east of Bury, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north of the city of Manchester. The town of Middleton lies to the south, whilst to the north is the...
, RamsbottomRamsbottom is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on the course of the River Irwell, in the West Pennine Moors. Historically within Lancashire, it is located north-northwest of Bury, and north-northwest of Manchester...
and RawtenstallRawtenstall is a town at the centre of the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire, England. It is the seat for the Borough of Rossendale, in which it is located. The town lies 18 miles north of Manchester, 22 miles east of the county town of Preston and 45 miles south east of Lancaster...
. Based at Bury Bolton Street railway stationBury Bolton Street railway station is a railway station in Bury, Greater Manchester.- History :It was formerly the main station serving the town, with links north to Ramsbottom, thence via Stubbins Junction either to Rawtenstall and Bacup or to Haslingden and Accrington; and south to Radcliffe...
.
- Bury Art Museum
Bury Art Museum is a public museum and art gallery in the town of Bury, Greater Manchester, northern England, owned by Bury Council.Formerly known as Bury Museum and Art Gallery, it was re-named Bury Art Museum in 2011....
, containing the Wrigley collection of paintings including works by Turner, Cox and De Wint.
- Bury Castle
Bury Castle is an early medieval moated manor house in Bury, Greater Manchester . It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The manor house was built by Sir Thomas Pilkington – lord of the manors of Bury and Pilkington, and an influential member of Lancashire's gentry – in 1469...
is a fortified manor houseA manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
built in the mid 13th century by Sir Thomas Pilkington and is now protected as a Scheduled Ancient MonumentIn the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
; the foundations have been excavated and have been open to the public since 2000.
- Bury's 'World Famous' Market
Bury Market is an open-air retail market located in the town of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It started in 1444. It consists of a large market hall, with extensive stalls outside, selling fruit, flowers, clothing and hardware. There is a new fish and meat market hall, constructed in the...
, which has been on the same site for nearly 600 years; the original licence for a market was granted in 1444. In 2006, out of 1,150 markets in the UK, Bury Market was voted the best 'British Market of the Year' by the National Association of British Market Authorities. The market was also selected as Radio 4's Food and Farming Awards Market of the Year in 2008. It receives over 1,000 coachloads of visitors every year.
- Castlesteads, Greater Manchester
Castlesteads is an Iron Age promontory fort, situated on the east bank of the River Irwell on a natural promontory in Bury, Greater Manchester . It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Excavated pottery indicates the site was occupied between 200BC and 250AD....
is an ancient promontory fort and scheduled monument.
- The regimental museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
of the Lancashire FusiliersThe Lancashire Fusiliers was a British infantry regiment that was amalgamated with other Fusilier regiments in 1968 to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.- Formation and early history:...
has now moved to a new museum on Moss Street in Bury.
- Peel Tower
The memorial tower to Sir Robert Peel high above Ramsbottom was planned and erected at the same time as Bury was preparing its statue to the then recently deceased statesman who was born in Bury....
, Harcles Hill, above Holcombe village, RamsbottomRamsbottom is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on the course of the River Irwell, in the West Pennine Moors. Historically within Lancashire, it is located north-northwest of Bury, and north-northwest of Manchester...
. The Peel Tower was built in remembrance of Sir Robert Peel, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and founder of the police force, who was born in Bury. Hundreds of people climb to the tower each year on Good FridayGood Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
. Historically this gathering had a principally religious purpose since the hill is said to be strikingly similar to the hill that Jesus is said to have climbed before he was crucified on Good FridayGood Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
(Calvary).
- Bury Parish Church
The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade I listed building in Bury, Greater Manchester, England.- History :Church records suggest that the first church was built on the site in 971 when parishes were first formed by King Edgar of England, although this is likely to have been a wood and...
on the Market Place in the centre of the town is a Grade I listed building.
- Silver Street and environs contain many examples of mid-Victorian architecture, using York stone, from the pre-Gothic revival period.
Transport
Bury is connected to other settlements via
BusA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
,
MetrolinkMetrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
and
TrainThe East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England.-Overview:After formal closure by British Rail in 1982, the line was reopened on 25 July 1987. The initial service operated between Bury and Ramsbottom, via Summerseat. In 1991 the service was extended...
.
Bury Bolton Street railway stationBury Bolton Street railway station is a railway station in Bury, Greater Manchester.- History :It was formerly the main station serving the town, with links north to Ramsbottom, thence via Stubbins Junction either to Rawtenstall and Bacup or to Haslingden and Accrington; and south to Radcliffe...
, is home to the
East Lancashire RailwayThe East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England.-Overview:After formal closure by British Rail in 1982, the line was reopened on 25 July 1987. The initial service operated between Bury and Ramsbottom, via Summerseat. In 1991 the service was extended...
, a railway which serves
HeywoodHeywood is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Roch and is east of Bury, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north of the city of Manchester. The town of Middleton lies to the south, whilst to the north is the...
,
RamsbottomRamsbottom is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on the course of the River Irwell, in the West Pennine Moors. Historically within Lancashire, it is located north-northwest of Bury, and north-northwest of Manchester...
and
RawtenstallRawtenstall is a town at the centre of the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire, England. It is the seat for the Borough of Rossendale, in which it is located. The town lies 18 miles north of Manchester, 22 miles east of the county town of Preston and 45 miles south east of Lancaster...
. The station is the original railway station of Bury, and was its a mainline station until 1980.
Bury InterchangeBury Interchange is an interchange in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The interchange was opened in 1980, incorporating a new bus station and the northern terminus of the Bury to Manchester railway line.-History:...
was the replacement for Bolton Street and incorporated a railway station, with services to
Manchester VictoriaManchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is the city's second largest mainline railway station. It is also a Metrolink station, one of eight within the City Zone...
. This was provided by
Class 504The British Rail Class 504 was a unique type of electric multiple unit that ran on 1200 V DC third rail with side-contact current collection. All other UK third rail has the electric "shoe" on top of the rail. The type was used only between Manchester and Bury...
units, which were third-rail operated. When the
MetrolinkMetrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
took over services of the line, the third rail was lost, and trams replaced trains in 1992.
First ManchesterFirst Manchester is one of the bus companies serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
and Easyride Buses operate most bus services around Bury, connecting with destinations within
Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
and
RossendaleRossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...
respectively. The bus station is connected to the
Bury InterchangeBury Interchange is an interchange in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The interchange was opened in 1980, incorporating a new bus station and the northern terminus of the Bury to Manchester railway line.-History:...
Metrolink station, to provide a vast complex of inter-modal transport. There is also a free car park at the rear of the complex. The station is located in the centre of Bury, right next to
Bury MarketBury Market is an open-air retail market located in the town of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It started in 1444. It consists of a large market hall, with extensive stalls outside, selling fruit, flowers, clothing and hardware. There is a new fish and meat market hall, constructed in the...
, the Millgate Shopping Centre, the Rock and the main square.
Manchester MetrolinkMetrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
operates trams to
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
,
AltrinchamAltrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
and
EcclesEccles is a town in the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England, west of Salford and west of Manchester city centre...
. Part of a £600m development plan on the Metrolink line, is going to open new routes to the following towns
OldhamOldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
,
RochdaleRochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
,
DroylsdenDroylsden is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the east of Manchester city centre, and west-southwest of Ashton-under-Lyne, it has a population of 23,172....
,
ChorltonChorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of the city of Manchester, England. It is known locally as Chorlton. It is situated about four miles southwest of Manchester city centre. Pronunciation varies: and are both common....
and MediaCityUK in Salford. This development is planned to open over the following dates:
Newton HeathNewton Heath is an urban area of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is east north east of Manchester city centre and has a population of 9,883....
-
Central ParkCentral Park Metrolink Station is a future station on the Metrolink light rail network in the Newton Heath area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. The station was constructed in 2005 but is currently unused...
in spring 2011,
Oldham MumpsOldham Mumps Railway Station opened on 1 November 1847 and served the town of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The station was a primary station located on the Oldham Loop Line north east of Manchester Victoria operated and managed by Northern Rail....
in autumn 2011 and
Rochdale railway stationRochdale railway station serves the town of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. The Manchester and Leeds Railway opened a station serving the town in the 19th century...
in spring 2012.
There is generally a 6 minute service from Bury to
Manchester city centreManchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...
, with every other tram continuing to
AltrinchamAltrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...
. Trams to
EcclesEccles is a town in the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England, west of Salford and west of Manchester city centre...
are provided from
Manchester Piccadilly StationManchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England...
. Trams usually run in singular formations, however when the new trams arrive in 2009, trams will be coupled together at peak periods to work in a double formation.
Education
Colleges
- Bury College
Bury College is an institute of higher learning for the borough of Bury, England.-Age range:Bury College is a sixth form college catering for school leavers pursuing A Levels, vocational qualifications or apprenticeships. The college has approximately 8,000 adult learners and focuses on...
, formerly Bury Technical College and Peel Sixth Form College.
- Bury Grammar School
Bury Grammar School is an independent grammar school in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, that has existed since Kev Cryer was born, c.1570. The current headmaster is the Reverend Steven Harvey MA. The previous headmaster, Keith Richards MA, retired after sixteen years of headmastership on 7...
has existed since the 1634.
- Holy Cross College
Holy Cross College is a Catholic Sixth Form College on Manchester Road in Bury, England, UK-Admissions:It has around 2200 pupils. It offers education for pupils ages 16–19 including A Levels and a limited selection of Undergraduate degrees-History:...
, formerly Bury Convent Grammar School. In 2008 it was named 2nd in the country.
High schools located in the area include:
- Broad Oak High School
Broad Oak High School is a specialist Sports College located on Hazel Avenue about a mile to the east of Bury town centre in Greater Manchester, England....
- Bury Church of England High School
Bury Church of England High School is a mixed-sex secondary school located just south of Bury town centre.It maintains a specialist humanities status....
- Bury Grammar School
Bury Grammar School is an independent grammar school in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, that has existed since Kev Cryer was born, c.1570. The current headmaster is the Reverend Steven Harvey MA. The previous headmaster, Keith Richards MA, retired after sixteen years of headmastership on 7...
(Independent)
- Derby High School
- Elton High School
Elton High School is a mixed secondary school located on Walshaw Road to the north-west of Bury town centre in Greater Manchester.It has 8 forms of entry for boys and girls from 11–16 years of age...
- St Gabriel's High School
- Tottington High School
Tottington High School is a Community High School and Specialist College of Mathematics & Computing in Tottington, Bury, England. The school opened in 1955. The school is coeducation and takes pupils aged 11–16 years. The current roll is about 928....
Along with that, there is an Islamic madrassa there called
Darul Uloom Al-Arabiyyah Al-IslamiyyahDarul Uloom Al-Arabiyyah Al-Islamiyyah, better known as Darul Uloom Bury, is the oldest school of its kind in the United Kingdom. Based on the Dars-e-Nizami syllabus found throughout the world, it was founded by Shaikhul Hadith Moulana Yusuf Motala in 1973...
.
Sport
Bury has a
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club,
Bury F.C.Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...
, which plays at
Gigg LaneGigg Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it was built for Bury F.C. in 1885, and has been their home ever since.-History:...
. The club was formed in 1885 and in 1889 they finished runners up in the inaugural season of the Lancashire League. They were elected to the
Football League Second DivisionFrom 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
in 1894, at the same time as Manchester City. They were promoted to Division One at the end of their first season, beating
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in a play-off. More success came in 1900 when they won the
FA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
followed by a further win in 1903. On the second occasion they beat
Derby CountyDerby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
6-0 - a record victory for a Cup Final that still stands. The most recent run of success was in 1996 and 1997 when they won promotion from Football League Division Three and Football League Division Two, being Champions in that Division, in successive seasons.
The club plays in League One, with a thriving Youth and Centre of Excellence department which has recently produced players such as
David NugentDavid James Nugent is an English footballer striker, who currently plays for Leicester City . Before joining Leicester, Nugent made a total of 228 appearances in the Football League playing for Bury, Preston North End and Portsmouth...
,
Simon WhaleySimon Whaley is an English footballer who now plays for Chorley after a short spell on non-contract terms with Burton Albion. He plays as a winger...
and
Colin Kazim-RichardsColin Kazim-Richards , commonly known as Colin Kâzım, Kâzım or Kâzım Kâzım, is an English-born Turkish footballer who plays for Galatasaray, and internationally for Turkey having qualified for Turkish nationality through his mother's ethnicity...
. Former legends include free scoring
Craig MaddenCraig Anthony Madden is an English former professional football striker. He is assistant manager at Fleetwood Town.-Playing career:...
, old timers
Norman BullockNorman Bullock was the manager of Leicester City from 1949 to 1955. He also managed Bury for two four-year spells.He was born in Monton, Eccles, Lancashire....
and
Henry CockburnHenry Cockburn was an English professional footballer, who played league football for Manchester United, Bury and Peterborough United. He represented England at international level, playing 13 times for his country...
,
Neville SouthallNeville Southall MBE is a former Wales international footballer, best known for his time with Everton. He has been described as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation and won the FWA Footballer of the Year award in 1985...
,
Dean KielyDean Laurence Kiely is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently goalkeeping coach at West Bromwich Albion. He has won 11 caps for the Republic of Ireland, but has more often than not been on the bench as their substitute goalkeeper...
,
Lee DixonLee Michael Dixon is a former English professional footballer born in Manchester.He formed part of the Arsenal defence from the late 1980s, through till 2002. He was capped 22 times for England, scoring once....
,
Colin BellColin Bell MBE , is a former English football player who was born in Hesleden, County Durham, England. Nicknamed "The King of the Kippax" , and Nijinsky after the famous racehorse , Bell is widely regarded as Manchester City's greatest ever player...
,
Terry McDermottTerence "Terry" McDermott is a former football midfielder and current coach. He is currently the assistant manager at League One side Huddersfield Town.He is the father of Newcastle United player Greg McDermott and Marsaxlokk player Neale McDermott-Early career:McDermott joined Bury as a youngster...
,
Alec LindsayAlexander 'Alec' Lindsay was a strong full back who played in The Football League for Bury, Liverpool and Stoke City.-Life and playing career:...
,
Trevor RossTrevor William Ross is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder in the Football League for Arsenal, Everton, Portsmouth, Sheffield United and Bury, and in the Greek First Division for AEK Athens.Ross started his career at Arsenal, joining in 1972 as an apprentice and turning...
and John McGrath.
Gigg LaneGigg Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it was built for Bury F.C. in 1885, and has been their home ever since.-History:...
is also used by FC United Of Manchester of the Unibond Northern Premier Division. FC United is a breakaway group of former Manchester United fans adhering to the anti
Malcolm GlazerMalcolm Irving Glazer is an American businessman and sports team owner. He is the president and chief executive officer of First Allied Corporation, a holding company for his varied business interests, most notably in the food processing industry...
movement and outright commercialism in modern football. F.C. United's attendances are extremely competitive with those of Bury F.C. themselves. Until 2002 Manchester United Reserves were also hosted by
Gigg LaneGigg Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it was built for Bury F.C. in 1885, and has been their home ever since.-History:...
in Bury.
Culture
The MetThe Met is a performing arts venue in Bury, Greater Manchester. It has two theatre spaces and a café bar.The centre is operated by Bury Metropolitan Arts Association, a registered charity, and it popularly known as Bury Met.-Location:...
arts centre, based in the
Derby HallThe Derby Hall is a large Victorian neo-classical building situated on Market Street in the centre of Bury, Greater Manchester, England.-History:The Derby Hall was built in the late 1840s for Edward Smith-Stanley, the 13th Earl of Derby....
on Market Street, is a small performing arts venue promoting a programme of theatre, music and comedy events. The Met has hosted famous comedy acts such as Peter Kay, Jason Manford,
Steve CooganStephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
and
Eddie IzzardEdward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
in their days before fame.
Bury Art MuseumBury Art Museum is a public museum and art gallery in the town of Bury, Greater Manchester, northern England, owned by Bury Council.Formerly known as Bury Museum and Art Gallery, it was re-named Bury Art Museum in 2011....
on Moss Street, home to a fine collection of
VictorianThe Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and 20th century art, including works by
TurnerJoseph Mallord William Turner RA was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting...
,
ConstableJohn Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
, and Landseer.
The Fusilier Museum, home to the collection of the
Lancashire FusiliersThe Lancashire Fusiliers was a British infantry regiment that was amalgamated with other Fusilier regiments in 1968 to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.- Formation and early history:...
, commemorating over three hundred years of the regiment's history. The museum occupies the former School of Arts and Crafts on Broad Street.
Bury is also at the heart of the largest public art scheme in the UK -the
Irwell Sculpture TrailThe Irwell Sculpture Trail is the largest public art scheme in England, commissioning regional, national and international artists. The Trail includes 28 art pieces and follows a well established footpath stretching from Salford Quays through Bury into Rossendale and up to the Pennines above...
. Works in Bury include ones by Ulrich Ruckriem, at
RadcliffeRadcliffe is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the course of the River Irwell, south-west of Bury and north-northwest of Manchester. Radcliffe is contiguous with the town of Whitefield to the...
and
Edward AllingtonEdward Allington is an English artist and sculptor.He studied at Lancaster College of Art 1968–71, the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London 1971–74 and the Royal College of Art 1983–84.He won the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Prize in 1989, was Gregory Fellow in Sculpture at...
, at
RamsbottomRamsbottom is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on the course of the River Irwell, in the West Pennine Moors. Historically within Lancashire, it is located north-northwest of Bury, and north-northwest of Manchester...
with his "Tilted Vase". Ulrich Ruckriem is one of Germany's most eminent artists best known for his monumental stone sculptures. His sculpture in Radcliffe, on the site of the former
Outwood CollieryOutwood Colliery was a coal mine in Outwood, near Stoneclough, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. Originally named Clough Side Colliery, it opened in the 1840s and was the largest colliery in the area It was owned by Thomas Fletcher & Sons, Outwood Collieries, Stoneclough,...
, is one of his largest stone settings to date. Edward Allington's Tilted Vase sits in Market Place in the centre of Ramsbottom and has become a distinctive feature of interest.
The 2008 Mercury Music Prize winning group Elbow, fronted by Guy Garvey, hail from Bury and in 2009 the group were awarded Freedom of the Borough after their 2008 classic album "Seldom Seen Kid" won several accolades including a Brit Award and Mercury Prize.
Bury is known for its black puddings so much so, that it is not uncommon to see it as "Bury Black Pudding" on a menu. Bury
simnel cakeSimnel cake is a light fruit cake, similar to a Christmas cake, covered in marzipan, then toasted, and eaten during the Easter period in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some other countries. A layer of marzipan or almond paste is also baked into the middle of the cake...
is also a variant of the cake originating in Bury. Bury is also notable for
tripeTripe is a type of edible offal from the stomachs of various farm animals.-Beef tripe:...
, though there is little demand for this in modern times.
Notable people
- Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...
, BAFTAThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
award winning comedienne. She went to Bury Grammar School.
- John Kay
John Kay was the inventor of the flying shuttle, which was a key contribution to the Industrial Revolution. He is often confused with his namesake: fellow Lancastrian textile machinery inventor, the unrelated John Kay who built the first "spinning frame".-Life in England:John Kay was born...
, the inventor of the Flying ShuttleThe flying shuttle was one of the key developments in weaving that helped fuel the Industrial Revolution. It was patented by John Kay in 1733. Only one weaver was needed to control its lever-driven motion. Before the shuttle, a single weaver could not weave a fabric wider than arms length. Beyond...
, one of the key inventions of the Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. He was born to a yeoman farming family at Park, a tiny hamlet just North of Bury, on 16 June 1704. A memorial to John Kay stands in the heart of Bury - in Kay Gardens. He also features as one of twelve subjects portrayed in the epic Manchester Murals, by Ford Madox BrownFord Madox Brown was an English painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painting was Work...
, that decorate the Great Hall, Manchester Town HallManchester Town Hall is a Victorian-era, Neo-gothic municipal building in Manchester, England. The building functions as the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses a number of local government departments....
and depict the history of the city. The piece shows John Kay being smuggled to safety as rioters, who feared their jobs were in danger, sought to destroy looms whose invention he had made possible. This was a key moment in the struggle between labour and new technology. He eventually fled to France and died in poverty.
- James Wood, Dean of Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon...
and Master of St John's College, Oxford__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
was born Bury in 1760. A pupil at Bury Grammar SchoolBury Grammar School is an independent grammar school in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, that has existed since Kev Cryer was born, c.1570. The current headmaster is the Reverend Steven Harvey MA. The previous headmaster, Keith Richards MA, retired after sixteen years of headmastership on 7...
, he won an exhibition to St John's College and was a college tutor from 1789 to 1814. During this time he published the 'Principles of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy'. He was appointed Dean of Ely in 1820. He served as Master of St John's from 1815 and left his library to the college upon his death in 1839.
- Sir Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
(1788–1850), the 19th century Prime Minister best known today for the repeal of the Corn LawsThe Corn Laws were trade barriers designed to protect cereal producers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The barriers were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
and his introduction of the modern police force (hence the terms "Bobbies" and "Peelers"), was born in Bury. He is also notable for forming the famous British Police division, 'Scotland Yard' in London. A monument, Peel TowerThe memorial tower to Sir Robert Peel high above Ramsbottom was planned and erected at the same time as Bury was preparing its statue to the then recently deceased statesman who was born in Bury....
, now exists to his memory. As this is situated nearly 1,000 feet above sea level, it is easily recognisable for miles around. The tower itself was not built for Sir Robert, but to provide work for local workers and was later dedicated to him. A statue of Sir Robert Peel stands in Market Place, outside the Robert Peel public house. You will notice that Sir Robert has his waistcoat fastened the wrong way round.
- Professor Sir John Charnley
Sir John Charnley was a British orthopaedic surgeon. He pioneered the hip replacement operation, which is now one of the most common operations both in the UK and elsewhere in the world...
, born, son of a Bury pharmacist, in Bury in 1911. He wrote 'The Closed Treatment of Common Fractures', first published in 1950 which became a standard text for the subject. His subsequent achievement in developing hip replacement surgery, in 1962, is acknowledged as a ground breaking development that changed the approach to orthopaedic surgery. He established a centre for hip surgery at Wrightington Hospital, near WiganWigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
where he worked. He was knighted for his work in 1977. The John Charnley Research Institute, Wrightington Hospital, near Wigan was named in his honour.
- Mark E. Smith
Mark Edward Smith is the lead singer, lyricist, frontman, and only constant member of the English post-punk band The Fall.-Early life:...
, frontman and the only permanent member of post-punk band The Fall grew up in PrestwichPrestwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies close to the River Irwell, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury....
in Bury. On the 2010 album Your Future Our ClutterYour Future Our Clutter is an album by The Fall, released in the UK on April 26, 2010. It is the group's twenty-eighth studio album, and their first for independent record label Domino. The album was recorded at The Chairworks, Castleford and Elevator Studios, Liverpool...
is the track "Bury Pts. 1+3", with lyrics loosely relating to the place.
- Kelly, Barrie, sprinter who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...
in Mexico City, the 1966 and 1970 Commonwealth GamesThe Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
in JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and two European championships, BudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in 1966 and AthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
in 1969. He was British Champion, indoors and outdoors at 60 m and 100 m several times during this period.
- Parry, Gareth (Gaz), rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
. One of Britain's most successful rock climbers. A former British champion in 1996 and 2002. Competed for Great Britain at the highest level for many years. Current British boulderingBouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas...
team coach.
- Smith, Lawrie, yachtsman, arguably Britain's most successful racing sailor. Learnt to sail at Elton Sailing Club, Bury. Won bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, and the Fastnet Race
The Fastnet Race is a famous offshore yachting race. It is considered one of the classic offshore races. It takes place every two years over a course of . The race starts off Cowes on the Isle of Wight in England, rounds the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland and then finishes at...
. Skippered British Challenger in the America's CupThe America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
and finished fourth in Whitbread Round the World Race in 1989/90.
- Richmal Crompton
Richmal Crompton Lamburn was a British writer, most famous for her Just William humorous short stories and books.-Life:...
, author was born on Manchester Road, Bury (a plaque marks the house).
- Helen Flanagan
Helen Joyce Flanagan is a British actress best known for playing Rosie Webster in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.Flanagan has played Rosie Webster in Coronation Street since 2000, when she was ten years old....
Actress best known for her role as Rosie WebsterRosie Webster is a fictional character in the British television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 24 December 1990. Originally portrayed by actress Emma Collinge from her birth until December 1999, the character has since been...
in Coronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
- Suzanne Shaw
Suzanne Shaw is an English actress, singer and television personality...
Originally famous for winning the show PopstarsPopstars is an international reality television franchise and a precursor to the Idol series. The series first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the five member all-girl group TrueBliss...
and being a member of Hear'sayHear'Say were a British manufactured pop group created in February 2001 from the winners of Popstars, an ITV reality TV show based on a New Zealand show of the same name. They enjoyed huge success with their debut single "Pure and Simple", helped by the publicity surrounding Popstars, the first of...
, Shaw is now the star of West End shows as well as a singer, actress and television presenter.
- Nicky Ajose
Nicholas Olushola "Nicky" Ajose is an English footballer who plays as a forward for Peterborough United. He began his career with Manchester United, but never made an appearance in the first-team and spent much of the 2010–11 season on loan to Bury...
, current Manchester United player on loan to Bury FC
- Gary Neville
Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....
, current Manchester United captain, and his younger brother former United player Phil Neville, EvertonEverton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
midfielder and captain.
- Elbow
Elbow are an English rock band. They have played together since 1990 and recorded five studio albums, the most recent of which is Build a Rocket Boys!, released in March 2011...
, the band, achieved the Mercury Music Prize in 2009, for their album The Seldom Seen Kid.
- Danny Boyle
Daniel "Danny" Boyle is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Trainspotting. For Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle won numerous awards in 2008, including the Academy Award for Best Director...
, Oscar-winning film director of Slumdog Millionaire.
- Andy Goram
Andrew Lewis Goram is a former Scotland international association football goalkeeper. He started his career with Oldham Athletic and Hibernian, but he is best remembered for playing for Rangers during the 1990s, when he earned the moniker "The Goalie"...
, Scottish international footballer.
- John Partridge
John Partridge is an English actor, singer, dancer, panelist and television presenter, who is probably best known for the role of Christian Clarke in the long-running BBC television soap opera EastEnders, having joined the cast in January 2008...
, performer notably for playing the role of Christian in EastendersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
- Lisa Riley
Lisa Riley is a British television presenter and actress probably best known for playing the role of Mandy Dingle in the television soap opera Emmerdale and succeeding Jeremy Beadle on You've Been Framed.-Career:...
, Actress & Television Presenter best known for her role as Mandy Dingle in EmmerdaleEmmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
was born in Bury.
- Antony Cotton
Antony Cotton is an English actor and singer best known for his roles in Coronation Street and the original UK version of Queer as Folk.-Early and personal life:...
, Actor and television host best known for his role as Sean TullySean Tully, is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Antony Cotton, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on 13 July 2003. Sean works as a factory machinist, and as a part-time barman in the Rovers Return...
in Coronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
was born in Bury.
- Matt Littler
Matt Littler is a British actor and director born in Bury, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom. He is most famous for playing the role Max Cunningham from 1997 to 2008 in the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.- Career :...
, Actor best known for his role as Max CunninghamMax Cunningham is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Matt Littler. From 1995 to 1996, Max was portrayed by Ben Sheriff before Littler took over. In 2008, Max, along with Tony Hutchinson , was the longest running character in Hollyoaks...
in HollyoaksHollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
was born in Bury and was a former pupil of Elton High SchoolElton High School is a mixed secondary school located on Walshaw Road to the north-west of Bury town centre in Greater Manchester.It has 8 forms of entry for boys and girls from 11–16 years of age...
.
- Gemma Atkinson
Gemma Louise Atkinson is an English actress, television personality and glamour and lingerie model.-Personal life:...
, Actress and lad mags favourite was born in Bury.
- Vicky Binns
Victoria Jane "Vicky" Binns is an English actress who is best known for her two roles in the two veteran ITV soap operas Emmerdale and Coronation Street respectively. She had a lead role in 'Von trapped' opposite Caroline Quentine and also appeared in Children's Ward playing a character named...
, Actress best known for her role as Molly DobbsMolly Cosette Dobbs is a fictional character in the British television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actress Vicky Binns, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on 5 September 2005. On 7 May 2010, Binns announced she was quitting the soap...
in Coronation Street was born in Bury.
- Jennie McAlpine
Jennie Elizabeth McAlpine is a British television actress and comedienne. She is best known for her role as Fiz Stape in the well known British soap opera Coronation Street.-Early life:...
, Actress best known for her role as Fiz in Coronation Street was born in Bury.
- Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair , known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is a British barrister working in the legal system of England and Wales. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair; the couple have three sons and one daughter...
, barrister and former Prime Minister Tony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's wife was born in Bury.
- John Spencer
John Spencer was an English professional snooker player who won the World Professional title at his first attempt, was the first winner at the Crucible Theatre, was the inaugural winner of the Masters and Irish Masters and was the first player to make a 147 break in competition...
, World Snooker Champion was born in Bury.
- Jazz Dhiman, Professional Actor and Artist - Lives in the area.
- Steve Evets
Steve Evets is an English actor and musician, who found fame in the leading role in the 2009 film Looking for Eric.-Personal life:...
, Professional Actor - Looking For Eric, Lives in the area.
- Ian Wallace
Ian Wallace is the name of:*D. Ian M. Wallace, ornithologist*Ian Wallace , science fiction author*Ian Wallace , pioneer of Vancouver's conceptual art movement...
, Professional Musician - Drummer with King CrimsonKing Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
, Don HenleyDonald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...
, Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and others was born in Bury and attended Bury Grammar School. His first group, The Jaguars, was formed in Bury with some school pals.
- Christian McKay
-Early life:McKay was born in Bury, Lancashire. His mother is a hairdresser and his father is a railway worker. He studied piano as a youth, and had performed the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 at age 21...
He studied piano as a youth and had performed the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 at age 21. McKay subsequently halted his concert career and enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to study acting. Played, to critical acclaim, Orson WellesGeorge Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
in the film Me and Orson WellesMe and Orson Welles is a 2009 period-drama film directed by Richard Linklater and starring Zac Efron, Christian McKay, and Claire Danes. Based on Robert Kaplow's novel of the same name, the story, set in 1937 New York, tells of a teenager hired to perform in Orson Welles's stage production of...
Members of Parliament
- Burt, Alistair
Alistair James Hendrie Burt is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Bedfordshire...
, Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for North East Bedfordshire was born in Bury and was head boyHead Boy and Head Girl are terms commonly used in the British education system, and in private schools throughout the Commonwealth.-United Kingdom:...
at Bury Grammar SchoolBury Grammar School is an independent grammar school in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, that has existed since Kev Cryer was born, c.1570. The current headmaster is the Reverend Steven Harvey MA. The previous headmaster, Keith Richards MA, retired after sixteen years of headmastership on 7...
- Chaytor, David
David Michael Chaytor is a former British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Bury North from 1997 to 2010. He was the first member of Parliament to be sentenced following the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009.On 2 June 2009, he announced that he...
, former Member of Parliament for Bury NorthBury North is a borough constituency in Greater Manchester, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
was born in Bury. Educated at Bury Grammar SchoolBury Grammar School is an independent grammar school in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, that has existed since Kev Cryer was born, c.1570. The current headmaster is the Reverend Steven Harvey MA. The previous headmaster, Keith Richards MA, retired after sixteen years of headmastership on 7...
.
- Crausby, David
David Anthony Crausby is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Bolton North East since 1997.-Professional career:...
, Member of Parliament for Bolton North East was born in Bury. Educated at the Derby High School
Twin towns
Angoulême-Main sights:In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the cathedral and the hôtel de ville, the...
, a town and commune in
South Western FranceIn European elections, South-West France is a constituency of the European Parliament. It consists of the regions of Aquitaine, Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées.-2009:-2004:...
TulleTulle is a commune and capital of the Corrèze department in the Limousin region in central France. It is also the episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulle...
, a small town in the
CorrèzeCorrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.The inhabitants of the department are called Corréziens or Corréziennes according to gender.-History:...
Department. Originally twinned with
PrestwichPrestwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies close to the River Irwell, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury....
.
SchorndorfSchorndorf is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located c. 26 km east of Stuttgart. Its station is a the terminus of line S2 of the Stuttgart S-Bahn....
, a medieval market town to the east of
StuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, capital of
Baden-WurttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, Germany.
Woodbury, New JerseyWoodbury is a city in Gloucester County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, 10,307 residents were counted. Woodbury is the county seat of Gloucester County....
, United States.
DatongDatong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province of North China, located a few hundred kilometres west by rail from Beijing with an elevation of...
, China.
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