Greater Manchester is a
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...
in
North West EnglandNorth West England is one of the nine official regions of England. It has a population of 6,853,200 and comprises five counties of England – Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and Cheshire....
, with a population of
2.56 million. It encompasses one of the largest
metropolitan areaA metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence, or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central cities and their zone of influence...
s in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and comprises ten
metropolitan boroughA metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...
s:
BoltonThe Metropolitan Borough of Bolton is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest town Bolton, but covers a far larger area including six smaller towns and a number of villages around the West Pennine Moors.-Creation:...
,
BuryThe Metropolitan borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in the northwest of England. Lying to the north of the City of Manchester, the borough consists of six towns: Bury, Ramsbottom, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich, and has a population of 181,900...
,
OldhamThe Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 219,600, and spans . The borough is named after its largest town, Oldham, but also includes the outlying towns of Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton, and Shaw and Crompton, the village of...
,
RochdaleThe Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...
,
StockportThe Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centered around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
,
TamesideThe Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and consists of the eight towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge....
,
TraffordThe Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston....
,
WiganThe Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...
, and the cities of
SalfordThe City of Salford , is a local government district of Greater Manchester, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Swinton, Walkden, Eccles, and Irlam which apart from...
and
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
. Greater Manchester was created on 1 April 1974 as a result 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....
.
Greater Manchester is landlocked and borders
CheshireCheshire ; also known, archaically, as the County of Chester) is a ceremonial county in North West England. The traditional county town is the city of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Widnes, Runcorn, Macclesfield,...
(to the south-west and south),
DerbyshireDerbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains...
(to the south-east),
West YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
(to the north-east),
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. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
(to the north) and
MerseysideMerseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. Taking its name from the River Mersey, Merseyside came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974, after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, and the county consists of five metropolitan...
(to the west). 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...
is the
third most populous conurbation in the UK, and spans across most of the county's territory. As a
ceremonial countyThe ceremonial counties are areas of England that are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as the Counties for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
, Greater Manchester has a
Lord LieutenantThe office of Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester was created on 1 April 1974. Prior to 1974 the area had been covered by the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire, the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire, and a small part by the Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The Lord Lieutenant is the...
and a
High SheriffThe Office of High Sheriff of Greater Manchester is the ceremonial position of High Sheriff appointed to Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. The appointment is made by the British monarch, in their capacity as Duke of Lancaster, by pricking the Lites...
.
Greater Manchester County CouncilThe Greater Manchester County Council was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England...
was abolished in 1986, and so its districts (the metropolitan boroughs) are now effectively
unitary authority areasA unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
; however, the metropolitan county, which is some , continues to exist in law and as a geographic frame of reference.• Retrieved on 6 March 2008.
• Retrieved on 7 July 2008. Several county-wide services are co-ordinated through the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities.
Before the creation of the metropolitan county, the name
SELNEC was used for the area, taken from the initials of "South East Lancashire North East Cheshire". Greater Manchester is an
amalgamationA merger or amalgamation in a political or administrative sense is the combination of two or more political or administrative entities such as municipalities , counties, districts, etc. into a single entity. This term is used when the process occurs within a sovereign entity...
of 70 former local government districts from the
former administrative countiesAdministrative counties were a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888 and abolished by the Local Government Act 1972...
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. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
,
CheshireCheshire ; also known, archaically, as the County of Chester) is a ceremonial county in North West England. The traditional county town is the city of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Widnes, Runcorn, Macclesfield,...
and Yorkshire, West Riding and eight independent
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. The Local Government Act 1972 abolished them in England and Wales, but they are still used in the Republic of Ireland and Northern...
s.
Origins
Although the modern county of Greater Manchester was not created until 1974, the history of its constituent settlements and parts goes back centuries. There is evidence of
Iron AgeIn archaeology, the Iron Age is the prehistoric period in any area during which cutting tools and weapons were mainly made of iron or steel. The adoption of this material coincided with other changes in society, including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles.The...
inhabitation, particularly at
MellorMellor is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. Mellor, situated between Marple Bridge and New Mills, runs along a tributary of the River Goyt. It extends from the start of the old turnpike road at the boundary of Marple Bridge to the current county...
, and Celtic activity in a settlement named Chochion, believed to have been an area of
WiganWigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south of Preston, west-northwest of Manchester, and east-northeast of Liverpool. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre...
settled by the
BrigantesThe Brigantes were a Celtic tribe who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of Northern England and a significant part of the Midlands. Their kingdom was known as Brigantia, and it was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire...
.
StretfordStretford is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Lying on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, it is to the southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Salford and northeast of Altrincham...
was also part of the land believed to have been occupied by the Celtic Brigantes tribe, and lay on their border with the Cornovii on the southern side of the
River MerseyThe River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
. The remains of 1st-century
fortsThe 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. As the word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin, it probably descended from Indo-European to...
at
CastlefieldCastlefield is an inner city area of Manchester, in North West England. It is historically notable for the Roman era fort of Mamucium or Mancunium which later gave its name to Manchester...
in Manchester, and
Castleshaw Roman fortCastleshaw Roman fort was a fort in the Roman province of Britannia. Although there is no evidence to substantiate the claim, it has been suggested that Castleshaw Roman fort is the site of Rigodunum, a Brigantian settlement. The remains of the fort are located on Castle Hill on the eastern side of...
in
SaddleworthSaddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills: Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle and others...
, are evidence of
Roman occupationRoman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia...
. Much of the region was omitted from the
Domesday BookThe Domesday Book is the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William I of England, or William the Conqueror...
of 1086; Redhead states that this was because only a partial survey was taken, rather than sparsity of population.
During the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, much of what became Greater Manchester lay within the
hundred of SalfordshireThe hundred of Salford was an ancient division of the historic county of Lancashire, in northern England. It was sometimes known as Salfordshire, the name alluding to its judicial centre being the township of Salford...
– an ancient division of the county 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. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
. Salfordshire encompassed several
parishA parish is a territorial unit that was usually historically served by a local church. This administrative unit is typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of Sweden, United Methodist, and Presbyterian churches...
es and
townshipsIn England, township usually means a village or hamlet. A township may be co-terminous with a chapelry, manor, or other minor area of local administration.-History:...
, some of which, like
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...
, were important market towns and centres of England's woollen trade. The development of what became Greater Manchester is attributed to a shared tradition of domestic
flannelFlannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. It usually doesn't have a nap, and instead gains its softness through the loosely spun yarn it is woven from...
and
fustianFustian is a term for a variety of heavy woven, mostly cotton fabrics, chiefly prepared for menswear. It is also used to refer to pompous, inflated or pretentious writing or speech, from at least the time of Shakespeare....
cloth production, which encouraged a system of cross-regional trade. The
Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions in the United Kingdom. The changes subsequently spread throughout Europe, North...
transformed the local domestic system, and much of Greater Manchester's heritage is related to
textile manufacture during the Industrial RevolutionWith the establishment of overseas colonies, the British Empire at the end of the 17th century/beginning of the 18th century had a vast source of raw materials and a vast market for manufactured goods...
and the infrastructure that grew up to support this sector. The townships in and around Manchester began expanding "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century as part of a process of unplanned urbanisation brought on by a boom in textile processing. Places such as
BuryBury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester. Bury is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, of which Bury is the...
,
OldhamOldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
and
BoltonBolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Situated 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...
played a central economic role in the nation, and by the end of the 19th century had become some of the most important and productive
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:...
s in the world. However, it was Manchester that was the most populous settlement, a major city and the world's largest marketplace for cotton goods. By 1835 "Manchester was without challenge the first and greatest industrial city in the world", and due to its commercial and socioeconomic success the need for local government and geo-administrative reform for the region in and around the city was proposed in as early as the 1910s.
By the 18th century, traders from Germany had coined the name
Manchesterthum, meaning "Greater Manchester", and were using that as a name for the region in and around Manchester. However, the English term "Greater Manchester" did not appear until the start of the 20th century. One of its first known recorded uses was in a 1914 report put forward in response to what was considered to have been the successful creation of the
County of LondonThe County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area today known as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government Act 1888. The Act created an administrative County of...
in 1889. The report suggested that a county should be set up to recognise the "Manchester known in commerce", and referred to the areas that formed "a substantial part of South-Lancashire and part of Cheshire, comprising all municipal boroughs and minor authorities within a radius of eight or nine miles of Manchester". In his 1915 book
Cities In Evolution, innovative
urban plannerUrban, city, and town planning is the integration of the disciplines of land use planning and transport planning to explore a very wide range of aspects of the built and social environments of urbanized municipalities and communities...
Sir Patrick GeddesSir Patrick Geddes was a Scottish biologist, known also for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban planning and education. He was responsible for introducing the concept of "region" to architecture and planning and is also known to have coined the term "conurbation" .- Biography :Patrick...
wrote "far more than Lancashire realises, is growing up another Greater London".
ConurbationA conurbation is an urban area or agglomeration comprising a number of cities, large towns and larger urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
s in England tend to build-up at the
historic county boundariesThe historic counties of England are ancient subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires. They were used for various functions for several hundred years and continue to form, albeit with considerably...
and Greater Manchester is no exception. Most of Greater Manchester lay within the ancient county boundaries 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. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
; those areas south of the
MerseyThe River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
and
TameThe River Tame is a river in Greater Manchester, England.-Source:The Tame rises on Denshaw Moor in Greater Manchester, close to the border with West Yorkshire-Course:...
were in
CheshireCheshire ; also known, archaically, as the County of Chester) is a ceremonial county in North West England. The traditional county town is the city of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Widnes, Runcorn, Macclesfield,...
. The
SaddleworthSaddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills: Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle and others...
area and a small part of
MossleyMossley is a small town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. The town is located in the upper section of the Tame valley in the foothills of the Pennines, northeast of Ashton-under-Lyne and east of Manchester.Mossley has the distinction of...
are historically part of
YorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the British Isles. Because of its great size, functions were increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as...
and in the south-east a small part in
DerbyshireDerbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains...
. The areas that were incorporated into Greater Manchester in 1974 previously formed parts of the
administrative countiesAdministrative counties were a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888 and abolished by the Local Government Act 1972...
of Cheshire, Lancashire, the
West Riding of YorkshireThe West Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
and of eight independent
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. The Local Government Act 1972 abolished them in England and Wales, but they are still used in the Republic of Ireland and Northern...
s. By the early 1970s, this system of demarcation was described as "archaic" and "grossly inadequate to keep pace both with the impact of motor travel, and with the huge increases in local government responsibilities".
The
Manchester Evening ChronicleThe Manchester Evening News is a British daily newspaper published each week day and on Saturdays which is owned by the Guardian Media Group. It is distributed throughout Greater Manchester. It sells 81,326 copies a day and gives away 99,574....
brought to the fore the issue of "regional unity" for the area in April 1935 under the headline "Greater Manchester – The Ratepayers' Salvation". It reported on the "increasing demands for the exploration of the possibilities of a greater merger of
public servicesPublic services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
throughout Manchester and the surrounding municipalities". The issue was frequently discussed by civic leaders in the area at that time, particularly those from Manchester and
SalfordSalford was, from 1844 to 1974, a local government district in the northwest of England, coterminate with Salford. It was granted city status in 1926.-Free Borough and Police Commissioners:...
. The Mayor of Salford pledged his support to the idea, stating that he looked forward to the day when "there would be a merging of the essential services of Manchester, Salford, and the surrounding districts constituting Greater Manchester." Proposals were halted by the
Second World WarWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, though in the decade after it, the pace of proposals for local government reform for the area quickened. In 1947,
Lancashire County CouncilLancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It currently consists of 84 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, who won control of the council in the local council elections in June 2009, ending 28 years of...
proposed a three "ridings" system to meet the changing needs of the county of Lancashire, including those for Manchester and surrounding districts. Other proposals included the creation of a Manchester County Council, a directly elected regional body. In 1951, the
census in the UKThe United Kingdom has taken a census of its population every ten years since 1801, with the exception of 1941 . In addition to providing a wealth of interesting information about aspects of the make-up of the country, the results of the census plays an important part in the calculation of resource...
began reporting on South-East Lancashire as a homogeneous conurbation.
Redcliffe-Maud Report
The
Local Government Act 1958The Local Government Act 1958 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting local government in England and Wales outside London...
designated the south east Lancashire area (which, despite its name, included part of north east Cheshire), a Special Review Area. The Local Government Commission for England presented draft recommendations, in December 1965, proposing a new county based on the conurbation surrounding and including Manchester, with nine most-purpose boroughs corresponding to the modern Greater Manchester boroughs (excluding Wigan). The review was abolished in favour of the
Royal Commission on Local GovernmentThe Redcliffe-Maud Report is the name generally given to the report published by the Royal Commission on Local Government in England 1966-1969 under the chairmanship of Lord Redcliffe-Maud.-Terms of reference and membership:...
before issuing a final report.
The Royal Commission's 1969 report, known as the Redcliffe-Maud Report, proposed the removal of much of the then existing system of local government. The commission described the system of administering
urbanIn the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council.-England and Wales:In England...
and
rural districtRural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...
s separately as outdated, noting that urban areas provided employment and services for rural dwellers, and open countryside was used by town dwellers for recreation. The commission considered interdependence of areas at many levels, including travel-to-work, provision of services, and which local newspapers were read, before proposing a new administrative
metropolitan areaA metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence, or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central cities and their zone of influence...
. The area had roughly the same northern boundary as today's Greater Manchester (though included
RossendaleRossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centred around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...
), but covered much more territory from Cheshire (including
MacclesfieldMacclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, with a population of about 50,688...
,
WarringtonWarrington is a large town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. The population of the borough of Warrington, including its 18 civil parishes, is around 194,000...
,
Alderley EdgeAlderley Edge is a village and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,409....
,
NorthwichNorthwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
,
MiddlewichMiddlewich is a market town in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is east of the city of Chester, east of Winsford, southeast of Northwich and northwest of Sandbach....
,
WilmslowWilmslow is a town in Cheshire, England. It lies to the south of the city of Manchester between Alderley Edge and Handforth. At the 2001 Census, the population of the town was 30,326....
and
LymmLymm is a large village and civil parish in Warrington, Cheshire, in North West England. Lymm was an urban district of Cheshire from 1894 to 1974....
), and Derbyshire (the towns of
New MillsNew Mills is a town in Derbyshire, England approximately 8 miles south-east of Stockport. It is sited at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Sett, on the border of Cheshire. The town is situated at the north western edge of the Peak District, England's first national park. It has a population of...
,
Whaley BridgeWhaley Bridge is a small town and civil parish in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England, situated on the River Goyt. Whaley Bridge is approximately south of Manchester, north of Buxton , east of Macclesfield and west of Sheffield, and had a population of 6,226 at the 2001 census. This...
,
GlossopGlossop is a small market town within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow, about east of the city of Manchester, west of the city of Sheffield. Glossop is situated near Derbyshire's county borders with Cheshire, Greater...
and
Chapel-en-le-FrithChapel-en-le-Frith is a small town in Derbyshire, England, on the edge of the Peak District near the border with Cheshire, and within commuting distance of the city of Manchester. Dubbed "The Capital Of The Peak District", Chapel-en-le-Frith was established by the Normans in the 12th century,...
– a minority report suggested that
BuxtonBuxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...
be included). The metropolitan area was to be divided into nine metropolitan districts, based on Wigan, Bolton, Bury/Rochdale, Warrington, Manchester (including Salford and Old Trafford), Oldham, Altrincham, Stockport and Tameside. The report noted "The choice even of a label of convenience for this metropolitan area is difficult". Seven years earlier, a survey prepared for the
British AssociationThe British Association for the Advancement of Science or the British Science Association, formerly known as the BA, is a learned society with the object of promoting science, directing general attention to scientific matters, and facilitating interaction between scientific workers...
intended to define the "South-East Lancashire conurbation" noted that "Greater Manchester it is not [...] One of its main characteristics is the marked individuality of its towns, [...] all of which have an industrial and commercial history of more than local significance". The term
Selnec (or
SELNEC) was already in use as an abbreviation for south east Lancashire and north east Cheshire; Redcliffe-Maud took this as "the most convenient term available", having modified it to south east Lancashire, north east and central Cheshire.
Following the
Transport Act 1968The Transport Act 1968 was an act of the parliament of the United Kingdom. The main provisions made changes to the structure of nationally owned bus companies, created passenger transport authorities and executives to take over public transport in large conurbations.-National Bus Company:The Act...
, in 1969 the
SELNEC Passenger Transport ExecutiveThe Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive is the public body responsible for co-ordinating public transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England....
(an authority to co-ordinate and operate public transport in the region) was set up, covering an area smaller than the proposed Selnec, and different again to the eventual Greater Manchester. Compared with the Redcliffe-Maud area, it excluded Macclesfield, Warrington, and Knutsford but included Glossop and
SaddleworthSaddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills: Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle and others...
in the
West Riding of YorkshireThe West Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
. It excluded Wigan, which was in both the Redcliffe-Maud area and in the eventual Greater Manchester (but had not been part of the 1958 act's review area).
Redcliffe-Maud's recommendations were accepted by the Labour-controlled Government in February 1970. Although the Redcliffe-Maud Report was rejected by the Conservative government after the
1970 general electionThe United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
, there was a commitment to local government reform, and the need for a metropolitan county centred on the conurbation surrounding Manchester was accepted. The new government's original proposal was much smaller than the Redcliffe-Maud Report's Selnec, with areas such as Warrington, Winsford, Northwich, Knutsford, Macclesfield and Glossop retained by their original counties to ensure their
county councilA county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
s had enough revenue to remain competitive (
Cheshire County CouncilCheshire County Council was a County Council, of the second highest level of United Kingdom Government for the residents of Cheshire. Founded in 1889, it ceased to exist on 1 April 2009, when it and the district councils in Cheshire were replaced by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and...
would have ceased to exist). Other late changes included the separation of the proposed Bury/Rochdale authority (retained from the Redcliffe-Maud report) into the
Metropolitan Borough of BuryThe Metropolitan borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in the northwest of England. Lying to the north of the City of Manchester, the borough consists of six towns: Bury, Ramsbottom, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich, and has a population of 181,900...
and the
Metropolitan Borough of RochdaleThe Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...
. Bury and Rochdale were originally planned to form a single district (dubbed "Botchdale" by local MP
Michael FidlerMichael M. Fidler was a British Conservative Party politician.Fidler was Member of Parliament for Bury and Radcliffe from 1970 until the October 1974 general election, when he lost his seat to Labour's Frank White.Active in the Jewish community for many years, he founded the lobby group...
) but were divided into separate boroughs. To re-balance the districts, the borough of Rochdale took
MiddletonMiddleton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Irk, south-southeast of Rochdale, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester...
from Oldham. During the passage of the bill, the towns of
WhitworthWhitworth is a town and civil parish within the Borough of Rossendale in Lancashire, England. It is set amongst the foothills of the Pennines, between the towns of Bacup, to the north, and Rochdale, to the south. It has a population of 7,263....
, Wilmslow and
PoyntonPoynton is a town in the civil parish of Poynton with Worth, in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies north from Macclesfield and south of Stockport...
successfully objected to their incorporation in the new county.
post-1974The 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....
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pre-1974 The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales...
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Metropolitan borough |
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. The Local Government Act 1972 abolished them in England and Wales, but they are still used in the Republic of Ireland and Northern...
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Non-county borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
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Urban district In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council.-England and Wales:In England...
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Rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...
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Greater Manchester is an amalgamation of 70 former local government districts, including eight county boroughs and 16 municipal boroughs. |
Bury The Metropolitan borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in the northwest of England. Lying to the north of the City of Manchester, the borough consists of six towns: Bury, Ramsbottom, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich, and has a population of 181,900...
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BuryBury was a local government district centred on Bury in the northwest of England from 1846 to 1974.Under the Bury Improvement Act 1846 a board of twenty-seven improvement commissioners was formed for Bury. The Improvement Commissioners District was enlarged in 1872...
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Prestwich • Radcliffe • |
Ramsbottom Ramsbottom Urban District was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district of the administrative county of Lancashire, England. Its area was coterminate with Ramsbottom, spanning an area of the Rossendale Valley north of the County Borough of Bury....
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BoltonThe Metropolitan Borough of Bolton is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest town Bolton, but covers a far larger area including six smaller towns and a number of villages around the West Pennine Moors.-Creation:...
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BoltonBolton was, from 1838 to 1974, a local government district in the northwest of England, coterminate with the town of Bolton.- History :Bolton was created a free borough in 1253 when William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby granted a charter. However the borough did not develop into a self-governing...
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FarnworthThe Municipal Borough of Farnworth was a local government district centred on the town of Farnworth in the administrative county of Lancashire, England....
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Blackrod • Horwich • Kearsley • Little Lever • Turton • Westhoughton |
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Manchester |
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Ringway Ringway is a civil parish on the southern border of the City of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England.It is the only civil parish in the city of Manchester, and was brought into the city in 1974 to bring the majority of the terminal and hangar areas of Manchester Airport...
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OldhamThe Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 219,600, and spans . The borough is named after its largest town, Oldham, but also includes the outlying towns of Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton, and Shaw and Crompton, the village of...
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OldhamOldham was, from 1849 to 1974, a local government district in the northwest of England.-Improvement Commissioners:Oldham was anciently a township in the large ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham. Prior to the nineteenth century the government of the town was divided between the parish...
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ChaddertonChadderton Urban District was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district of the administrative county of Lancashire, England. It was centred on the town of Chadderton....
• Crompton • Failsworth • LeesLees was from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire, England.It was created an urban district in 1894 by the Local Government Act 1894 and included the civil parish of Lees and part of the Crossbank hamlet...
• RoytonRoyton was, from 1863 to 1974, a local government district in Lancashire, England which covered the modern-day town of Royton, and its suburbs and districts....
• Saddleworth |
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RochdaleThe Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...
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RochdaleRochdale was, from 1856 to 1974, a local government district coterminate with the town of Rochdale in the northwest of England.-Municipal borough:...
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MiddletonThe Municipal Borough of Middleton was, from 1886 to 1974, a municipal borough in the administrative county of Lancashire, England, coterminate with the town of Middleton.-Civic history:...
• HeywoodThe Municipal Borough of Heywood was, from 1881 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire, England, with borough status and coterminate with the town of Heywood.-Civic history:...
• |
Littleborough • Milnrow Milnrow Urban District was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire, England.It covered a significant area to the east of Rochdale, and included Milnrow itself, and the village of New Hey and the surrounding countryside.Crompton Urban District lay...
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SalfordThe City of Salford , is a local government district of Greater Manchester, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Swinton, Walkden, Eccles, and Irlam which apart from...
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SalfordSalford was, from 1844 to 1974, a local government district in the northwest of England, coterminate with Salford. It was granted city status in 1926.-Free Borough and Police Commissioners:...
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Eccles • Swinton and PendleburySwinton and Pendlebury was a local government district of the administrative county of Lancashire, England. It was created in 1894 as an urban district and enlarged in 1934, gaining the status of municipal borough.-Constituent Civil Parishes:...
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Irlam • Worsley |
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StockportThe Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centered around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
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StockportStockport was a local government district centred on Stockport in the northwest of England from 1835 to 1974.The district was created by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 when the existing Borough of Stockport was reformed as a municipal borough. Until 1835 the town was governed by a charter...
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Bredbury and Romiley Bredbury and Romiley was an urban district in the administrative county of Cheshire, England from 1894 to 1974, which covered the Civil Parishes of Bredbury, Compstall and Romiley....
• Cheadle and GatleyCheadle and Gatley was, from 1894 to 1974, an urban district of Cheshire, England.It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 based on the Cheadle and Gatley urban sanitary district...
• Hazel Grove and BramhallHazel Grove and Bramhall was a civil parish and urban district in north east Cheshire, England from 1900 to 1974.It was created in 1900 covering, from Stockport Rural District, the former area of the civil parishes of:*Bosden*Bramhall*Norbury*Offerton...
• Marple |
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TamesideThe Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and consists of the eight towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge....
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Ashton-under-Lyne • Dukinfield • Hyde • Mossley • Stalybridge |
Audenshaw • Denton Denton Urban District was a local government district in England from 1894 to 1974.Denton was originally a township in the ancient parish of Manchester in the Salford Hundred of Lancashire. In 1866 it became a civil parish in its own right. The Denton parish was expanded on 31 December 1894 by...
• Droylsden • LongendaleLongendale Urban District was, from 1936 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Cheshire, England...
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TraffordThe Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston....
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Altrincham • SaleSale was, from 1867 to 1974, a district in Cheshire, England. The district had in turn the status of local government district, urban district and municipal borough.-Local Board and Urban District:...
• StretfordStretford was, from 1868 to 1974, a local government district coterminate with the town of Stretford in the then county of Lancashire, England.-Local Board and Urban District:...
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Bowdon • Hale • Urmston Urmston Urban District was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire, England which covered the modern-day district of Urmston.The Urban District was created by the Local Government Act 1894...
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Bucklow Bucklow Rural District was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in the north of the administrative county of Cheshire, England. Following the Local Government Act 1972, this rural district was split between the new Greater Manchester boroughs of Trafford and Manchester, and Macclesfield,...
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WiganThe Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...
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Wigan The County Borough of Wigan was, from 1889 to 1974, a local government district centred on Wigan in the northwest of England. It was alternatively known as Wigan County Borough and the County of Wigan....
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Leigh Leigh was a local government district in Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. It consisted of the civil parish of Leigh. It was created an urban district in 1894 by the Local Government Act 1894 and was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1899. It was affected by a minor boundary change with...
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Abram • Ashton in Makerfield • Aspull • Atherton • Billinge and Winstanley Billinge was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire, England....
• Hindley • Ince-in-Makerfield • Golborne • OrrellOrrell Urban District was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire, England. Its boundaries were centred on Orrell, but also included parts of Upholland....
• Standish-with-LangtreeStandish-with-Langtree was, and to a limited extent remains, the name of a local government district centred on Standish, Greater Manchester, in North West England. Historically the name applied to an ancient township in the hundred of West Derby and county of Lancashire...
• Tyldesley |
Wigan Wigan was a rural district in Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. It comprised an area to the north, but did not include the town Wigan.The district was created by the Local Government Act 1894 as the successor to the Wigan Rural Sanitary District....
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After 1974
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....
reformed local government in England by creating a system of two-tier
metropolitan and non-metropolitan countiesMetropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of subdivisions of England used for the purposes of local government outside Greater London. As originally constituted, the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties each consisted of multiple districts, had a county council and...
and
districtThe districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the structure of local government in England is not uniform, there are currently four principle types of district level subdivision. They are London boroughs, metropolitan...
s throughout the country. The act formally established Greater Manchester on 1 April 1974, although
Greater Manchester County CouncilThe Greater Manchester County Council was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England...
(GMCC) had been running since
elections in 1973The first elections to the new local authorities established by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales and the new Northern Ireland district councils created by the Local Government Act 1972 took place in 1973...
. The leading article in
The TimesThe Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register....
on the day the Local Government Act came into effect noted that the "new arrangement is a compromise which seeks to reconcile familiar geography which commands a certain amount of affection and loyalty, with the scale of operations on which modern planning methods can work effectively". Frangopulo noted that the creation of Greater Manchester "was the official unifying of a region which, through history and tradition, had forged for itself over many centuries bonds [...] between the communities of town and village, each of which was the embodiment of the character of this region". The name Greater Manchester was decided by
Her Majesty's GovernmentHer Majesty's Government is the government of the United Kingdom. Under the Constitution of the United Kingdom, executive authority notionally lies with the monarch but is exercised in practice by her ministers...
, having been favoured over Selnec by the local population.
By January 1974, a joint working party representing Greater Manchester had drawn up its county
Structure Plan, ready for implementation by the Greater Manchester County Council. The plan set out strategic and long-term objectives for the forthcoming metropolitan county. The highest priority was to increase the quality of life for its inhabitants by way of improving the county's physical environment and cultural facilities which had suffered following deindustrialisation—much of Greater Manchester's basic infrastructure dated from its 19th century industrial growth, and was unsuited to modern communication systems and life-styles. Other objectives were to reverse the trend of depopulation in central-Greater Manchester, to invest in the county's country parks to improve the region's poor reputation on leisure and recreational facilities, and to improve the county's transport infrastructure and journey to work patterns.
Because of political objection, particularly from Cheshire, Greater Manchester covered only the inner, urban 62 of the 90 former districts that the Royal Commission had outlined as an effective administrative metropolitan area. In this capacity, GMCC found itself "planning for an arbitrary metropolitan area ... abruptly truncated to the south", and so had to negotiate several land-use, transport and housing projects with its neighbouring county councils. However a "major programme of environmental action" by GMCC broadly succeeded in reversing social deprevation in its
inner cityThe inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the poorer parts of the city centre and is sometimes used as a euphemism with the connotation of being an area, perhaps a ghetto or slum, where...
slums. Leisure and recreational successes included the Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre (better known as the G-Mex centre and now branded Manchester Central), a converted former railway station in Manchester city centre used for cultural events, and GMCC's creation of five new
country parkA country park is an area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.-History:In the United Kingdom the term has a special meaning. There are about 250 recognised Country Parks in England and Wales. Most Country Parks were designated in the 1970s, under the...
s within its boundaries.
Unlike most other modern counties (including
MerseysideMerseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. Taking its name from the River Mersey, Merseyside came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974, after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, and the county consists of five metropolitan...
and
Tyne and WearTyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in North East England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
), Greater Manchester was never adopted as a
postal countyThe postal counties of the United Kingdom, now known officially as the former postal counties, were postal subdivisions in routine use by the Royal Mail until 1996. The raison d'être of the postal county —as opposed to any other kind of county— was to aid the sorting of mail by enabling...
by the
Royal MailRoyal Mail is the national postal service of the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail , Parcelforce Worldwide and General Logistics Systems...
. A review in 1973 noted that "Greater Manchester" would be unlikely to be adopted because of confusion with the Manchester post town. And so the component areas of Greater Manchester held on to their pre-1974 postal counties until 1996, when they were abolished.
A decade after they were established, the mostly
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
-controlled metropolitan county councils and the
Greater London CouncilThe Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area.-Creation:...
(GLC) had several high profile clashes with the
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
government of
Margaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She is the only woman to have held either post....
, with regards overspending and high
ratesRates are a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, used to fund local government....
charging. Government policy on the issue was considered throughout 1982, and the Conservative Party put a "promise to scrap the metropolitan county councils" and the GLC, in their manifesto for the
1983 general electionThe 1983 UK general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945.The opposition vote split almost evenly between the SDP/Liberal Alliance and Labour...
. Greater Manchester County Council was abolished on 31 March 1986 under the
Local Government Act 1985The Local Government Act 1985 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Its main effect was to abolish the county councils of the metropolitan counties that had been set up in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, along with the Greater London Council that had been established in 1965.The...
. That the metropolitan county councils were controlled by the Labour Party led to accusations that their abolition was motivated by party politics: the general secretary of the
National Association of Local Government OfficersThe National and Local Government Officers Association was a British trade union representing mostly local government "white collar" workers. It was formed in 1905 as the National Association of Local Government Officers, and changed its full name in 1952 while retaining its widely-used acronym,...
described it as a "completely cynical manoeuvre". Most of the functions of GMCC were devolved to the ten Greater Manchester metropolitan district councils, though some functions such as emergency services and public transport were taken over by joint boards and continued to be run on a county-wide basis. The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) was established to continue much of the county-wide services of the
county councilA county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
. The metropolitan county continues to exist in law, and as a geographic frame of reference, for example as a
NUTS 2The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard is developed and regulated by the European Union, and thus only covers the member states of the EU in detail...
administrative division for statistical purposes within the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
. Although having been a
Lieutenancy areaLieutenancy areas are the separate areas of the United Kingdom appointed a Lord Lieutenant - the representative of the British monarch. In many cases they have similar demarcation and naming to, but are not necessarily conterminate with, the counties of the United Kingdom.-Origin:In England,...
since 1974, Greater Manchester was included as a
ceremonial countyThe ceremonial counties are areas of England that are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as the Counties for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
by the
Lieutenancies Act 1997The Lieutenancies Act 1997 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, that defines areas that Lord-Lieutenants are appointed to in Great Britain. It came into force on July 1, 1997.-Creation of modern local government:...
on 1 July 1997.
In 1998, the people of
Greater LondonGreater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The administrative area was officially created in 1965 and covers the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and thirty two London boroughs...
voted in a referendum in favour of establishing a new
Greater London AuthorityThe Greater London Authority is the city-wide governing body for London, England. It consists of a directly-elected executive Mayor of London, currently Boris Johnson, and an elected 25-member London Assembly with scrutiny powers.-Purpose:...
, with mayor and an elected chamber for the county. The
New Local Government NetworkThe New Local Government Network is a United Kingdom think tank which was founded in 1996 by a group of senior local government figures whose aim was to make local government more relevant and credible to local people...
proposed the creation of a new
Manchester City RegionThe Manchester City Region is an area of England centred on Manchester. It was one of eight city regions defined in the 2004 document Moving Forward: The Northern Way, as a collaboration between three regional development agencies....
based on Greater Manchester and other metropolitan counties as part of on-going reform efforts, while a report released by the
Institute for Public Policy ResearchThe Institute for Public Policy Research is a left-wing UK think-tank with strong ties to the Labour party that claims to produce progressive ideas committed to upholding values of social justice, democratic reform and environmental sustainability. IPPR is based in London and also has a branch in...
's
Centre for CitiesThe Centre for Cities describes itself as an independent, non-partisan urban policy research unit, which attempts to understand how and why economic growth and change takes place in the United Kingdom's cities and to promote City Regions in England.-History:...
has proposed the creation of two large
city regionThe term city region has been in use since about 1950 by urbanists, economists and urban planners to mean not just the administrative area of a recognisable city or conurbation but also its hinterland that will often be far bigger...
s based on Manchester and
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
. In July 2007,
The TreasuryHM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy.- History :...
published its
Review of sub-national economic development and regeneration, which stated that the government would allow those city regions that wished to work together to form a statutory framework for city regional activity, including powers over transport, skills, planning and economic development. In January 2008, AGMA suggested that a formal government structure be created to cover the whole city region. The issue resurfaced in June 2008 with regards to proposed
congestion charging in Greater ManchesterProposals for congestion charging in Greater Manchester , were part of a bid to the Government's Transport Innovation Fund for a £3 billion package of transport funding and the introduction of a road congestion charge for Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England...
; Sir Richard Leese (leader of
Manchester City CouncilManchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is made up of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 wards...
) said "I've come to the conclusion that [a referendum on congestion charging should be held] because we don't have an indirectly or directly elected body for Greater Manchester that has the power to make this decision". On 14 July 2008 the ten local authorities in Greater Manchester agreed to a strategic and integrated cross-county
Multi-Area AgreementA Multi-Area Agreement is an English political framework that aims to encourage cross boundary partnership working at the regional and sub-regional levels...
; a voluntary initiative aimed at making district councils "work together to challenge the artificial limits of boundaries" in return for greater autonomy from "
WhitehallWhitehall is a road in Westminster in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards traditional Charing Cross, now at the southern end of Trafalgar Square and marked by the statue of Charles I, which is often regarded as the heart of London...
". A referendum on the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund was held in December 2008, in which voters "overwhelmingly rejected" plans for public transport improvements linked to a peak-time weekday-only congestion charge.
Geography
Greater Manchester is a landlocked county spanning
492.7 square miles (1,276 km²). The
PenninesThe Pennines are a low-rising mountain range in northern England and southern Scotland. They separate the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East....
rise along the eastern side of the county, through parts of
OldhamOldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst 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...
and
TamesideThe Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and consists of the eight towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge....
. The
West Pennine MoorsThe West Pennine Moors is an area of approximately of moorland and reservoir scenery, located in Lancashire, between the towns of Chorley, Bolton, Horwich, Ramsbottom, Haslingden, Oswaldtwistle and Darwen...
, as well as a number of coalfields (mainly sandstones and shales) lie in the west of the county. The rivers
MerseyThe River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
and
TameThe River Tame is a river in Greater Manchester, England.-Source:The Tame rises on Denshaw Moor in Greater Manchester, close to the border with West Yorkshire-Course:...
run through the county boundaries, both of which rise in the Pennines. Other rivers run through the county, including the
BealThe Beal is a small river in Greater Manchester, England, and is a tributary of the River Roch. It rises in the Beal Valley in green space between Sholver and Royton, before continuing northwards through, Shaw and Crompton, Newhey, Milnrow and Belfield....
, the
DouglasThe River Douglas, also known as the River Asland, is a river that flows through Lancashire and Greater Manchester in the north-west of England. It is a tributary of the River Ribble and has itself two tributaries, the River Tawd and the River Yarrow....
and the
IrkThe River Irk is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England that flows through the northern suburbs of Manchester before merging with the River Irwell in Manchester City Centre....
.
Black Chew HeadBlack Chew Head is the highest point of Greater Manchester, and forms part of the Peak District, in northern England.Lying within the Saddleworth parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, close to Crowden, Derbyshire, it stands at a height of 542 metres above sea level.Black Chew Head is an...
is the
highest point in Greater Manchester, rising above sea-level, within the parish of
SaddleworthSaddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills: Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle and others...
.
Chat MossChat Moss is a large area of peat bog that makes up 30% of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of the River Irwell, to the west of Manchester, and occupies an area of about...
at comprises the largest area of prime farmland in Greater Manchester and contains the largest block of semi-natural woodland in the county.
There is a mix of high density urban areas, suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Greater Manchester, but overwhelmingly the land use in the county is urban. It has a strong regional central business district, formed by
Manchester city centreManchester city centre – known formally as City Centre – is the central business district of both Manchester and Greater Manchester, in North West England. The city centre, as defined by Manchester City Council, lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, straddling the River...
and the adjoining parts of
SalfordThe City of Salford , is a local government district of Greater Manchester, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Swinton, Walkden, Eccles, and Irlam which apart from...
and
TraffordThe Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston....
. However, Greater Manchester is also a polycentric county with ten metropolitan districts, each of which has a major town centre – and in some cases more than one – and many smaller settlements. Greater Manchester is arguably the most complex urban area in the UK outside London, and this is reflected in the density of its transport network and the scale of its needs for investment to meet the growing and diverse movement demands generated by its development pattern.
The table below outlines many of the county's settlements, and is formatted according to their metropolitan borough.
| Metropolitan county |
Metropolitan borough |
Centre of administration |
Other components |
| Greater Manchester |
Bury The Metropolitan borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in the northwest of England. Lying to the north of the City of Manchester, the borough consists of six towns: Bury, Ramsbottom, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich, and has a population of 181,900...
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BuryBury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester. Bury is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, of which Bury is the...
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PrestwichPrestwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies close to the River Irwell, north of Salford, to the north-northwest of the city of Manchester, and south of Bury....
, 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...
, RamsbottomRamsbottom is a small town in North West England. It lies mostly within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury in Greater Manchester, with outlying areas in the Borough of Rossendale in Lancashire. It is located along the course of the River Irwell and the M66 motorway, in a deep valley amongst the West...
, 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...
, 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...
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BoltonThe Metropolitan Borough of Bolton is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest town Bolton, but covers a far larger area including six smaller towns and a number of villages around the West Pennine Moors.-Creation:...
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BoltonBolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Situated 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...
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BlackrodBlackrod is a town and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north-northeast of Wigan and west of Bolton, and, according to the United Kingdom Census 2001, has a population of 5,300....
, FarnworthFarnworth is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is located southeast of Bolton and northwest of Manchester....
, HorwichHorwich is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest from the city of Manchester....
, KearsleyKearsley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies about 12 km north west of the City of Manchester and about 6 km south of Bolton....
, Little LeverLittle Lever , is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Bolton, west of Radcliffe, and west-southwest of Bury.-Toponymy:...
, South TurtonSouth Turton is an unparished area of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the southern slopes of the West Pennine Moors, and has a population of 25,067....
, WesthoughtonWesthoughton is a town and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is southwest of Bolton and northwest of Manchester....
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ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
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ManchesterManchester city centre – known formally as City Centre – is the central business district of both Manchester and Greater Manchester, in North West England. The city centre, as defined by Manchester City Council, lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, straddling the River...
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BlackleyBlackley is an area of north Manchester, in North West England. It is about northeast of Manchester city centre, by a meander of the River Irk. To the north is Boggart Hole Clough and Middleton. Blackley is bisected by Rochdale Road, a major route to Manchester, and lies by the M60...
, Cheetham HillCheetham Hill is an inner city area of Manchester, England. As an electoral ward it is known as Cheetham and has a population of 12,846. It lies on the west bank of the River Irk, north-northeast of Manchester city centre and close to the boundary with the City of Salford...
, Chorlton-cum-HardyChorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of the city of Manchester, in North West England. It is known locally as Chorlton. It is situated about southwest of Manchester city centre. Pronunciation varies: "chórlton" and "chol'-on" are both common....
, DidsburyDidsbury is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre, in the southern half of the Greater Manchester Urban Area. It is a dormitory community with a resident population of just over...
, RingwayRingway is a civil parish on the southern border of the City of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England.It is the only civil parish in the city of Manchester, and was brought into the city in 1974 to bring the majority of the terminal and hangar areas of Manchester Airport...
, WithingtonWithington is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury, and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near the centre-to-south edges of the Greater Manchester Urban Area; in the...
, WythenshaweWythenshawe is a district in the south of the city of Manchester in North West England.Until 1931 the district formed a part of the administrative county of Cheshire....
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OldhamThe Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 219,600, and spans . The borough is named after its largest town, Oldham, but also includes the outlying towns of Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton, and Shaw and Crompton, the village of...
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OldhamOldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
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ChaddertonChadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire...
, Shaw and CromptonShaw and Crompton is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the Pennines, north of Oldham, southeast of Rochdale, and to the northeast of the city of Manchester...
, FailsworthFailsworth is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground, on the course of the Rochdale Canal and north bank of the River Medlock. It is west-northwest of Ashton-under-Lyne, south-southwest of Oldham and to the east-northeast of...
, LeesLees is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground on the east side of the River Medlock, east of Oldham, and east-northeast of Manchester...
, RoytonRoyton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies by the source of the River Irk, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines, north-northwest of Oldham, south-southeast of Rochdale and northeast of the city of Manchester.Historically a...
, SaddleworthSaddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills: Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle and others...
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RochdaleThe Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...
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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...
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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...
, Littleborough, MiddletonMiddleton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Irk, south-southeast of Rochdale, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester...
, MilnrowMilnrow is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal, east of Rochdale and north-northeast of the city of Manchester, in the foothills of the Pennines...
, NewheyNewhey is a village—effectively a suburb—within the Milnrow area of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England...
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SalfordThe City of Salford , is a local government district of Greater Manchester, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Swinton, Walkden, Eccles, and Irlam which apart from...
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SwintonSwinton is a town within the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on gently sloping ground on the southwest side of the River Irwell, and within the bounds of the orbital M60 motorway. It is west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester...
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Eccles Eccles 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...
, WalkdenWalkden is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester....
, WorsleyWorsley is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies along the course of Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. The M60 motorway bisects the area....
, Salford, IrlamIrlam is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground by the Manchester Ship Canal, west-southwest of Salford, west-southwest of Manchester and east-northeast of Warrington...
, PendleburyPendlebury is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies to the northwest of Manchester city centre, northwest of Salford, and southeast of Bolton....
, CadisheadCadishead is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, Cadishead is the most southwesterly settlement in the city of Salford.-History:...
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StockportThe Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centered around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
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StockportStockport is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground on the River Mersey at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Tame, southeast of the city of Manchester...
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BramhallBramhall is a suburb of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of around 55,953.Bramhall is regarded as a wealthy community and emerged on a Greater Manchester "rich list" as one of the most expensive places to buy a house in Stockport...
, BredburyBredbury is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England, located south east of Manchester, east of Stockport and south west of Hyde...
, CheadleCheadle is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester, England. It borders the districts of Cheadle Hulme, Gatley, Heald Green and Cheadle Heath in Stockport, and the Parrs Wood area of Manchester. As of 2001 it had a population of 14,261.-Early history:There has been...
, GatleyGatley is a suburban area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England.-Toponymy:In 1290, Gatley was known as Gateclyve, which in Old English means "a place where goats are kept".-Early history:...
, Hazel GroveHazel Grove is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is located close to the Peak District national park....
, MarpleMarple is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Goyt southeast of Stockport.Historically, but no longer part of Cheshire, Marple has a population of 23,480 ....
, RomileyRomiley is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It borders Marple, Bredbury and Woodley. In Roman times there is thought to have been a settlement along Sandy Lane...
WoodleyWoodley is a suburban area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, North West England. It lies on the east side of the Peak Forest Canal, next to the areas of Bredbury and Romiley...
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TamesideThe Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and consists of the eight towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge....
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Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
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AudenshawAudenshaw is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is located on the east side of the River Tame, along the course of both the M60 motorway and the Ashton Canal, southwest of Ashton-under-Lyne and east of the city of Manchester...
, DentonDenton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is five miles to the east of Manchester city centre, and has a population of 34,280....
, DroylsdenDroylsden is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is situated to the east of Manchester city centre, and west-southwest of Ashton-under-Lyne, it has a population of 23,172....
, DukinfieldDukinfield is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in central Tameside on the south bank of the River Tame, opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, and is east of the city of Manchester...
, HydeHyde is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2001 census, the town had a population of 31,253. Historically part of Cheshire, it is northwest of Stockport, west of Glossop and east of Manchester.-Medieval:...
, LongdendaleLongdendale is a valley in the north west of England, north of Glossop and south east of Holmfirth. The name means "long wooded valley".- Geography :...
, MossleyMossley is a small town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. The town is located in the upper section of the Tame valley in the foothills of the Pennines, northeast of Ashton-under-Lyne and east of Manchester.Mossley has the distinction of...
, StalybridgeStalybridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 22,568. Historically part of Cheshire, it is east of Manchester city centre and northwest of Glossop. With the construction of a cotton mill in 1776, Stalybridge became one of the...
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TraffordThe Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston....
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StretfordStretford is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Lying on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, it is to the southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Salford and northeast of Altrincham...
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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...
, BowdonBowdon is an affluent village and electoral ward in the Altrincham area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England.-History:...
, HaleHale is a village and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is contiguous with the southeast of Altrincham, approximately southwest of the city of Manchester....
, SaleSale is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, the town lies on flat ground on the south bank of the River Mersey, south of Stretford, northeast of Altrincham, and southwest of the city of Manchester...
, UrmstonUrmston is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of around 41,000. It lies about six miles to the southwest of Manchester city centre, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire...
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WiganThe Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...
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Wigan Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south of Preston, west-northwest of Manchester, and east-northeast of Liverpool. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre...
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AbramAbram is a village and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat land on the northeast bank of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, west of Leigh, southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester...
, Ashton-in-MakerfieldAshton-in-Makerfield is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in the historic Hundred of Makerfield, south of Wigan, north-northwest of Warrington, and west of the city of Manchester...
, Aspull, AstleyAstley is a large village and part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. It is situated eight miles west of Manchester, south of Tyldesley and east of the larger town of Leigh, where it straddles the busy East Lancashire Road, , a major thoroughfare linking Manchester...
, AthertonAtherton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is east of Wigan, north-northeast of Leigh and southwest of Bolton...
, BrynBryn is a component ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is part of the larger town of Ashton-in-Makerfield and is geographically indistinguishable from it. It forms a separate local council ward...
, GolborneGolborne is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England.It lies south-southeast of Wigan, northeast of Warrington and to the west of the city of Manchester...
, Higher EndHigher End or Billinge Higher End is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England.-Governance:Billinge lies within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire...
, HindleyHindley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Lying three miles east of Wigan it covers an area of 1044 hectares and is within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire...
, Ince-in-MakerfieldInce-in-Makerfield, usually known just as Ince is a district of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England.Ince is situated one mile from Wigan town centre and serves as a residential suburb of Wigan, being divided locally in to two separate areas - Higher Ince and Lower Ince...
, LeighLeigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is south east of Wigan, and west of Manchester. Leigh is situated on low lying land to the north west of Chat Moss....
, OrrellOrrell is a district of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. The area is situated to the west of Wigan town centre and today forms a predominantly residential suburb along with the adjoining area of Pemberton....
, ShevingtonShevington is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England.Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire, Shevington lies approximately from Wigan town centre and at the 2001 census had a population of 9,786.-Governance:Since local...
, StandishStandish is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is located on the A49 road between the towns of Chorley and Wigan, a short distance from Junction 27 of the M6 motorway....
, TyldesleyTyldesley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It occupies an area north of Chat Moss near the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, east-southeast of Wigan and west-northwest of the city of Manchester...
, WinstanleyWinstanley is a district of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. The area serves primarily as a residential suburb, and has a total population of 15,849.-Transport:...
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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...
is an area of land defined by 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:...
consisting of the large conurbation surrounding and including the City of Manchester. Its territory spans much, but not all of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester. It excludes settlements such as
WiganWigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south of Preston, west-northwest of Manchester, and east-northeast of Liverpool. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre...
and
MarpleMarple is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Goyt southeast of Stockport.Historically, but no longer part of Cheshire, Marple has a population of 23,480 ....
from within the Greater Manchester county boundaries (Wigan itself forming the
Wigan Urban AreaThe Wigan Urban Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics consisting of the built-up, or 'urbanised' area containing Wigan in Greater Manchester and Skelmersdale in West Lancashire....
), but includes some settlements which are outside of the county boundaries, such as
WilmslowWilmslow is a town in Cheshire, England. It lies to the south of the city of Manchester between Alderley Edge and Handforth. At the 2001 Census, the population of the town was 30,326....
and
Alderley EdgeAlderley Edge is a village and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,409....
in
CheshireCheshire ; also known, archaically, as the County of Chester) is a ceremonial county in North West England. The traditional county town is the city of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Widnes, Runcorn, Macclesfield,...
, and
WhitworthWhitworth is a town and civil parish within the Borough of Rossendale in Lancashire, England. It is set amongst the foothills of the Pennines, between the towns of Bacup, to the north, and Rochdale, to the south. It has a population of 7,263....
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. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
. Although neither the Greater Manchester county, nor 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...
have been granted
city status in the United KingdomCity status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
,
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
literature suggests that the conurbation surrounding Manchester constitutes a homogonous urban
city regionThe term city region has been in use since about 1950 by urbanists, economists and urban planners to mean not just the administrative area of a recognisable city or conurbation but also its hinterland that will often be far bigger...
.
Climate
Greater Manchester experiences a temperate
maritime climateAn oceanic climate is the climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of all the world's continents, and in southeastern Australia...
, like most of the
British IslesThe British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include Great Britain, Ireland and numerous smaller islands. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Ireland...
, with relatively cool summers and mild winters. The county's average annual rainfall is compared to the UK average of , and its mean rain days are per annum, compared to the UK average of . The mean temperature is slightly above average for the United Kingdom. Greater Manchester also has a relatively high humidity level, which lent itself to the optimised and breakage-free textile manufacturing which took place around the county. Snowfall is not a common sight in the built up areas, due to the
urban warmingUrban climate refers to climatic conditions in an urban area that differ from neighboring rural areas and are attributable to urban development. Urbanization tremendously changes the form of the landscape and also produces changes in an area's air....
effect. However, the Pennine and
Rossendale ForestThe Rossendale Forest is the area of hills in Lancashire, England between the Manchester basin and the upper Ribble valley. Despite its name it is largely open country and moorland....
hills around the eastern and northern edges of the county receive more snow, and roads leading out of the county can be closed due to heavy snowfall, notably the
A62 roadThe A62 is a major road in England that runs between the two major cities of Manchester and Leeds.The road is approximately 40 miles long. It runs north east from Manchester through Failsworth and Oldham then Saddleworth before crossing the Pennines at Standedge into West Yorkshire. Continuing...
via
StandedgeStandedge is a moorland escarpment in the Pennine Hills of northern England. Located between Marsden and Diggle, on the edges of the metropolitan counties of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester respectively, Standedge has been a major moorland crossing point since Roman times and possibly...
, the
A57The A57 is a major road in England. It runs east from Liverpool to Lincoln, via Warrington, Irlam, Eccles, Salford and Manchester, then through the Pennines over the Snake Pass , around the Ladybower Reservoir, through Sheffield and past Worksop.Within Manchester a short stretch becomes the A57...
(
Snake PassThe Snake Pass is the name given to the higher reaches of the A57 road where it crosses the Peak District between Manchester and Sheffield in the north of England....
) towards
SheffieldSheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city has grown from its largely industrial roots to encompass a wider economic base...
, and the
M62The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...
over
Saddleworth MoorSaddleworth Moor is an area of the South Pennines in northern England. It is a sparsely populated moorland and millstone grit divided between the metropolian boroughs of Oldham and Kirklees, in Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire respectively....
.
Governance
Greater Manchester is divided into 28
parliamentary constituenciesIn the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly....
– 18 borough constituencies and 10 county constituencies. Most of Greater Manchester is controlled by the
Labour partyThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
, and is generally considered a Labour stronghold, with only four constituencies (since the
2005 General ElectionThe United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect members to the House of Commons.The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a reduced overall majority of 66 and they failed to gain any new seats...
) belonging to the
Liberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems or just Liberals, are a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party; the two parties had been in alliance for seven years, from shortly after the formation of...
, and one constituency to the
Conservative partyThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
. Local governance in Greater Manchester is currently provided by the councils of ten
districtsThe districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the structure of local government in England is not uniform, there are currently four principle types of district level subdivision. They are London boroughs, metropolitan...
, known as
metropolitan boroughA metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...
s, these are:
BoltonThe Metropolitan Borough of Bolton is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest town Bolton, but covers a far larger area including six smaller towns and a number of villages around the West Pennine Moors.-Creation:...
,
BuryThe Metropolitan borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in the northwest of England. Lying to the north of the City of Manchester, the borough consists of six towns: Bury, Ramsbottom, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich, and has a population of 181,900...
, the
City of ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
,
OldhamThe Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 219,600, and spans . The borough is named after its largest town, Oldham, but also includes the outlying towns of Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton, and Shaw and Crompton, the village of...
,
RochdaleThe Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...
, the
City of SalfordThe City of Salford , is a local government district of Greater Manchester, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Swinton, Walkden, Eccles, and Irlam which apart from...
,
StockportThe Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centered around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
,
TamesideThe Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and consists of the eight towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge....
,
TraffordThe Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston....
and
WiganThe Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...
.
Eight of the ten metropolitan boroughs of Greater Manchester are named after the eight former county boroughs that now compose the largest centres of population and greater historical and political prominence. As an example, the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is centred on the town of
StockportStockport is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground on the River Mersey at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Tame, southeast of the city of Manchester...
, a former county borough, but includes other smaller settlements, such as
CheadleCheadle is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester, England. It borders the districts of Cheadle Hulme, Gatley, Heald Green and Cheadle Heath in Stockport, and the Parrs Wood area of Manchester. As of 2001 it had a population of 14,261.-Early history:There has been...
,
GatleyGatley is a suburban area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England.-Toponymy:In 1290, Gatley was known as Gateclyve, which in Old English means "a place where goats are kept".-Early history:...
, and
BramhallBramhall is a suburb of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of around 55,953.Bramhall is regarded as a wealthy community and emerged on a Greater Manchester "rich list" as one of the most expensive places to buy a house in Stockport...
. The names of two of the metropolitan boroughs were given a neutral name because, at the time they were created, there was no agreement on the town to be put forward as the administrative centre and neither had 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. The Local Government Act 1972 abolished them in England and Wales, but they are still used in the Republic of Ireland and Northern...
. These boroughs are
TamesideThe Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and consists of the eight towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge....
and
TraffordThe Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston....
, centred on
Ashton-under-LyneAshton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
and
StretfordStretford is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Lying on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, it is to the southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Salford and northeast of Altrincham...
, respectively, and are named with reference to geographical and historical origins.
For the first 12 years after the county was created in 1974, the county had a two-tier system of local government, and the metropolitan borough councils shared power with the
Greater Manchester County CouncilThe Greater Manchester County Council was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England...
. The Greater Manchester County Council, a strategic authority running regional services such as transport, strategic planning, emergency services and waste disposal, comprised 106 members drawn from the ten
metropolitan boroughA metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...
s of Greater Manchester. However in 1986, along with the five other
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...
councils and the
Greater London CouncilThe Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area.-Creation:...
, the Greater Manchester County Council was abolished, and most of its powers were devolved to the boroughs. Various
civil parishIn England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and in some places the lowest tier of local government, below districts and counties. A civil parish can alternatively be known as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council; and in a limited number of...
es exist in certain parts of Greater Manchester.
Although the
county councilA county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
, which was based in what is now Westminster House off
Piccadilly GardensPiccadilly Gardens is a green space in Manchester city centre, England, situated at one end of Market Street and on the edge of the Northern Quarter...
, has been abolished, a number of local government functions take place at the county level. That eight of the ten borough councils have (for the most part) been
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
-controlled since 1986, has helped maintain informal co-operation between the districts at a county-level. However, the ten authorities of Greater Manchester co-operate formally through the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA), which meets to create a co-ordinated county-wide approach to many issues. The AGMA funds some county-wide bodies such as the
Greater Manchester County Record OfficeThe Greater Manchester County Record Office, is located in Manchester, in North West England. Opened in 1976, its main function is to collect, store, and make available for research the written heritage of the Greater Manchester, including census and General Register Office index material.There are...
. Through the AGMA, the ten authorities of Greater Manchester co-operate on many policy issues, including county-wide
Local Transport PlanLocal transport plans, divided into full local transport plans and local implementation plans for transport are an important part of transport planning in England...
s. Some local services are provided county-wide, administered by statutory joint boards. These are
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport ExecutiveThe Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive is the public body responsible for co-ordinating public transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England....
, (GMPTE) which is responsible for planning and co-ordinating
public transportPublic transport comprises passenger transportation services which are available for use by the general public, as opposed to modes for private use such as automobiles or vehicles for hire.Public transport services are usually funded by fares charged to each passenger, with varying levels of subsidy...
across the county; the
Greater Manchester PoliceGreater Manchester Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, in North West England....
, who are overseen by a joint
Police authorityA police authority in the United Kingdom, is a body charged with securing efficient and effective policing of a police area served by a territorial police force or the area and/or activity policed by a special police force...
; the
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue ServiceThe Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is the county-wide, statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England....
, who are administered by a joint "Fire and Rescue Authority"; and the
Greater Manchester Waste Disposal AuthorityThe Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority is a waste disposal authority created under the Local Government Act 1985 to carry out the waste management functions and duties of the Greater Manchester County Council after its abolition in 1986....
. These joint boards are made up of councillors appointed from each of the ten boroughs (except the Waste Disposal Authority, which does not include the
Metropolitan Borough of WiganThe Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...
). The ten boroughs jointly own the
Manchester Airport GroupThe Manchester Airports Group plc is a holding company owned by the ten metropolitan borough councils of Greater Manchester, in North West England...
which controls Manchester Airport and three other UK airports. Other services are directly funded and managed by the local councils.
Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county with its own Lord-Lieutenant who is the personal representative of the monarch. The Local Government Act 1972 provided that the whole of the area to be covered by the new metropolitan county of Greater Manchester would also be included in the
Duchy of LancasterThe Duchy of Lancaster is one of the two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Cornwall, which are the personal property of the monarch. It consists of 46,200 acres , including key urban developments, historic buildings, and farm land in many parts of England and Wales, as well...
– extending the duchy to include areas which were formerly in the counties of Cheshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. Until 31 March 2005, Greater Manchester's Keeper of the Rolls was appointed by the
Chancellor of the Duchy of LancasterThe Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a sinecure office in the government of the United Kingdom.-History:Originally he was the chief officer in the daily management of the Duchy of Lancaster , but that estate is now run by a deputy, leaving the position of Chancellor to...
; they are now appointed by the
Lord High Chancellor of Great BritainThe Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
. The first Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester was Sir William Downward who held the title from 1974 to 1988. The current Lord Lieutenant is Warren James Smith. As a geographic county, Greater Manchester is used by the government (via 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:...
) for the gathering of county-wide statistics, and organising and collating general register and census material.
Demography
Greater Manchester has a population of 2,553,800 (as of 2006), making it the
third most populous county in the United Kingdom (after
Greater LondonGreater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The administrative area was officially created in 1965 and covers the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and thirty two London boroughs...
and the
West MidlandsThe West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a population of 2,591,300. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire...
). It is the seventh most densely populated county of England. The
demonymA demonym, also referred to as a gentilic, is a name for a resident of a locality which is derived from the name of the particular locality. The word demonym comes from the Greek word for "populace" with the suffix for "name"...
of Greater Manchester is "Greater Mancunian".
Greater Manchester is home to a diverse population and is a multicultural agglomeration with significant ethnic minority population comprising 8.49% of the total population. There are currently over 66 refugee nationalities in the county. As of the 2001 UK census, 74.2% of Greater Manchester's residents were Christian, 5.0% Muslim, 0.9% Jewish, 0.7% Hindu, 0.2% Buddhist, and 0.1% Sikh. 11.4% had no religion, 0.2% had an alternative religion and 7.4% did not state their religion. This is similar to the rest of the country, although the proportions of Muslims and Jews are nearly twice the national average. Greater Manchester is covered by the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Salford and Shrewsbury, and the Archdiocese of Liverpool. Most of Greater Manchester is part of the
Anglican Diocese of ManchesterThe Diocese of Manchester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York, England. Based in the city of Manchester, the diocese covers much of the county of Greater Manchester and small areas of the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.-History:...
, apart from
WiganThe Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...
which lies within the
Diocese of LiverpoolThe Diocese of Liverpool is a Church of England diocese based in Liverpool, covering Merseyside north of the River Mersey along with West Lancashire, Wigan in Greater Manchester, Warrington and Widnes in Cheshire...
.
Following the deindustrialisation of Greater Manchester in the mid-20th century, there was a significant economic and population decline in the region, particularly in Manchester and Salford. Vast areas of low-quality squalid terraced housing that were built throughout the
Victorian eraThe Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements...
were found to be in a poor state of repair and unsuited to modern needs; many inner-city districts suffered from chronic social deprivation and high levels of unemployment.
Slum clearanceUrban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of reconstruction...
and the increased building of
social housingPublic housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by not-for-profit organizations, or by a combination of...
overspill estateAn overspill estate is a housing estate planned and built for the rehousing of people from decaying inner city areas usually as part of the process of slum clearance....
s by Salford and Manchester City Councils lead to a decrease in population in central Greater Manchester. During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the population of Greater Manchester declined by over 8,000 inhabitants a year. While the population of the City of Manchester shrank by about 40% during this time (from 766,311 in 1931 to 452,000 in 2006), the total population of Greater Manchester only decreased by 8%.
| Population totals for Greater Manchester |
| Year |
Population |
Year |
Population |
Year |
Population |
| 1801 |
328,609 |
|
1871 |
1,590,102 |
|
1941 |
2,693,775 |
| 1811 |
409,464 |
1881 |
1,866,649 |
1951 |
2,688,987 |
| 1821 |
526,230 |
1891 |
2,125,318 |
1961 |
2,699,711 |
| 1831 |
700,486 |
1901 |
2,357,150 |
1971 |
2,729,741 |
| 1841 |
860,413 |
1911 |
2,617,598 |
1981 |
2,575,441 |
| 1851 |
1,037,001 |
1921 |
2,660,088 |
1991 |
2,569,700 |
| 1861 |
1,313,550 |
1931 |
2,707,070 |
2001 |
2,482,352 |
Pre-1974 statistics were gathered from local government areas that now comprise Greater Manchester
Source: Great Britain Historical GISThe Great Britain Historical GIS , is a spatially-enabled database that documents and visualises the changing human geography of the British Isles, although is primarily focussed on the subdivisions of the United Kingdom mainly over the 200 years since the first census in 1801...
. |
Greater Manchester's housing stock comprises a variety of types.
Manchester city centreManchester city centre – known formally as City Centre – is the central business district of both Manchester and Greater Manchester, in North West England. The city centre, as defined by Manchester City Council, lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, straddling the River...
is noted for its high-rise apartments, while Salford has some of the tallest and most
densely populatedPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
tower blockA Tower block, Apartment tower, or Apartment block, Block of flats, is a multi-unit high-rise Apartment building. In some areas they may be referred to as "MDU" standing for "Multi Dwelling Unit". Apartment blocks have technical and economic advantages in areas with high population density...
estates in Europe. Throughout Greater Manchester, rows of
terraced houseIn architecture and city planning, a terrace or row house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
s are common, most of them built during the
VictorianThe Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements...
and
Edwardian periodThe Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period covering the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910.The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 and the succession of her son, Edward, marked the start of a new century and the end of the Victorian period...
s. The
Housing Market Renewal InitiativeThe Housing Market Renewal Initiative is a package of policies in the United Kingdom aimed to improve housing in England. HMRI is also referred to as Pathfinder...
has identified
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
, Salford,
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
OldhamOldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
as areas with terraced housing unsuited to modern needs. Although Greater Manchester has a reputation as an urban sprawl, the county does have areas of
green beltA green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...
.
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...
, with its neighbours
BowdonBowdon is an affluent village and electoral ward in the Altrincham area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England.-History:...
and
HaleHale is a village and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is contiguous with the southeast of Altrincham, approximately southwest of the city of Manchester....
, is said to constitute a "stockbroker belt, with well-appointed dwellings in an area of sylvan opulence".
Education
Greater Manchester has four universities: the
University of ManchesterThe University of Manchester is a "red brick" civic university located in Manchester, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration...
,
Manchester Metropolitan UniversityManchester Metropolitan University is a university based in the city of Manchester, England and Cheshire, United Kingdom. It is the fifth largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers.- History :...
,
University of SalfordThe University of Salford is a plate glass university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students...
and the
University of BoltonThe University of Bolton is a university in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England.-History:...
, Together with the
Royal Northern College of MusicThe Royal Northern College of Music or RNCM is a conservatoire in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, and is at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester. In addition to being a centre of education, the RNCM also functions as an arts centre...
they had a combined population of students in higher education of 101,165 in 2007 – the third highest number in England behind Greater London (360,890) and the
West MidlandsThe West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a population of 2,591,300. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire...
(140,980), and the thirteenth highest in England per head of population. The majority of students are concentrated on
Oxford RoadWilmslow Road is a major thoroughfare in Manchester, England, running from Parrs Wood to Manchester City Centre. Its name changes to Oxford Road at Whitworth Park, north of Rusholme, and changes again, to Oxford Street, when it reaches the city centre.The road runs through the centres of Didsbury,...
in Manchester, Europe's largest urban higher education precinct.
Primary, secondary and further education within Greater Manchester are the responsibility of the constituent boroughs which form
local education authoritiesA Local Education Authority was the part of a local council, or local authority , in England and Wales that was responsible for education within that council's jurisdiction...
and administer schools and colleges of further education. The county is also home to a number of
independent schoolAn independent school is a school which is independent in terms of its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some...
s such as
St Bede's CollegeThere are several schools named St Bede's College, including:*St Bede's College, Christchurch, New Zealand*St Bede's Catholic College, Bristol, England*St Bede's College, Manchester, England*St Bede's College , Australia...
,
Manchester Grammar SchoolThe Manchester Grammar School is the largest independent day school for boys in the UK . It is based in Manchester, England...
,
Bolton SchoolBolton School is an independent school in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in the North-West of England.-History:Established as Bolton Grammar School, it is not known exactly when the Boys' School was founded, though it is recorded as being a 'going concern' as early as 1516...
and
Bury Grammar SchoolBury Grammar School is an independent grammar school in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, that has existed since c.1570. The current headmaster is the Reverend Steven Harvey MA. The previous headmaster, Keith Richards MA, retired after sixteen years of headmastership on 7th April 2006...
.
Economy
Much of Greater Manchester's wealth was generated during the Industrial Revolution. The world's first
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....
was built in the town of
RoytonRoyton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies by the source of the River Irk, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines, north-northwest of Oldham, south-southeast of Rochdale and northeast of the city of Manchester.Historically a...
, and the county encompasses several former
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:...
s. An
Association for Industrial ArchaeologyThe Association for Industrial Archaeology, or AIA, is a body supporting the excavation, reporting and preservation of the physical remains of the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom. The AIA has its offices at the University of Leicester and is currently chaired by Prof. Marilyn Palmer.-...
publication describes Greater Manchester as "one of the classic areas of industrial and urban growth in Britain, the result of a combination of forces that came together in the 18th and 19th centuries: a phenomenal rise in population, the appearance of the specialist industrial town, a transport revolution, and weak local lordship". Much of the county was at the forefront of
textile manufacture during the Industrial RevolutionWith the establishment of overseas colonies, the British Empire at the end of the 17th century/beginning of the 18th century had a vast source of raw materials and a vast market for manufactured goods...
and into the early 20th century, represented by the former textile mills found throughout the county.
The territory that makes up Greater Manchester experienced a rapid decline of these traditional sectors, partly during the Lancashire Cotton famine brought on by the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
, but mainly as part of the
post-war economic depressionThe Great Depression in the United Kingdom, also known as the Great Slump, was a period of national economic downturn in the 1930s, which had its origins in the global Great Depression...
and deindustrialisation of Britain that occurred during the 20th century. Considerable industrial restructuring has helped the region to recover. Historically, the docks at
Salford QuaysSalford Quays is an area of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Salford Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom following the closure of the dockyards in 1982.In 2007 it was...
were an industrial port, though are now (following a period of disuse) a commercial and residential area which includes the
Imperial War Museum NorthImperial War Museum North is a museum in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom. One of the five branches of the Imperial War Museum, the museum explores the impact of modern conflicts on people and society. It is the first branch of the Imperial War Museum to be located in the north of England...
and
The LowryThe Lowry is a combined theatre and gallery complex situated in Salford Quays, in Salford, England. It is named after the early 20th-Century painter, L.S. Lowry, known for this paintings of industrial scenes in North-West England....
theatre and exhibition centre. A major
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
centre is also scheduled to open there in 2010.
Today, Greater Manchester is the economic centre of the
North WestNorth West England is one of the nine official regions of England. It has a population of 6,853,200 and comprises five counties of England – Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and Cheshire....
region of England and is the largest sub-regional economy in the UK outside London and
South East EnglandSouth East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. Its boundaries include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
. Greater Manchester represents more than £42 billion of the UK regional
GVAA variety of measures of national income and output are used in economics to estimate total economic activity in a country or region, including gross domestic product , gross national product , and net national income ....
, more than Wales, Northern Ireland or
North East EnglandNorth-East England is one of the nine official regions of England and comprises the combined area of Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Tees Valley. The historic name for North-East England is Northumbria and whilst a few regional bodies still use this name, it is rarely used in...
.
Manchester city centreManchester city centre – known formally as City Centre – is the central business district of both Manchester and Greater Manchester, in North West England. The city centre, as defined by Manchester City Council, lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, straddling the River...
, the central business district of Greater Manchester, is a major centre of trade and commerce and provides Greater Manchester with a global identity, specialist activities and employment opportunities; similarly, the economy of the city centre is dependent upon the rest of the county for its population as an employment pool, skilled workforce and for its collective purchasing power. Manchester today is a centre of the arts, the media, higher education and commerce. In a poll of British business leaders published in 2006, Manchester was regarded as the best place in the UK to locate a business. A report commissioned by Manchester Partnership, published in 2007, showed Manchester to be the "fastest-growing city" economically. It is the third most visited city in the United Kingdom by foreign visitors and is now often considered to be the
second city of the UKThe identity of the second city of the United Kingdom is a subject of some disagreement. A country's second city is the city that is thought to be the second most important, usually after the capital or first city , according to criteria such as population size, economic and commercial importance,...
.• Retrieved on 30 May 2008.
• Retrieved on 1 August 2007.
• Retrieved on 2 May 2006.
• Retrieved on 18 June 2007.
• Retrieved on 18 June 2007. The
Trafford CentreThe Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre located in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. The planning process for the Trafford Centre was one of the longest and most expensive in the history of the United Kingdom...
is one of the
largest shopping centres in the United Kingdom, and is located within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford.
As of the 2001 UK census, there were 1,805,315 residents of Greater Manchester aged 16 to 74. The economic activity of these people was 40.3% in full-time employment, 11.3% in part-time employment, 6.7% self-employed, 3.5% unemployed, 5.1% students without jobs, 2.6% students with jobs, 13.0% retired, 6.1% looking after home or family, 7.8% permanently sick or disabled and 3.5% economically inactive for other reasons. The figures follow the national trend, although the percentage of self-employed people is below the national average of 8.3%. The proportion of unemployment in the county varies, with the
Metropolitan Borough of StockportThe Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centered around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
having the lowest at 2.0% and the City of Manchester the highest at 7.9%. In 2001, of the 1,093,385 residents of Greater Manchester in employment, the industry of employment was: 18.4% retail and wholesale; 16.7% manufacturing; 11.8% property and business services; 11.6% health and social work; 8.0% education; 7.3% transport and communications; 6.7% construction; 4.9% public administration and defence; 4.7% hotels and restaurants; 4.1% finance; 0.8% electricity, gas, and water supply; 0.5% agriculture; and 4.5% other. This was roughly in line with national figures, except for the proportion of jobs in agriculture which is only about a third of the national average of 1.5%, due to the overwhelmingly urban, built-up land use of Greater Manchester.
| Regional gross value added by the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester at current basic prices. Figures are in millions of British pounds sterling. |
| Year |
|
|
|
|
| 1995 |
25,368 |
59 |
8,344 |
16,966 |
| 2000 |
32,995 |
38 |
8,817 |
24,140 |
| 2003 |
38,300 |
48 |
8,973 |
29,279 |
| 2005 |
42,082 |
— |
—— |
——– |
- Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
- Includes hunting and forestry
- Includes energy and construction
- Includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Transport
Public transport services in Greater Manchester are co-ordinated by the
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport ExecutiveThe Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive is the public body responsible for co-ordinating public transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England....
(GMPTE), a public body (
Passenger Transport ExecutiveIn the United Kingdom, passenger transport executives are local government bodies which are responsible for public transport within large urban areas...
) established as SELNEC PTE in 1969 in accordance with the
Transport Act 1968The Transport Act 1968 was an act of the parliament of the United Kingdom. The main provisions made changes to the structure of nationally owned bus companies, created passenger transport authorities and executives to take over public transport in large conurbations.-National Bus Company:The Act...
. The original SELNEC Passenger Transport Authority was taken over by the
Greater Manchester County CouncilThe Greater Manchester County Council was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England...
on 1 April 1974 in order to co-ordinate bus and rail services within the new county. The council had overall responsibility for strategic planning and all policy decisions covering public transport and highways. GMPTE's purpose was to secure the provision of a completely integrated and efficient system of passenger transport to meet the needs of its area. In 1977, it was noted as the largest authority for public transport in the United Kingdom after
London TransportLondon's transport forms the hub of the road, rail and air networks in the United Kingdom. It has its own dense and extensive internal private and public transport networks, as well as providing a focal point for the national road and railway networks...
.
Greater Manchester lies at the heart of the
North WestNorth West England is one of the nine official regions of England. It has a population of 6,853,200 and comprises five counties of England – Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and Cheshire....
transport network. Much of the infrastructure is centred on the
City of ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
with the
Manchester Inner Ring RoadManchester and Salford Inner Relief Route is a Ring Road in Greater Manchester, England. It is the product of the amalgamation of several major roads around the city centres of Manchester and Salford to form a ring...
, an amalgamation of several major roads, circulating the city centre. The county is the only place in the UK to have a fully
orbital motorwayA beltway, loop , ring road, or orbital motorway is a circumferential highway found around or within many cities....
, the
M60The M60 motorway is an orbital motorway circling Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It passes through all Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolton. Most of the City of Manchester is encompassed within the motorway, except for the...
, which passes through all of the boroughs except Bolton and Wigan. Greater Manchester has a higher percentage of the
motorwayThe OECD has defined a motorway as:Motorways are identical to freeways as a road type, and comparable to the United States's Interstate Highways as a classification....
network than any other county in the country, and according to the Guinness Book of World Records, it has the most traffic lanes side by side (17), spread across several parallel carriageways (
M61The M61 motorway is a motorway in north-west England. It runs from the M60 motorway north-west of Manchester, heading north-west past Bolton and Chorley to join the M6 just north of the junction between the M6 and M65 motorways to the south of Preston....
at
LinnyshawLinnyshaw is an area of Walkden, a town in the City of Salford district of Greater Manchester, England. It lies in the northeast of Walkden, immediately south of junction 2 of the M61 motorway. The area is predominantly moss and there is a very small population. Linnyshaw lies entirely within the...
in
WalkdenWalkden is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester....
, close to the M60 interchange). Greater Manchester's of motorway network saw 5.8 billion vehicle kilometres in 2002 – about 6% of the UK's total, or 89,000 vehicles a day. The
A580 "East Lancs" roadThe A580 is a primary A road in England that connects Manchester and Liverpool and known officially along its entire length as the East Lancashire Road) The road was designed and built to provide better access to the Port of Liverpool for East Lancashire and Manchester...
is a primary
A roadThe Great Britain road numbering scheme is a numbering system used to classify and identify all roads in Great Britain. Each road is given a single letter, which represents the road's category, and a subsequent number, with a length of between 1 and 4 digits. Originally introduced to arrange...
that connects Manchester and Salford with
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...
. It was the UK's first purpose-built intercity highway and was officially opened by
King George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
on 18 July 1934. Throughout 2008, there were proposals for
congestion charging in Greater ManchesterProposals for congestion charging in Greater Manchester , were part of a bid to the Government's Transport Innovation Fund for a £3 billion package of transport funding and the introduction of a road congestion charge for Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England...
. Unlike the
London schemeThe London congestion charge is a fee for some motorists travelling within those parts of London designated as the Congestion Charge Zone . The main objectives of this charge are to reduce congestion, and to raise funds for investment in London's transport system...
, two cordons would have been used, one covering the main urban core 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...
and another covering Manchester city centre.
There is an extensive bus network which radiates from Manchester city centre. The largest providers are
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...
for the northern parts of the county and Stagecoach Manchester for the southern parts. In addition to the network of bus routes, a light rail system began operating in 1992 called
Manchester MetrolinkManchester Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of three lines which converge in Manchester city centre and serve the surrounding towns of Bury, Altrincham and Eccles...
. The tram system serves the City of Manchester,
City of SalfordThe City of Salford , is a local government district of Greater Manchester, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Swinton, Walkden, Eccles, and Irlam which apart from...
,
BuryBury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester. Bury is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, of which Bury is the...
and
TraffordThe Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston....
. An expansion of the system is due to begin in 2008 which will see the system run to all boroughs except Bolton and Wigan. Greater Manchester has a rail network of 142 route miles (229 km) with
98 stations, forming a central hub to the North West rail network. Train services are provided by private operators and run on the national rail network which is owned and managed by
Network RailNetwork Rail owns and operates Britain’s rail infrastructure. It is a British "not for dividend" company limited by guarantee whose principal asset is Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, a company limited by shares....
. An extensive canal network also remains from the Industrial Revolution.
Manchester Airport, which is the fourth busiest in the United Kingdom, serves the county with flights to more worldwide destinations than any other airport in the UK: since June 2007 it has served 225 routes. The airport handled 21.06 million passengers in 2008.
The three modes of public surface transport in the area are heavily used. 19.7 million rail journeys were made in the GMPTE-supported area in the 2005/2006 financial year – an increase of 9.4% over 2004/2005; there were 19.9 million journeys on Metrolink; and the bus system carried 219.4 million passengers.
Sports
Manchester hosted the
2002 Commonwealth GamesThe 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in England, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
which was, at a cost of £200M for the sporting facilities and a further £470M for local infrastructure, by far the biggest and most expensive sporting event held in the UK and the first to be an integral part of urban regeneration. A mix of new and existing facilities were used. New amenities included the
Manchester Aquatics CentreThe Manchester Aquatics Centre is a public aquatics sports facility south of the centre of Manchester, England, north of the main buildings of the University of Manchester, and near the Manchester Metropolitan University. It was purpose–built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and cost £32 million to...
,
Bolton ArenaThe Bolton Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena, located on the boundary between Horwich and Lostock in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England....
, the
National Squash CentreThe National Squash Centre is part of the Sportcity complex in Eastlands, Manchester, England which was constructed for the 2002 Commonwealth Games....
, and the
City of Manchester StadiumThe City of Manchester Stadium, also known as COMS or Eastlands, is a stadium in Manchester, England. Originally designed as part of Manchester's failed bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics, the stadium was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games at a cost of £110 million...
. The
Manchester VelodromeManchester Velodrome is an indoor cycle-racing track in Manchester, in the north west of England. It opened in September 1994 and is the United Kingdom's leading indoor Olympic-standard track. Today it is home to the National Cycling Centre, and the headquarters of British Cycling, the national...
was built as part of the bid to hold the 2000 Olympic Games. After the Commonwealth Games the City of Manchester Stadium was converted for football use, and the adjacent warm-up track upgraded to become the
Manchester Regional ArenaThe Manchester Regional Arena is a multipurpose stadium in Manchester, United Kingdom primarily used for athletics and football. It was originally developed as the warm-up track for the 2002 Commonwealth Games held at the adjacent City of Manchester Stadium. It has hosted the AAA Championships...
. Other facilities continue to be used by elite athletes. The net amount of regeneration to the area is not easy to quantify. Cambridge Policy Consultants estimate 4,500 full-time jobs as a direct consequence, and Grattan points to other long-term benefits accruing from publicity and the improvement of the area's image.
In
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
, four Greater Manchester teams will play in the 2008–09 Premier League.
Manchester United F.C.Manchester United Football Club is an English football club, one of the most popular football clubs in the world, based at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester. The club was a founding member of the Premier League in 1992, and has played in the top division of English football since 1938, with the...
are one of the world's best-known football teams, and in April 2008
ForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, Forbes magazine, is published fortnightly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published fortnightly, and Business Week...
estimated that they were also the world's richest club. They are the current Premier League and Carling Cup champions, have won the
league championshipThe English football champions are the winners of the highest league in English football, which is currently the Premier League. Teams in bold are those who won the double of League Championship and FA Cup, or the European Double of League Championship and European Cup in that season.Following the...
eighteen times, the
FA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association. The name "FA Cup" usually refers to the English men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held...
a record eleven times and have been European champions three times. Their
Old TraffordOld Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
ground has hosted the
FA Cup FinalThe FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just The Cup Final is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the second best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the best attended...
and international matches.
Manchester City F.C.Manchester City Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Manchester. The team is currently a member of the Premier League.The first known competitive fixture was played in November 1880, when the side was known as St...
moved from
Maine RoadMaine Road was a large football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England. It was home to Manchester City F.C. from its construction in 1923 until 2003. It takes its name from the street it was built on which, in itself, had a remarkable history. The street was originally known as Dog Kennel Lane...
to the City of Manchester Stadium after the 2002 Commonwealth Games. They have won the league championship twice and the FA Cup four times.
Bolton Wanderers F.C.Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football club based in Horwich, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. They are currently in the Premier League....
have won the FA cup four times.
Wigan Athletic F.C. Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional football team based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. They compete in the Premier League, in which they have been playing since their promotion from the Football League in 2005...
are one of the league's younger sides, and have yet to win a major title. In addition,
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.Oldham Athletic Association Football Club Limited , more commonly Oldham Athletic Football Club or Oldham Athletic, is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Furtherwood Road in Oldham, Greater Manchester...
and
Stockport County F.C.Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football pyramid. Their home stadium is Edgeley Park...
, will play in
League OneFootball League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
;
Bury F.C.Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team play in League Two. 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 born in Rochdale.-Formation of the club...
(two FA Cup wins) and
Rochdale A.F.C.Rochdale Association Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium and are currently managed by Keith Hill...
will play in
League TwoFootball League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
.
In
rugby leagueRugby league football is a full-contact form of football, played with a prolate spheroid ball by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. Rugby league is one of the two codes of rugby football, the other being rugby union...
, the
Wigan WarriorsWigan Warriors Rugby League Football Club is a professional rugby league football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The first team competes in Europe's engage Super League competition, playing its home matches at the DW Stadium, Wigan....
and the
Salford City RedsSalford City Reds is a professional rugby league club based in Salford in Greater Manchester, England. They play in the European Super League....
compete in the
Super LeagueSuper League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition of Europe. As a result of sponsorship from Engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the Engage Super League...
; Wigan have won the Super League/
ChampionshipThe Rugby Football League Championship was the major professional competition organised by the Rugby Football League in Great Britain. Since 1996 it has been superseded by the Super League and the Rugby League National Leagues...
eighteen times, the
Challenge CupThe Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs in Europe, organised by the Rugby Football League...
seventeen times, and the
World Club ChallengeThe World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league football match held between the champions of the Australasian National Rugby League and the European Super League competitions to determine the world's best rugby league club...
three times.
Leigh CenturionsLeigh Centurions are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Lancashire, England. They were relegated from Super League at the end of the 2005 season to the Co-operative Championship...
and the
Rochdale HornetsRochdale Hornets is an English professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. They currently play in Co-operative Championship 1...
take part in
National League OneThe Rugby League Championship was formerly the National League One. With the inclusion of a French team in 2009 it has taken a more European dimension and has changed its denomination...
, with
Oldham RoughyedsOldham Roughyeds are a English professional rugby league club, currently playing in the Co-operative Championship 1. They are based in Oldham in Greater Manchester....
and local rivals
Swinton LionsSwinton Lions is a British professional rugby league club from Swinton and Pendlebury, Greater Manchester, England. The club has an impressive record in rugby league considering the size of the town with six Championships and three Challenge Cup wins....
in National League Two.
In
rugby unionRugby union is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, 100 m...
, Stockport's
Sale SharksSale Sharks are a professional rugby union team who play in England in the Guinness Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale F.C., which is based in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the process of...
compete in the
Guinness PremiershipThe English Premiership is a professional league competition for rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system. There are, at present, twelve clubs in the Premiership...
, and won the league in 2006. Whitefield based
Sedgley Park RUFCSedgley Park Rugby Union Football Club, or simply the Sedgley Tigers, are a rugby union club based in Whitefield, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester. They currently play in National Division One, the second tier of the English rugby union league hierarchy...
compete in
National Division OneNational Division One, , is the third level of domestic rugby union competition in England.This is the lowest level of the English rugby union league system which is nationwide...
,
Manchester RUFCManchester Rugby Club, formerly known as Manchester Football Club, are one of the oldest rugby union teams in existence, having been founded in 1860, 11 years before the RFU....
in
National Division TwoNational Division Two, to be known from September 2009 as National League 1, is the third level of domestic rugby union competition in England.This is the lowest level of the English rugby union league system which is nationwide...
and Wigan side Orrell RUFC in
National Division Three NorthNational Division Three North, . The league is the 4th tier of the English rugby union system and provides mostly amateur competition for teams in the Northern half of England....
.
Lancashire County Cricket ClubLancashire County Cricket Club, one of the eighteen clubs which make up the English County Championship, represents the historic county of Lancashire. Its limited-overs team is called Lancashire Lightning. Their kit colours are dark blue with red trim and the shirt sponsor is the Thwaites beer...
began as Manchester Cricket Club and represents the (
historicThe historic counties of England are ancient subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires. They were used for various functions for several hundred years and continue to form, albeit with considerably...
) county of Lancashire. Lancashire contested the original 1890
County ChampionshipThe County Championship is the domestic first class cricket competition in England and Wales. All but one of the teams are named after, and were originally representatives of, historic English counties, the exception being Glamorgan, which is a Welsh county.-History:The official County Championship...
. The team has won the County Championship eight times, and in 2007 finished third, narrowly missing their first title since 1950. Their Old Trafford ground, near the football stadium of the same name, regularly hosts
test matchesTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. It is generally considered the ultimate test of playing ability in the sport.The name "Test" may have arisen from the idea that the matches are a "test of strength and competency" between the sides involved...
. Possibly the most famous took place in 1956, when
Jim LakerJames "Jim" Charles Laker was a cricketer who played for England in the 1950s, most famous for "Laker's match" in 1956 at Old Trafford, when he took nineteen wickets in England's victory against Australia....
took a record nineteen wickets in the fourth test against Australia. Cheshire County Cricket Club are a
minor countiesThe minor counties are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that are not afforded first class status. The game is administered by the Minor Counties Cricket Association within the confines of the England and Wales Cricket Board .-History:...
club who sometimes play in the south of the county.
The Kirkmanshulme Lane stadium in
Belle VueBelle Vue is an area of Gorton, in the city of Manchester, England. It lies in the eastern part of the city, close to its boundary with Tameside, and is bordered by the Hope Valley Line on the east and the Glossop Line on the west...
is the home to top-flight speedway team the
Belle Vue AcesThe Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway team from Manchester in the north west of England.-Brief History:Racing first took place in 1928 at the Belle Vue greyhound stadium before moving the following year to a specially built stadium nearby on Hyde Road. The club raced there until 1987 when the...
and regular greyhound racing. Professional ice hockey returned to the area in early 2007 with the opening of a purpose-designed rink in
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...
, the
Altrincham Ice DomeAltrincham Ice Dome is an ice rink in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It has 2,026 seats according to the floorplan, and up to 500 standing places. despite this, the building has a capacity capped at 2,150 for ice hockey as standing around the plexi glass is not allowed in the...
, to host the
Manchester PhoenixThe Manchester Phoenix is a professional ice hockey team from Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. The club was formed in 2003 as a result of the efforts of supporters group Friends of Manchester Ice Hockey to bring top-level ice hockey back to Manchester after Manchester Storm folded in...
. Their predecessor,
Manchester StormThe Manchester Storm was an ice hockey team from Manchester, England. The team formed in 1995, playing their home games at the then newly built Nynex Arena . Storm won the British Hockey League Division One in their first season, watched by an average crowd of 6,342...
, went out of business in 2002 due to financial problems which led to them being unable to pay players' wages or the rent for the
Manchester Evening News ArenaThe Manchester Evening News Arena or M.E.N. Arena is a large indoor arena in Manchester, England...
in which they played.
Horse racing has taken place at several sites in the county. The two biggest courses were both known as
Manchester RacecourseManchester Racecourse was a former racecourse in Greater Manchester, England. Despite its name, Manchester Racecourse was located for all its life within the City of Salford; the racecourse moving several times in the 19th and 20th centuries...
– though neither was within the boundaries of Manchester – and ran from the 17th century until 1963. Racing was at
Kersal MoorKersal Moor is a recreation area in Kersal, within the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England, consisting of eight hectares of moorland, bounded by Moor Lane, Heathlands Road, St...
until 1847 when the racecourse at Castle Irwell was opened. In 1867 racing was moved to New Barnes,
WeasteWeaste is an inner city area of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is an industrial area, with many industrial estates. The A57 road passes through Weaste, which lies close to the M602 motorway...
, until the site was vacated (for a hefty price) in 1901 to allow an expansion to Manchester Docks. The land is now home to Dock 9 of the re-branded
Salford QuaysSalford Quays is an area of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Salford Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom following the closure of the dockyards in 1982.In 2007 it was...
. Racing then moved back to Castle Irwell which later staged a Classic – the 1941
St. LegerThe St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
– and was home to the
Lancashire OaksThe Lancashire Oaks is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 1 mile, 3 furlongs and 200 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early July.The event was...
(nowadays run at
Haydock ParkHaydock Park Racecourse is a racecourse in Newton-le-Willows, Haydock, Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, England. The track is a mostly flat left-handed oval of around 1 mile 5 furlongs with a very slight rise on the run-in...
) and the
November HandicapThe November Handicap is a class 2 Heritage Handicap flat horse race in the United Kingdom open to thoroughbreds which are three-years-old or above...
, which was traditionally the last major race of the flat season. Through the late 50s and early 60s the track saw
Scobie BreasleyArthur Edward "Scobie" Breasley was an Australian jockey. He won the Caulfield Cup in Melbourne five times: 1942-45 consecutively on Tranquil Star, Skipton, Counsel and St Fairy; then on Peshawar in 1952...
and
Lester PiggottLester Keith Piggott is a retired English jockey, popularly known as "The Long Fellow". He is considered to be the best of his generation and the greatest flat jockey of all time, with 4,493 career wins, including nine Derby victories....
annually battle out the closing acts of the jockey's title until racing ceased on 7 November 1963.
Athletics takes place at the Regional Athletics Arena in
SportcitySportcity Manchester is a sports district in eastern Manchester, that rose to fame as host of the 2002 Commonwealth Games. It hosts the regional base for the English Institute of Sport and so therefore benefits from: Athletics tracks, The National Squash Centre, The Regional Tennis Centre, the...
, which has hosted numerous national trials, Robin Park in Wigan, Longford Park in Stretford (home to Trafford Athletic Club), Woodbank Stadium in Stockport (home to Stockport Harriers) and the Cleavleys Track in
WintonWinton is an area located in the north-east of Eccles, within the metropolitan district of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England....
(home to Salford Harriers). As of 2008, new sports facilities including a 10,000 capacity stadium and athletics venue are being constructed at
Leigh Sports VillageLeigh Sports Village is an £83 million multi-use sports, retail and housing development in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England.- Facilities :The following facilities are currently available at the Leigh Sports Village:...
.
Culture
Art, tourism, culture and sport provide 16% of employment in Greater Manchester. The proportion is highest in Manchester.
Greater Manchester has the highest number of theatre seats per head of population outside London. Most, if not all, of the larger theatres are subsidised by local authorities or the North West Regional Arts Board. The Royal Exchange Theatre formed in the 1970s out of a peripatetic group staging plays at venues such as at the University [of Manchester] Theatre and the
Apollo TheatreThe Manchester Apollo is a concert venue in Manchester, England.Locally known as 'The Apollo', it is a listed building with a capacity of 3,500 ....
. A season in a temporary stage in the former
Royal Exchange, ManchesterThe Royal Exchange is a grade II listed Victorian building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann’s Square, Market Street and Cross Street...
was followed by funding for a
theatre in the roundTheatre-in-the-round or arena theatre is any theatre space in which the audience surrounds the stage area. In 1947, Margo Jones established America's first professional theatre-in-the-round company when she opened her Theatre ’47 in Dallas....
, which opened in 1976.
The LowryThe Lowry is a combined theatre and gallery complex situated in Salford Quays, in Salford, England. It is named after the early 20th-Century painter, L.S. Lowry, known for this paintings of industrial scenes in North-West England....
houses two theatres, used by travelling groups in all the performing arts. The
Opera HouseThe Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England is a 1,920 seater commercial touring theatre which plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a spectactular Christmas pantomime. It is the sister to the Palace Theatre which is a similar venue in nearby Oxford Street at its junction...
is a 1,900-seat venue hosting travelling productions, often musicals just out of the
West EndWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's "Theatreland". Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking world...
. Its sister venue,
The PalaceThe Palace Theatre Manchester, Oxford Street, is one of the main theatres in Manchester, England. It, and its 'sister' theatre the Manchester Opera House on Quay Street, are operated by the same parent company, Live Nation...
, hosts generally similar shows. The Oldham Playhouse, one of the older theatres in the region, helped launch the careers of
Stan LaurelStan Laurel was an English comic actor, writer and director, famous as the first half of the comedy double-act Laurel and Hardy, whose career stretched from the silent films of the early 20th century until post-World War II.-Early life:Stan Laurel was born in his grandparents' house on 16 June...
and
Charlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer Chaplin, KBE was an English comedic actor and film director. Chaplin became one of the most famous actors as well as a notable filmmaker, composer and musician in the early to mid Classical Hollywood era of American cinema.Chaplin acted in, directed, scripted, produced and...
. Its productions are described by the 2007 CityLife guide as 'staunchly populist' – and popular. There are many other venues scattered throughout the county, of all types and sizes.
Art galleries in the county include:
Gallery OldhamGallery Oldham is a free-to-view public art gallery found in the Cultural Quarter of central Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England.Designed by architects Pringle Richards Sharratt, Gallery Oldham was completed in its original form in February 2002...
, which has in the past featured work by
Pablo PicassoPablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso was a Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. Commonly known simply as Picasso, he is one of the most recognized figures in 20th-century art...
;
The LowryThe Lowry is a combined theatre and gallery complex situated in Salford Quays, in Salford, England. It is named after the early 20th-Century painter, L.S. Lowry, known for this paintings of industrial scenes in North-West England....
at Salford Quays, which has a changing display of
L. S. LowryLaurence Stephen Lowry was an English artist born in Barrett Street, Stretford, Lancashire. Many of his drawings and paintings depict nearby Salford and surrounding areas, including Pendlebury, where he lived and worked for over 40 years at 117 Station Road, opposite St...
's work alongside travelling exhibitions;
Manchester Art GalleryManchester Art Gallery is a free-to-view municipally-owned public art gallery in Manchester City Centre in the North West of England.The Gallery was extended by Hopkins Architects in May 2002 to take in the old Atheneaum building next door, and now occupies three buildings...
, a major provincial art gallery noted for its collection of
Pre-RaphaeliteThe Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
art and housed in a Grade I listed building by
Charles BarrySir Charles Barry FRS was an English architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in his home city of London during the mid 19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens.-Training:Born in Bridge Street, Westminster, he was the son...
;
Salford Museum and Art GallerySalford Museum and Art Gallery, in Peel Park, Salford, Greater Manchester, first opened in November 1850 as the "Royal Museum & Public Library". The museum and library was built to replace the Lark Hill mansion on the higher ground overlooking Peel Park. The library is said to be the first...
, a local museum with a recreated Victorian street; and
Whitworth Art GalleryThe Whitworth Art Gallery is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing about 55,000 items in its collection. The museum is located south of the Manchester University campus, in Whitworth Park....
, a broad-based gallery now run by the University of Manchester.
Greater Manchester has four professional orchestras, all based in Manchester. The Hallé Orchestra is the UK's oldest extant symphony orchestra (and the fourth oldest in the world), supports a choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label. The Hallé is based at the Bridgwater Hall but often tours, typically giving 70 performances "at home" and 40 on tour. The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, one of five BBC orchestras, can trace its history back to the early days of radio broadcasting in 1926. As of 2008 it is based at the BBC's Oxford Road studios, but is expected to move to
mediacity:ukmediacity:UK is a 0.82km² property development based on the media industry, located in Salford Quays, in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. mediacity:uk is being developed by a partnership of the Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company, Peel Holdings and Salford City Council...
in Salford. The Manchester Camerata and the Northern Chamber Orchestra are smaller, though still professional, organizations. The main classical venue is the 2,341-seat
Bridgewater HallThe Bridgewater Hall is an international concert venue in Manchester, England. It cost around £42 million to build and currently hosts over 250 performances a year...
in Manchester, opened in 1996 at a cost of £42M.
Manchester is also a centre for musical education, via the
Royal Northern College of MusicThe Royal Northern College of Music or RNCM is a conservatoire in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, and is at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester. In addition to being a centre of education, the RNCM also functions as an arts centre...
and
Chetham’s School of MusicChetham's School of Music, familiarly known as "Chet's", is a specialist independent co-educational music school in Manchester city centre, in North West England. It was established in 1969 at Chetham's Hospital, an orphanage founded by Humphrey Chetham in 1653...
.
The main popular music venue is the
Manchester Evening News ArenaThe Manchester Evening News Arena or M.E.N. Arena is a large indoor arena in Manchester, England...
, next to Victoria station. It seats over 21,000, is the largest indoor arena in Europe, has been voted International Venue of the Year, and for several years was the most popular venue in the world.• Retrieved on 12 August 2007.
• Retrieved on 28 March 2008. The sports grounds in the county also host some of the larger pop concerts.
Some of Greater Manchester's museums showcase the county's industrial and social heritage. The
Hat WorksThe Hat Works is a museum located in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The museum opened in 2000. Prior to that, smaller displays of hatting equipment were exhibited firstly in Stockport Museum and then from 1993 in the former Battersby's hat factory....
in Stockport is the UK’s only museum dedicated to the hatting industry; the museum moved in 2000 to a Grade II listed Victorian mill, previously a hat factory. The
Museum of Science and Industry in ManchesterThe Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester , located in Manchester, England, is a large museum devoted to the development of science, technology, and industry and particularly the city's considerable contributions to these. It is an Anchor Point of ERIH — The European Route of Industrial...
, amongst other displays, charts the rise of science and industry and especially the part Manchester played in its development; the
Museums, Libraries and Archives CouncilThe Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is a non-departmental public body in England and a registered charity with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, libraries and archives...
described the displays as "pre-eminent collections of national and international importance".
UrbisUrbis is an exhibition centre located in central Manchester, England. The centre features changing exhibitions on the subject of city life, alongside talks, gigs and other events....
is a museum of the modern city that attempts to explain the effects and experiences of life in the city; it has had mixed success since its opening in 2002, but had its most successful year in 2006. Stockport Air Raid Shelters uses a mile of underground tunnels, built to accommodate 6,500 people, to illustrate life in the
Second World War'sWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
air raid shelters. The
Imperial War Museum NorthImperial War Museum North is a museum in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom. One of the five branches of the Imperial War Museum, the museum explores the impact of modern conflicts on people and society. It is the first branch of the Imperial War Museum to be located in the north of England...
in Trafford Park is one of the Imperial War Museum's five branches. Alongside exhibitions of war machinery are displays describing how people’s lives are affected by war. The
Museum of Transport in ManchesterThe Museum of Transport, Manchester is a museum that aims to preserve and promote the public transport heritage of Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England...
, which opened in 1979, has one of the largest collections of vehicles in the country. The
People's History MuseumA brand new iconic building housing national collections of international appeal. The People’s History Museum tells the dramatic story of the British working class’s struggle for democracy and social justice told in Manchester, the historically radical city where it belongs.It is a time of great...
is "the national centre for the collection, conservation, interpretation and study of material relating to the history of working people in Britain"; the museum is closed for redevelopment and will reopen in 2009. The Pankhurst Museum is based in the early feminist
Emmeline PankhurstEmmeline Pankhurst was an English political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement, which won women the right to vote...
's former home and includes a parlour laid out in contemporary style. Manchester United, Manchester City, and Lancashire CCC all have dedicated museums illustrating their histories.
Wigan PierWigan Pier is the name given today to the area around the canal at the bottom of the Wigan flight of locks on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It is a popular location for visitors and the local community in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, situated just a few hundred yards south-west of the town...
, best known from
George OrwellEric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist and journalist...
’s book
The Road to Wigan PierThe Road to Wigan Pier was written by George Orwell and published in 1937. The first half of this work documents his sociological investigations of Lancashire and Yorkshire in the industrial north of England before World War II...
, was the name of a wharf on the
Leeds and Liverpool CanalThe Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
in
WiganWigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south of Preston, west-northwest of Manchester, and east-northeast of Liverpool. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre...
. The name has been reused to describe an industrial-based visitor attraction, partly closed for redevelopment as of 2008.
See also
- Grade I listed buildings in Greater Manchester
-See also:*Architecture of Manchester*Conservation in the United Kingdom*Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester*List of tallest buildings in Manchester*Scheduled Monuments in Greater Manchester-Bibliography:...
- Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester
- Greater Manchester Employer Coalition
The Greater Manchester Employer Coalition is a collection of around 350 business leaders who work with Government and other stakeholders to open up job and career opportunities to local people; particularly those facing significant barriers to work....
- List of companies based in Greater Manchester
External links
- www.agma.gov.uk, the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities.
- www.gmcro.co.uk, the Greater Manchester County Record Office
The Greater Manchester County Record Office, is located in Manchester, in North West England. Opened in 1976, its main function is to collect, store, and make available for research the written heritage of the Greater Manchester, including census and General Register Office index material.There are...
, for historical records relating to Greater Manchester.
- www.gmpte.com, the website of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive
The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive is the public body responsible for co-ordinating public transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England....
, for information on buses, trains and tram services.
- www.gmts.co.uk, the Greater Manchester Transport Society.
- www.visitmanchester.com, the official tourism website for Greater Manchester.