Stalybridge
Encyclopedia
Stalybridge is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside
in Greater Manchester
, England, with a population of 22,568. Historically
a part of Cheshire
, it is 9 miles (14.5 km) east of Manchester city centre
and 6 miles (9.7 km) northwest of Glossop
. With the construction of a cotton mill
in 1776, Stalybridge became one of the first centres of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution
. The wealth created in the 19th century from the factory-based cotton industry transformed an area of scattered farms and homesteads into a self-confident town. Due to the decline of the cotton industry in the first quarter of the 20th century and the development of modern low density housing in the post-war period, the town is now semi-rural in character.
from the late Neolithic
/early Bronze Age
. Also bearing testament to the presence of man in prehistory are the Stalybridge cairns. The two monuments are situated on the summit of Hollingworthall Moor, 140 metres (459.3 ft) apart. One of the round cairn
s is the best preserved Bronze Age monument in Tameside, and is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument
. A branch of the Roman road
between the forts
at Manchester (Mamucium) and Melandra Castle (Ardotalia
) is thought to run through Stalybridge to the fort of Castleshaw
.
The settlement was originally called Stavelegh, which derives from the Old English staef leah, meaning "wood where the staves are got". The medieval Lords of the manor took de Stavelegh as their name, later becoming Stayley or Staley. The lordship of Longdendale
was one of the ancient feudal estates of Cheshire
and included the area of Stalybridge. William de Neville was the first lord of Longdendale, appointed by the Earl of Chester
between 1162 and 1186. Buckton Castle
, near Stalybridge, was probably built by William de Neville in the late 12th century. As this was the only castle within the lordship it was probably the seat of the de Nevilles. The lordship of Longdendale included the manors
of Staley, Godley, Hattersley
, Hollingworth
, Matley
, Mottram
, Newton, Tintwistle
and Werneth
; the manor of Staley was first mentioned between 1211 and 1225.
The first records of the de Stavelegh family as Lords of the Manor
date from the early 13th century. Staley Hall was their residence. The present hall was built in the late 16th century on the same site as an earlier hall of the Stayley family, dating from before 1343.
Sir Ralph Staley had no male heirs and after his death his daughter, Elizabeth Staley, married Sir Thomas Assheton, uniting the manors of Ashton and Staley. Elizabeth and Thomas had two daughters and no sons. Margaret, the eldest of their two daughters married Sir William Booth of Dunham Massey
The younger daughter, Elizabeth, was widowed without children. She continued to live at Staley Hall until her death in 1553. In her will her share of the lordships of Staley and Ashton were left to the Booths.
The manor of Staley remained in the possession of the Booth family until the death of George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington
on 2 August 1758. Upon his death, the Earldom of Warrington became extinct. His only daughter, Lady Mary Booth, the wife of Henry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford, inherited all the Booth estates. The manor of Staley was owned by the Grey family until the extinction of the Earldoms on the death of Roger Grey, 10th Earl of Stamford in 1976. At this point the family estates were dispersed. Stamford Street, Grey Street, Groby Street, Stamford Park, Stamford Golf Club and the two Stamford Arms public houses in Stalybridge are all named after the Grey family.
. The construction of a bridge in 1707 meant the settlement was now commonly referred to as Stalybridge, meaning the bridge at Stayley. By the mid-18th century Stalybridge had a population of just 140. Farming and woollen spinning were the main means subsistence at this time.
In 1776 the town's first water-powered mill for carding and spinning cotton was built at Rassbottom. In 1789 the town's first spinning mill using the principle of Arkwright
's Water Frame
was built. By 1793 steam power had been introduced to the Stalybridge cotton industry and by 1803 there were eight cotton mills in the growing town containing 76,000 spindles. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal
was completed in 1811 and still runs through the town.
The rapid growth of industry in Stalybridge was due to the introduction of machinery. This was, however, met with violent opposition. After the arrival of the Luddites in the area the doors of mills were kept locked day and night. Military aid was requested by the mill owners and a Scottish regiment
under the Duke of Montrose
was sent to the town. It was led by Captain Raines who made his headquarters at the Roe Cross Inn. The Luddite disturbances began in November 1811. Gangs of armed men destroyed power looms and fired mills. The disturbances in Stalybridge culminated with a night of violent rioting on 20 April 1812
The social unrest did not curb the growth of Stalybridge. By 1814 there were twelve factories and by 1818 the number had increased to sixteen. The Industrial Revolution
led to a rapid increase in the town's population in the early part of the 19th century. The population of the town by 1823 was 5,500. In the following two years, due in part to an influx of Irish families seeking better wages, the population rose to 9,000. Stalybridge was among the first wave of towns to establish a Mechanics' Institute with a view to educating the growing number of workers. Only a year after the establishment of Manchester Mechanics' Institute
, Stalybridge founded an Institute of its own. Its doors opened on 7 September 1825 on Shepley Street with a reading room on Queen Street.
On 9 May 1828 the Stalybridge Police and Market Act received Royal Assent
, establishing Stalybridge as an independent town with a board of 21 Commissioners. Every male over the age of 21 who was the occupier of a rateable property under the act was entitled to vote at the election of the Commissioners. On 30 December 1831 the town hall and market were officially opened. In 1833 the Commissioners set up the 'Stalybridge Police Force', which was the first of its kind in the country. By this year the population of the town had reached 14,216 with 2.357 inhabited houses.
In 1834 a second bridge was built over the Tame. It was downstream of Staley bridge and constructed of iron.
The second Chartist
petition was presented to Parliament in April 1842. Stalybridge contributed 10,000 signatures. After the rejection of the petition the first general strike
began in the coal mines of Staffordshire
. The second phase of the strike originated in Stalybridge.
A movement of resistance to the imposition of wage cuts in the mills, also known as the Plug Riots
, it spread to involve nearly half a million workers throughout Britain and represented the biggest single exercise of working class
strength in 19th century Britain. On 13 August 1842 there was a strike at Bayley's Cotton Mill in Stalybridge, and roving cohorts of operatives carried the stoppage first to the whole area of Stalybridge and Ashton
, then to Manchester
, and subsequently to towns adjacent to Manchester, using as much force as was necessary to bring mills to a standstill. The movement remained, to outward appearances, largely non-political. Although the People's Charter
was praised at public meetings, the resolutions that were passed at these were in almost all cases merely for a restoration of the wages of 1820, a ten-hour working day, or reduced rents.
In writing The Condition of The Working Class in England
(1844), Friedrich Engels
used Stalybridge as an example:
John Summers first established an iron forge in Stalybridge in the 1840s. Later, he and his sons developed this into a major business, and employed over 1,000 local men in their factory, the largest in the town.
The Ashton, Stalybridge and Liverpool Junction Railway
Company was formed in 19 July 1844 and the railway was connected to Stalybridge on 5 October 1846. On 9 July 1847 the company was acquired by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
. On 1 August 1849 the Manchester, Stockport and Leeds Railway connected Stalybridge to Huddersfield
and later to Stockport
. This line later became part of the London and North Western Railway
.
in 1861, the Stalybridge cotton mills rapidly ran short of cotton. Thousands of operatives were laid off. In October 1862, a meeting was held in the Stalybridge Town Hall which passed a resolution blaming the Confederate States of America
and their actions in the American Civil War
for the cotton famine
in Lancashire
. By the winter of 1862–1863 there were 7,000 unemployed operatives in the town. Only five of the town's 39 factories and 24 machine shops were employing people full-time. Contributions were sent from all over the world for the relief of the cotton operatives in Lancashire; and at one point three-quarters of Stalybridge workers were dependent on relief schemes. By 1863 there were 750 empty houses in the town. A thousand skilled men and women left the town, in what became known as "The Panic".
In 1863 the relief committee decided to substitute a system of relief by ticket instead of money. The tickets were to be presented at local grocers shops. An organised resistance was organised culminating on Friday 20 March 1863.
In 1867 Stalybridge was disturbed by the arrival of William Murphy. Records of this man indicate that his sole interest was to sow the seeds of dissent between Roman Catholics, who by this time had grown to significant proportions, and Protestants. He succeeded in this goal only too well for a full year. During 1868 there were a number of violent disturbances and rioting created by this man who described himself as a "renegade Roman Catholic". In his lectures to the public "pretending to expose the religious practices of the Roman Catholic Church", he became a master at whipping up a crowd into a frenzy. Newspaper reports of the time told of his common practice of waving a revolver in the air in "a most threatening manner". On one occasion he incited a riot of such proportions that Fr. Daley, the parish priest of St. Peter's took to the roof of the church to defend it. A man was shot. The parish priest was tried but eventually acquitted at the Quarter Sessions
. Following this incident, the community began to settle down and Murphy chose to extend his political activities elsewhere.
In 1867, the Victoria Bridge on Trinity Street was built. The Victoria Market Hall was constructed in 1868 and the public baths were opened in May 1870. The baths were presented as a gift to the town by philanthropists and benefactors Robert Platt (1802–1882), born in Stalybridge, and his wife Margaret Platt (1819–1888), born in Salford.
The Stalybridge Borough Band was formed in March 1871, holding its first rehearsals and meetings at the Moulder's Arms, Grasscroft Street, Castle Hall. The band was known as the 4th Cheshire Rifleman Volunteers (Borough Band) until 1896. The founder and first conductor was Alexander Owen who conducted the band until at least 1907.
Mrs Ada Summers was elected first woman mayor of Stalybridge in November 1919. At that time mayors of boroughs were justices, as well as chairmen of borough benches, by right of office. However, it was not until The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919
came into force on 23 December 1919 that women could become magistrates. Sitting ex-officio Ada Summers became the first woman magistrate in the country and was sworn in on 31 December. Ada Summers was, probably, the first woman to officially adjudicate in court. Ada Summers photo appeared in the weekly journal Great Thoughts, 5 June 1920, alongside an interview on "The First Woman JP" on her work. Ada Summers was the widow of a local ironmaster. She was an active suffragist and Liberal and used her wealth and position to support a number of schemes designed to improve conditions in the town. These included a maternity and child welfare clinic, clinics for the sick and poor and an unofficial employment centre. She later became an alderman and was appointed MBE
. On 31 May 1939 she was awarded the Honorary Freedom of the Borough
.
In 1929, with no room for expansion at Stalybridge, the Summers sheet rolling and galvanising plants were transferred to Shotton
in North Wales
, having devastating effects on local employment; the new plant later became a major component in the British Steel
Corporation. By 1932, seven of the town's largest mills had closed and unemployment reached 7,000. In 1934 the borough council set up an Industrial Development Committee for the purpose of encouraging new industries to settle in the town. The committee purchased Cheetham's Mill
and rented it out to small firms engaged in a wide variety of enterprises. By 1939 unemployment in the town had almost disappeared.
visited Stalybridge. The town's war memorial was extended after the war, to bear the names of an extra 124 men from the town; it was unveiled on 23 April 1950.
In the post-war period council housing was provided by the local authority as separate council estates. The 'Buckton Vale' estate was built between January 1950 and March 1953; the 'Stamford Park' estate between January 1953 and January 1955, the 'Copley'
estate commenced building in August 1954 and the 'Ridgehill' estate in January 1956.
In 1955, after the adoption of the first 'post-war slum clearance plan', new housing estates were built to replace the slums and, gradually, redundant textile mills were occupied by firms in the various light industries. New applications of engineering principles, the manufacture of rubber goods, plastics, chemicals and packaging materials were all introduced, as well as the addition of synthetic fibres to the textile trade, reducing unemployment.
On 19 October 1970 a frightened red deer
registered a speed of 42 mi/h on a police radar trap as it charged down Mottram Road. The early 1970s saw the development of private semi-detached and detached housing estates, particularly in the Mottram Rise, Hough Hill, Hollins and Carrbrook areas; the redevelopment of Castle Hall was also completed.
The construction of the Buckton Vale overspill estate
also took place in the early 1970s.
The early 1980s saw the closure of the public baths after the completion of Copley Recreation Centre. One of the symbols of the late-19th century civic improvement, the baths were subsequently demolished.
In 1991, for the first time since 1901, there was an increase in the population of Stalybridge to 22,295. The 1990s saw the proliferation of Mock Tudor style estates at Moorgate and along Huddersfield Road, close to Staley Hall, this continued into the 21st century with the completion of the Crowswood estate in Millbrook.
, which had been culverted in the early 1970s, was reinstated to the town centre between 1999 and May 2001 as part of a two year, multi-million pound refurbishment. The canal now runs under the legs of an electricity pylon
. The market hall closed on New Year's Eve 1999 and became the Civic Hall in 2001. Four years later, the area designated for retail space became exhibition space. There were plans to reopen the market and let the retail hall out to private contractors, though this came to naught. The town's cinema, The Palace closed on 31 August 2003, with the last film being 'American Pie 3: The Wedding'. The Palace Cinema has since been converted to become Rififi Nightclub and Amber Lounge Bar & Restaurant.
In 2004 the Metropolitan Borough Council
announced that they had granted permission for a developer to build 16 homes next to Staley Hall. A condition of the planning consent was that the hall be restored. As of 2008 the hall is still deteriorating. It is now listed as being in very bad condition on the English Heritage
buildings at risk register.
of incorporation on 5 March 1857, having been formed from part of Ashton-under-Lyne
parish in Lancashire
and parts of Dukinfield
and Stayley parishes in Cheshire
. The Royal Charter declared that the council should consist of a Mayor
, 6 Aldermen and 18 Councillors. The Borough was divided into three wards: Lancashire; Staley and Dukinfield. A list of Burgesses was published on 21 April 1857 and the first election of councillors was held on 1 May 1857. The contesting parties were the whites and the yellows. The council met for the first time on 9 May and elected the first six Aldermen from among those councillors the first Mayor 'William Bayley' was elected.
The Arms of Stalybridge were granted by the College of Arms
after the town received its charter of incorporation. The arms incorporated features from the coat of arms of the Stayley, Assheton, Dukinfield and Astley families who had all been land owners in the town. The motto, "absque labore nihil", means "nothing without labour".
Under the terms of the Public Health Acts 1873 and 1875 Stalybridge corporation, like other municipal boroughs governed under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, was designated as the authority governing the Urban sanitary district.
The borough, both on the Lancashire
and Cheshire
sides of the river, was placed wholly within the administrative county
of Cheshire in 1889, under the Local Government Act 1888
, and Cheshire was adopted as the postal county
for the entire town. The town is now part of the SK postcode area
.
On 1 April 1936 Stalybridge was enlarged by gaining part of Matley
civil parish, which had previously been part of Tintwistle
rural district
.
Stalybridge was twinned, in 1955, with Armentières
, France. In 1974 the area and assets of the Municipal Borough were combined with those of others districts, to form the Metropolitan Borough
of Tameside
. Stalybridge is currently represented by the occupants of nine of the 57 seats on the local Metropolitan Borough Council. These seats are spread over three wards: Stalybridge North; Stalybridge South and Dukinfield Stalybidge. Stalybridge currently has four Labour
councillors and five Conservative
councillors. Since 1998 the nine Stalybidge councillors have held meetings on a bimonthly basis, as the Stalybridge District Assembly.
Cheshire
was unrepresented in Parliament until the Chester and Cheshire (Constituencies) Act 1542. From 1545 Cheshire was represented by two Knights of the Shire
. On the passage of the Great Reform Act of 1832, the area of Stalybridge south of the Tame was included in the North Cheshire
constituency.
Between the passing of the Second Reform Act
in 1867, and the general election of 1918, the town was represented in its own right through the Stalybridge Borough constituency
. Since the 1918 general election
the town has been represented in Parliament
by the member for the Stalybridge and Hyde county constituency. The current Member of Parliament is Jonathan Reynolds MP, a former Tameside Councillor.
, straddling the River Tame
. The river forms part of the ancient boundary
between Lancashire
and Cheshire
. On the boundary of the Peak District
national park
. The highest point in the town is the summit of Wild Bank
at 1309 feet (399 m). Harridge Pike
is the second highest peak at 1296 ft (395 m). Buckton Hill, the site of the mediaeval Buckton Castle
, is another prominent landmark. The town centre itself is situated along the banks of the river between Ridge Hill to the north and Hough Hill 801 ft (244.1 m) to the south. Stalybridge Weather Station is voluntarily manned and has been providing statistics since 1999. The local bedrock is millstone grit
, covered by a thin layer of soil over clay
, with surface rock outcrop
s.
Over the course of the 20th century the population of the town declined, after the demolition of the mid-19th century high density housing. At the 2001 census Stalybridge had a population of 22,568. The town includes the localities of Heyheads
, Buckton Vale, Carrbrook
, Millbrook
, Brushes, Copley
, Mottram Rise, Woodlands, Matley
, Hough Hill, Castle Hall, Hollins
, Hydes, Rassbottom, Waterloo, Cocker Hill, the Hague, Springs, Ridge Hill and Heyrod
.
According to the Office for National Statistics
, at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001
, Stalybridge had a population of 22,568. The 2001 population density was 4,451 per km², with a 100 to 95.0 female-to-male ratio. Of those over 16 years old, 29.2% were single (never married) and 41.6% married. Stalybridge's 9,331 households included 29.1% one-person, 38.3% married couples living together, 9.7% were co-habiting
couples, and 12.0% single parents with their children. Of those aged 16–74, 31.7% had no academic qualifications
, below the average for Tameside (35.2%) but slightly higher than England (28.9%).
moors
. Boar Flat is part of the Dark Peak
Site of Special Scientific Interest, as classified by Natural England
. The slopes below the moors, particularly beneath Harridge Pike, are used for sheep grazing by the hill farms. The Stalybridge Country Park centres on two areas. Firstly, the Brushes Valley, with its four reservoirs running up into the Pennine Moors, and secondly Carrbrook, lying in the shadow of Buckton Castle
. Linking the two areas, although outside the country park boundaries, is a good rights of way network, and areas of designated access land which take visitors into the Tame Valley, Longdendale
and the Peak District
. The country park affords views of the Cheshire Plain
, Jodrell Bank
and on very clear days the mountains of Snowdonia
. Buckton Castle and Stalybridge cairn, a round cairn
, west of Hollingworthhall Moor are both Scheduled Ancient Monuments.
The town's two parks are the main open spaces in the town centre. Cheetham Park was opened in June 1932 to a crowd of 15,000 people. The park was left to the town under the will of John Frederick Cheetham
along with his house, Eastwood, and his collection of paintings, which now form part of the 'Astley Cheetham Art Gallery' collection. The park is landscaped informally with large areas of woodland. Adjacent to Cheetham's Park lies the Eastwood Nature Reserve. Eastwood was one of the first reserves to be owned by the RSPB. It is managed by Cheshire Wildlife Trust
. The reserve is a cut-over, lowland, raised mire SSSI, surrounded by a woodland fringe. Characteristic bog plants include sphagnum
mosses, cotton grass and cross-leaved heath. Nine species of dragonfly
and damselfly
have been recorded on the reserve, along with the Green Hairstreak
butterfly. The steep-sided broadleaved woodland is bisected by 'Acres Brook' and contains several old mill ponds. The geology is shale and sandstone, with a rich variety of plants and animals typical of woodland habitat on an acid soil. Access is from the A6018 Mottram Road. Car parking is available in Stalybridge Celtic FC's car park. The reserve occupies 4.7 hectares (11.6 acres).
Stamford Park is registered by English Heritage
as being of special interest. In 1865, local mill owner Abel Harrison died and his home, Highfield House, and its extensive grounds, on the border with Ashton were bought by the two towns. Neighbouring land was donated by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford and 3rd Earl of Warrington
. The whole area was landscaped to become Stamford Park and opened, by the Earl on 12 July 1873. The former mill reservoir, known as 'Chadwick Dams', was incorporated into the park in 1891. The reservoir was divided in two by an embankment, with the southern section becoming the present boating lake. This area includes waterfalls cascading over rock faces and gargoyles built into the bridges and walls. The park has tennis courts, putting greens, bowling greens, a children's playground, paddling pool and an animal corner with a variety of birds and animals. The park is the venue for the annual 'Tulip Sunday Festival'.
in the world. The band currently contests in the second section
. Carrbrook Brass currently contests in the fourth section
and represent the town annually at the Armentières
festival. An annual brass band contest has been held in the town on Whit Friday
, since at least 1870. Other contests have been held on the same day in the surrounding villages of Millbrook
, Carrbrook
and Heyrod
. There is now an established tradition of holding brass band contests on this day around Staybridge, Mossley and Saddleworth
. Bands travel by coach from all over the United Kingdom, and sometimes from other countries, to contest in as many different locations as possible on the day.
The song It's a Long Way to Tipperary
was created in the Newmarket Tavern, by the composer Jack Judge
, in 1912, after being challenged to write, compose, and produce a song in ;just one night;. It was first sung in public by him in the Grand Theatre on Corporation Street on 31 January 1912. On 31 January 1953 a memorial tablet was unveiled by Jack Hylton
on the wall of the old Newmarket Tavern, where the song was composed. To coincide with the ceremony a wreath was laid on Jack Judge's grave, by the mayor of Oldbury
. Jack Judge is now also commemorated by a statue in Lord Pendry
Square outside the Old Victoria Market Hall.
More recently a live folk music tradition has developed in the town. The Buffet Bar Folk Club meets every Saturday at 9 pm. and also, the Free and Easy folk club meet at 9pm on alternate Thursdays at The White House public house in the town centre. Some members of the Fivepenny Piece
who sang traditional North Country music in the 1970s were from Stalybridge. and the band performed songs such as Stalybridge Station and Stalybridge Market. They also took In Bowton's Yard, the work of local poet Samuel Laycock
, and put it to music.
and his wife Beatrice Astley, the Astley Cheetham Art Gallery originally opened to the public as a lecture theatre on 14 January 1901. The space was turned into a gallery to house the Astley Cheetham Collection, bequeathed in 1932. This collection has grown with gifts and donations throughout the 20th century and is one of the most interesting small regional collections of 15th century Italian paintings. The collection of work by Italian old masters includes 'Portrait of a Young Man' by Alessandro Allori
. Also, British art of the 19th and 20th centuries is represented by artists such as John Linnell
, Richard Parkes Bonington
, George Price Boyce
, Burne-Jones
, Mark Gertler and Duncan Grant
. Aske Hall
by J. M. W. Turner
is also part of the gallery's collection. Alongside exhibitions of the collection, the gallery also hosts a programme of temporary exhibitions by regional artists.
During the earlier part of the 20th century, Stalybridge was artistically captured by the painter L. S. Lowry
. Some of his paintings were of the people of Stalybridge. Lowry continued painting pictures until his death in 1976. His house is marked with a blue plaque
on Stalybridge Road, Mottram in Longdendale
. There is also a statue of him, holding his sketch pad, on a bench near the Stalybridge Road bus stop. Sheila Vaughan is a Stalybridge artist working in oils and acrylic. Her work and that of other Stalybridge artists such as Keith Taylor are displayed at The Peoples Gallery on Melbourne Street.
. The children's author Beatrix Potter
visited Gorse Hall many times as a child as it was the home of her maternal grandmother. Samuel Laycock (1826–1893) was a librarian at the Mechanics' Institute for two years. His poetry presents a vivid impression of mid 19th century, working class life and he drew on his personal experience in the cotton industry. His best-loved poems are "Bowton's Yard" and "Bonny Brid" – both written in Stalybridge. Tim Willocks
, author of Bad City Blues, Green River Rising and Bloodstained Kings is from Stalybridge. Dolores Gordon-Smith, author of the Jack Haldean murder mystery series (published by Constable & Robinson and currently by Severn House) and Frankies' Letter (on Kindle) is from Stalybridge and currently resides there.
is the name given to the first Friday after Whitsun
in areas of northeast Cheshire, southeast Lancashire and the western fringes of Yorkshire
. The day has a cultural significance in Stalybridge as the date on which the annual Whit Walks were traditionally held. It is also the day on which the traditional annual Whit Friday brass band contests are held.
were originally religious festivals that commemorated church dedications. Particularly important was the Rushcart
festival associated with Rogationtide
. During the Industrial Revolution
the tradition of the wakes was adapted into a regular summer break in the mill town
s of Lancashire, where each locality would nominate a wakes week during which the cotton mills would all close at the same time. Stalybridge Wakes occurs in the third week of July. Wakes Week became the focus for fairs, and eventually for holidays where the mill workers would go to the seaside, eventually on the newly developing railways.
with the longest name in Britain – The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn – and also the one with the shortest, Q. The railway station is one of the last in Britain to retain its original buffet, the 1998 refurbishment of which won awards from CAMRA and English Heritage
.
The restoration of the canal between 1999 and 2001 attracted new commercial ventures such as riverside cafés and boat trips. The reopening of the canal and the fact that the Tame runs through the town centre resulted in the nickname Little Venice
. Stalybridge has in recent years, acquired another nickname, Stalyvegas
, at first coined as a reaction to a council traffic management plan which included a large number of traffic lights surrounding the main shopping centre, making it difficult to access the shops, the nickname became popular and was used ironically after the controversial conversion of premises in the shopping area into nightclub
s and bars, the proliferation of takeaways and the refurbishment of some of the more traditional pubs
.
The town's traditional foods include Tater Pie, a variation on Lancashire Hotpot
, black peas
, today mainly eaten on Whit Friday
, and tripe
. Stalybridge is the location of the region's last remaining tripe shop.
and distributed throughout Stalybridge. The town has been used for location shoots for various film and television series. The most notable of these was the John Schlesinger
film Yanks
which featured Richard Gere
and was released in 1979. The opening sequence of the film features Stalybridge war memorial on Trinity Street and the US army camp scenes were filmed at Stamford Golf Club in spring 1978. In 1986 the BBC
children's TV series Jossy's Giants
was filmed in the town. In 2009 the BBC3 Comedy Show We Are Klang
was filmed at the Victoria Market Hall, and around the town centre. Scenes from Coronation Street
, Making Out
, Common As Muck
and The League of Gentlemen
have also been shot there. The town lies in the BBC North West
television region and the ITV
Northwest England Region, the franchise for which is held by Granada Television
. In some northeastern parts of Stalybridge it is possible to pick up Yorkshire Television
from the Emley Moor transmitter on UHF 47 (679.25 MHz).
and Yorkshire Building Society
have branches in Stalybridge, as do Barclays, Lloyds TSB
, Natwest and Yorkshire
banks. All branches are located on Melbourne Street. Stalybridge General Post Office is located on Trinity Street. The four sub-post office
s are Ridge Hill, Carrbrook
, High Street and Mottram Road. The police station is located on Waterloo Road but is open only during working hours on weekdays. The fire station is located on Rassbottom Street.
. The M67 is a feeder to the M60
Manchester orbital motorway and the city of Sheffield
. The A635
A road
passes through the town and the A6018 commences at Stalybridge. The B61675 and B6176 Huddersfield Road also pass through the town.
Stalybridge railway station
is served by three lines, the Huddersfield Line
to Manchester Victoria
or Huddersfield
, the TransPennine Express line to Manchester Piccadilly or Leeds and beyond, and the Stockport to Stalybridge Line
, which is notable for its infrequent Parliamentary train
gaining it popularity with trainspotter
s. Stalybridge station is unusual in providing direct services to ten English cities: Liverpool
, Manchester
, Salford, Leeds
, Wakefield
, York
, Hull
, Middlesbrough
, Durham
and Newcastle upon Tyne
.
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal
passing through Stalybridge is part of the South Pennine Ring
and runs from the junction with the Huddersfield Broad Canal
near Aspley Basin at Huddersfield to the junction with the Ashton Canal
at Whitefields Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne
. The canal was completed in 1811, but was closed to navigation in 1951. It was reopened in 2001 and is now managed by British Waterways
.
. The club reached the 1st round of the FA Cup in the 1900/1901 season and its players included Arthur Wharton
and Herbert Chapman
. Today the town's team is Stalybridge Celtic
, founded 1909. They are one of four FIFA
recognised teams to be called Celtic. Usually based in non-league football, they are presently members of the National Conference - North
, in the sixth tier of English football.
There are two main cricket clubs in Stalybridge. Stayley Millbrook C.C. play in Millbrook and are members of the Saddleworth
& District League. Stalybridge St Paul's C.C. play on Cheetham Hill Road, Dukinfield on the ground formerly used by the now defunct Stalybridge Cricket Club. They are members of the Cheshire League Pyramid, and for the 2008 season are in the first division of the Cheshire Alliance.
Stamford Golf Club on Huddersfield Road has an 18-hole course. The club was incorporated on Saturday 24 August 1901 and was named after the local landowner the Earl of Stamford
. It is a member of the Cheshire Union of Golf Clubs.
Priory Tennis Club is situated next to Cheetham's Park on Mottram Road. There are four astroturf courts, all with floodlights. The club is fully affiliated to the Cheshire
branch of the Lawn Tennis Association
.
The Stalybridge Archery Club was founded in 1958 and is located close to the Priory.
The local athletics club is East Cheshire Harriers which was founded in 1922 by an amalgamation of Dukinfield Harriers and Tintwistle Harriers. Th club's headquarters were once in Stalybridge but their home is now the Richmond Park Stadium, Ashton-under-Lyne.
A snooker
league is operated by The Stalybridge and District Snooker, Billiards and Whist League which has been in existence since 1910. The league starts around October each year and runs until May.
There are two crown green bowling
clubs in the town. One in Stamford Park and one at Carrbrook village bowling green where there is also a petanque
terrain.
In 1901 Joey Nutall, of Stalybridge, lowered the world swimming record for the quarter mile by 13 seconds, with a time of 5 minutes 38 seconds. In the same year he asserted his right to the title of the champion swimmer of the world beating three competitors in the 600 yards (548.6 m) championship race at Doncaster
, covering the distance in 6 minutes 30 seconds to win by a length and a half. His share of the spoil was £10, a cup, and two-thirds of the gate money. By 1901 Nutall had held the 500 yards (457.2 m) world championship for over ten years. Stalybridge has a 25-metre 6-lane pool at Copley Recreation Centre which is home to the Stalybridge Amateur Swimming and Water Polo Club.
. The first church to be built in Stalybridge was Old St George's Church, Cocker Hill which was consecrated by the Bishop of Chester
on 25 July 1776. The church collapsed on 15 May 1778. After the Industrial Revolution, the rising population and the settlement of people from various parts of the country meant that Stalybridge became a centre for a wide range of denominations and sects. The history of these churches in the town is complex, with some churches having occupied many different sites. The influence of the churches in the town remained strong well into the 20th century and formed part of the basis of Stalybridge's sense of identity.
The first Methodist chapel was erected in 1802 on the corner of Chapel Street and Rassbottom Street. The Baptist chapel on King Street, was opened by the Particular (Ebenezer) Baptists. This chapel was subsequently occupied by the Congregational Church
on 3 October 1830. The Particular (Ebenezer) Baptists moved to a new chapel on Cross Leech Street on 28 October 1828.
St George's
is the parish church on the Lancashire side of the river in the Diocese of Manchester
. It is known as New St George's and its foundation stone was laid on 24 June 1840.
On the Cheshire side, the parish church of Holy Trinity and Christ Church, Diocese of Chester
, is situated in the town centre on Trinity Street, beside the former market hall. The foundation stone of the parish church of St Paul's, Staley was laid by Stapleton Stapleton-Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere on 2 February 1838. It is along with St James', Millbrook
situated in the Diocese of Chester
.
Roman Catholic
There are two Roman Catholic parishes - St Peter's, Stalybridge, the foundation stone of which was laid on 8 June 1838 and St. Raphael's, Millbrook. Both parishes are situated in the Diocese of Shrewsbury
.
Methodist
The octagonal Stalybridge Methodist Church on High Street opened in 1966.
Congregationalist
Stalybridge Congregational
Church is to be found in a modern building on Baker Street, just off Acres Lane, behind The Organ Public House. Its original building, which opened for worship in 1861 and was demolished around the turn of the 21st century, was situated between Melbourne Street and Trinity Street in the town centre.
Unitarian
The Unitarian
Church on Forester Drive was established in 1870 and is part of the East Cheshire Union of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches.
Evangelical / Non-denominational
Stalybridge Revival Church, on Mount Street, formerly known as Stalybridge Evangelical Church, was established in 2009.
Grammar School. For Roman Catholic pupils, grammar school education was provided by Harrytown, Bredbury
and Xaverian, Rusholme. Catholic secondary modern education was available from 1963 at St Peter and St Paul, Dukinfield. In 1977 the Local Education Authority appealed to keep its grammar schools rather than be forced by the government to adopt a comprehensive system. The Lord of Appeal Lord Lane
was personally critical of Fred Mulley, the Secretary of State for Education and Science for being "far from frank" about his reason for intervening in Tameside and joined in the judgement which found for Tameside and brought a halt to comprehensivisation. However, following the election of a Labour council in 1980 the local grammar schools were abolished and all the secondary modern and grammar schools in Stalybridge, Hyde and Dukinfield became comprehensives.
Tameside
The 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 spans the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge. Its western...
in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England, with a population of 22,568. Historically
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
a part of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, it is 9 miles (14.5 km) east of Manchester city centre
Manchester City Centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...
and 6 miles (9.7 km) northwest of Glossop
Glossop
Glossop is a 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...
. With the construction of a cotton mill
Cotton mill
A 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....
in 1776, Stalybridge became one of the first centres of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution
Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution
The industrial revolution changed the nature of work and society. Opinion varies as to the exact date, but it is estimated that the First Industrial Revolution took place between 1750 and 1850, and the second phase or Second Industrial Revolution between 1860 and 1900. The three key drivers in...
. The wealth created in the 19th century from the factory-based cotton industry transformed an area of scattered farms and homesteads into a self-confident town. Due to the decline of the cotton industry in the first quarter of the 20th century and the development of modern low density housing in the post-war period, the town is now semi-rural in character.
Early history
The earliest evidence of human activity in Stalybridge is a flint scraperScraper (archaeology)
In archaeology, scrapers are unifacial tools that were used either for hideworking or woodworking purposes. Whereas this term is often used for any unifacially flaked stone tool that defies classification, most lithic analysts maintain that the only true scrapers are defined on the base of...
from the late Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
/early Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
. Also bearing testament to the presence of man in prehistory are the Stalybridge cairns. The two monuments are situated on the summit of Hollingworthall Moor, 140 metres (459.3 ft) apart. One of the round cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
s is the best preserved Bronze Age monument in Tameside, and is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
. A branch of the Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
between the forts
Castra
The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
at Manchester (Mamucium) and Melandra Castle (Ardotalia
Ardotalia
Ardotalia is a Roman fort in Gamesley, near Glossop in Derbyshire, England .Ardotalia was constructed by Cohors Primae Frisiavonum—The First Cohort of Frisiavones. Evidence for the existence of this unit exists not only from the building stone found at the site but also from various diplomas and...
) is thought to run through Stalybridge to the fort of Castleshaw
Castleshaw Roman fort
Castleshaw 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...
.
Medieval times
Longdendale
Longdendale is a valley in the north of England, north of Glossop and south east of Holmfirth. The name means "long wooded valley".- Geography :...
was one of the ancient feudal estates of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
and included the area of Stalybridge. William de Neville was the first lord of Longdendale, appointed by the Earl of Chester
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Honour of Chester :The...
between 1162 and 1186. Buckton Castle
Buckton Castle
Buckton Castle is a medieval ringwork near Carrbrook, Stalybridge, England. It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument due to its proximity to the Buckton Vale Quarry. The castle is oval, with a stone curtain wall wide, surrounded by a ditch wide and deep. Buckton Castle was probably...
, near Stalybridge, was probably built by William de Neville in the late 12th century. As this was the only castle within the lordship it was probably the seat of the de Nevilles. The lordship of Longdendale included the manors
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Staley, Godley, Hattersley
Hattersley
Hattersley is a residential area within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the east of Hyde and 6 miles west of the Peak District National Park....
, Hollingworth
Hollingworth
Hollingworth is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is about twelve miles east of Manchester on the Derbyshire border at Glossop...
, Matley
Matley
Matley is a semi-rural area of Greater Manchester, England. It is located in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside between the towns of Stalybridge, Hyde and Dukinfield. Matley was a township of Mottram in Longdendale, one of the eight ancient parishes of the Macclesfield Hundred of Cheshire. Under...
, Mottram
Mottram in Longdendale
Mottram in Longdendale is an unparished village within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in the valley of Longdendale, on the border with Derbyshire and close to the Peak District neighbouring Broadbottom and Hattersley. Mottram in Longdendale Parish was...
, Newton, Tintwistle
Tintwistle
Tintwistle is a village and civil parish in the High Peak district of the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,401. The village is just north of Glossop at the lower end of Longdendale Valley...
and Werneth
Werneth, Greater Manchester
Werneth is an area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It is west-southwest of Oldham's commercial centre and one of Oldham's most ancient localities.-History:...
; the manor of Staley was first mentioned between 1211 and 1225.
The first records of the de Stavelegh family as Lords of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
date from the early 13th century. Staley Hall was their residence. The present hall was built in the late 16th century on the same site as an earlier hall of the Stayley family, dating from before 1343.
Sir Ralph Staley had no male heirs and after his death his daughter, Elizabeth Staley, married Sir Thomas Assheton, uniting the manors of Ashton and Staley. Elizabeth and Thomas had two daughters and no sons. Margaret, the eldest of their two daughters married Sir William Booth of Dunham Massey
Dunham Massey
Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouse and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Park, formerly the home of the last Earl of Stamford and owned by the National Trust...
The younger daughter, Elizabeth, was widowed without children. She continued to live at Staley Hall until her death in 1553. In her will her share of the lordships of Staley and Ashton were left to the Booths.
The manor of Staley remained in the possession of the Booth family until the death of George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington
George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington
George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington was the son of Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington by his wife Mary, the daughter and sole heiress of Sir James Langham, Bart. As the eldest surviving son, he inherited the title of Earl of Warrington on his father's death in 1693...
on 2 August 1758. Upon his death, the Earldom of Warrington became extinct. His only daughter, Lady Mary Booth, the wife of Henry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford, inherited all the Booth estates. The manor of Staley was owned by the Grey family until the extinction of the Earldoms on the death of Roger Grey, 10th Earl of Stamford in 1976. At this point the family estates were dispersed. Stamford Street, Grey Street, Groby Street, Stamford Park, Stamford Golf Club and the two Stamford Arms public houses in Stalybridge are all named after the Grey family.
Industrial Revolution
As Stayley expanded in the 18th century, it reached the banks of the River TameRiver Tame, Greater Manchester
The River Tame flows through Greater Manchester, England.-Source:The Tame rises on Denshaw Moor in Greater Manchester, close to the border with West Yorkshire but within the historic West Riding of Yorkshire.-Course:...
. The construction of a bridge in 1707 meant the settlement was now commonly referred to as Stalybridge, meaning the bridge at Stayley. By the mid-18th century Stalybridge had a population of just 140. Farming and woollen spinning were the main means subsistence at this time.
In 1776 the town's first water-powered mill for carding and spinning cotton was built at Rassbottom. In 1789 the town's first spinning mill using the principle of Arkwright
Richard Arkwright
Sir Richard Arkwright , was an Englishman who, although the patents were eventually overturned, is often credited for inventing the spinning frame — later renamed the water frame following the transition to water power. He also patented a carding engine that could convert raw cotton into yarn...
's Water Frame
Water frame
The water frame is the name given to the spinning frame, when water power is used to drive it. Both are credited to Richard Arkwright who patented the technology in 1768. It was based on an invention by Thomas Highs and the patent was later overturned...
was built. By 1793 steam power had been introduced to the Stalybridge cotton industry and by 1803 there were eight cotton mills in the growing town containing 76,000 spindles. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal
Huddersfield Narrow Canal
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under from Lock 1E at the rear of the University of Huddersfield campus, near Aspley Basin at Huddersfield to the junction with the Ashton Canal at Whitelands Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne...
was completed in 1811 and still runs through the town.
The rapid growth of industry in Stalybridge was due to the introduction of machinery. This was, however, met with violent opposition. After the arrival of the Luddites in the area the doors of mills were kept locked day and night. Military aid was requested by the mill owners and a Scottish regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
under the Duke of Montrose
Duke of Montrose
The title of Duke of Montrose was created twice in the peerage of Scotland, firstly in 1488 for David Lindsay, 5th Earl of Crawford. It was forfeited and then returned, but only for the period of the holder's lifetime...
was sent to the town. It was led by Captain Raines who made his headquarters at the Roe Cross Inn. The Luddite disturbances began in November 1811. Gangs of armed men destroyed power looms and fired mills. The disturbances in Stalybridge culminated with a night of violent rioting on 20 April 1812
The social unrest did not curb the growth of Stalybridge. By 1814 there were twelve factories and by 1818 the number had increased to sixteen. The Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
led to a rapid increase in the town's population in the early part of the 19th century. The population of the town by 1823 was 5,500. In the following two years, due in part to an influx of Irish families seeking better wages, the population rose to 9,000. Stalybridge was among the first wave of towns to establish a Mechanics' Institute with a view to educating the growing number of workers. Only a year after the establishment of Manchester Mechanics' Institute
UMIST
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research...
, Stalybridge founded an Institute of its own. Its doors opened on 7 September 1825 on Shepley Street with a reading room on Queen Street.
On 9 May 1828 the Stalybridge Police and Market Act received Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
, establishing Stalybridge as an independent town with a board of 21 Commissioners. Every male over the age of 21 who was the occupier of a rateable property under the act was entitled to vote at the election of the Commissioners. On 30 December 1831 the town hall and market were officially opened. In 1833 the Commissioners set up the 'Stalybridge Police Force', which was the first of its kind in the country. By this year the population of the town had reached 14,216 with 2.357 inhabited houses.
In 1834 a second bridge was built over the Tame. It was downstream of Staley bridge and constructed of iron.
The second Chartist
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
petition was presented to Parliament in April 1842. Stalybridge contributed 10,000 signatures. After the rejection of the petition the first general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
began in the coal mines of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. The second phase of the strike originated in Stalybridge.
A movement of resistance to the imposition of wage cuts in the mills, also known as the Plug Riots
1842 General Strike
The 1842 General Strike, also known as the Plug Plot Riots, started among the miners in Staffordshire, England, and soon spread through Britain affecting factories, mills and coal mines from Dundee to South Wales and Cornwall....
, it spread to involve nearly half a million workers throughout Britain and represented the biggest single exercise of working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
strength in 19th century Britain. On 13 August 1842 there was a strike at Bayley's Cotton Mill in Stalybridge, and roving cohorts of operatives carried the stoppage first to the whole area of Stalybridge and Ashton
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...
, then to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, and subsequently to towns adjacent to Manchester, using as much force as was necessary to bring mills to a standstill. The movement remained, to outward appearances, largely non-political. Although the People's Charter
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
was praised at public meetings, the resolutions that were passed at these were in almost all cases merely for a restoration of the wages of 1820, a ten-hour working day, or reduced rents.
In writing The Condition of The Working Class in England
The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844
The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 is one of the best-known works of Friedrich Engels.Originally written in German as Die Lage der arbeitenden Klasse in England, it is a study of the working class in Victorian England. It was also Engels' first book, written during his stay in...
(1844), Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
used Stalybridge as an example:
... multitudes of courts, back lanes, and remote nooks arise out of [the] confused way of building ... Add to this the shocking filth, and the repulsive effect of Stalybridge, in spite of its pretty surroundings, may be readily imagined.
John Summers first established an iron forge in Stalybridge in the 1840s. Later, he and his sons developed this into a major business, and employed over 1,000 local men in their factory, the largest in the town.
The Ashton, Stalybridge and Liverpool Junction Railway
Ashton, Stalybridge and Liverpool Junction Railway
The Ashton, Stalybridge & Liverpool Junction Railway , was formed in 1844 and was taken over by the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1847.-History:...
Company was formed in 19 July 1844 and the railway was connected to Stalybridge on 5 October 1846. On 9 July 1847 the company was acquired by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
. On 1 August 1849 the Manchester, Stockport and Leeds Railway connected Stalybridge to Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
and later to Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
. This line later became part of the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
.
The cotton famine
On the outbreak of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
in 1861, the Stalybridge cotton mills rapidly ran short of cotton. Thousands of operatives were laid off. In October 1862, a meeting was held in the Stalybridge Town Hall which passed a resolution blaming the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
and their actions in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
for the cotton famine
Cotton famine
The Lancashire Cotton Famine, also known as The Cotton Famine or the Cotton Panic , was a depression in the textile industry of North West England, brought about by the interruption of baled cotton imports caused by the American Civil War. The boom years of 1859 and 1860 had produced more woven...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. By the winter of 1862–1863 there were 7,000 unemployed operatives in the town. Only five of the town's 39 factories and 24 machine shops were employing people full-time. Contributions were sent from all over the world for the relief of the cotton operatives in Lancashire; and at one point three-quarters of Stalybridge workers were dependent on relief schemes. By 1863 there were 750 empty houses in the town. A thousand skilled men and women left the town, in what became known as "The Panic".
In 1863 the relief committee decided to substitute a system of relief by ticket instead of money. The tickets were to be presented at local grocers shops. An organised resistance was organised culminating on Friday 20 March 1863.
In 1867 Stalybridge was disturbed by the arrival of William Murphy. Records of this man indicate that his sole interest was to sow the seeds of dissent between Roman Catholics, who by this time had grown to significant proportions, and Protestants. He succeeded in this goal only too well for a full year. During 1868 there were a number of violent disturbances and rioting created by this man who described himself as a "renegade Roman Catholic". In his lectures to the public "pretending to expose the religious practices of the Roman Catholic Church", he became a master at whipping up a crowd into a frenzy. Newspaper reports of the time told of his common practice of waving a revolver in the air in "a most threatening manner". On one occasion he incited a riot of such proportions that Fr. Daley, the parish priest of St. Peter's took to the roof of the church to defend it. A man was shot. The parish priest was tried but eventually acquitted at the Quarter Sessions
Quarter Sessions
The Courts of Quarter Sessions or Quarter Sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the United Kingdom and other countries in the former British Empire...
. Following this incident, the community began to settle down and Murphy chose to extend his political activities elsewhere.
In 1867, the Victoria Bridge on Trinity Street was built. The Victoria Market Hall was constructed in 1868 and the public baths were opened in May 1870. The baths were presented as a gift to the town by philanthropists and benefactors Robert Platt (1802–1882), born in Stalybridge, and his wife Margaret Platt (1819–1888), born in Salford.
The Stalybridge Borough Band was formed in March 1871, holding its first rehearsals and meetings at the Moulder's Arms, Grasscroft Street, Castle Hall. The band was known as the 4th Cheshire Rifleman Volunteers (Borough Band) until 1896. The founder and first conductor was Alexander Owen who conducted the band until at least 1907.
20th century
The character of Stalybridge altered over the 20th century. At the turn of the century the cotton industry was still strong and the population of the town reached its peak in 1901, at 27,623, but as trade dwindled the population began to decline and, despite the intensified employment of the war years, the main industry of Stalybridge continued to fail.Mrs Ada Summers was elected first woman mayor of Stalybridge in November 1919. At that time mayors of boroughs were justices, as well as chairmen of borough benches, by right of office. However, it was not until The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919
Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919
The Sex Disqualification Act 1919 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It became law when it received Royal Assent on 23 December 1919.-Provisions of the Act:...
came into force on 23 December 1919 that women could become magistrates. Sitting ex-officio Ada Summers became the first woman magistrate in the country and was sworn in on 31 December. Ada Summers was, probably, the first woman to officially adjudicate in court. Ada Summers photo appeared in the weekly journal Great Thoughts, 5 June 1920, alongside an interview on "The First Woman JP" on her work. Ada Summers was the widow of a local ironmaster. She was an active suffragist and Liberal and used her wealth and position to support a number of schemes designed to improve conditions in the town. These included a maternity and child welfare clinic, clinics for the sick and poor and an unofficial employment centre. She later became an alderman and was appointed MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
. On 31 May 1939 she was awarded the Honorary Freedom of the Borough
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
.
In 1929, with no room for expansion at Stalybridge, the Summers sheet rolling and galvanising plants were transferred to Shotton
Shotton, Flintshire
Shotton is a town in Flintshire, north Wales, lying on the River Dee. The name derives from the Old Norse words sjò and tùn . It is continuous with the towns of Connah's Quay and Queensferry in what is called Deeside...
in North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
, having devastating effects on local employment; the new plant later became a major component in the British Steel
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
Corporation. By 1932, seven of the town's largest mills had closed and unemployment reached 7,000. In 1934 the borough council set up an Industrial Development Committee for the purpose of encouraging new industries to settle in the town. The committee purchased Cheetham's Mill
John Frederick Cheetham
John Frederick Cheetham PC was a cotton mill-owner in Cheshire and a Liberal Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons for two five-year periods, in the 1880s and the 1900s....
and rented it out to small firms engaged in a wide variety of enterprises. By 1939 unemployment in the town had almost disappeared.
1939–2000
Stalybridge experienced intensive black-out periods and frequent air-raid warning during the Second World War. Bombs dropped by enemy aircraft mainly landed in open country and there were no civilian casualties. On 19 July 1946 King George VI and Queen ElizabethElizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
visited Stalybridge. The town's war memorial was extended after the war, to bear the names of an extra 124 men from the town; it was unveiled on 23 April 1950.
In the post-war period council housing was provided by the local authority as separate council estates. The 'Buckton Vale' estate was built between January 1950 and March 1953; the 'Stamford Park' estate between January 1953 and January 1955, the 'Copley'
Copley, Greater Manchester
Copley is an area of the town of Stalybridge, which lies at the foot of the Pennines, 8 miles east of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. The area has a local secondary school which is attached to a local recreational centre and swimming pool....
estate commenced building in August 1954 and the 'Ridgehill' estate in January 1956.
In 1955, after the adoption of the first 'post-war slum clearance plan', new housing estates were built to replace the slums and, gradually, redundant textile mills were occupied by firms in the various light industries. New applications of engineering principles, the manufacture of rubber goods, plastics, chemicals and packaging materials were all introduced, as well as the addition of synthetic fibres to the textile trade, reducing unemployment.
On 19 October 1970 a frightened red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
registered a speed of 42 mi/h on a police radar trap as it charged down Mottram Road. The early 1970s saw the development of private semi-detached and detached housing estates, particularly in the Mottram Rise, Hough Hill, Hollins and Carrbrook areas; the redevelopment of Castle Hall was also completed.
The construction of the Buckton Vale overspill estate
Overspill estate
An 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....
also took place in the early 1970s.
The early 1980s saw the closure of the public baths after the completion of Copley Recreation Centre. One of the symbols of the late-19th century civic improvement, the baths were subsequently demolished.
In 1991, for the first time since 1901, there was an increase in the population of Stalybridge to 22,295. The 1990s saw the proliferation of Mock Tudor style estates at Moorgate and along Huddersfield Road, close to Staley Hall, this continued into the 21st century with the completion of the Crowswood estate in Millbrook.
21st century
The Huddersfield Narrow CanalHuddersfield Narrow Canal
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under from Lock 1E at the rear of the University of Huddersfield campus, near Aspley Basin at Huddersfield to the junction with the Ashton Canal at Whitelands Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne...
, which had been culverted in the early 1970s, was reinstated to the town centre between 1999 and May 2001 as part of a two year, multi-million pound refurbishment. The canal now runs under the legs of an electricity pylon
Huddersfield Narrow Canal Pylon
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal Pylon, , is an electricity pylon which stands with its feet over the Huddersfield Narrow Canal near Heyrod, Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom....
. The market hall closed on New Year's Eve 1999 and became the Civic Hall in 2001. Four years later, the area designated for retail space became exhibition space. There were plans to reopen the market and let the retail hall out to private contractors, though this came to naught. The town's cinema, The Palace closed on 31 August 2003, with the last film being 'American Pie 3: The Wedding'. The Palace Cinema has since been converted to become Rififi Nightclub and Amber Lounge Bar & Restaurant.
In 2004 the Metropolitan Borough Council
Tameside
The 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 spans the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge. Its western...
announced that they had granted permission for a developer to build 16 homes next to Staley Hall. A condition of the planning consent was that the hall be restored. As of 2008 the hall is still deteriorating. It is now listed as being in very bad condition on the English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
buildings at risk register.
Civic history
The Municipal Borough of Stalybridge received its charterRoyal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
of incorporation on 5 March 1857, having been formed from part of Ashton-under-Lyne
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...
parish in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
and parts of Dukinfield
Dukinfield
Dukinfield 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...
and Stayley parishes in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. The Royal Charter declared that the council should consist of a Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, 6 Aldermen and 18 Councillors. The Borough was divided into three wards: Lancashire; Staley and Dukinfield. A list of Burgesses was published on 21 April 1857 and the first election of councillors was held on 1 May 1857. The contesting parties were the whites and the yellows. The council met for the first time on 9 May and elected the first six Aldermen from among those councillors the first Mayor 'William Bayley' was elected.
The Arms of Stalybridge were granted by the College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
after the town received its charter of incorporation. The arms incorporated features from the coat of arms of the Stayley, Assheton, Dukinfield and Astley families who had all been land owners in the town. The motto, "absque labore nihil", means "nothing without labour".
Under the terms of the Public Health Acts 1873 and 1875 Stalybridge corporation, like other municipal boroughs governed under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, was designated as the authority governing the Urban sanitary district.
The borough, both on the Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
and Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
sides of the river, was placed wholly within the administrative county
Administrative counties of England
Administrative 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 as the areas for which county councils were elected. Some large counties were divided into several administrative...
of Cheshire in 1889, under the Local Government Act 1888
Local Government Act 1888
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...
, and Cheshire was adopted as the postal county
Postal counties of the United Kingdom
The 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...
for the entire town. The town is now part of the SK postcode area
SK postcode area
The SK postcode area, also known as the Stockport postcode area, is a group of postcode districts around Alderley Edge, Buxton, Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme, Dukinfield, Glossop, High Peak, Hyde, Macclesfield, Stalybridge, Stockport and Wilmslow in England....
.
On 1 April 1936 Stalybridge was enlarged by gaining part of Matley
Matley
Matley is a semi-rural area of Greater Manchester, England. It is located in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside between the towns of Stalybridge, Hyde and Dukinfield. Matley was a township of Mottram in Longdendale, one of the eight ancient parishes of the Macclesfield Hundred of Cheshire. Under...
civil parish, which had previously been part of Tintwistle
Tintwistle
Tintwistle is a village and civil parish in the High Peak district of the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,401. The village is just north of Glossop at the lower end of Longdendale Valley...
rural district
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...
.
Stalybridge was twinned, in 1955, with Armentières
Armentières
Armentières is a commune in the Nord department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in northern France. It is part of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole, and lies on the Belgian border, northwest of the city of Lille, on the right bank of the river Lys....
, France. In 1974 the area and assets of the Municipal Borough were combined with those of others districts, to form the Metropolitan Borough
Metropolitan borough
A 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...
of Tameside
Tameside
The 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 spans the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge. Its western...
. Stalybridge is currently represented by the occupants of nine of the 57 seats on the local Metropolitan Borough Council. These seats are spread over three wards: Stalybridge North; Stalybridge South and Dukinfield Stalybidge. Stalybridge currently has four Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
councillors and five Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
councillors. Since 1998 the nine Stalybidge councillors have held meetings on a bimonthly basis, as the Stalybridge District Assembly.
Parliamentary representation
As a county palatineCounty palatine
A county palatine or palatinate is an area ruled by an hereditary nobleman possessing special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom or empire. The name derives from the Latin adjective palatinus, "relating to the palace", from the noun palatium, "palace"...
Cheshire
Cheshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Cheshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentiary constituency for the county of Cheshire. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832.As a county...
was unrepresented in Parliament until the Chester and Cheshire (Constituencies) Act 1542. From 1545 Cheshire was represented by two Knights of the Shire
Knights of the Shire
From the creation of the Parliament of England in mediaeval times until 1826 each county of England and Wales sent two Knights of the Shire as members of Parliament to represent the interests of the county, when the number of knights from Yorkshire was increased to four...
. On the passage of the Great Reform Act of 1832, the area of Stalybridge south of the Tame was included in the North Cheshire
North Cheshire (UK Parliament constituency)
North Cheshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was created upon the division of Cheshire in 1832. In 1868, it was abolished with South Cheshire to form East Cheshire, Mid Cheshire, West Cheshire and Stalybridge....
constituency.
Between the passing of the Second Reform Act
Reform Act 1867
The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised the urban male working class in England and Wales....
in 1867, and the general election of 1918, the town was represented in its own right through the Stalybridge Borough constituency
Stalybridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Stalybridge was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until 1918. It was based around the borough of Stalybridge, partly situated in Lancashire and partly in Cheshire....
. Since the 1918 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
the town has been represented in Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
by the member for the Stalybridge and Hyde county constituency. The current Member of Parliament is Jonathan Reynolds MP, a former Tameside Councillor.
Geography
At 53°29′0"N 2°2′24"W (53.483, -2.040) Stalybridge lies in the foothills of the PenninesPennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
, straddling the River Tame
River Tame, Greater Manchester
The River Tame flows through Greater Manchester, England.-Source:The Tame rises on Denshaw Moor in Greater Manchester, close to the border with West Yorkshire but within the historic West Riding of Yorkshire.-Course:...
. The river forms part of the ancient boundary
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
between Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
and Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. On the boundary of the Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
national park
National parks of the United Kingdom
National parks of the United Kingdom are a devolved matter with each of the countries of the United Kingdom having its own policies and arrangements. There are 15 of these managed areas of outstanding landscape where habitation and commercial activities are restricted, with 10 in England, 3 in...
. The highest point in the town is the summit of Wild Bank
Wild Bank
Wild Bank is a hill in Stalybridge, just outside the Peak District National Park. Its western flank rises from the valley of the River Tame to a height of 399 metres. To the east of the summit, the ground falls away more gradually to Shaw Moor and Hollingworthall Moor, beyond which are Mottram...
at 1309 feet (399 m). Harridge Pike
Harridge Pike
Harridge Pike is a hill situated within the boundaries of Stalybridge, Greater Manchester just outside the Peak District National Park. Its western flank rises from the valley of the River Tame to a height of 395 metres. To the east, the pike falls away more gradually to Swineshaw Moor which,...
is the second highest peak at 1296 ft (395 m). Buckton Hill, the site of the mediaeval Buckton Castle
Buckton Castle
Buckton Castle is a medieval ringwork near Carrbrook, Stalybridge, England. It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument due to its proximity to the Buckton Vale Quarry. The castle is oval, with a stone curtain wall wide, surrounded by a ditch wide and deep. Buckton Castle was probably...
, is another prominent landmark. The town centre itself is situated along the banks of the river between Ridge Hill to the north and Hough Hill 801 ft (244.1 m) to the south. Stalybridge Weather Station is voluntarily manned and has been providing statistics since 1999. The local bedrock is millstone grit
Gritstone
Gritstone or Grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for paper and for grindstones to sharpen blades. "Grit" is...
, covered by a thin layer of soil over clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
, with surface rock outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...
s.
Over the course of the 20th century the population of the town declined, after the demolition of the mid-19th century high density housing. At the 2001 census Stalybridge had a population of 22,568. The town includes the localities of Heyheads
Heyheads
Heyheads is the easternmost area of Stalybridge, in Greater Manchester, England. The area includes the sixteenth century Grade II listed Nos 1, 2 and 3 Moorgate Farmhouse and adjoining barn and shippon buildings. Boundary cottages mark the boundary between Stalybridge and Mossley and the former...
, Buckton Vale, Carrbrook
Carrbrook
Carrbrook is an area in the east of Stalybridge, in Greater Manchester, England. The area still has many seventeenth and eighteenth century buildings. Much of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century village was built during the industrial boom brought by the printworks. Modern Housing...
, Millbrook
Millbrook, Greater Manchester
Millbrook is a village near Stalybridge, northwest England. It is part of the Stalybridge South ward of Tameside metropolitan borough.-History:...
, Brushes, Copley
Copley, Greater Manchester
Copley is an area of the town of Stalybridge, which lies at the foot of the Pennines, 8 miles east of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. The area has a local secondary school which is attached to a local recreational centre and swimming pool....
, Mottram Rise, Woodlands, Matley
Matley
Matley is a semi-rural area of Greater Manchester, England. It is located in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside between the towns of Stalybridge, Hyde and Dukinfield. Matley was a township of Mottram in Longdendale, one of the eight ancient parishes of the Macclesfield Hundred of Cheshire. Under...
, Hough Hill, Castle Hall, Hollins
Hollins
-People:* Alfred Hollins , British composer and organist* Chris Hollins, BBC sports presenter* Damon Hollins, American baseball player* Dave Hollins, American baseball player* Dave Hollins: Space Cadet, fictional character from a BBC Radio 4 series...
, Hydes, Rassbottom, Waterloo, Cocker Hill, the Hague, Springs, Ridge Hill and Heyrod
Heyrod
Heyrod is a suburban village in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. It is between Stalybridge and Mossley.In contrast to the rest of Stalybridge, which was anciently a part of Cheshire, Heyrod was formerly a part of Lancashire...
.
Demography
| Stalybridge | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK census | Stalybridge | Tameside | England |
| Total population | 22,568 | 213,043 | 49,138,831 |
| White | 97.1% | 91.2% | 91% |
| Asian | 1.9% | 5.6% | 4.6% |
| Black | 0.1% | 1.2% | 2.3% |
According to the Office for National Statistics
Office for National Statistics
The 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 :...
, at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, Stalybridge had a population of 22,568. The 2001 population density was 4,451 per km², with a 100 to 95.0 female-to-male ratio. Of those over 16 years old, 29.2% were single (never married) and 41.6% married. Stalybridge's 9,331 households included 29.1% one-person, 38.3% married couples living together, 9.7% were co-habiting
Cohabitation
Cohabitation usually refers to an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married...
couples, and 12.0% single parents with their children. Of those aged 16–74, 31.7% had no academic qualifications
National Qualifications Framework
The National Qualifications Framework is a credit transfer system developed for qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
, below the average for Tameside (35.2%) but slightly higher than England (28.9%).
Population change
| Population change in Stalybridge since 1823 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1823 | 1825 | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1939 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1991 | 2001 |
| Population | 5,500 | 9,000 | 27,673 | 26,513 | 25,213 | 24,831 | 22,299 | 22,541 | 21,947 | 22,799 | 22,921 | 22,568 |
| Source:http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10137093&c_id=10001043&add=N | ||||||||||||
Environment
Much of the upland areas of the town are grouseGrouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...
moors
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
. Boar Flat is part of the Dark Peak
Dark Peak
The Dark Peak is the higher, wilder northern part of the Peak District in England.It gets its name because , the underlying limestone is covered by a cap of Millstone Grit which means that in winter the soil is almost always saturated with water...
Site of Special Scientific Interest, as classified by Natural England
Natural England
Natural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...
. The slopes below the moors, particularly beneath Harridge Pike, are used for sheep grazing by the hill farms. The Stalybridge Country Park centres on two areas. Firstly, the Brushes Valley, with its four reservoirs running up into the Pennine Moors, and secondly Carrbrook, lying in the shadow of Buckton Castle
Buckton Castle
Buckton Castle is a medieval ringwork near Carrbrook, Stalybridge, England. It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument due to its proximity to the Buckton Vale Quarry. The castle is oval, with a stone curtain wall wide, surrounded by a ditch wide and deep. Buckton Castle was probably...
. Linking the two areas, although outside the country park boundaries, is a good rights of way network, and areas of designated access land which take visitors into the Tame Valley, Longdendale
Longdendale
Longdendale is a valley in the north of England, north of Glossop and south east of Holmfirth. The name means "long wooded valley".- Geography :...
and the Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
. The country park affords views of the Cheshire Plain
Cheshire Plain
The Cheshire Plain is a relatively flat expanse of lowland situated almost entirely within the county of Cheshire in northwest England. It is bounded by the hills of North Wales to the west, and the Peak District of Derbyshire and North Staffordshire to the east and southeast...
, Jodrell Bank
Jodrell Bank
The Jodrell Bank Observatory is a British observatory that hosts a number of radio telescopes, and is part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester...
and on very clear days the mountains of Snowdonia
Snowdonia
Snowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...
. Buckton Castle and Stalybridge cairn, a round cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
, west of Hollingworthhall Moor are both Scheduled Ancient Monuments.
The town's two parks are the main open spaces in the town centre. Cheetham Park was opened in June 1932 to a crowd of 15,000 people. The park was left to the town under the will of John Frederick Cheetham
John Frederick Cheetham
John Frederick Cheetham PC was a cotton mill-owner in Cheshire and a Liberal Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons for two five-year periods, in the 1880s and the 1900s....
along with his house, Eastwood, and his collection of paintings, which now form part of the 'Astley Cheetham Art Gallery' collection. The park is landscaped informally with large areas of woodland. Adjacent to Cheetham's Park lies the Eastwood Nature Reserve. Eastwood was one of the first reserves to be owned by the RSPB. It is managed by Cheshire Wildlife Trust
Cheshire Wildlife Trust
The Cheshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Cheshire and parts of the counties of Greater Manchester and Merseyside, England...
. The reserve is a cut-over, lowland, raised mire SSSI, surrounded by a woodland fringe. Characteristic bog plants include sphagnum
Sphagnum
Sphagnum is a genus of between 151 and 350 species of mosses commonly called peat moss, due to its prevalence in peat bogs and mires. A distinction is made between sphagnum moss, the live moss growing on top of a peat bog on one hand, and sphagnum peat moss or sphagnum peat on the other, the...
mosses, cotton grass and cross-leaved heath. Nine species of dragonfly
Dragonfly
A dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...
and damselfly
Damselfly
Damselflies are insects in the order Odonata. Damselflies are similar to dragonflies, but the adults can be distinguished by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, and parallel to, the body when at rest...
have been recorded on the reserve, along with the Green Hairstreak
Green Hairstreak
The Green Hairstreak, Callophrys rubi, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.Callophrys rubi is found in Europe, North Africa, Russia, Asia Minor, Siberia, Amurland , Baluchistan and Chitral....
butterfly. The steep-sided broadleaved woodland is bisected by 'Acres Brook' and contains several old mill ponds. The geology is shale and sandstone, with a rich variety of plants and animals typical of woodland habitat on an acid soil. Access is from the A6018 Mottram Road. Car parking is available in Stalybridge Celtic FC's car park. The reserve occupies 4.7 hectares (11.6 acres).
Stamford Park is registered by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as being of special interest. In 1865, local mill owner Abel Harrison died and his home, Highfield House, and its extensive grounds, on the border with Ashton were bought by the two towns. Neighbouring land was donated by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford and 3rd Earl of Warrington
George Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford
George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, 3rd Earl of Warrington was an English peer.George Harry Grey was born in Enville, Staffordshire, the son of George Harry Grey, Baron Grey of Groby . He succeeded his father as 9th Baron Grey of Groby in 1835...
. The whole area was landscaped to become Stamford Park and opened, by the Earl on 12 July 1873. The former mill reservoir, known as 'Chadwick Dams', was incorporated into the park in 1891. The reservoir was divided in two by an embankment, with the southern section becoming the present boating lake. This area includes waterfalls cascading over rock faces and gargoyles built into the bridges and walls. The park has tennis courts, putting greens, bowling greens, a children's playground, paddling pool and an animal corner with a variety of birds and animals. The park is the venue for the annual 'Tulip Sunday Festival'.
Music
Stalybridge has an established musical tradition. The Stalybridge Old Band was formed in 1809, perhaps the first civilian brass bandBrass band (British style)
A British-style brass band is a musical ensemble comprising a standardised range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 19th century, with a vibrant tradition of competition based around local industry and communities...
in the world. The band currently contests in the second section
Brass Band Sections in Britain
There are five main brass band sections in the United Kingdom: Championship, First, Second, Third, and Fourth. The top bands are in the Championship section, and the bottom ones are in the Fourth section...
. Carrbrook Brass currently contests in the fourth section
Brass Band Sections in Britain
There are five main brass band sections in the United Kingdom: Championship, First, Second, Third, and Fourth. The top bands are in the Championship section, and the bottom ones are in the Fourth section...
and represent the town annually at the Armentières
Armentières
Armentières is a commune in the Nord department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in northern France. It is part of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole, and lies on the Belgian border, northwest of the city of Lille, on the right bank of the river Lys....
festival. An annual brass band contest has been held in the town on Whit Friday
Whit Friday
Whit Friday, meaning White Friday, is the name given to the first Friday after Pentecost or Whitsun .The day has a cultural significance in northern England, as the date on which the annual Whit Walks are traditionally held...
, since at least 1870. Other contests have been held on the same day in the surrounding villages of Millbrook
Millbrook, Greater Manchester
Millbrook is a village near Stalybridge, northwest England. It is part of the Stalybridge South ward of Tameside metropolitan borough.-History:...
, Carrbrook
Carrbrook
Carrbrook is an area in the east of Stalybridge, in Greater Manchester, England. The area still has many seventeenth and eighteenth century buildings. Much of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century village was built during the industrial boom brought by the printworks. Modern Housing...
and Heyrod
Heyrod
Heyrod is a suburban village in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. It is between Stalybridge and Mossley.In contrast to the rest of Stalybridge, which was anciently a part of Cheshire, Heyrod was formerly a part of Lancashire...
. There is now an established tradition of holding brass band contests on this day around Staybridge, Mossley and Saddleworth
Saddleworth
Saddleworth 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...
. Bands travel by coach from all over the United Kingdom, and sometimes from other countries, to contest in as many different locations as possible on the day.
The song It's a Long Way to Tipperary
It's a Long Way to Tipperary
It's a Long Way to Tipperary is a British music hall and marching song written by Jack Judge and co-credited to, but not co-written by, Henry James "Harry" Williams. It was allegedly written for a 5 shilling bet in Stalybridge on 30 January 1912 and performed the next night at the local music hall...
was created in the Newmarket Tavern, by the composer Jack Judge
Jack Judge
Jack Judge was a song-writer and music-hall entertainer best remembered for writing the song It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary.- Life :...
, in 1912, after being challenged to write, compose, and produce a song in ;just one night;. It was first sung in public by him in the Grand Theatre on Corporation Street on 31 January 1912. On 31 January 1953 a memorial tablet was unveiled by Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton was a British band leader and impresario.He was born John Greenhalgh Hilton in the Great Lever area of Bolton, Lancashire, the son of George Hilton, a cotton yarn twister. His father was an amateur singer at the local Labour Club and Jack learned piano to accompany him on the stage...
on the wall of the old Newmarket Tavern, where the song was composed. To coincide with the ceremony a wreath was laid on Jack Judge's grave, by the mayor of Oldbury
Oldbury
Oldbury may refer to:*Oldbury, Western Australia, a district south of Perth, Australia*Oldbury, Shropshire, a village near Bridgnorth, England, UK*Oldbury, South Gloucestershire, a village south of Bridgnorth, England, UK...
. Jack Judge is now also commemorated by a statue in Lord Pendry
Tom Pendry, Baron Pendry
Thomas Pendry, Baron Pendry PC is a Labour politician and member of the House of Lords. He was previously the Labour member of parliament for Stalybridge and Hyde from 1970 to 2001. In 2000, prior to his retirement as an MP he was made a member of the Privy council on the recommendation of Tony...
Square outside the Old Victoria Market Hall.
More recently a live folk music tradition has developed in the town. The Buffet Bar Folk Club meets every Saturday at 9 pm. and also, the Free and Easy folk club meet at 9pm on alternate Thursdays at The White House public house in the town centre. Some members of the Fivepenny Piece
Fivepenny Piece
Fivepenny Piece are a five-piece band, originally formed in 1969 in the area of East Lancashire around Ashton-under-Lyne and nearby Stalybridge in Cheshire...
who sang traditional North Country music in the 1970s were from Stalybridge. and the band performed songs such as Stalybridge Station and Stalybridge Market. They also took In Bowton's Yard, the work of local poet Samuel Laycock
Samuel Laycock
Samuel Laycock was a dialect poet who recorded in verse the vernacular of the Lancashire cotton workers. He was born on 17 January 1826 at Intake Head, Pule Hill, Marsden, West Yorkshire, the son of John Laycock, a hand-loom weaver. He had no formal education apart from Sunday school and a few...
, and put it to music.
Art
Built as a gift to the town of Stalybridge by John Frederick CheethamJohn Frederick Cheetham
John Frederick Cheetham PC was a cotton mill-owner in Cheshire and a Liberal Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons for two five-year periods, in the 1880s and the 1900s....
and his wife Beatrice Astley, the Astley Cheetham Art Gallery originally opened to the public as a lecture theatre on 14 January 1901. The space was turned into a gallery to house the Astley Cheetham Collection, bequeathed in 1932. This collection has grown with gifts and donations throughout the 20th century and is one of the most interesting small regional collections of 15th century Italian paintings. The collection of work by Italian old masters includes 'Portrait of a Young Man' by Alessandro Allori
Alessandro Allori
Alessandro di Cristofano di Lorenzo del Bronzino Allori was an Italian portrait painter of the late Mannerist Florentine school....
. Also, British art of the 19th and 20th centuries is represented by artists such as John Linnell
John Linnell
John Sidney Linnell is an American musician, is known primarily as one half of Brooklyn, New York alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants...
, Richard Parkes Bonington
Richard Parkes Bonington
Richard Parkes Bonington was an English Romantic landscape painter. One of the most influential British artists of his time, the facility of his style was inspired by the old masters, yet was entirely modern in its application.-Life and work:Richard Parkes Bonington was born in the town of Arnold,...
, George Price Boyce
George Price Boyce
George Price Boyce was a British watercolour painter of landscapes and vernacular architecture in the Pre-Raphaelite style. He was a patron and friend of Dante Gabriel Rossetti....
, Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
, Mark Gertler and Duncan Grant
Duncan Grant
Duncan James Corrowr Grant was a British painter and designer of textiles, potterty and theatre sets and costumes...
. Aske Hall
Aske Hall
Aske Hall is a Georgian country house, with parkland attributed to Capability Brown, north of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It contains an impressive collection of 18th-century furniture, paintings and porcelain, and in its grounds a John Carr stable block converted into a chapel in...
by J. M. W. Turner
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner RA was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting...
is also part of the gallery's collection. Alongside exhibitions of the collection, the gallery also hosts a programme of temporary exhibitions by regional artists.
During the earlier part of the 20th century, Stalybridge was artistically captured by the painter L. S. Lowry
L. S. Lowry
Laurence 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...
. Some of his paintings were of the people of Stalybridge. Lowry continued painting pictures until his death in 1976. His house is marked with a blue plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
on Stalybridge Road, Mottram in Longdendale
Mottram in Longdendale
Mottram in Longdendale is an unparished village within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in the valley of Longdendale, on the border with Derbyshire and close to the Peak District neighbouring Broadbottom and Hattersley. Mottram in Longdendale Parish was...
. There is also a statue of him, holding his sketch pad, on a bench near the Stalybridge Road bus stop. Sheila Vaughan is a Stalybridge artist working in oils and acrylic. Her work and that of other Stalybridge artists such as Keith Taylor are displayed at The Peoples Gallery on Melbourne Street.
Literature
As well as being described by Engels, Stalybridge was featured in Disraeli's ConingsbyConingsby (novel)
Coningsby, or The New Generation, is an English political novel by Benjamin Disraeli published in 1844.-Background:The book is set against a background of the real political events of the 1830s in England that followed the enactment of the Reform Bill of 1832...
. The children's author Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
visited Gorse Hall many times as a child as it was the home of her maternal grandmother. Samuel Laycock (1826–1893) was a librarian at the Mechanics' Institute for two years. His poetry presents a vivid impression of mid 19th century, working class life and he drew on his personal experience in the cotton industry. His best-loved poems are "Bowton's Yard" and "Bonny Brid" – both written in Stalybridge. Tim Willocks
Tim Willocks
Timothy Willocks is a British doctor and novelist born in Stalybridge Greater Manchester, England. An experienced psychiatrist, Willocks has worked for some years on the rehabilitation of the sufferers of drug addiction.-Career:...
, author of Bad City Blues, Green River Rising and Bloodstained Kings is from Stalybridge. Dolores Gordon-Smith, author of the Jack Haldean murder mystery series (published by Constable & Robinson and currently by Severn House) and Frankies' Letter (on Kindle) is from Stalybridge and currently resides there.
Whit Friday
Whit FridayWhit Friday
Whit Friday, meaning White Friday, is the name given to the first Friday after Pentecost or Whitsun .The day has a cultural significance in northern England, as the date on which the annual Whit Walks are traditionally held...
is the name given to the first Friday after Whitsun
Whitsun
Whitsun is the name used in the UK for the Christian festival of Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples...
in areas of northeast Cheshire, southeast Lancashire and the western fringes of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is 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...
. The day has a cultural significance in Stalybridge as the date on which the annual Whit Walks were traditionally held. It is also the day on which the traditional annual Whit Friday brass band contests are held.
Wakes Week
The wakesWakes week
The wakes week is a holiday period in parts of England and Scotland.- History :Wakes were originally religious festivals that commemorated church dedications...
were originally religious festivals that commemorated church dedications. Particularly important was the Rushcart
Rushcart
The rushcart ceremony, derives from Rogationtide. Parishioners would process around the parish once a year, bearing rushes. They would end up at the parish church and place the rushes on the floor of the church, to replace worn-out rushes...
festival associated with Rogationtide
Rogation days
Rogation days are, in the calendar of the Western Church, four days traditionally set apart for solemn processions to invoke God's mercy. They are April 25, the Major Rogation, coinciding with St...
. During the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
the tradition of the wakes was adapted into a regular summer break in the mill town
Mill town
A 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 of Lancashire, where each locality would nominate a wakes week during which the cotton mills would all close at the same time. Stalybridge Wakes occurs in the third week of July. Wakes Week became the focus for fairs, and eventually for holidays where the mill workers would go to the seaside, eventually on the newly developing railways.
Food and drink
Stalybridge has the public housePublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
with the longest name in Britain – The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn – and also the one with the shortest, Q. The railway station is one of the last in Britain to retain its original buffet, the 1998 refurbishment of which won awards from CAMRA and English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
.
The restoration of the canal between 1999 and 2001 attracted new commercial ventures such as riverside cafés and boat trips. The reopening of the canal and the fact that the Tame runs through the town centre resulted in the nickname Little Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. Stalybridge has in recent years, acquired another nickname, Stalyvegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, at first coined as a reaction to a council traffic management plan which included a large number of traffic lights surrounding the main shopping centre, making it difficult to access the shops, the nickname became popular and was used ironically after the controversial conversion of premises in the shopping area into nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s and bars, the proliferation of takeaways and the refurbishment of some of the more traditional pubs
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
.
The town's traditional foods include Tater Pie, a variation on Lancashire Hotpot
Lancashire Hotpot
Lancashire hotpot is a dish made traditionally from lamb or mutton and onion, topped with sliced potatoes, left to bake in the oven all day in a heavy pot and on a low heat. Originating in the days of heavy industrialisation in Lancashire in the North West of England, it requires a minimum of...
, black peas
Black Peas
Black peas, also called parched peas or maple peas, form a traditional Lancashire dish served often on or around Bonfire Night . The dish, popular in Rochdale, Oldham, Wigan, Bury and Bolton, is made from the purple podded pea which is long soaked overnight and simmered to produce a type of mushy...
, today mainly eaten on Whit Friday
Whit Friday
Whit Friday, meaning White Friday, is the name given to the first Friday after Pentecost or Whitsun .The day has a cultural significance in northern England, as the date on which the annual Whit Walks are traditionally held...
, and tripe
Tripe
Tripe is a type of edible offal from the stomachs of various farm animals.-Beef tripe:...
. Stalybridge is the location of the region's last remaining tripe shop.
Media
The Stalybridge Reporter weekly newspaper was established in 1855. With The North Cheshire Herald it now serves the wider district under the name The Tamesider Reporter. Its office, and that of The Glossop Chronicle is at Park House, Acres Lane. The weekly free newspaper The Tameside Advertiser was established in 1979 and is now owned by the Guardian Media GroupGuardian Media Group
Guardian Media Group plc is a company of the United Kingdom owning various mass media operations including The Guardian and The Observer. The Group is owned by the Scott Trust. It was founded as the Manchester Guardian Ltd in 1907 when C. P. Scott bought the Manchester Guardian from the estate of...
and distributed throughout Stalybridge. The town has been used for location shoots for various film and television series. The most notable of these was the John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
film Yanks
Yanks
Yanks is a 1979 John Schlesinger film, set in World War II in the village of Dobcross, in Greater Manchester, England. Starring Richard Gere, Vanessa Redgrave, William Devane, Lisa Eichhorn, Rachel Roberts and Tony Melody....
which featured Richard Gere
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
and was released in 1979. The opening sequence of the film features Stalybridge war memorial on Trinity Street and the US army camp scenes were filmed at Stamford Golf Club in spring 1978. In 1986 the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
children's TV series Jossy's Giants
Jossy's Giants
Jossy's Giants was a children's footballing comedy drama that ran on BBC1 between 1986 and 1987. The show's plot centred around the ups and downs of a boys' football team, the Glipton Giants , and their enthusiastic Geordie manager Joswell 'Jossy' Blair.The show was written by darts commentator and...
was filmed in the town. In 2009 the BBC3 Comedy Show We Are Klang
We Are Klang
We Are Klang is a three-piece sit-com group consisting of comedians Greg Davies, Steve Hall and Marek Larwood. Klang are noted for their anarchic and frequently rude comedy....
was filmed at the Victoria Market Hall, and around the town centre. Scenes from Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, Making Out
Making Out
Making Out is a British television series, shown by the BBC between 1989 and 1991.The series, written by Debbie Horsfield, mixed comedy and drama in its portrayal of the women who worked on the factory floor at New Lyne Electronics in Manchester, tackling the personal lives of the characters as...
, Common As Muck
Common As Muck
Common As Muck was a comedy drama serial made by the BBC about the lives of a crew of binmen; it ran for two series.-Characters:-Series One :...
and The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen are a group of British comedians formed in 1995, best known for their radio and television series.The League of Gentlemen may also refer to:* The League of Gentlemen ,...
have also been shot there. The town lies in the BBC North West
BBC North West
BBC North West is the BBC English Region serving Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Walsden in West Yorkshire, the Isle of Man , north-west Derbyshire, the Yorkshire Dales including Settle and Ribblesdale, and southern Cumbria.BBC North West television output is also broadcast in...
television region and the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
Northwest England Region, the franchise for which is held by Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
. In some northeastern parts of Stalybridge it is possible to pick up Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
from the Emley Moor transmitter on UHF 47 (679.25 MHz).
Amenities
The Cheshire Building SocietyCheshire Building Society
The Cheshire Building Society is a former building society based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Prior to the merger with the Nationwide Building Society it was the 11th largest in the United Kingdom based on total assets of £5.0 billion at 31 December 2007. It is a member of the Building...
and Yorkshire Building Society
Yorkshire Building Society
The Yorkshire Building Society is the second largest building society in the UK, with its headquarters in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Assets now exceed £20 billion....
have branches in Stalybridge, as do Barclays, Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...
, Natwest and Yorkshire
Yorkshire Bank
Yorkshire Bank is a commercial bank in England and Wales, a division of Clydesdale Bank, which in turn is a subsidiary of National Australia Bank. It mostly operates in the North of England, especially in Yorkshire. In 2006 underlying profit rose 16.7 per cent to £454 million compared with a...
banks. All branches are located on Melbourne Street. Stalybridge General Post Office is located on Trinity Street. The four sub-post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
s are Ridge Hill, Carrbrook
Carrbrook
Carrbrook is an area in the east of Stalybridge, in Greater Manchester, England. The area still has many seventeenth and eighteenth century buildings. Much of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century village was built during the industrial boom brought by the printworks. Modern Housing...
, High Street and Mottram Road. The police station is located on Waterloo Road but is open only during working hours on weekdays. The fire station is located on Rassbottom Street.
Transport
The nearest point of access to the Motorway network is approximately 1 miles (1.6 km) from the southern boundary of the town at junction four of the M67M67 motorway
The M67 is a urban motorway in Greater Manchester, England which heads east from the M60 motorway passing through Denton and Hyde before ending near Mottram. It had originally conceived as the first part of a trans-Pennine motorway between Manchester and Sheffield connecting the A57 motorway to...
. The M67 is a feeder to the M60
M60 motorway
The M60 motorway, or Manchester Orbital, 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...
Manchester orbital motorway and the city of Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield 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, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. The A635
A635 road
The A635 is a main road that runs between Manchester and Doncaster running east–west through Stalybridge, Saddleworth Moor, Holmfirth and Barnsley....
A road
Great Britain road numbering scheme
The Great Britain road numbering scheme is a numbering scheme 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...
passes through the town and the A6018 commences at Stalybridge. The B61675 and B6176 Huddersfield Road also pass through the town.
Stalybridge railway station
Stalybridge railway station
Stalybridge railway station serves Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. It lies on the Huddersfield Line 12 km east of Manchester Piccadilly and 13 km east of Manchester Victoria. The station is managed by First TransPennine Express....
is served by three lines, the Huddersfield Line
Huddersfield Line
The Huddersfield Line is the name given to one of the busiest rail services on the West Yorkshire MetroTrain network in northern England. Local services are operated by Northern Rail with longer distance services operated by TransPennine Express...
to Manchester Victoria
Manchester Victoria station
Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is the city's second largest mainline railway station. It is also a Metrolink station, one of eight within the City Zone...
or Huddersfield
Huddersfield railway station
Huddersfield railway station serves the town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England.The station is managed by First TransPennine Express who provide trains between the North East, North and East Yorkshire, and Leeds to the east and Manchester Piccadilly and North West.It is also served by local...
, the TransPennine Express line to Manchester Piccadilly or Leeds and beyond, and the Stockport to Stalybridge Line
Stockport to Stalybridge Line
The Stockport to Stalybridge Line is a short railway line in Greater Manchester, running from Stockport north east to Stalybridge. Although it once received a frequent service, for the past few years it has been served by a single train run by Northern Rail, once a week in one direction.This...
, which is notable for its infrequent Parliamentary train
Parliamentary train
A Parliamentary train or Parly is, nowadays, a British English term for a train that operates a Parliamentary service - that is to say a token service to a given station, thus maintaining a legal fiction that either the station or, in some cases, the whole line is open, although in reality the...
gaining it popularity with trainspotter
Railfan
A railfan or rail buff , railway enthusiast or railway buff , or trainspotter , is a person interested in a recreational capacity in rail transport...
s. Stalybridge station is unusual in providing direct services to ten English cities: Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool 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...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Salford, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
and Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
.
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal
Huddersfield Narrow Canal
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under from Lock 1E at the rear of the University of Huddersfield campus, near Aspley Basin at Huddersfield to the junction with the Ashton Canal at Whitelands Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne...
passing through Stalybridge is part of the South Pennine Ring
South Pennine Ring
The South Pennine Ring is a canal ring which crosses the pennines between Manchester and Huddersfield.-History:Whilst the concept of canal rings had begun in the 1960s with the Cheshire Ring, the South Pennine Ring is a recent addition, as it was only with the restoration of the Huddersfield Narrow...
and runs from the junction with the Huddersfield Broad Canal
Huddersfield Broad Canal
The Huddersfield Broad Canal is a wide-locked navigable canal in Yorkshire in northern England.The waterway is 3¾ miles long and has 9 wide locks...
near Aspley Basin at Huddersfield to the junction with the Ashton Canal
Ashton Canal
The Ashton Canal is a canal built in Greater Manchester in North West England.-Route:The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie St. Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for through 18 locks, passing through Ancoats, Holt Town, Bradford-with-Beswick, Clayton, Openshaw, Droylsden,...
at Whitefields Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne
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...
. The canal was completed in 1811, but was closed to navigation in 1951. It was reopened in 2001 and is now managed by British Waterways
British Waterways
British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
.
Sport
From the end of the 19th century until 1909 the main football team in the town was Stalybridge RoversStalybridge Rovers F.C.
Stalybridge Rovers Football Club was an English football club from Stalybridge, Cheshire at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century.-History:...
. The club reached the 1st round of the FA Cup in the 1900/1901 season and its players included Arthur Wharton
Arthur Wharton
Arthur Wharton is widely considered to be the first black professional association football player in the world...
and Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman was an English association football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most successful and influential managers in early 20th century English football, before his sudden death in 1934.As a player, Chapman played for...
. Today the town's team is Stalybridge Celtic
Stalybridge Celtic F.C.
Stalybridge Celtic are an English full time professional football club from Stalybridge, Greater Manchester in North West England. The club, which plays its home matches at Bower Fold, is currently in the Conference North in the sixth tier of the English football league system...
, founded 1909. They are one of four FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
recognised teams to be called Celtic. Usually based in non-league football, they are presently members of the National Conference - North
Conference North
The Conference North also known as Blue Square Bet North for sponsorship reasons, is a division of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National. Along with Conference South it is at Step 2 of the National League System and the sixth overall tier of...
, in the sixth tier of English football.
There are two main cricket clubs in Stalybridge. Stayley Millbrook C.C. play in Millbrook and are members of the Saddleworth
Saddleworth
Saddleworth 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...
& District League. Stalybridge St Paul's C.C. play on Cheetham Hill Road, Dukinfield on the ground formerly used by the now defunct Stalybridge Cricket Club. They are members of the Cheshire League Pyramid, and for the 2008 season are in the first division of the Cheshire Alliance.
Earl of Stamford
Earl of Stamford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby. This Grey family descended through Lord John Grey, of Pirgo, Essex, younger son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, and younger brother of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk Earl...
. It is a member of the Cheshire Union of Golf Clubs.
Priory Tennis Club is situated next to Cheetham's Park on Mottram Road. There are four astroturf courts, all with floodlights. The club is fully affiliated to the Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
branch of the Lawn Tennis Association
Lawn Tennis Association
The Lawn Tennis Association is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.As the governing body, the LTA is responsible for the coaching and development of junior players, offering courses and qualifications on coaching, as well as the...
.
The Stalybridge Archery Club was founded in 1958 and is located close to the Priory.
The local athletics club is East Cheshire Harriers which was founded in 1922 by an amalgamation of Dukinfield Harriers and Tintwistle Harriers. Th club's headquarters were once in Stalybridge but their home is now the Richmond Park Stadium, Ashton-under-Lyne.
A snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
league is operated by The Stalybridge and District Snooker, Billiards and Whist League which has been in existence since 1910. The league starts around October each year and runs until May.
There are two crown green bowling
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
clubs in the town. One in Stamford Park and one at Carrbrook village bowling green where there is also a petanque
Pétanque
Pétanque is a form of boules where the goal is, while standing inside a starting circle with both feet on the ground, to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet or jack. It is also sometimes called a bouchon or le petit...
terrain.
In 1901 Joey Nutall, of Stalybridge, lowered the world swimming record for the quarter mile by 13 seconds, with a time of 5 minutes 38 seconds. In the same year he asserted his right to the title of the champion swimmer of the world beating three competitors in the 600 yards (548.6 m) championship race at Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
, covering the distance in 6 minutes 30 seconds to win by a length and a half. His share of the spoil was £10, a cup, and two-thirds of the gate money. By 1901 Nutall had held the 500 yards (457.2 m) world championship for over ten years. Stalybridge has a 25-metre 6-lane pool at Copley Recreation Centre which is home to the Stalybridge Amateur Swimming and Water Polo Club.
Religion
Until the 18th century the Manor of Staley formed part of the parish of St Michael and All Angels, MottramSt Michael and All Angels Church, Mottram
St Michael and All Angels Church, Mottram stands on Warhill overlooking the village of Mottram in Longdendale, Greater Manchester, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building...
. The first church to be built in Stalybridge was Old St George's Church, Cocker Hill which was consecrated by the Bishop of Chester
Bishop of Chester
The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.The diocese expands across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the City of Chester where the seat is located at the Cathedral...
on 25 July 1776. The church collapsed on 15 May 1778. After the Industrial Revolution, the rising population and the settlement of people from various parts of the country meant that Stalybridge became a centre for a wide range of denominations and sects. The history of these churches in the town is complex, with some churches having occupied many different sites. The influence of the churches in the town remained strong well into the 20th century and formed part of the basis of Stalybridge's sense of identity.
The first Methodist chapel was erected in 1802 on the corner of Chapel Street and Rassbottom Street. The Baptist chapel on King Street, was opened by the Particular (Ebenezer) Baptists. This chapel was subsequently occupied by the Congregational Church
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
on 3 October 1830. The Particular (Ebenezer) Baptists moved to a new chapel on Cross Leech Street on 28 October 1828.
Churches
Church of EnglandSt George's
St George's Church, Stalybridge
St George's Church, Stalybridge, stands in Church Walk, Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Ashton-under-Lyne, the archdeaconry of Rochdale and the diocese of Manchester...
is the parish church on the Lancashire side of the river in the Diocese of Manchester
Anglican Diocese of Manchester
The 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:...
. It is known as New St George's and its foundation stone was laid on 24 June 1840.
On the Cheshire side, the parish church of Holy Trinity and Christ Church, Diocese of Chester
Diocese of Chester
The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries...
, is situated in the town centre on Trinity Street, beside the former market hall. The foundation stone of the parish church of St Paul's, Staley was laid by Stapleton Stapleton-Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere on 2 February 1838. It is along with St James', Millbrook
Millbrook, Greater Manchester
Millbrook is a village near Stalybridge, northwest England. It is part of the Stalybridge South ward of Tameside metropolitan borough.-History:...
situated in the Diocese of Chester
Diocese of Chester
The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries...
.
Roman Catholic
There are two Roman Catholic parishes - St Peter's, Stalybridge, the foundation stone of which was laid on 8 June 1838 and St. Raphael's, Millbrook. Both parishes are situated in the Diocese of Shrewsbury
Diocese of Shrewsbury
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese in England. The diocese encompasses parts of the North West of England and parts of the West Midlands...
.
Methodist
The octagonal Stalybridge Methodist Church on High Street opened in 1966.
Congregationalist
Stalybridge Congregational
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
Church is to be found in a modern building on Baker Street, just off Acres Lane, behind The Organ Public House. Its original building, which opened for worship in 1861 and was demolished around the turn of the 21st century, was situated between Melbourne Street and Trinity Street in the town centre.
Unitarian
The Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
Church on Forester Drive was established in 1870 and is part of the East Cheshire Union of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches.
Evangelical / Non-denominational
Stalybridge Revival Church, on Mount Street, formerly known as Stalybridge Evangelical Church, was established in 2009.
Education
Prior to 1910 primary education was provided by the church schools. In 1910 the borough opened its own school on Waterloo Road. In 1927, West Hill School, a central school for boys was opened. The central school for girls opened in 1930. Until 1980 secondary modern education was provided by schools in the town itself; and grammar school education by HydeHyde, Greater Manchester
Hyde 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 northeast of Stockport, west of Glossop and east of Manchester....
Grammar School. For Roman Catholic pupils, grammar school education was provided by Harrytown, Bredbury
Bredbury
Bredbury is a suburban town within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England, located south east of Manchester, east of Stockport and south west of Hyde...
and Xaverian, Rusholme. Catholic secondary modern education was available from 1963 at St Peter and St Paul, Dukinfield. In 1977 the Local Education Authority appealed to keep its grammar schools rather than be forced by the government to adopt a comprehensive system. The Lord of Appeal Lord Lane
Geoffrey Lane, Baron Lane
Geoffrey Dawson Lane, Baron Lane AFC PC QC was a British Judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 1980 to 1992. The later part of his term was marred by a succession of disputed convictions...
was personally critical of Fred Mulley, the Secretary of State for Education and Science for being "far from frank" about his reason for intervening in Tameside and joined in the judgement which found for Tameside and brought a halt to comprehensivisation. However, following the election of a Labour council in 1980 the local grammar schools were abolished and all the secondary modern and grammar schools in Stalybridge, Hyde and Dukinfield became comprehensives.
Primary schools
- Stalyhill Junior School
- Gorse Hall Primary School
- Arlies Primary School
- Ridge Hill Primary School and Nursery
- Wild Bank Community School
- St Peter's RC Primary School and Nursery Voluntary Aided by the Diocese of ShrewsburyDiocese of ShrewsburyThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese in England. The diocese encompasses parts of the North West of England and parts of the West Midlands...
- St Paul's C of E Primary School Voluntary Aided by the Diocese of ChesterDiocese of ChesterThe Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries...
- St Raphael's RC Primary School Voluntary Aided by the Diocese of ShrewsburyDiocese of ShrewsburyThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese in England. The diocese encompasses parts of the North West of England and parts of the West Midlands...
- Buckton Vale Primary School
- Millbrook Primary School
- Trinity Christian School (Christian independent school)
Secondary schools
- Copley High School 11–16 Comprehensive Co-educational
- West Hill SchoolWest Hill School - StalybridgeWest Hill School is a secondary school in Stalybridge, England specializing in science. It opened in 1927. The headmaster is Mr R J Hewitt. There are three deputy headteachers:- Mr I A Berry, Mr A Owens and Ms A Bell; and an assistant headteacher - Mrs G A Wood...
11-16 Comprehensive boys' school - All Saints' Catholic College 11–18 Comprehensive Co-educational. Voluntary Aided by the Diocese of ShrewsburyDiocese of ShrewsburyThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese in England. The diocese encompasses parts of the North West of England and parts of the West Midlands...
. Located in Dukinfield and serves residents of Stalybrige, Hyde and Dukinfield. - Trinity Christian School (Christian independent school)
External links
- Stalybridge Weather Centre - Recent weather statistics in this town
- Stalybridge section of Tameside MBC website
- Tameside Council Galleries Site - Astley Cheetham Art Gallery