Salford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Salford is a city in Greater Manchester in the north-west of England. The city's eastern boundary separates Salford from the City of Manchester. The central districts of the two cities are divided by the River Irwell. With neighbouring towns Salford forms the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford. At the 2001 census the metropolitan borough had a population of 216,103 whilst Salford itself had a population of 72,750.
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[edit] Geography and administration
Historically part of Lancashire, Salford gave its name to the ancient hundred of Salford, sometimes called Salfordshire. The settlement's early history was marked by the granting of a charter by Ranulf, Earl of Chester, about 1230. The charter made Salford a free borough. The old medieval centre of Salford was located next to the River Irwell, on the opposite bank to Manchester. Old streets such as Greengate and Gravel Lane formed the market area.
Since the passage of the Local Government Act 1972 in 1974, Salford has been the principal settlement of the wider City of Salford metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester.
[edit] History
[edit] Etymology
The name of Salford derives from the Anglo-Saxon Sealhford = "sallow-tree ford", in reference to the willow (Latin salix) trees that grow alongside the banks of the River Irwell that flows through the city. The city's coat of arms shows three curved blue lines, representing the ford in the river, surrounded by sallow leaves.
[edit] Industrial Revolution
Salford was one of the UK's first major industrial towns and gained status at the start of the Industrial Revolution. Cloth and silk were made there and the processes of dyeing, fulling and bleaching were carried out. It eventually grew to be one of the greatest cotton towns. Salford was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1844 under the provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. During the Victorian era new developments, including new municipal buildings appearing along the Crescent, shifted the centre of the town. As Manchester gained importance, Salford's ancient centre became less vital and the area around Greengate and Salford Bridge now shows no sign of its historic importance to the city.
In 1849 the municipal borough was the first in England to establish a public library, museum and art gallery, preceding the Public Libraries Act of 1850. The opening of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 and the construction of Salford Docks also brought employment for almost eighty years. The city became a maritime centre with vast docks constructed along the ship canal. From here, locally-produced goods were shipped all over the world. Salford was granted city status by a Royal Charter of 1926. Another charter of 1967 raised the Royal Salford Technical Institute to the status of university by establishing the University of Salford.
[edit] Decline
Vast areas of the city were re-developed in the 1960s and 1970s, with the traditional terraced housing giving way to concrete tower blocks and austere architecture. The docks declined during the same period.
In early 2005, Riga appealed to the EU to advise people against travelling to Salford after a Latvian man was stabbed in the head in Broughton. However, local government insist that Salford is a safe place to visit.
[edit] Amalgamation
In 1974 the County Borough of the City of Salford (including Pendleton, Claremont, Langworthy, Broughton, Weaste, Ordsall, Irlams o' th' Height and Seedley) was incorporated into the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford.
The new metropolitan borough also included the former municipal boroughs of Eccles (including Monton, Patricroft, Peel Green, Winton and Barton-upon-Irwell) and Swinton and Pendlebury (including Clifton) and the former Urban Districts of Irlam (including Cadishead) and Worsley (including Walkden and Little Hulton).
[edit] Regeneration
In the last decade the planning mistakes of the 1960s began to be rectified and the city is beginning to benefit from government investment. However the many high-rise blocks that remain are a striking feature of the city. Salford now has many tourist attractions such as Ordsall Hall, the Bridgewater Canal and the Lowry Centre, an award winning art gallery comprising 2 theatres and 3 art galleries. The centre is named after the artist L. S. Lowry, many of whose works can be seen there.
[edit] Transport
The city is linked to Manchester by the Metrolink tram system, which runs near the docks area to Langworthy and Eccles.
There are mainline railway stations at Salford Central, Salford Crescent, Swinton, Moorside, Clifton, Eccles, Patricroft, Irlam and Walkden.
In 1824 John Greenwood started the first bus operation from Pendleton to Market Street Manchester.
[edit] Shopping
Currently, the inner city's main shopping area is Salford Shopping City, Pendleton — colloquially referred to as 'the Precinct' — close to the University of Salford. However this area suffers from extreme deprivation and is dominated by the central business district of nearby Manchester. There is a shopping precinct at Eccles, with smaller shopping areas at Walkden, Swinton, Boothstown and Little Hulton. Salford Quays has been shortlisted as the new possible city centre by 2020.
[edit] Health
The main NHS medical facilities are located at Hope Hospital, Claremont near the boundary with Eccles. The former Salford Royal Hospital closed in 1993 and is now converted to private flats.
[edit] Higher Education
The University of Salford was awarded university status in 1967. It is one of three universities in Greater Manchester and has approximately 19,000 students.
[edit] Culture
Salford's first annual film festival held at the Red Cinema in the Lowry Outlet at Salford Quays in 2003 was a huge success. The second, in November 2004 achieved similar results, showcasing some new local talent.
Manchester's award-winning international theatre festival 27/4, takes place each July at the North of England's only fringe theatre venue, Studio Salford at the King's Arms, Bloom Street, Salford, which is also a popular live music venue.
Due to its cheap rent and plentiful supply of redundant mill buildings, Salford is host to a number of artists, including those based at Cow Lane Studios, Kings Arms, Islington Mill and Suite Studio Group. Salford's visual art scene, completely homogenous with that of Manchester includes publicly owned galleries at The Lowry, Salford City Museum as well as independent spaces such as Bureau (Salford).
[edit] Demographics
Salford is for statistical purposes part of the Greater Manchester Urban Area. It is a city of contrasting demographies. Whilst the area immediately adjacent to Manchester city centre, Salford Quays and suburban areas to the far west of the city such as Worsley are relatively affluent (with the main road colloquially known as 'Millionaire's Row'), other parts of the city are some of the most deprived communities in the UK. In August 2005 a survey by Channel 4 television rated the city as the 9th worst place to live in the UK (based on criteria of crime, education, environment, lifestyle and employment). [1]
The city has seen a major rise in construction especially in the Salford Quays area with modern living spaces and office buildings. It also has regional offices for major corporations including IBM, McDonald's, BUPA and Citifinancial.
[edit] Twin towns
Salford has four twin towns.[1]
Clermont-Ferrand, a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne région'
Lünen, Germany- Saint-Ouen, France
- Narbonne, France
[edit] Famous people
[edit] Born in Salford
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[edit] Residents (past and present)
- The Dooleys (1970s pop group)
- Nico (during most of the 1980s)
- John Virgo
- Ben Kingsley
- Jimmy Savile
- L S Lowry
- James H Reeve
- Harold Riley
- Ryan Giggs
- Christopher Eccleston
[edit] Sport
Salford is one of the few sizeable cities in the UK not to have a professional football team of its own, although it does have a non-league side in the form of North West Counties League side Salford City FC. The nearest professional football team to Salford is Manchester United F.C., situated just across the Quays in Trafford, a side that many Salfordians support. Salford has a strong rugby league history and has the Super League side, Salford City Reds who are the premier sporting team in the area, although National League 2 side Swinton Lions are from within the boundaries of the City of Salford, though currently playing at Sedgley Park RUFC in the Prestwich area of Manchester. Amateur rugby league teams within the city include Langworthy Reds and Folly Lane. Since Manchester hosted the Commonwealth Games of 2002, Salford Quays has developed into a major international triathlon site
[edit] Popular Culture
- The fictional setting of Weatherfield in Coronation Street is based on Salford.
- Salford is the subject of the folk song "Dirty Old Town" written by native Ewan MacColl.
- Innit: The Musical a representation of modern day Salford seen through the eyes of a rebellious teenager.
- Local band Doves released a song on their 2005 album "Some Cities" called "Shadows of Salford".
- Harold Brighouse's play Hobson's Choice is set in 19th century Salford.
- Setting for Walter Greenwood's 1930's hit play, (later filmed) 'Love on the Dole'.
- East is East (1999) was set in Salford.
- Location for the controversal film A Taste of Honey. The final scene features the Barton-upon Irwell swing bridge.
- The most famous photograph of Mancunian band The Smiths (taken by photographer Stephen Wright) shows them standing outside the Salford Lads' Club, and was used in their album The Queen is Dead. None of the longstanding members of the group were actually from the city, although second guitarist Craig Gannon — not shown on the photo — was a Salfordian who joined the group for a brief period.
[edit] See also
- Salford RC Cathedral
[edit] References
- ^ Salford's twin towns - salford.gov.uk
