Stockport
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Stockport | |
|
  Stockport shown within Greater Manchester |
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| Population | 136,082 (2001 Census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Metropolitan borough | Stockport |
| Metropolitan county | Greater Manchester |
| Region | North West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STOCKPORT |
| Postcode district | SK1, SK2, SK3, SK6, |
| Dial code | 0161 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | Stockport |
| European Parliament | North West England |
| List of places: UK • England • Greater Manchester | |
Stockport is a large town in the north west of England. Situated seven miles (10 km) south east of the city of Manchester, it is the largest settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester, and has a population of 136,083 (2001 Census), with the borough as a whole having 281,000. This make it the 23rd largest settlement in population terms Britain.
The River Mersey begins in Stockport, at the confluence of the Rivers Goyt and Tame.
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[edit] Geography and administration
Most of the town is within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, although Reddish and the Four Heatons lay within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire.
[edit] Civic history
The 1835 Municipal Corporations Act made Stockport a municipal borough divided into seven wards. In 1888, its status was raised to County Borough, becoming the County Borough of Stockport. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 Stockport amalgamated with neighbouring districts to form the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester.
[edit] History
[edit] Etymology
Stockport is first recorded as "Stokeport" in 1170.[1][2] The currently accepted etymology is OE stoc, a market place, with port, a hamlet (but more accurately a minor settlement within an estate); hence, a market place at a hamlet.[1][2]
Older derivations include stock, a stockaded place or castle, with port, a wood, hence a castle in a wood.[3] Other derivations have been formed, based on early variants of the name such as Stopford and Stockford. Stopford retains a use in the adjectival form, Stopfordian, used for Stockport-related items, and pupils at Stockport Grammar School style themselves as Stopfordians.[4]
[edit] Early history
There is sufficient evidence that a fortified stronghold existed in the vicinity in ancient British times, and that Agricola in AD 79 recognised its strategical advantages and fortified Stockport to guard the passage of the Mersey.[3]
After the Norman Conquest, it became ruled by a hereditary Baron of Stockport.
Stockport has never been a sea or river port. The River Mersey, which starts in Stockport at the confluence of the Rivers Goyt and Tame, is not navigable to anything much above canoe size, and in the centre of Stockport has been culverted and the main shopping street Merseyway built above it. The town was connected to the national canal network by the 5 miles of the Stockport branch of the Ashton Canal opened in 1797 which continued in use until the 1930s. Much of it is now filled in, but there is an active campaign to re-open it.
Due to its proximity to Manchester, Stockport rapidly expanded during the Industrial Revolution, helped particularly by the growth of the cotton manufacturing industries. However, economic growth took its toll, and 19th century philosopher Friedrich Engels wrote in 1844 that Stockport was "renowned as one of the duskiest, smokiest holes in the whole of the industrial area".[5]
[edit] Recent history
In 1967 the Stockport air disaster occurred, when a British Midland Airways Argonaut crashed in the Hopes Carr area of the town, resulting in the deaths of 72 passengers.
In recent years, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council has embarked on an ambitious regeneration scheme, known as Future Stockport. The plan is to bring over 3,000 residents into the centre of the town, and revitalise its residential property and retail markets, in a similar fashion to the nearby major city of Manchester. Many ex-industrial areas around the town's core will be brought back into productive use as mixed-use residential and commercial developments. Unfortunately negative consequences arise out of such inner-city regenerations. When de-criminalisation of the car parking laws came into being in April 2005 and the council defenestrated all no-waiting signs from lampposts this brought about an abundance of illegal pavement parking in the Portwood Ward of Stockport Central. Mersey and Borron Streets in particular are blighted with the aptly named phenomenon of vehicle anti-social behaviour.
[edit] Demographics
The town had a population of 136,082 according to the 2001 Census, with the wider borough having a population of 284,528. Although the suburbs of Bramhall and Hazel Grove rank amongst the wealthiest areas of the United Kingdom and 45% of the borough is green space, districts such as Adswood and Brinnington suffer from widespread poverty and post-industrial decay. Opinions on the general quality of life in Stockport greatly differ.[citation needed] In its favour, some highlight its proximity to Manchester, and its abundance of amenities; but its perceived grittiness and loutish youth culture earned it 12th place in the internet-based 2004 guide "Crap Towns: The 50 Worst Places To Live In The UK" (however, given that its fellows on this list were places such as Oxford, Winchester, Liverpool (European Capital of Culture), and tiny London commuter belt villages, the relevance of the list is disputed).
[edit] Parliamentary representation
There are four parliamentary constituencies in the Stockport Metropolitan Borough: Stockport, Cheadle, Hazel Grove, and Denton and Reddish.
Stockport has been represented by Labour MP Ann Coffey since 1992.
The Liberal Democrat Patsy Calton was elected in Cheadle in 2001 over long-standing Conservative member Stephen Day by the smallest margin of any constituency in the country. She died in 2005, a month after increasing her majority to over 4,000 in the 2005 election; in the following by-election the Liberal Democrat Mark Hunter defeated Stephen Day. This is despite the huge campaign launched by the Conservative Party, which involved much 'American style' politics[citation needed].
Andrew Stunell has been the Liberal Democrat MP for Hazel Grove since 1997.
The constituency of Denton and Reddish bridges Stockport and Tameside; the current member is Andrew Gwynne who holds the seat for Labour with a 14,000 majority.
[edit] Industry and commerce
Stockport's principal commercial district is located in the town centre, with branches of most high-street stores to be found in the Merseyway Shopping Centre. The Grand Central Leisure Park complex boasts an Olympic sized swimming pool, a ten-screen cinema, bars, a bowling alley, health complex, and several restaurants. Stockport is located six miles from Manchester city centre, making it convenient for commuters and shoppers.
[edit] Places of interest
Stockport is home to the following:
- Bramall Hall.
- The UK's last working hat factory was located in Stockport; in its place is now "Hat Works" hat museum. Hat Works official site
- Western Europe's biggest brick structure, the 111 feet (33.85 metres) high, railway viaduct on the line to Manchester which represents a major feat of Victorian engineering. Eleven million bricks were used in its construction, opening in 1842.
- Bredbury, Stockport is the home for the National Library for the Blind.
- Staircase House is a Grade II listed medieval town house in the Market Place. Tree ring dating suggests that the earliest timbers were felled around 1460, and it is assumed that the building was erected shortly afterwards. The building has been modified several times, but is probably the oldest secular building in Stockport.[6] The building, including the eponymous 17th century staircase, was damaged by fires in 1989 and 1995. The building was in poor condition and deteriorated further as the Gardner family tried to raise funds from many Heritage sources to preserve the building and give it an up to date use. It was eventually compulsarily purchased by Stockport Council. It has been restored and is currently used as a tourist information centre, gift shop, and cafe.
- Stockport Town Hall, with its ballroom, described by Poet Laureate, John Betjeman as 'magnificent' containing the largest Wurlitzer theatre organ in Britain.
- Stockport College with sites in the town centre and Heaton Moor
- Underbank Hall in the centre of Stockport is a late 16th century timber framed building, built as the town house of the Arderne family from nearby Bredbury. It remained in the family until 1823, and since 1824 has been used as a bank. The current main banking hall lies behind the 16th century part and dates from 1915.[6] The building is listed Grade II*.
- Stockport Air Raid Shelters is a museum based around the underground tunnels dug during World War II to protect local inhabitants during air raids
[edit] Transport
The M60 motorway and A6 road cross over at Stockport. Stockport railway station is a mainline station on the Manchester spur of the West Coast Main Line. Manchester Airport, the busiest in the UK outside London, is located five miles southeast of the town.
[edit] Sport
- League Two football team Stockport County Football Club play at their home ground Edgeley Park, which is also where rugby union side Sale Sharks play their home games.
- Stockport Metro Swimming Club trains in the Olympic sized swimming pool at The Grand Central Leisure Park
[edit] Twin Cities
The town of Stockport is twinned with the following towns:
- Heilbronn, Germany. since 1999
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Arrowsmith, Peter (1997). Stockport: a History. Stockport: Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, p 23. ISBN 0-905164-99-7.
- ^ a b Mills, A D (1997). Dictionary of English Place-Names (2nd ed). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280074-4.
- ^ a b Local History. Stockport MBC web pages. Retrieved on April 2, 2007.
- ^ Old Stopfordians' Association. Stockport Grammar School web pages. Retrieved on April 3, 2007.
- ^ Engels, Frederick [1845] (1969). "The great Towns", The Condition of the Working Class in England. Panther. “Stockport is renowned throughout the entire district as one of the duskiest, smokiest holes, and looks, indeed, especially when viewed from the viaduct, excessively repellent.”
- ^ a b Arrowsmith, Peter (1996). Recording Stockport's Past: Recent Investigations of Historic Sites in the Borough of Stockport. Stockport: Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. ISBN 0-905164-20-2.
