Salford
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Refurbished 1960s built high rise apartments |
Salford is a city in the
north-west of
England. It is part of the
City of Salford â€" a
metropolitan borough of
Greater Manchester. The city lies to the north and west of the centre of
Manchester and within the conurbation of Greater Manchester. The centres of the adjoining cities are divided by the
River Irwell. Salford is traditionally part of the county of
Lancashire.
At the
2001 census, the metropolitan borough had a population of
216,103, though the town of Salford has 72,750.
It gave its name to the ancient hundred of
Salford, sometimes called
Salfordshire.
The name of Salford derives from
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 crest is made up of three curved blue lines (representing the ford in the river) surrounded by sallow leaves.
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. However, the centre moved during
Victorian era development, with new municipal buildings appearing along the Crescent. As Manchester gained importance, Salford's ancient centre became less vital and the area around Greengate and Salford Bridge shows no signs of the historic importance to the area.
Salford was incorporated as a
municipal borough in
1844 under the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835. The municipal authority was the first to establish a public library, museum and art gallery in
1849, preceding the
Public Libraries Act of 1850.
Salford was one of the UK's first
industrial cities and gained status at the start of the
industrial revolution.
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. It has taken until the last decade to rectify the mistakes made during these years, 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.
Since the 1960s Salford has gradually restored itself from the grubby, smoky town pictures of the post-war period. Salford now has many delightful tourist attractions such as the Imperial War Museum (located in the neighbouring Trafford MBC area) and the Lowry Centre, an award winning art gallery and theatre.
The modern City of Salford incorporates the former County Borough of Salford (including
Pendleton,
Claremont,
Langworthy,
Broughton,
Weaste,
Ordsall and
Seedley), the Borough of
Eccles (including
Monton,
Winton and
Barton-upon-Irwell), the Borough of
Swinton and
Pendlebury, the Urban District of
Irlam (including
Cadishead) and the Urban District of
Worsley (including
Walkden and
Little Hulton). The city is bounded to the north by
Bury and
Bolton and to the south by Trafford Metropolitan Borough.
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The Salford Quays, with the Lowry Centre arts complex in the centre |
The city was once considered a maritime centre, with vast docks constructed along the
Manchester Ship Canal. From here, locally-produced goods were shipped all over the world. These docks have now closed and the area has been re-developed, with extensive housing, leisure and shopping facilities.
Salford Quays houses Salford's main tourist attractions:
Imperial War Museum North and the
Lowry Centre, an arts centre comprising 2 theatres and 3 galleries. The latter is named after artist
L. S. Lowry, many of whose works can be seen at the centre.
The city is linked to Manchester by the
Metrolink tram system, which runs near the docks area to
Langworthy and
Eccles. There are also railway stations at Salford, Salford Crescent, Swinton, Eccles, Patricroft, Irlam, Walkden and Moorside.
Currently, the city's main shopping area is Salford Shopping City, Pendleton â€" colloquially referred to as 'The Precinct' â€" 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 and Little Hulton. Originally, the area around Liverpool Road was a shopping hub, but this has long since declined. Salford Quays has been shortlisted as the new possible city centre by 2020.
The main NHS medical facilities are located at
Hope Hospital, near
Eccles. The former Salford Royal Hospital was closed in the early 1990s.
The
University of Salford was awarded university status in 1967. It is one of four universities in Greater Manchester and has approximately 19,000 students.
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 Kings Arms, Bloom Street, Salford, which is also a popular live music venue.
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.
Salford 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.
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The development of the 'NV Buildings' modern apartments in Salford Quays as at August 2005 |
*
Clermont-Ferrand, a city and
commune of
France, in the
Auvergne ''
région'.
*
Lünen, Germany, http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCnen
Born in Salford
*
Sir Alex Oppenheim*
Russell Watson*
David Shakeshaft*
Andrew Pollitt*
Bez*
Tim Burgess*
Alistair Cooke (
1908-
2004)
*
Peter Maxwell Davies*
Terry Eagleton*
Sir Harold Evans*
Albert Finney*
Clinton Ford*
Stephen Gallagher*
Walter Greenwood*
Peter Hook*
Samuel Braham*
Paul Scholes*
John Motson*
Bernard Sumner*
James Prescott Joule*
Mike Leigh*
John Cooper Clarke*
Robert Powell*
Mark E. Smith*
Shelagh Delaney*
Don Whillans*
Ricky Ashworth*
Christopher Eccleston*
Mark Hendrick*
George Coulouris*
Joanne WhalleyResidents (past and present)
*
The Dooleys (1970s pop group)
*
Nico (during most of the 1980s)
*
John Virgo*
Ben Kingsley*
Jimmy Savile*
Christopher Eccleston*
L S Lowry*
James H Reeve*
Harold RileySalford is one of the few sizeable cities in the UK not to have a professional football team of its own. The nearest team to Salford is
Manchester United F.C. just across the Quays in Trafford for whom the majority of Salfordians support. Salford has a strong
rugby league history and has the
Super League side,
Salford City Reds who are the premier sporting team, and the National League 2 side
Swinton Lions. Other lesser-known teams include
Langworthy Reds and
Folly Lane.
*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.
*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.
East is East (1999) was set in Salford.
*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 â€" not shown on the photo â€" was a Salfordian who joined the group for a brief period.
*
Pendleton*
Eccles*
Langworthy*
Kersal*
Worsley*
Walkden*
Irlam's o'th Height*
Little Hulton*
Pendlebury*
Swinton*
Wardley*
Irlam*
Seedley*
Cadishead*
Ordsall*
Monton*
Winton*
Weaste*
Broughton *
Barton-upon-Irwell*
Salford Cathedral*
Salford City Council*
Visit Salford*
Studio Salford Theatre at the Kings Arms, Salford*
The Lowry Centre*
Ordsall Hall*
Wet Earth Colliery, Clifton*
Duke of Bridgewater's Underground Canal at Worsley*
Pictures of "old" Worsley*
Pictures of Salford Quays
