Stalybridge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Seb35 (talk | contribs) at 09:06, 29 October 2006 (+fr). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Template:Infobox England place with map

Stalybridge is a town in the metropolitan borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester in the north-west of England.

Stalybridge lies in the foothills of the Pennines, straddling the River Tame, which, from its source to its confluence with the Mersey, forms part of the ancient boundary between Lancashire and Cheshire. The town centre lies eight miles to the east of Manchester. The highest point in the town is the summit of Wild Bank at 1309 ft (399 m). Harridge Pike is the second highest peak at 1296 ft (395 m). At the 2001 census Stalybridge had a population of 22,568.

History

In the mid-eighteenth century Stalybridge had a population of just 140. Farming and woolen spinning were the main means subsistence at this time. In 1776 the town's first small 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 Stalybridge containing 76,000 spindles. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal was completed in 1811 and still runs through the town. The industrial revolution led to a rapid increase in the town's population in the early part of the nineteenth century. In 1828, the Stalybridge Police and Market Act received royal assent establishing Stalybridge an independent town with a board of commissioners. On December 30, 1831 the Town Hall and Market were officially opened. The Ashton, Stalybridge and Liverpool Junction Railway company was formed in 1844 and the railway was connected to Stalybridge on October 5, 1846.

The River Tame flowing through Stalybridge

Administration

Parliamentary Representation

Since the 1918 general election, the town has been represented in Parliament by the member for the Stalybridge and Hyde constituency (currently James Purnell). Prior to 1918 Stalybridge had been a borough constituency in its own right since the passing of the Second Reform Act in 1867.

Local Government

Stalybridge received its charter of incorporation on March 5, 1857 and was granted borough status. The borough, both on the Lancashire and the Cheshire sides of the river was placed wholly within the county of Cheshire in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888. Cheshire has since then been used as a postal address.

In 1974 the borough of Stalybridge was abolished, with the town becoming part of the metropolitan borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, which also includes the neighbouring towns of Hyde, Dukinfield, Mossley, Ashton-under-Lyne, Longdendale, Denton, Audenshaw and Droylsden.

Regeneration

In 1999, a two year, multi-million pound refurbishment programme began which involved the reopening of the canal (which had been closed in the 1970s), amongst other commercial ventures such as riverside cafés and boat trips.

The reinstatement of the canal and the fact that the River Tame runs through the centre resulted in the nickname 'Little Venice'. As a result of the conversion of premises in the shopping area into clubs and bars, the proliferation of takeaways and the renovation of some of the more traditional public houses, Stalybridge has in recent years acquired another ironic nickname, 'Stalyvegas'. Indeed, Stalybridge is home to over forty pubs.

The ironic name of "Stalyvegas" contrary to what the local council thinks sprang up because of the high number of traffic lights on the roads surrounding the main centre. This was prior to the explosion of the apparently trendy pub scene ~ the time when CAMRA would still recommend it as a place for decent real ale.

Local amenities include a library containing the Astley Cheetham art gallery, which is noted for displaying the works of local artists.

Education

Primary schools

Secondary schools

Transport

Stalybridge lies just north of the M67 motorway, which itself is a feeder to the Manchester orbital M60 motorway. By rail Stalybridge is served by the Huddersfield Line between Manchester (Victoria) and Huddersfield. Stalybridge station is also served by some Transpennine Express trains which give it a direct link to Manchester Piccadilly station and to Leeds.

Sport

The football team in Stalybridge is called Stalybridge Celtic.[1] They are one of four FIFA recognised teams to be called Celtic. Usually based in non-league football, they have often been the best team in Tameside. 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 play in Millbrook and are members of the Saddleworth & District League. Staley St Pauls play on Cheetham Hill Road on the ground formerly used by the now defunct Stalybridge Cricket Club (despite being within the boundaries of Dukinfield). They are members of the Cheshire League Pyramid.

A snooker league is operated by The Stalybridge & District Sunday Schools Billiards Snooker & Whist League which has been in existence at least since 1910. The league starts around October each year and runs until May.

Culture

Music

Stalybridge has an established musical tradition. The first ever brass band was formed in Stalybridge in 1809 and is still in existence. The band fled from the Peterloo massacre of 1819.

An annual Brass Band contest has been held on Whit Friday since at least 1870. Other contests have been held on the same day in the Stalybridge villages of Millbrook, Carrbrook and Heyrod. There is now an established tradition of holding Brass Band contests on this day in various locations around Staybridge and Mossley and also in the villages of Saddleworth. Bands travel by coach from all over the United Kingdom and sometimes beyond to contest in as many locations as possible on the day.

The song It's a Long Way to Tipperary was written in Stalybridge after composer Jack Judge was challenged by a friend to write, compose and produce a song in just one night.[2] This was despite the writer having never visited the Irish town.This is now commemerated by a statue outside the old market hall.

More recently there has been a small folk music tradition in the town. The most famous folk band to have been founded in Stalybridge was The Fivepenny Piece who sung traditional northern music in the 1970s. In one case, they took the work of a local poet and putting it to music ("In Bowton's Yard" by Samuel Laycock).

Art

During the earlier part of the twentieth century, Stalybridge was artistically captured by the painter L.S.Lowry (noted for his matchstick men and matchstick cats and dogs). Many of his notable paintings were of the people and factories of Stalybridge. Lowry continued painting pictures until his death in 1976. His house is marked with a blue plaque on Stalybridge Road, in Mottram-in-Longdendale, there is also a statue of him, holding his sketch pad, cleverly positioned on a bench near the Stalybridge Rd bus stop.

Writing

Samuel Laycock, born in 1826, 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. Samuel Laycock died in 1893.

The children's novelist Beatrix Potter visited Gorse Hall (where a blue plaque can be seen on the wall) many times as a child as it was the home of her maternal grandmother.[3] Gorse Hall itself was the site of a murder in 1909, where local mill owner George Storrs was brutally dispatched.[4]

Tim Willocks, author of Bad City Blues, Green River Rising and Bloodstained Kings is from Stalybridge.[5][6]

Television and Film

Stalybridge has been used as location shots for various film and TV series. The most notable of these was the John Schlessinger film Yanks which featured Richard Gere. The opening sequence of the movie features Trinity St's war memorial and the US army camp scenes were filmed at Stamford Golf Club in the Carrbrook area of the town. Presumably, Stalybridge in the seventies needed little in the way of set dressing in order to resemble wartime England. Notable TV appearances include fondly remembered children's TV series Jossy's Giants (1986), Coronation Street, Making Out, "Common As Muck (1994-1997) and The League Of Gentlemen series, where the now-defunct Palace cinema appears briefly.

Civic Emblems

The motto of Stalybridge is "Absque Labore Nihil" "Nothing Without Labour". Sky blue is the town colour.

Twin Town

Stalybridge was twinned in 1955 with Armentières in France.

Famous residents

Religion

Churches

Church of England

St George's is the parish church on the Lancashire side of the river in the Diocese of Manchester. On the Cheshire side, the parish churches of St Paul's, Staley and St James', Millbrook are situated in the Diocese of Chester.

Nonconformist

Stalybridge Congregational Church is to be found in a modern building on Baker Street. Its original building, now demolished, was situated between Melbourne and Trinity Street. Stalybridge Methodist Chapel is on High Street.

Roman Catholic

There are two Roman Catholic parishes - St Peter's, Stalybridge and St. Raphael's, Millbrook. Both parishes are situated in the Diocese of Shrewsbury.

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.

Etymology

The name Stalybridge comes from the old English word "staef" ( a staff or stave) and "leah", a clearing in a wood. The full meaning of "Staly" is therefore "a wood where staves are collected". Staley was the name of the medieval manor. The "bridge" part was added in the 18th century, when the town became an important market crossing point on the River Tame.[7]

Trivia

  • Stalybridge has the pub with the longest name in the United Kingdom, The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn.[8]
  • Stalybridge has the pub with the shortest name in the United Kingdom, Q.[8]
  • The Buffet Bar was until recently the only licensed bar on a railway platform.[9][8]
  • On 19 October, 1970 a frightened red deer registered a speed of 42mph on a police radar trap as it charged down Mottram Road.
  • During the writing of The Condition of The Working Class in England , Friedrich Engels formed the opinion that "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."
  • Ada Summers was elected Mayor of Stalybridge in November 1919. In December 1919, the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 came into force, which enabled women for the first time to become magistrates. She was sworn in, becoming the first woman to adjudicate on an English Bench.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Stalybridge Celtic". Retrieved 2006-03-24.
  2. ^ Bridget Haggerty. "It's a long way to Tipperary". Irish Culture and Customs. Retrieved 2006-03-24.
  3. ^ "A Tribute to Beatrix Potter (1866 - 1943)". Tameside MBC. Retrieved 2006-03-24.
  4. ^ Jonathan Goodman, Steve Fielding and Ms Edith Brocklehurst. "Murder At Gorse Hall". stereograffiti.com.
  5. ^ "Tim Willocks". TW Books. Retrieved 2006-08-23.
  6. ^ "Tim Willocks: Land of Pope and glory". The Independent. August 4, 2006.
  7. ^ "The Borough of Tameside". manchester2002-uk.com. Papillon Graphics. Retrieved 2006-03-24.
  8. ^ a b c d "Facts About Stalybridge". Tameside Council. Retrieved 2006-07-13.
  9. ^ "Station Buffet, Stalybridge". Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA). Retrieved 2006-03-24.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stalybridge&oldid=84392213"