Altrincham

Altrincham
Population
OS grid reference	SJ765875
Metropolitan borough	Trafford
Metropolitan county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ALTRINCHAM
Postcode district	WA14 & WA15
Dialling code	0161
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Altrincham and Sale West

Altrincham (pronounced "Oltringum") is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Situated within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, Altrincham lies approximately eight miles (12.9 km) south-west of the city of Manchester and has a total population of 40,695.

Geography and administration

Altrincham is a suburb of Manchester situated on the south-western edge of the Greater Manchester conurbation. It lies in the north-west corner of the Cheshire Plain just south of the River Mersey. It forms part of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford. Until 1974, it formed part of the administrative county of Cheshire.

Altrincham is located at 53°24' north, 02°21' west (53.4000, -2.3500)¹. Its location relative to Manchester and local transport networks is shown on this borough map.

Civic history

Arms of the former Altrincham Municipal Borough Council

Altrincham's borough council (corporation) remained unreformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. However, it was abolished under the Municipal Corporations Act 1883 in 1886. An urban district council in the administrative county of Cheshire was established for Altrincham under the Local Government Act 1894. The district was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1937.

With the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, the administrative counties and municipal boroughs were abolished and Altrincham became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford of Greater Manchester on April 1, 1974.

Local Councillors

The town of Altrincham within Trafford MBC is covered by Altrincham ward. Local councillors for the Altrincham Ward are:

• Councillor Alex Williams (Conservative)
• Councillor Mrs Susan Williams (Conservative) - Leader of the Council c/o Trafford Town Hall
• Councillor Michael Young (Conservative - Vice-Chair of Accounts and Audit Committee

The wider Altrincham Area is also described on the Trafford MBC website. Trafford Council also has a North Altrincham Neighbourhood Forum - covering the Broadheath, Village and Timperley wards and a South Altrincham Neighbourhood Forum covering the Altrincham, Bowdon, Hale Central and Hale Barns wards.

Parliamentary representation

Altrincham is part of the parliamentary constituency of Altrincham and Sale West. This is one of only a small number of seats in the north-west held by the Conservative Party, and the only one in Greater Manchester. Its current Member of Parliament is Graham Brady.

Divisions and suburbs

The Altrincham Area, as defined by Trafford MBC, comprises the south of Trafford. Besides the town of Altrincham, this Area also includes several villages - Timperley, Bowdon, Hale and Hale Barns.

History

The detailed history of Altrincham is set out in the history section of the Altrincham History Society website

Etymology

The name Altrincham first appears as "Aldringeham" - probably meaning "Homestead of the Aldhere's people" [1]. It has been, and continues to be mis-spelled as "Altringham".

Early history

Altrincham was granted its Royal Charter as a Free Borough, to authorise the holding of a market (or fair), by Baron Hamon de Massey in 1290. The government of Altrincham consequently fell to a Court Leet and a variety of officials over the following centuries including constables, bailiffs, market lookers, bye law men, assessors, ale tasters, pump lookers and dog muzzlers. Women who gossiped too much or too maliciously were placed in a bridle known as a Scold's Brank. Altrincham Fair became St James's Fair or Samjam in 1319 and was only abolished as late as 1895. Fair days had their own court of Pye Powder (a corruption of the French for 'dusty feet') which was presided over by the mayor and held to settle disputes arising from the day's dealings.

In May 1644, during the English Civil War, Prince Rupert made the Downs, the rendezvous for his army before he marched on Cheadle. Just over one century later, the troops of Bonnie Prince Charlie gathered in the Old Market Place on December 1 1745 to demand lodging at the Red Lion and an onlooker was forced to surrender his new total 90 boots to the troops.

Transport history

The development of the railways brought prosperity to Altrincham. The areas in and around Altrincham became very desirable places for rich businessmen to live.

Seamons Moss Bridge over the Bridgewater Canal.

Altrincham was a major transportation hub in the late 18th century with road connections to Stockport, Warrington, Chester and Manchester sitting as it was on the Manchester to Chester turnpike (A56). The opening of the Bridgewater Canal in 1761 provided a water route from Broadheath in Altrincham to the Castlefield basin in Manchester city centre.

In July 1845 the Act of Parliament for making the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJAR) was passed. At 8.00am, July 20, 1849, the first railway train left Altrincham with 65 passengers running alongside the Bridgewater Canal. In 1895, Altrincham had three separate but connected railway stations: Altrincham and Bowdon station in the centre of the town belonging to the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway, Peel Causeway station on the southern extremity of the town on the Cheshire Lines Railway and Broadheath station at the northern edge of the town on the London and North Western line. Rail travel times to Manchester in 1887 averaged 30 minutes New Historical Atlas of Cheshire

In 1931, the Altrincham & Manchester line was electrified, making it one of the first electrified railway lines in Great Britain.

Even with the creation of the railways, horses were still a common mode of transport between Altrincham and Manchester as was also a passenger boat down the canal and new potatoes were still carried from Bowdon Downs to Manchester on workers' heads.

By 1937, Altrincham had five railway stations with a daily service of 130 trains between the town and Manchester.

Commercial districts

Adjoining Altrincham, the older village of Bowdon was the location of the grandest homes of the affluent residents. Neighbouring Bowdon Vale earned the nickname of "Soapy Town" in direct reference to the washing taken in from the residents of Bowdon. Altrincham became the provider of servants and housekeepers to its adjoining regions. Altrincham in the mid-19th century was clearly divided into three distinct areas:

1. Higher Town centred on the old Market Place where the wealthier denizens lived.
2. Lower Town where the poorer tradesmen and labourers lived.
3. Broadheath (which was isolated, being cut in two by the Bridgewater Canal) which had growing light industry including wharves to serve the canal and a saw mill.

Local history records

Altrincham History Society was founded in 1988 [2]. Its website has a map which provides a tour of the centre of Altrincham and information about a variety of local places in local history.

The Trafford Community Archive - Trafford Lifetimes database - contains nearly 700 records about places and people in Altrincham.

Various records from 1867 to 1974 [3] are kept in the Local Studies Archive of Trafford Council

Landmarks

A well known landmark is the clock outside the main transport interchange. It was built in 1880 and is a Grade II listed building.

Royd House which was built between 1914 and 1916 by local architect Edgar Wood is Grade I listed.

Demographics

The town's population was recorded in the 2001 Census as 40,695.

Present day

Altrincham is now mainly residential. The historic market town developed as a residential area in the 19th century and has its Old Market Place and a new pedestrianised shopping centre. The town has more recently fallen victim to decline with shoppers abandoning the area for the nearby Trafford Centre and a regenerated Manchester city centre. However the empty shop facilities and run down sections of the town, will soon be subject to a large-scale regeneration plan.

Current redevelopment

The Trafford Revised Unitary Development Plan for Trafford, which guides and controls all development in Altrincham, was adopted in June 2006 and is available to view on the council's website.

The most noticeable current development is the £40 m redevelopment of Altrincham's Stamford Shopping Centre. Manchester-based Park Lane Estates, the centre's owners, are transforming the 1970s precinct to bring a fresher, more contemporary look to the town's main shopping area. The plans for the site will bring in new retailers, allow existing retailers to expand and create a new streetscape. The redevelopment will create 146,000 sq ft of new retail space and 203,000 sq ft refurbished space, providing 349,000 sq ft in total. Construction works will be phased to ensure that Stamford Shopping Centre continues to trade throughout the development period. The first phase is due to be completed by early 2007 with completion of the entire project scheduled for September 2009.

A more prestigious development costing approximately £150 m and nicknamed 'Station Location' is currently underway. The 4.5 acre site, bordered by Oakfield Road, Moss Lane and the railway station platform, will include an extreme sports centre, an ice rink (the home of Manchester Phoenix ice hockey club) with a 3,000-seat capacity, an 85-bedroom hotel, two new public squares, restaurants, shops, flats, 25,000sq ft of office space and a 960-space car park. The project is due to be fully completed by 2011 and a temporary ice rink is already close to completion (due to open in February 2007) near the site to house Manchester Phoenix until the new, larger rink is completed.

Work has begun on a £5.5 m office and apartment scheme next to Altrincham Town Hall. A total of 49 new flats along with 10,000 sq ft of new office space will be built on the site by local developers, Seddons. The project is due for completion in March 2007.

On the 7 December, 2006, a new development off Denmark Street opened which includes a £3.75 m six-screen cinema for Apollo Cinemas, two restaurant units (Frankie and Benny's and Chiquito) and 30 luxury flats.

A new roof costing £180,000 has recently been installed over the platform at Altrincham Interchange which is currently used for the Metrolink service. The platform had been uncovered since glazed panels were removed three years ago due to safety concerns. The new roof is made of coated steel with clear panels to let in the light.

Currently, the people of Altrincham are being invited to have their say on major plans for Stamford New Road. Trafford Council has unveiled the latest £1.5 million scheme for the town centre, which will see improvements to traffic flow, pedestrian access and appearance on the major thoroughfare. The provisional programme includes: implementing a 20 mph speed limit along Stamford New Road and adjoining Moss Lane, widening and repaving footpaths, erecting new lighting columns with provision for hanging decorations and banners, erecting bollards along the road edge, repaving Moss Lane with a shared surface for pedestrians and vehicles, adding greenery and improving the traffic signal synchronicity at the Lloyd Street junction.

Communal facilities

• Altrincham General Hospital provides healthcare facilities for Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust.
• Altrincham Library is situated in Stamford New Road.

Churches

St George's Church

• Bowdon Downs Church, schoolroom and lecture hall
• Christ Church
• Church of St Alban
• Church of St George
• Church of St John the Evangelist
• Church of St Margaret
• Church of St Mary the Virgin
• Church of St John the Divine
• Hale Chapel
• Trinity United Reformed Church

Transport

Altrincham railway station

Present day Altrincham railway station is the terminus of one of the lines of the Manchester Metrolink light rail system, which continues to connect it with Manchester. The Metrolink service also provides stops at Navigation Road and Timperley. National Rail services link Altrincham with Chester via Northwich and Manchester via Stockport.

Altrincham is also a hub for many local bus routes.

Manchester Airport, the largest in the UK outside London, is located four miles to the southeast of the town.

Education

All of the schools in the area perform either on or above the national average for test results.

School	Type/Status	Results	Website
Stamford Park Junior School	Primary school	Ofsted
Stamford Park Infant School	Primary school	Ofsted
Altrincham Grammar School For Boys	Secondary school	Ofsted	http://www.agsb.co.uk/
Altrincham Grammar School For Girls	Secondary school	Ofsted	http://www.aggs.trafford.sch.uk/php/enter.php
Loreto Grammar School for Girls	Secondary school	Ofsted	http://www.loretogrammar.co.uk

Sports and leisure

• Altrincham FC who play in the Football Conference at Moss Lane and are affectionately known as "The Robins".
• Manchester Phoenix who play professional ice hockey in the Elite Ice Hockey League at the Altrincham Ice Dome.
• Altrincham Kersal RUFC who play rugby union in North One, one of the top 80 clubs in England.
• Seamons Cycling Club
• Altrincham & District Athletics

Local culture, arts and media

The town benefits from a couple of theatres, namely the The Garrick and the Club Theatre, the latter of which is a smaller local theatre.

Details of local newspapers from the 19th century up to the present day can be found in studies archive of the Trafford website

Notable local residents

Altrincham has been home to many notable people, both past and present.

Helen Allingham lived in Altrincham and then Bowdon as a child. Alison Uttley wrote the Little Grey Rabbit books while living in Bowdon. The dramatist Ronald Gow lived in Altrincham in his youth and later taught at the local grammar school. It was also the birthplace of the actress Angela Cartwright.

The Altrincham Local History Society's website provides the biographies of several local people who were notable either in relation to the development of Altrincham or had some other connection with the Altrincham area.

The Altrincham Area is home to many footballers (including several Manchester United and Manchester City players), other sport stars, television personalities, particularly Coronation Street actors and and music industry celebrities. Two members of the The Stone Roses attended Altrincham Grammar School for boys.

Places of interest

Dunham Massey Deer Park

Altrincham Market

In and around the town are a number of local beauty spots including the 18th century Dunham Massey Hall (owned by the National Trust) with its deer park. Another one of Altrincham's attractions includes the historic market, set up over 800 years ago when the town was first established.

Within the town, there is alsoStamford Park with its variety of flora and fauna as well as sporting facilities, including bowling greens, a football pitch and a play area.

External links

• Register of Archives - Altrincham Borough Council
• New Historical Atlas of Cheshire
• Revised Unitary Development Plan for Trafford - interactive version
• Altrinchams Myspace Page
• Dunham Massey - National Trust property, 3 miles south-west of Altrincham
• Altrincham Town Centre website
• Altrincham & Sale Chamber of Commerce
• Railway Network of the Manchester ConurbationJ. A. Patmore
• Map sources for Altrincham