Manchester

Manchester is a city in North West England. The metropolitan borough of Manchester, which has city status, has a population of 441,200, making it the most populous district of the Greater Manchester metropolitan county.^[1] The Greater Manchester Urban Area has a population of 2,240,230,^[2] making Manchester and its surrounding area England's third largest conurbation.

Manchester is historically notable for being one of the world's first industrialised cities^[3][4][5][6] and for the subsequent central role it played during the Industrial Revolution. It was the dominant international centre of textile manufacture and cotton spinning.^[7] During the 19th century it was nicknamed Cottonopolis,^[8] denoting that the area was a metropolis of cotton mills. Manchester City Centre is now on a "tentative list" of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, mainly due to its network of canals and mills, which facilitated its development during the 19th century.^[9]

Sometimes described as the "Capital of the North",^[10][11] and forming part of the English Core Cities Group, Manchester today is a centre of the arts, the media, higher education and commerce and is considered by many of its citizens to be England's second city.^[12][13][14] It is the third most visited city in the United Kingdom by foreign visitors, after London and Edinburgh.^[15] Manchester is well known for its sporting connections, being associated with two major Premier League football teams, Manchester City and Manchester United^[16] and internationally renowned as a centre of sporting excellence having hosted the XVII Commonwealth Games in 2002. In January 2007, Manchester was awarded the licence to build the only supercasino allowed in the UK.^[17]

Geography and administration

Physical geography

Manchester lies in a bowl-shaped land area bordered to the north and east by the Pennine hills and to the south by the Cheshire Plain. The city centre is on the east bank of the River Irwell, near the confluence of the River Medlock and the River Irk and is relatively low-lying, being between 35 and 42 metres (115 to 138 ft) above sea level. The River Mersey flows through the south of Manchester. Much of the inner city, especially in the south, is flat, offering extensive views of the moors from the top floors of many high buildings. Manchester's geographic features were highly influential in its early development as the world's first industrial city. These features are its climate, its proximity to a seaport at Liverpool, the availability of water power from its rivers, and its nearby coal reserves.

Climate

Manchester has a relatively damp climate and a reputation as a rainy city. The average annual rainfall is 809 mm, (902 mm from some sources)^[18] meaning that its reputation is relatively undeserved.^[19] For example, this total is less than that of Plymouth or Cardiff. In international terms, Manchester receives substantially less rain than New York City, which receives 1200 mm of rain in an average year, and its average annual rainfall total is comparable with that of Rome. The precipitation is, however, regularly light and prolonged so a small volume of rain may take an hour to fall in Manchester, compared to several minutes of heavy rain experienced in Rome. Manchester also has a relatively high humidity level, which lent itself to the optimised and breakage-free textile manufacturing which took place in the city. Snowfall is rare in the city itself, being low-lying, towards the west coast and an urban landscape.

Etymology

The name "Manchester" (pronounced /ˈmæntʃɛstə/) came from the Roman name Mamucium, thought to be a Latinisation of an original Celtic name (possibly meaning "breast-like hill" from mamm- = "breast"), plus Anglo-Saxon ceaster = "town", which is derived from Latin castra = "camp".^[20]

History

Main article: History of Manchester

Early history

The Manchester area was settled in daighys arse or before Roman times.^[21] The original fort was constructed by General Gnaeus Julius Agricola as a staging post between Chester (Deva) and York (Eboracum). This Roman settlement was named Mamucium (Celtic for "breast-shaped hill") after the hill that it was sited on to be better defensible. The original location of the fort is now in the City of Salford.

The fort was abandoned in the Dark Ages, and at some point in time the focus of settlement shifted from this spot to the confluence of the rivers Irwell and Irk.

In medieval times, this area included a fortified manor house. Thomas De La Warre, a manorial lord who also happened to be a priest, gave the site to the church for use as a College of Priests around 1422, and commenced the construction of the Collegiate Church. The former is now Chetham's School of Music, and the latter Manchester Cathedral.

Around the 13th century, Manchester grew heavily due to an influx of Flemish settlers who founded Manchester's new cotton industry^{[citation needed]} and sparked the growth of the city to become Lancashire's major industrial centre.

Industrial Revolution

In the late 18th century, Manchester perhaps became the site of England's first entirely artificial canal when James Brindley built the Bridgewater Canal to bring coal from the eponymous Duke of Bridgewater's mines at Worsley. During the 19th century Manchester grew to become the centre of Lancashire's cotton industry and was dubbed "Cottonopolis". During this period the canal system grew, and Manchester became one end of the world's first passenger railway - the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

Manchester quickly grew into the most important industrial centre in the world, and, significantly, the first industrial society. The pace of change was fast and frightening. At that time, it seemed a place in which anything could happen — new industrial processes, new ways of thinking (the so called 'Manchester School', promoting free trade and laissez-faire), new classes or groups in society, new religious sects, and new forms of labour organisation. It attracted educated visitors from all parts of Britain and Europe. "What Manchester does today," it was said, "the rest of the world does tomorrow." Also during this period Manchester saw a rise in its population as Lancastarians, the Irish, Jews and many other people immigrated to the city.

As well as being a centre of capitalism the city saw its fair share of rebellion by the working and non-titled classes, with the most famous being the events on St Peter’s Field on 16 August 1819 which have become known as 'Peterloo'. The first Trades Union Congress was held in Manchester (at the Mechanics' Institute, David Street), from 2 to 6 June 1868. Manchester was the subject of Friedrich Engels' The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844, Engels himself spending much of his life in and around Manchester. Manchester was also an important cradle of the Labour Party and the Suffragette Movement.

Manchester's golden age was perhaps the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Many of the great public buildings (including the Town Hall) date from then. The city's cosmopolitan atmosphere contributed to a vibrant culture, which included the Hallé Orchestra. In 1889, when county councils were created in England, the municipal borough became a county borough with even greater autonomy. During this period, the Manchester Ship Canal was created by the canalisation of the Rivers Irwell and Mersey for 36 miles from Salford to the Mersey estuary at the port of Liverpool. This enabled ocean going ships to sail right into the Salford docks. The docks functioned up until the 1970s, with their closure leading to a large increase in unemployment in the area.

Manchester suffered greatly from the inter-war depression and the underlying structural changes that began to supplant the old industries, including textile manufacture.

Recent history During World War II, Manchester was involved in heavy industrial construction — it was home to Avro (now BAE Systems) which built countless aircraft for the RAF, the most famous being the Avro Lancaster bomber. The city was attacked a number of times by the Luftwaffe, particularly in the "Christmas Blitz" of 1941, which destroyed a large part of the historic city centre and seriously damaged the Cathedral.

In 2002, the city successfully hosted the XVII Commonwealth Games, earning praise from many sources. Manchester has twice failed in its bid to host the Olympic Games, losing to Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000.

Rapidly developing institutions attract crime and disorder; see main article crime and policing in Manchester.

Bombing

Main article: 1996 Manchester bombing

At 11.20 am on Saturday 15 June 1996, the IRA detonated a large bomb in the city centre, the largest to be detonated on British soil. Whilst this bomb caused over 200 injuries, it caused no deaths, and the principal damage was to the physical infrastructure of nearby buildings. The consequent reconstruction spurred a massive regeneration of the city centre, with complexes such as The Printworks and the Triangle creating new city focal points for both shopping and entertainment. The regeneration took over a decade to complete. The latest and final part of the renovated Manchester Arndale opened in September 2006, allowing the centre to hold the title of Europe's largest city centre shopping mall.

Redevelopment

Since the regeneration after the 1996 IRA bomb, and aided by the XVII Commonwealth Games, Manchester's city centre has changed significantly. Large sections of the city dating from the 1960s have been either demolished and re-developed or modernised with the use of glass and steel; a good example of this transformation is the Manchester Arndale. Many old mills have been converted into apartments, helping to give the city a much more modern, upmarket look and feel. Some areas, like Hulme, have undergone extensive regeneration programmes and many million-pound lofthouse apartments have since been developed to cater for its growing business community. The 169 metre tall, 47-storey Beetham Tower, completed in 2006, provides the highest residential accommodation in the United Kingdom - the lower 23 floors form the Hilton Hotel, while the upper 24 floors are apartments. The 23rd floor includes a 'sky bar' where you can enjoy a cocktail 23 floors above the ground. The Beetham Tower is the tallest building in the UK outside London.^[22]

Politics

Main article: Politics in Manchester

Economics

Manchester has many office buildings, and its Central Business District is currently in the centre of the city, adjacent to Piccadilly, focused on Mosley Street, Deansgate, King Street and Piccadilly. However, new office space is appearing rapidly throughout the city, as its reputation as a high quality Business Centre increases. Spinningfields is a large new development west of Deansgate; it will be a large, modern business centre, and home to several headquarters, squares, and cafes. The first building on the site was the Royal Bank of Scotland's new headquarters^{[citation needed]} on Deansgate. The project is being spear-headed by Sir Norman Foster. Other buildings include a 110 metre tall office building, a new justice centre and new Crown Court, to be built over the next few years.

Just outside the city boundaries, a new business district is appearing in Salford Quays, regenerated ex-shipping docks similar to London's Docklands, and is home to headquarters and call centres for many major companies. The announcement came in June 2006 that the BBC hopes to relocate several departments to the Quays from London.

Shopping

Manchester is a major retail centre only Glasgow and London have larger retail space within the U.K.^{[citation needed]} There is one large shopping centre in the city: the Manchester Arndale, which is in the city centre. The city centre also has a number of smaller shopping centres, including The Triangle, which caters for a more youthful and upmarket clientèle, and the Royal Exchange Centre.

In the central shopping area of the city centre, road access is all but impossible, making journeys around the city on foot quicker, safer and more convenient. The pedestrianised Market Street forms the core of the city centre's retail area. It is dominated on the north side by the Manchester Arndale and a branch of Debenhams.

The Shambles has a branch of Harvey Nichols, a Marks and Spencer store, and a branch of Selfridges, as well as a variety of upmarket designer boutiques.

Deansgate also has many shops, including the department store House of Fraser (formerly Kendals), along with pubs and bars. King Street is an affluent shopping area where many exclusive fashion brands have stores. King Street also has many notable buildings preserved in a conservation area. Other hubs in the centre include St Ann's Square, and Exchange Square.

Former stores, since gone, include Lewis's, Henry's, and Affleck and Brown. The building that housed Affleck and Brown is now known as Affleck's Palace. It consists of low-cost stalls for independent traders and creatives. Affleck's is on Oldham Street, in the Northern Quarter, along with a range of independent music, clothing, and other shops.

Food and drink

Manchester has a range of restaurants, bars, and clubs, spanning the famous "Curry Mile" in Rusholme to traditional ‘grub’, Chinatown, modern bars and bistros at Deansgate Locks in the city centre. In addition to these there are many independent fast food retailers throughout Manchester. There are now many top class restaurants.^{[citation needed]}

There is a Hard Rock Cafe, chain restaurants such as Wagamama and bars that include Waxy O’Connors and The Living Room. The coffee chain Starbucks has 12 outlets in a 2 mile radius. Other, independent restaurants, bars and clubs can be found in the Northern Quarter area of the city centre. Chains such as The Living Room, Revolution Vodka Bar, La Tasca, Est Est Est, and Restaurant, Bar and Grill all started in the city before being introduced to other cities across the UK.

Manchester is also famous for its beer, despite the closure of the Boddingtons brewery in 2005. Keg 'Boddies' is brewed by Interbrew in Luton but cask Boddington's continues to be brewed in the city by Hydes brewery in Moss Side. Hydes is a long established independent brewery. Another Manchester brewer is Joseph Holt, whose Derby Brewery in Cheetham is just round the corner from the defunct Boddingtons Strangeways brewery. The Royal Brewery in Moss Side — not far from Hyde's — brews McEwan's lager. J W Lees brewery is in Middleton Junction, a few miles north of the city. There are also a notable number of microbreweries producing smaller quantities of high quality beer, cider and perry.

Breweries in the cities of Manchester and Salford which closed within the last twenty years include Wilson's, whose Newton Heath brewery closed in the late 1980s, and Whitbread/Chester's in Salford.

Demographics

The United Kingdom Census 2001 showed a total population for Manchester of 392,819, a 9.2% decline on the figure from the previous census, ten years before.^[23] 82,788 were aged under 16, 284,994 16 to 74, and 25,037 aged 75 and over.^[24]

75.9% of Manchester's population claim they have been born in the UK, according to the 2001 UK Census.

Inhabitants of Manchester are known as Mancunians.

Ethnicity

81% of people identified themselves as "White", 5.9% as "Indian" or "Pakistani", 2.3% as "Black Caribbean" and 1.4% as "Black African".^[25] Manchester has an ethnically diverse population, this is shown most in south Manchester, In areas such as Moss Side, Longsight, Rusholme, and Whalley Range just to name a few. A high percentage of Mancunian's (estimated at over 30 %) are of Irish ancestry.^{[citation needed]} The city's St Patrick's Day parade is one of the world's largest.

Religion

Stated religions in order of prevalence:

Economic activity

Manchester reported the second-lowest proportion of the population in employment of any area in the United Kingdom. Although unemployment in Manchester is higher than average, the primary reason for Manchester's low level of employed people is the very high proportion of the population who are students.^[27]

Education

Universities

Manchester is home to two major universities - the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University - which are both located to the south of the city centre. The University of Manchester is the largest full-time non-collegiate university in the United Kingdom, and was created in autumn 2004 by the merger of Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST. Manchester Metropolitan University was formed out of the old polytechnic college in the city.

The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Royal Northern College of Music are all grouped together on the southern side of the city centre, and effectively form one large campus along and near to Oxford Road (with the exception of the North Campus of the University of Manchester, which was the UMIST campus before the merger). Manchester Business School, which offered the first MBA course in the UK in 1965, forms a part of the University of Manchester.

Schools

Manchester's most notable secondary school is the Manchester Grammar School, an independent (what would be termed "private" in other English-speaking countries) boys' school, for pupils aged 11–18, in Fallowfield, South Manchester. In the post-war period, it was a direct-grant grammar school, which charged no fees, but it became an independent school in 1976 after the Labour government removed funding from direct-grant grammar schools. Originally situated in the centre of the city, in a prominent position close to the Cathedral, it has since relocated to Old Hall Lane in Fallowfield, to accommodate the growing student body. Its previous premises are now used by Chetham's School of Music.

Religion

The Anglican Diocese of Manchester was established in 1847. Manchester has also has an Anglican cathedral, St Mary, St George's and St Denys' Cathedral. It was built over a period of 600 years and is built in the Gothic Style.

Manchester lies within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford. The oldest surviving Catholic church is St Mary's The Hidden Gem, on Mulberry Street in the city centre. Manchester is in the Central North Division of the Salvation Army.

Manchester has a large Muslim population, and the UK's largest Jewish community outside London.^{[citation needed]}

• See also: The Salvation Army in Manchester

Places of interest

See also: Category:Visitor attractions in Greater Manchester

Architecture

Manchester has a wide variety of buildings mainly from Victorian architecture through to modern. Much of the architecture in the city harks back to its former days as a global centre for the cotton trade. Many warehouses have now been converted for other uses but the external appearance remains mostly unchanged so the city keeps much of its original character. An interesting facet of the architecture of Manchester and several other cities which underwent a construction boom during the industrial revolution is that inspiration was taken from Venice. Examples of this architecture can be easily found to the south and east of Albert Square and near the 92nd lock of the Bridgewater Canal, near Beetham Tower.

Manchester also has a number of skyscrapers. Most were built during the sixties and seventies. However, in the last few years there has been a renewed interest in building skyscrapers in Manchester. Numerous residential and office blocks are being built or have recently been built in the city centre. Beetham Tower was completed in the Autumn of 2006 and houses a Hilton hotel along with a restaurant and residential properties. It is currently the tallest building in the UK outside of London. However, this status may be short lived, an even taller building, the Inacity Tower, is scheduled to commence construction in 2007 behind Manchester Piccadilly station.

Other structures of interest in Manchester include:

Public monuments

Within Manchester there are monuments to numerous people and events that have helped to shape the city and influence the wider community. There are two large squares that hold many of Manchester's public monuments. There is Albert Square in front of the Town Hall which has monuments to Prince Albert, Bishop James Fraser, Oliver Heywood, William Ewart Gladstone and John Bright , and Piccadilly Gardens which has monuments dedicated to Queen Victoria, Robert Peel, James Watt and the Duke of Wellington.

Notable monuments elsewhere in the city include the Alan Turing Memorial situated in Sackville Park, adjacent to Sackville Street, which remembers the father of modern computing. A monument to American President Abraham Lincoln stands in the eponymous Lincoln Square. The statue marks the part that Lancashire had to play in the cotton famine of 1861–1865 and the American Civil War. Finally, the success of the 2002 Commonwealth Games is commemorated by B of the Bang, Britain’s tallest sculpture, located near the City of Manchester Stadium in the Eastlands area of the City.

Streets and plazas

See also: Category:Streets and squares in Manchester

Manchester has a number of busy squares, plazas and shopping streets. Many of Manchester city centre's streets are now pedestrianised with numerous other streets having Metrolink or Bus priority, this makes driving around Manchester City Centre complicated.

One of the oldest thoroughfares is Market Street. This was originally called Market Stede Lane. Much of the medieval street pattern, around the original Market Place was cleared as part of 1970s developments. Ancient streets such as Smithy Door were lost forever. One ancient street to survive is Long Millgate, which led north from the old Market Place. This winding lane, crossing Fennel Street and leading on to Todd Street (formerly Toad Lane - thought to be a corruption of T'owd Lane - The Old Lane) is now an attractive and peaceful thoroughfare, bounded by gardens.

Whitworth Street is a broad 19th century route, stretching from Deansgate to London Road, running parallel to the Rochdale Canal for much of its route, and intersecting with Princess Street, Chepstow Street and Albion Street along the way. The street is bounded by impressive brick buildings, formerly warehouses, but now mostly residential developments.

Mosley Street runs roughly parallel to Portland Street, Whitworth Street and Deansgate, leading from Piccadilly Gardens to St Peter's Square. The street is closed to general traffic, with the Metrolink running trams along its route.

Another Victorian addition to the city's street pattern was Corporation Street, which cut through slums to the north of Market Street and provided a direct link from Cross Street (and the newly constructed Albert Square) to the routes north of the city.

To the south of the city centre, Wilmslow Road is the hub of much student life and is home to Manchester’s curry mile.

Other notable places in Manchester include; Great Northern Square, Spring Gardens, Cathedral Gardens, New Cathedral Street, the Gay Village and Chinatown

Transport and infrastructure

Main article: Transport in Manchester

Manchester and the surrounding communities in the North West of England are served by numerous transport facilities. The area is served by an international airport and a major motorway and rail network. statistically Greater Manchester has a higher percentage of the motorway network than any other county in the country.^{[citation needed]} According to The Guinness Book of World Records^{[citation needed]}, it has the most traffic lanes side by side (17), spread across several parallel carriageways. (M61 at Linnyshaw Moss, Greater Manchester, close to the M60 interchange). On the local scale the area is served by a network of bus routes and a modern tram system radiates from the city centrer.

Historically the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the first passenger railway in the world. Today, Greater Manchester still has an extensive citywide railway network, and two mainline stations. A network of canals also remains from the industrial revolution.

Culture

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Main article: Culture of Manchester

Nightlife There has long been a thriving nightclub culture in Manchester. Broadcaster Jimmy Savile is credited as becoming the first modern DJ by using twin turntables for continuous play after he obtained two domestic record decks welded together. He first used this device to play to the public in 1946, at a nightclub called The Ritz on Whitworth Street (which had opened in 1927). Tony Prince is credited as becoming the world's first full-time club DJ in 1964 when Savile, who was then a Mecca manager in Manchester, told him that Top Rank considered him to be the first person to be on their payroll as a pure DJ.

Many teenagers of the 1960s developed a love for Northern Soul, which had as two of its epicentres the Wigan Casino and Manchester's Twisted Wheel Club, and is credited as being instrumental in the development of the Motown Sound.

Rob Gretton, members of New Order (the band formed from the remaining members of Joy Division after singer Ian Curtis' suicide) and Factory Records boss Tony Wilson opened Fac 51 The Hacienda on Whitworth Street in 1982. It quickly became the focus of electronic music and the start of house music, the Madchester sound, and the Ibiza scene, which all came together in the Summer of Love in 1988. The Hacienda was also at the setting of the 2002 movie 24 Hour Party People.

One of the oldest and most diverse venues is the Band on the Wall, a live music venue in the Northern Quarter area of the city. This venue was built around 1862 as the flagship pub of a local brewery; it was originally called The George & Dragon. It got its nickname in the late 1920s or early 1930s from the stage high on the back wall. In 1975 it was taken on by jazz musician Steve Morris and his business partner Frank Cusick, and renamed The Band on the Wall.

Art

There are several art galleries in Manchester, notably:

Museums Museums in Manchester include:

Classical music Manchester is home to two symphony orchestras, the Hallé Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. There is also a chamber orchestra, the Manchester Camerata.

For many years the city’s main classical venue was the Free Trade Hall on Peter Street. Since 1996, however, Manchester has had a modern 2,500 seat concert venue called the Bridgewater Hall, which is also home to the Hallé Orchestra. The hall is one of the country’s most technically advanced classical music and lecture venues, with an acoustically designed interior and suspended foundations for an optimum sound. Other venues for classical concerts include the RNCM, the Royal Exchange Theatre and Manchester Cathedral.

Manchester is a centre for musical education, being home to the Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music.

In the 1950s the city was home to the so-called ‘Manchester School’ of classical composers, which comprised Harrison Birtwistle, Peter Maxwell Davies and Alexander Goehr.

Pop music

Main articles: History of popular music in Manchester and List of bands from Manchester

For Mancunians, the pop musical heritage of the city has been a source of great pride.^{[citation needed]} The city’s eclectic mix of music has helped to create the sense among its inhabitants that Manchester is the most important city in world music.^{[citation needed]}