Stockport

Categories: Towns in Greater Manchester

Image:Stockport townhall.jpg
Stockport's Town Hall

Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, in North West England. The town of Stockport has a population of 136,082 (2001) 1. It is the largest town within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport.

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History

Stockport was originally a Saxon village. Its name may be derived from two Saxon words: STOC - a stockaded place or castle, and PORT - a wood. Literally, a castle in a wood. There is sufficient evidence that a fortified stronghold existed in the vicinity in ancient British times, and that Agricola in AD79 recognised its strategical advantages and fortified Stockport to guard the passage of the Mersey. (Source: Local history page on Stockport Council's web site, March 3 2005)

An alternative theory put forward for the derivation of the town's name is that it is a corruption of Stopford, after a ford across the river at the bottom of what is now the town centre street named Market Street Brow. Pupils at the town's principal private secondary school, Stockport Grammar School (founded 1487) call themselves Stopfordians.

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 Mersey Way 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 1930's. Much of it is now filled in, but there is an active campaign to re-open it.

The 1835 Municipal Corporation Act made Stockport a town divided into seven wards. In 1888, its status was raised to County Borough.

Due to its close 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".

In 1967 the Stockport Air Disaster occurred, when a British Midland Airways Argonaut crashed in the town, resulting in the deaths of 72 passengers.

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Features

Stockport is home to League Two football team Stockport County Football Club, as well as Bramall Hall and the National Trust property of Lyme Park. The UK's last working hat factory was located in Stockport; in its place is now HatWorks hat museum. It is home to 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. It opened in 1842. Bredbury, Stockport is the home for the National Library for the Blind.

Its principal commercial district is located in the town centre, with most common department stores to be found in the Merseyway Shopping Centre. The Grand Central Square complex boasts an Olympic sized swimming pool, three nightclubs, a 10 screen cinema, bowling alley, health complex, and several restaurants. Stockport is located seven miles away from Manchester City Centre, making it convenient for commuters and shoppers.

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Reputation

Although the suburbs of Bramhall and Cheadle 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. In its favour, some highlight its close 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).

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Politics

There are three parliamentary constituencies in the Stockport area: Stockport, Cheadle and Hazel Grove. 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. 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.

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Notable People from Stockport

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External links


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