ECCLES, GREATER MANCHESTER

'Eccles' is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England.^[1] It is around to the west of Manchester City Centre.
Historically a part of Lancashire, Eccles was formerly an important industrial centre on the Manchester Ship Canal. Eccles is perhaps best known today for being credited as the birthplace of the Eccles cake.

Contents

History

Toponymy

Early history

Governance

Transport

Notable people

References

History

Toponymy

c.600 AD - The name "Eccles" derives ultimately from the Latin word "ecclesia" or church. This Latin word was adopted by the Celtic people who lived in Roman Britain and appears in modern Welsh as "eglwys".^[2]

Early history

c.1086 AD - the Domesday Book. This refers to two churches in Manchester and its neighbourhoods, one of which may have been the parish church of Eccles, St Mary the Virgin. The earliest parts of the church date from the 13th century though most of the building was constructed from the 15th century onwards.
1817 - Reference to "Eccles Wakes". This annual celebration included contests for ladies with a wooden leg and for eating apple dumplings. It was abolished by order of the Home Secretary in 1877.
1830 - The first fatality in a railway accident, William Huskisson, was taken to the Old Vicarage, Eccles, for treatment.
1836 - The engineer James Nasmyth (1808-1890) established the Bridgewater Foundry. This was named after the third Duke. Its most famous product was the Steam Hammer, which made possible building projects and metalworking on a far larger scale than ever before, but later the foundry was adapted to making railway locomotives which were exported all over the world.

1861 - Cricket. A match in Eccles is said to have started a cricket tradition. A batsman complained that he could not see the flight of the ball because the light was bad. An umpire borrowed a white coat to wear to help the batsman to see the ball.
1892 - Eccles received a charter from Queen Victoria to become the Borough of Eccles.
1894 - Opening of the Manchester Ship Canal. Earlier an ox had been roasted in Eccles to celebrate the passing of the Act for the building of the canal. For this ship canal, Brindley's aqueduct was replaced by a metal aqueduct which could be swung to allow ships to pass along the canal; it weighs 1450 tons including 800 tons of water.
1901 - First motorised fire engine to be supplied to a municipal corporation in England. This was supplied to Eccles Corporation by a local firm, the Protector Lamp and Lighting Co., also known for manufacturing Miners' Safety Lamps.
1933 - Barton Moss became part of the Borough of Eccles. Here, Barton Aerodrome was opened in 1930. Owned by Manchester Corporation, it was the first municipal airport in the country.

Governance

Eccles was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1892. In 1974 the borough was abolished and its area transferred to Greater Manchester, forming part of the City of Salford.
Eccles is made up of Peel Green, Patricroft, Barton-upon-Irwell, Winton, Monton and Ellesmere Park plus Eccles itself.

Transport

Eccles has been served by the world's first railway for fee paying passengers since 1830 - George Stephenson's Liverpool to Manchester line, upon which the Rocket locomotive achieved fame after winning the Rainhill trials. During the line's opening day one of its main supporters, Liverpool MP William Huskisson, was struck at Parkside station near Newton-le-Willows and was taken to Eccles for emergency treatment in the Parish Church where he later died, making Huskisson the first person in world history to be fatally injured in a railway accident. A memorial to Huskisson still stands at the site of Parkside station, albeit the station itself has been demolished.
In addition to Eccles station, in the town centre, the Borough also features Patricroft. which formerly neighboured one of the areas foremost locomotive works, although the works have long since closed and the site has since been developed as a business park. Patricroft was also the starting point of two branch lines - the Tyldesley Loop Line via Monton, Worsley and Ellenbrook to Leigh, and; the Radcliffe Line which proceeded through the Black Harry Tunnel to emerge near Clifton Junction station.
Patricroft is also notable as the point where the world's first passenger railway passes over the world's first significant man made waterway - the Bridgewater Canal. Queen Victoria alighted from the Royal Train at Patricroft and proceeded to Worsley Hall (now demolished) on the Bridgewater Canal when paying a visit to the Earl of Ellesmere. Eccles been the scene of two serious rail accidents.
Since 2000, Eccles has been served by a branch of the Manchester Metrolink tram system. The terminus is located next to the town's bus station. From here, there are frequent buses to Manchester, either via Eccles Old Road on First Manchester's 67, 68 and 100 services or via Eccles New Road on First's 33 service. The bus services provides better links to Manchester than the Metrolink, as the buses are quicker to the city centre than the trams. There are also frequent services to The Trafford Centre, due to the close proximity between the two places. Services running to the Trafford Centre are buses 22, 100 and 247 plus 556 on Sundays.
The town stands close to the M602 motorway, which links Eccles with Manchester and the M62 and M60 motorways.

Notable people

England cricket captain Michael Vaughan was born in Eccles.
Mayo Clinic founder William Worrall Mayo was born in Eccles. Other notable people include Christopher Eccleston, Andrew Joseph Pollitt and David Shakeshaft.

References

1. "Official British Place Name Archives - Eccles", Greater Manchester County Records Office. URL accessed April 1, 2007.
2. Local place names explained