STRETFORD

'Stretford' is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies approximately to the southwest of Manchester city centre, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire, and has a population of around 37,000. Stretford is contiguous with the towns of Chorlton-cum-Hardy to the east, Urmston to the west, Salford to the north, and Sale to the south. The River Mersey runs just to the south of the town, and the Manchester Ship Canal passes to the north. The Bridgewater Canal cuts through the town.
During much of the 19th century, Stretford was a largely agricultural village, known locally as ''Porkhampton'', a reference to the large number of pigs produced for the nearby Manchester market. The arrival of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894, and the subsequent development of the Trafford Park Industrial Estate in the north of the town, accelerated the industrialisation which began in the late 19th century. Today, less than 1% of the population of Stretford is employed in agriculture.
Stretford has been the home of Manchester United Football Club since 1910, and the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since 1864. Notable residents have included the industralist and philanthropist John Rylands, the sufragette Emmeline Pankhurst, the painter L. S. Lowry, Morrissey of 80s alternative rock band The Smiths, and Jay Kay of Jamiroquai.

History

The origin of the name Stretford is 'street' (Anglo Saxon ''straet'') 'on a ford', the ford across the River Mersey.^[1] The principal road through Stretford, the A56 Chester Road, follows the line of the old Roman road from Chester to Manchester, crossing the Mersey into Stretford at Crossford Bridge, built at the location of the ancient ford.^[2]
In 1212, there were two manors in the area now called Stretford. The land to the south, close to the River Mersey, was held by Hamon de Mascy, while the land to the north, closer to the River Irwell, was held by Henry de Trafford.^[3] In about 1250, another Hamon de Mascy gave the Stretford manor to his daughter, Margery. She in turn, in about 1260, granted Stretford to Richard de Trafford at a rent of one penny. The de Mascy family shortly afterwards released all rights to their lands in Stretford to Henry de Trafford, the Trafford family thus acquiring the whole of Stretford and Trafford. The two manors subsequently descended together.²
Until the 1820s, one of the main cottage industries carried out in Stretford was the hand weaving of cotton, supplementing the income from farming.³ There were reported at one time to have been 302 handlooms operating in Stretford, providing work for 780 workers. However, by 1826, only four of those looms were still being used, as the mechanised cotton mills of nearby Manchester began to replace the old hand weaving looms.³ As Manchester continued to grow, it offered a good and easily accessible market for Stretford's agricultural products, in particular rhubarb—then often known locally as Stretford beef—and pigs. During the 19th century, Stretford became well-known for its pig market and the production of black puddings, leading to the village being given the nickname 'Porkhampton'. By 1825 it was reported that six hundred animals a week were being slaughtered for Manchester.
The arrival of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894, and the subsequent development of the Trafford Park industrial estate in the north of the town—the first planned industrial estate in the world^[4]—had a substantial effect on the growth of Stretford. The population in 1891 was 21,751, but by 1901 it had increased by 40% to 30,436 as people were drawn to the town by the promise of work in the new industries of Trafford Park.^[5]
During World War II, Trafford Park was largely turned over to the production of war materiel, including the Avro Manchester heavy bomber, and the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines used to power both the Spitfire and the Lancaster.⁴ That resulted in Stretford being the target of some heavy bombing, particularly during the Manchester Blitz of 1940. On the nights of the 22nd and 23rd December 1940 alone, 124 incendiaries and 120 high-explosive bombs fell on Stretford, killing 73 people and injuring many more. Among the buildings damaged or destroyed during the war were Manchester United's Old Trafford football ground, All Saints' Church, St Hilda's Church, and the children's library in King Street.^[6]^[7]^[8] A memorial to those residents who lost their lives in the bombing was erected in Stretford Cemetery in 1948. It sits over the communal grave of the 17 unidentified people who were killed in the blitz of December 1940.³
At Great Stone Road, the current B&Q store was once the Hardrock/village rock venue, which during the 1970s hosted some of the decade's major artists in their prime,^[9] including Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Bob Marley, Elton John, Hawkwind, Yes, Chaka Khan, Deep Purple, Curved Air and Lou Reed. In more recent years, Lancashire Cricket Club's Old Trafford ground, just next door, has provided a concert venue for bands such as Angels and Airwaves, Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters, Oasis, Richard Ashcroft and The Strokes, with audiences in excess of 40,000.^[10]^[11]

Transport history

The growth of Stretford was fuelled by the transport revolutions of the 18th and especially the 19th century: the Bridgewater Canal reached Stretford in 1761, the railway in 1849, and the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894, giving Stretford access to the sea. The completion of the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway in 1849, passing through Stretford, led to the population of the town nearly doubling in a decade, increasing from 4,998 in 1851 to 8,757 by 1861.^[12]
Situated on the main A56 road between Chester and Manchester, many people passed though the town, and as the traffic increased, inns were built to provide travellers with stopping places. One of the earliest forms of public transport through Stretford was the stagecoach, with the Angel Inn, on the present day site of the Bass Drum public house,^[13] being one of the main stopping places in the town.³ The stagecoach service through Stretford is believed to have ended some time in the 1840s, around the time that horse drawn tram cars were introduced, in 1845.³

Invention and discovery

The Stretford process was developed at the North-Western Gas Board's laboratories in Stretford, during the 1940s. It was the first liquid phase, oxidation process for removing hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) from town gas to gain widespread commercial acceptance. Many Stretford plants were built worldwide.^[14]

Governance

Civic history

Arms of the former Stretford Municipal Borough Council

Stretford was anciently a chapelry in the parish of Manchester.¹⁶ In 1867, Stretford Local Board of Health was established, assuming responsibility for the local government of the area in 1868.³ The board's responsibilities included sanitation and the maintenance of the highways, and it had the authority to levy rates to pay for those services. The local board continued in this role until it was superseded by the creation of Stretford Urban District Council in 1894,¹⁶ as a result of the Local Government Act 1894.
Stretford was granted its arms on 20 February 1933.¹⁵ The roses are the red roses of Lancashire, and the lion in the centre represents John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. Above the lion are a crossed flail and scythe; the flail comes from the arms of the de Trafford family; the scythe is a reminder of the agricultural history of the area; the thunderbolts above represent the importance of electricity in Stretford's industrial development. The boat at the bottom represents Stretford's links to the sea via the Manchester Ship Canal.^[15]
Stretford became a municipal borough in 1933.^[16] In 1974, as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, Stretford became a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester.¹⁶

Political representation

The constituency of Stretford was created in 1885, and existed until 1997, when it was replaced by the present constituency of Stretford and Urmston. Beverley Hughes, a member of the Labour Party, has been the MP since the constituency was created. At the 2005 General Election, Hughes won the seat with a majority of 7,851, representing 51.0% of the vote. The Conservatives took 30.4% of the vote, the Liberal Democrats 14.0%, the Respect Party 2.5%, and the United Kingdom Independence Party 2.2%.^[17]
Stretford is one of the four major urban areas in Trafford, the other three being Altrincham, Sale and Urmston. The Trafford Metropolitan Borough local government area called Stretford is divided into the local wards of Clifford, Longford, Gorse Hill, and Stretford. Each ward is represented by three local councillors,^[18] giving Stretford 12 of the 63 seats on Trafford Council. The wards elect in thirds on a four yearly cycle. Currently all 12 of the councillors representing the Stretford area are members of the Labour Party.

Geography

The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, highlighting Stretford in red.

Stretford occupies an area of , just north of the River Mersey, at (53.4466, -2.3086). The area is comparatively flat, sloping slightly southwards towards the river valley,² and is approximately above sea level at its highest point.^[19] The most southerly part of Stretford lies within the flood plain of the River Mersey, and has historically been prone to flooding. A great deal of flood mitigation work has been carried out in the Mersey Valley since the 1970s, with the stretch of the Mersey through Stretford being canalised to speed up the passage of floodwater.^[20] Emergency floodbasins have also been constructed, Sale Water Park being a prominent local example, lying immediately to the south of Stretford.
Stretford comprises the local areas of Old Trafford, Gorse Hill, Trafford Park and Firswood.^[18]
Stretford's climate is generally temperate, with few extremes of temperature or weather. The mean temperature is slightly above average for the United Kingdom. Annual rainfall and average amount of sunshine are both slightly below the average for the UK.^[22]

Demography

'Stretford Compared'
'2001 UK Census'	'Stretford'	'Trafford'	'England'
Total population	37,455	210,145	49,138,831
Foreign born	17%	8%	9%
White	73%	92%	91%
Asian	15%	5%	5%
Black	8%	2%	2%
Average age	36.7 y	38.9 y	38.6 y
Over 65 years old	15%	16%	16%

As at the 2001 UK census, the Stretford area wards of Clifford, Longford, Talbot and Stretford had a total population of 37,455, and a population density of 9,158 persons per square mile (3,537 per km²).^[23]^[24]^[25]^[26]
Stretford residents had an average age of 36.7 years, younger than the 38.9 Trafford average. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. Of all residents, 52% were single (never married): in Trafford, 44% were single. Of the 16,078 households, 37% were one-person households, 14% were married couples with dependant children, and 9% were lone parents with dependant children. Of those aged 16-74 in Stretford, 33% had no academic qualifications, higher than the 25% in all of Trafford.
With 83% being born in United Kingdom, there is a relatively high proportion of foreign-born residents reported. There is also a high proportion of non-white people, as only 73% of residents were recorded as white. The largest minority group was Asian, at 15% of the population.
In June 2004, Trafford adopted a revised set of ward boundaries, and the ward of Talbot was replaced by the new ward of Gorse Hill. Re-aligning the 2001 census figures with the 2004 ward boundaries gives Stretford a population of 42,121.^[27]^[28]^[29]^[30]

Economy

Until the latter part of the 19th century, Stretford was a largely agricultural village. Today only 0.3% of the population is employed in agriculture.²³²⁴²⁶²⁵
The main shopping centre in the town is Stretford Mall in the centre of Stretford, previously known as Stretford Arndale. It was the first Arndale Centre in the north west of England, the name being changed in late 2003. Stretford Mall was built on the site of the original shopping centre in the former King Street. It is rumoured that shoppers can still sometimes hear the sounds of horses and carriages on cobbles echoing around the mall.¹⁸ The Trafford Centre, a large shopping and leisure complex opened in September 1998, lies to the northwest of Stretford. Frequent shuttle buses run between Stretford Metrolink tram station and The Trafford Centre, about 10 minutes away.
According to the 2001 UK census, the industry of employment of residents in Stretford was 18% retail and wholesale, 14% property and business services, 13% manufacturing, 12% health and social work, 8% education, 8% transport and communications, 6% construction, 5% finance, 5% public administration and defence, 5% hotels and restaurants, 0.7% energy and water supply, 0.3% agriculture and 5% other. This was roughly in line with national figures, except for the town's relatively low percentage of agricultural workers. Many people commute into Stretford from outside areas; as of the 2001 census, there were 23,595 jobs within the town, compared with the town's 13,399 employed residents.^[23]^[24]^[25]^[26]
The census recorded the economic activity of residents aged 16–74 as 38.8% in full-time employment, 11.1% in part-time employment, 5.6% self-employed, 4.5% unemployed, 2.9% students with jobs, 5.5% students without jobs, 12.2% retired, 7.0% looking after home or family, 7.7% permanently sick or disabled, and 4.7% economically inactive for other reasons. The 4.5% unemployment rate in Stretford was high compared with the national rate of 3.3%. According to the Office for National Statistics estimates, during the period of April 2001 to March 2002, the average gross income of households in Stretford was £415 per week (£21,664 per year).^[23]^[24]^[25]^[26]

Landmarks

Longford Cinema, May 2007

'Longford Cinema', situated opposite Stretford Mall, on the eastern side of the A56 Chester Road, is perhaps the most visually striking building in the town. Designed by the architect Henry Elder, it was the height of Art Deco fashion when it opened in 1936. Its unusual "cash register" frontage was intended to symbolise the film industry's obsession with money and sex.^[39] The building incorporated many modern features; sound-proofing, under-seat heating and air-conditioning amongst them. It was also the first cinema in Britain to have neon lighting illuminating the aisles.³⁹ It had a seating capacity of 2,000, with a further 146 seats in the café area.
During World War II the building was used for concerts, including one given by a young Julie Andrews.³⁹ It also played host to the Hallé Orchestra after the orchestra's own home, the Free Trade Hall, was bombed and severely damaged during the Manchester Blitz of 1940.
In August 1950, after a change of ownership, the cinema was renamed the Stretford Essoldo. It continued to operate as a cinema until 1965, after which time it became a bingo hall until its closure in 1995.³⁹ The building has remained empty and unused since then. It was designated a Grade II listed building in 1994.^[40]

The Great Stone, May 2007

'The Great Stone', which gave its name to the Great Stone Road, where it was located until being moved in 1925, is one of Stretford's most easily overlooked landmarks. The stone is composed of millstone grit and was probably deposited as a glacial erratic. It is rectangular in shape, about wide, tall, with two rectangular slots cut into its upper surface.
Several suggestions have been made for the Great Stone's origin. It may have been a plague stone, when the holes in the top would have been filled with disinfectant—perhaps vinegar—to disinfect any coins passed between plague victims and the rest of the population. There were certainly plagues in Manchester from the 14th century onwards, but although the stone may then have been used as a plague stone, the depth of the holes is probably too great for that to have been its original purpose. Alternatively the Great Stone may originally have been a road marker on the Roman road between Northwich and Manchester, or some kind of a boundary marker. The Great Stone is also thought to have been the base of an Anglo-Saxon cross shaft.
When the Great Stone Road was widened in the late 19th century, the stone was moved back from the road slightly. In 1925, the stone was moved again, to its current location outside the North Lodge of Gorse Hill Park, about from its historical location.

Stretford Cenotaph, June 2007

'Stretford Cenotaph', opposite the Chester Road entrance to Gorse Hill Park, was built as a memorial to the 580 Stretford men who lost their lives in World War I. Their names and regiments are listed on a large bronze plaque on the wall behind the cenotaph. It was formally unveiled in 1923, by the Earl of Derby, Secretary of State for War.^[41]
The cenotaph is high and wide at its base. It cost £2,000 to build, the money being raised by public subscription and a donation from the Stretford Red Cross. The memorial bears the legend "They died that we might live" on one side, and "In memory of the heroic dead" on the other. It is a Grade II listed structure.
'Longford Park'
Longford Park is the largest park in Trafford, at .^[42] It includes a pet's corner, botanical garden, bowling greens and children's play areas. It is also the finishing point of the annual Stretford pageant, which has been held since 1919. Longford Park was the home of John Rylands, industrialist and philanthropist, from 1855 until his death in 1888.³ The hall was demolished in 1995. Today only the front porch, the coach house and the stable buildings remain.
'Stretford Public Hall'
Stretford Public Hall was built 1878-79 by local philanthropist John Rylands.³ It was designed by N. Lofthouse and is located on the western side of the A56 Chester Road, opposite the Longford Cinema. Stretford’s first public lending library was established in the building in 1883.^[43] At John Ryland's death in 1888, his widow placed the building at the disposal of the local authority for a nominal rent, and on her own death in 1910, the building was bought by Stretford Council, for £5000.³
Public baths were built to the rear of the building, accessed via Cyprus Street.^[44] In 1940 the new Stretford library was opened on King Street, and the public hall was rendered surplus. The building re-opened in March 1949 as the Stretford Civic Theatre, with a well equipped stage for the use of local groups. After the Stretford Leisure Centre opened in 1976, the Cyprus Street Baths wing fell into disuse, and was demolished. The remainder of the building began to fall into disrepair until, in the mid 1990s, Trafford Council refurbished and converted the building to serve as council offices. It was re-opened in 1997, once again named Stretford Public Hall.
'Stretford Town Hall'
Stretford Town Hall stands in a large site at the junction of Talbot Road and Warwick Road, directly opposite the Old Trafford cricket ground. The building was designed by architects Bradshaw, Gass and Hope of Bolton and the contractors were Edwin Marshall & Sons Ltd. Building work commenced 21 August 1931.^[45]
The building officially came into use at the granting of Stretford's charter, on 16 September 1933. In 1976, on the formation of the new Trafford Metropolitan Borough, Stretford Town Hall was adopted as the base for the new council, and was renamed Trafford Town Hall. The town hall was designated a Grade II listed building in May 2007.

Transport

Stretford Metrolink tram station lies on the Altrincham to Bury line, convenient for Manchester city centre and beyond. Trams leave around every six minutes between 7:15am and 18:30pm, and every 12 minutes at other times of the day.^[46] The nearest main line railway station is Trafford Park, located in the north of Stretford, on the Liverpool to Manchester line. Services are roughly every two hours in each direction, with extra services calling during the peak-hours.
The town has good access to the motorway network, being located next to junction 7 of the M60. The A56 gives easy access to the south as well as to Manchester city centre in the other direction, and cycle paths exist as part of the Trafford cycle initiative.
Manchester Airport, the largest UK airport outside London, is situated approximately to the south of Stretford.

Education

Along with the rest of Trafford, Stretford maintains a selective education system assessed by the Eleven Plus examination.
One of Trafford's grammar schools, Stretford Grammar School, is located within the area. The proportion of pupils leaving Stretford Grammar School with five or more GCSEs at grades A
★ –C in 2006, was 98.3%, compared to an average of 66.7% for all secondary schools in Trafford and a national UK average of 61.3%. Over half of the school's pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds, and approximately a quarter of all pupils have a first language other than English, significantly above the national average.^[47] Stretford Grammar was awarded specialist Science College status in September 2005. The school was assessed as "satisfactory" in its March 2006 Ofsted report.⁴⁷
Stretford High School Community Languages College, like Stretford Grammar, has a much higher proportion than average of pupils with a first language other than English, a high number of them being either asylum seekers or refugees.^[48] In 2004 Stretford High School was made subject to special measures, as it was considered not to be providing an adequate education for its pupils. Very substantial improvement has taken place since then; the school was assessed as "satisfactory" in its November 2005 Ofsted report and was removed from special measures.⁴⁸

Religion

'Stretford Compared'
'2001 UK Census'	'Stretford'	'Trafford'	'England'
Total population	37,455	210,145	49,138,831
Christian	64.7%	75.8%	71.7%
Muslim	12.4%	3.3%	3.1%
Sikh	2.1%	0.5%	0.7%
Hindu	0.7%	0.6%	1.1%
Buddhist	0.3%	0.2%	0.3%
Jewish	0.2%	1.1%	0.5%
No religion	12.1%	12.0%	14.6%

The date of the first church to be built in Stretford is unrecorded, but in a lease dated 1413, land is described as lying next to a chapel.² Many of the present day churches in the area were constructed during the late 19th and the early part of the 20th century, as the population of Stretford began to grow.
Methodism was a significant influence in 19th century Stretford,³ but of the 17 churches in the town today, only one is Methodist whereas six are Roman Catholic. The Catholic Mission in Stretford was begun in November 1859, in a small brick chapel located on Herbert Street.
As at the 2001 UK census, 65% of Stretford residents reported themselves as being Christian, 12% as Muslim, and 2% as Sikh. No other religion was represented at higher than 1% of the population, with 12% reporting themselves as having no religion.
Stretford is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford,^[49] and the Church of England Diocese of Manchester.^[50]
There are two Grade II listed churches in Stretford: the Church of St Ann^[51] and the Church of St Matthew.^[52] St Ann's is a Roman Catholic church, built in 1862–7 by E. W. Pugin for Sir Humphrey and Lady Annette de Trafford. It was officially opened by Bishop William Turner on the 22nd November 1863, and was consecrated in June 1867. Features include a historic organ built by Jardine & Co (1867) and a good number of fine stained glass windows by Hardman & Co of Birmingham. St Matthew’s church was built in 1842 by W. Hayley in the Gothic Revival style, with additional phases in 1869, 1906, and 1922.

Sports

Manchester United's Old Trafford football ground

Stretford has been the home of Manchester United Football Club since 1910, when the club moved to its present Old Trafford ground, the western end of which is still unofficially called the Stretford End.
Old Trafford was originally the home of Manchester Cricket Club, but became the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club in 1864 upon that club's formation. The ground is on Talbot Road, Stretford, where it has been since 1856. Similar to its counterpart, one end of the Old Trafford cricket ground is called the Stretford End. It has been a test venue since 1884 and has hosted three World Cup semi-finals.^[53] After the 2005 Ashes Test, when more than 20,000 fans had to be turned away,^[54] the decision was made to increase the ground's capacity from 20,000 to 25,000. Initial plans included building a new stadium on the site of Trafford Town Hall, opposite the present ground. However, Trafford Council voted against the demolition of the town hall and instead, in 2007, signed an agreement jointly with Lancashire County Cricket Club, Ask Developments, and Tesco, to redevelop the ground on its present site.⁵⁵

Lancashire CCC - main entrance

The new cricket ground will be at the heart of a development which will also include business space, residential, retail, hotel and leisure facilities. The preferred development scheme is scheduled to be announced early in 2008.^[55] Over £25m is expected to be invested in the redevelopments at Old Trafford.
Stretford Stadium, adjoining Longford Park, is the home of Trafford Athletic Club. Trafford is one of the UK's top athletic clubs, with over 100 members having competed at international level.^[56]
The Stretford Leisure Centre is situated outside Stretford town centre towards Old Trafford and features a 25 metre pool, a children's pool, a gym and several other sporting facilities. Trafford Water Sports Centre lies just across Stretford's southern border with Sale, about from Stretford town centre.

Notable people

Statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament, Westminster. (January 2006)

John Rylands, industrialist and philanthropist, constructed and lived in Longford Hall, where he died in 1888. Fittingly for an area so close to Trafford Park, the world's first planned industrial estate, one of the world's first industrial espionage agents, John Holker, was born in Stretford in 1719.^[57]^[58]
Perhaps one of Stretford's more famous residents was the sufragette Emmeline Pankhurst. The 1881 English census records her and her family living at 3 Chester Road. A less radical political figure, Conservative transport minister Ernest Marples, was born in Henshaw Street in 1907.
Painter L. S. Lowry was born in Barratt Street, Stretford in 1887.^[59] Musicians who have lived in the area include Morrissey, the front man of 80s alternative rock band The Smiths, whose family moved to King's Road, Stretford, when he was 10 years old. Jay Kay, lead singer and songwriter of Jamiroquai, was born in Stretford in 1969.
Television actor John Comer, best known for his role as cafe owner Sid in the BBC Sitcom Last of the Summer Wine, was born at 104 King Street on 1 March 1924.
Oldham Athletic manager and former Eire and Sheffield Wednesday footballer John Sheridan was born in Stretford.^[60]

References

External links

★ History of Stretford

★ Edwin Waugh's journey to Stretford 1857

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