Swinton, Greater Manchester
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other places named Swinton, see the Swinton disambiguation page.
| Swinton | |
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  Swinton shown within Greater Manchester |
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| Population | 41,347 |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan borough | City of Salford |
| Metropolitan county | Greater Manchester |
| Region | North West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SALFORD |
| Postcode district | M27 |
| Dial code | 0161 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | Salford |
| European Parliament | North West England |
| List of places: UK • England • Greater Manchester | |
Swinton is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. With a population of 41,347, it is the administrative centre of City of Salford.
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[edit] Geography and administration
From 1894 the civil parish of Swinton formed part of the urban district of Swinton and Pendlebury in the administrative county of Lancashire. The district received its Charter of Incorporation as a municipal borough from the 18th Earl of Derby at a ceremony in Victoria Park in 1934. The borough came under the administration of the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford in 1974 when the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester was created by the Local Government Act 1972.
[edit] History
The name Swinton is said to derive from pig-rearing - an early form was Swynton (Swine Town).[1]
During the Middle Ages, Swinton belonged to Whalley Abbey. Later, lands at Swinton were granted to Thurston Tyldesley, then of - Wardley Hall. Documents record that certain areas belonged to the Knights Hospitallers.
In 1817 some Swinton weavers joined in the 'Blanketeer' demonstration and marched to London to put their grievances to the Prince Regent. n 1842 some Swinton people took part in Chartist agitations and tried to destroy a local colliery.
Sunday schools and libraries were established in Swinton at quite an early period. An Industrial School was visited by Charles Dickens. The school opened in 1843 and survived until the 1920s. During demolition of the school buildings in the early thirties, the foundations proved particularly difficult. Finally explosives were used, which resulted in a huge number of rats being disturbed. It was a number of weeks before council workers were able to remove the rats from the surrounding streets and houses. Huge nests of baby rats were carried out of the rafters of many buildings. The site was used for the present Town Hall.
[edit] Landmarks
The architectural centre-piece of the town is the neo-classical - Swinton Town Hall which features a 38 m high clock tower. When Swinton and Pendlebury received its Charter of Incorporation, Council meetings were held in Victoria House in Victoria Park and the newly created Borough Council required larger premises. A competition was launched to design a new town hall, the winners being Welsh architect Sir Percy Thomas and Ernest Prestwich with a design that closely resembled their creation at Swansea Guildhall.
The land of the former industrial school on Chorley Road was purchased for £12,500 and the foundation stone of the new town hall laid there on 17 October 1936. The main buiders were J Gerrards and Son of Pendlebury. The new town hall opened for business on 17 September 1938 and had extensions added to its rear aspect when it became the administrative headquarters of the City of Salford in 1974.
It was once reported that Swinton has the greatest number of chip shops per capita in Britain.[2]
A further architectural highlight is the nearby Tudor styled - Wardley Hall, which is the base for the Bishop of Salford and - Salford Diocese.
[edit] Rugby League
Swinton Lions RLFC has an impressive record in rugby league considering the size of the town. The club's 6 Championships and 3 Challenge Cup wins better that of their local rivals Salford City Reds. The club was based in the town until 1992, when financial mis-management necessitated a relocation from the Station Road ground to play at Gigg Lane in Bury. The financial failure of main creditor and defacto owner Hugh Eaves in 2002 put the future of the club in jeopardy and they spent a short time regrouping at Moor Lane in Kersal as tenants of Salford City FC. Since 2003 the Lions have played their home games in nearby Whitefield, at - Sedgley Park RUFC. In 2006, the return of the club to Swinton and Pendlebury was taken one step further when club chairman John Kidd announced on the 9th August in a meeting held at the Masonic Halls, Hospital Road, Pendlebury, that on the 7th August the club acquired land to build a 6,000 capacity stadium with training facilities and community use in Agecroft, Pendlebury. The club has an impressive record in rugby league considering the size of the town, in fact the club's 6 Championships and 3 Challenge Cup wins betters that of their local rivals Salford City Reds.
[edit] Association Football
Swinton based junior football side Deans FC was the starting point in the career of Ryan Giggs, who grew up in neighbouring Pendlebury and gone on to become the most decorated player in the history of Manchester United.
[edit] Notable residents
- Tony Warren, creator of Coronation Street
- Rob James Collier, Coronation Street hunk
[edit] Notes
- ^ Swinton & Pendlebury - Local History, Salford City Council. Retrieved on August 6, 2003.
- ^ Simon Spence: "Chips With Everything", Independent, The (London). Retrieved on July 4, 2000.
