| Stockport | |
|---|---|
| Population | Expression error: "136,082 (2001 Census)" must be numeric |
| OS grid reference | SJ895900 |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STOCKPORT |
| Postcode district | SK1, SK2, SK3, SK6,SK7,SK8 |
| Dialling code | 0161 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Stockport is a large town in the north westofEngland. Situated seven miles (10 km) south east of the city of Manchester, it is the largest settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of StockportinGreater Manchester, and has a population of 136,083 (2001 Census), with the borough as a whole having 281,000. This makes the borough 23rd most populous district in England.
The River Mersey begins in Stockport, at the confluence of the Rivers Goyt and Tame.
Most of the town is within the historic county boundariesofCheshire, although Reddish and the Four Heatons lay within the historic county boundariesofLancashire.
The 1835 Municipal Corporations Act made Stockport a municipal borough divided into seven wards. In 1888, its status was raised to County Borough, becoming the County Borough of Stockport. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 Stockport amalgamated with neighbouring districts to form the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in the metropolitan countyofGreater Manchester.
Stockport is first recorded as "Stokeport" in 1170.[1][2] The currently accepted etymology is OE stoc, a market place, with port, a hamlet (but more accurately a minor settlement within an estate); hence, a market place at a hamlet.[1][2]
Older derivations include stock, a stockaded place or castle, with port, a wood, hence a castle in a wood.[3] Other derivations have been formed, based on early variants of the name such as Stopford and Stockford. There is evidence that a ford across the Mersey existed at the foot of the town centre street now known as Market Street Brow. Stopford retains a use in the adjectival form, Stopfordian, used for Stockport-related items, and pupils at Stockport Grammar School style themselves as Stopfordians.[4]
There is sufficient evidence that a fortified stronghold existed in the vicinity in ancient British times, and that Agricola in AD 79 recognised its strategical advantages and fortified Stockport to guard the passage of the Mersey.[3]
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 Merseyway 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 1930s. Much of it is now filled in, but there is an active campaign to re-open it.
From the seventeenth century Stockport became a centre for the Hatting industry and later the Silk industry. Due to its 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".[5]
In 1967 the Stockport air disaster occurred, when a British Midland Airways Argonaut crashed in the Hopes Carr area of the town, resulting in the deaths of 72 passengers.
In recent years, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council has embarked on an ambitious regeneration scheme, known as Future Stockport. The plan is to bring over 3,000 residents into the centre of the town, and revitalise its residential property and retail markets, in a similar fashion to the nearby major city of Manchester. Many ex-industrial areas around the town's core will be brought back into productive use as mixed-use residential and commercial developments.
The town had a population of 136,082 according to the 2001 Census, with the wider borough having a population of 284,528. Although the suburbs of Woodford and Hazel Grove 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.[citation needed] In its favour, some highlight its 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).
There are four parliamentary constituencies in the Stockport Metropolitan Borough: Stockport, Cheadle, Hazel Grove, and Denton and Reddish.
Stockport has been represented by LabourMPAnn 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. This is despite the huge campaign launched by the Conservative Party, which involved much 'American style' politics[citation needed].
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 who holds the seat for Labour with a 14,000 majority.
Stockport's principal commercial district is located in the town centre, with branches of most high-street stores to be found in the Merseyway Shopping Centre. The Grand Central Leisure Park complex boasts an Olympic sized swimming pool, a ten-screen cinema, bars, a bowling alley, health complex, and several restaurants. Stockport is located six miles (10 km) from Manchester city centre, making it convenient for commuters and shoppers.
Stockport is home to the following:
The M60 motorway and A6 road cross over at Stockport. Stockport railway station is a mainline station on the Manchester spur of the West Coast Main Line. Manchester Airport, the busiest in the UK outside London, is located five miles (8 km) southeast of the town.
The town of Stockport is twinned with the following towns:
As one of the larger towns in the UK, Stockport and its surrounding villages have had many notable residents throughout their history including some as diverse as novelist Christopher Isherwood, engineer Sir Joseph Whitworth, tennis player Fred Perry, Judge John Bradshaw and architect Norman Foster.
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Stockport is renowned throughout the entire district as one of the duskiest, smokiest holes, and looks, indeed, especially when viewed from the viaduct, excessively repellent.
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