[5] Pre-historic finds in the parish of Eccles include dugout boats found at Barton upon Irwell, an arrowhead, a spear and axes at Winton, which taken together appear to suggest the existence of a hunting and travelling society.

[7] Throughout the Dark Ages the parish appears to have been remote enough to be untouched by any local conflicts, while absorbing successive waves of immigrants from nearby towns.

[8] The Manor of Barton upon Irwell once covered a large area; in 1276 it included townships such as Asphull, Halghton, Halliwelle, Farnword, Eccles, Workedele, Withington (latterly Winton), Irwelham, Hulm, Quicklewicke, Suynhul and Swinton.

Agriculture remained an important local industry, with little change from the Medieval system due to a lack of adequate drainage and fertiliser.

Weaving was popular, using linen and wool;merchants traded in corn; badgers bought and sold local produce.

[16] In 1795 John Aikin described the area: The agriculture of the parish is chiefly confined to grazing, and would be more materially benefited by draining; but the tax upon brick, a most essential article in this process, has been a very great hindrance to it.

[16]During the 18th century the predominance of textiles in the region is partly demonstrated in the parish registers of 1807, which show that 46 children were baptised with 34 fathers employed as weavers.

[17] In Memoirs of seventy years of an eventful life (1852) Charles Hulbert wrote: The principal employment of the working population of Eccles and vicinity at that time, was the manufacture of Cotton Goods on the home or domestic plan.

These were not then, according to my present recollection, more than two Spinning Manufactories in Manchester, Arkwright's with its loft chimney, and Douglas's extensive Works, on the River Irwell, near the Broken bank ... At the period of my first residence in Eccles Parish, I believe the above Mills chiefly supplied the Weavers of Eccles and other parishes with twist for warps, which were purchased by the Master Manufacturers.

[18]During the early 19th century the growth of industry meant the majority of the area's inhabitants were employed in textiles or trade, while a minority worked in agriculture.

Even after the establishment of the local board of health new properties were often built in the gardens of existing dwellings, leading to severe overcrowding.

These areas have, when drained, provided fertile soil for local agriculture, benefited by the 19th century practice of dumping nightsoil from nearby Manchester.

[42] Data on religious beliefs across the town in the 2001 census show that 77.07% declared themselves to be Christian, 12.05% said they held no religion, and 2.26% reported themselves as Muslim.

[32] According to the Office for National Statistics, at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001, the ward of Eccles had a population of 11,413, of which 5,546 were male, and 5,867 female.

It has proportionally more over-85-year-olds than the city as a whole, with low adult and primary school education standards, but significant improvements in GCSE results of late.

[64] Until shortly after its closure was announced on 9 May 2006, the Great Universal Stores group used the former Eccles Spinning and Manufacturing Company building in Winton.

[69] The Eccles-based insurance broker and financial services specialist CBG Group, which worldwide employs 180 people, has its head office near the town centre.

Salford City Council is currently bidding for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to be included in UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.

In the early part of the 19th century some existing routes were widened and straightened, including the modern-day Regent Road in Salford.

The world's first railway constructed to carry passengers as well as freight, it signalled the beginning of the end for both the turnpike trusts and the canal system.

During a stop at Parkside railway station near Newton-le-Willows, Member of Parliament for Liverpool, William Huskisson was seriously injured by an approaching locomotive.

In 1870 an additional branch line from this, the Roe Green Loopline, was opened to Bolton to support the surrounding collieries, the largest of which was at Mosley Common.

[88] The Tyldesley Loopline was closed on 5 May 1969 under the Beeching axe, and the closure of the Roe Green branch line followed in October 1969.

Large crowds had gathered to cheer the royal party, which apparently frightened the horses drawing the barge so much that they fell into the canal.

Construction began on 8 December 1969, along a route limited by the existence of housing estates, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the M62 junction at Worsley, and the Bridgewater Canal.

Over the next 40 years various decorative improvements were made to the building, including stone carvings, stained glass, and wall paintings (covered in 1965).

Before the first world war Eccles played its rugby at Peel Green Road close to the Barton Swing Aqueduct, between the wars it played on the opposite bank of the Manchester Ship Canal at Redclyffe Road close to Barton Power Station, before moving to its current ground at Gorton Street in the summer of 1948.

[104] Immediately west of the new stadium site is Boysnope Park Golf Club, an 18-hole par-72 parkland course with floodlit driving range.

He inaugurated popular Saturday-night concerts during the winter months and, keen to reduce the incidence of infant mortality, gave a sovereign to the mother of every child who reached the age of one.

Traditionally made in the town from a recipe of flaky pastry, butter, nutmeg, candied peel, sugar and currants, they are sold across the country and exported across the world.