experiencing a period of intensive development activity and growth, benefiting from its location just across the River Irwell from the City of Manchester.

It was where the Hundred of Salford was based, making it the administrative centre for judicial and military purposes for an area roughly equivalent to present day Greater Manchester.

Greengate was noted for textiles and dyeing long before the Industrial Revolution, but from the early 19th century it developed a reputation for poverty and slum housing alongside sections of manufacturing.

[2] In 1800 the clergyman William Cowherd established a new congregation in Greengate on King Street, building the chapel (Christ Church) at his own expense.

The chapel saw the development of a denomination (the Bible Christian Church) which became influential in the modern establishment of the vegetarianism movement - Cowherd promulgated the doctrine that people should "eat no more meat till the world endeth" and abstain from alcoholic drinks.

The controversial clinic faced opposition from the Catholic Church and the medical profession but continued to offer its services to women until birth control advice was widely and freely available in the 1970s.

[10] The redevelopment of the former Victoria Bus Station, just across the Irwell from Manchester Cathedral, includes Greengate Square which has an amphitheatre for events, concerts and markets, as well as office, hotel and retail space.