History of Manchester
[1] Manchester began expanding "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century as part of a process of unplanned urbanisation brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution.
Having evolved from a Roman castrum in Celtic Britain, in the Victorian era Manchester was a major locus of the Industrial Revolution, and was the site of one of the world's first passenger railway stations as well as many scientific achievements of great importance.
Subsequent investment, gentrification and rebranding from the 1990s onwards changed its fortunes and reinvigorated Manchester as a post-industrial city with multiple sporting, broadcasting and educational institutions.
[26] According to legend, Nico Ditch – which runs east–west from Ashton-under-Lyne to Stretford and passes through Gorton, Levenshulme, Burnage, Rusholme, Platt Field Park in Fallowfield, Withington and Chorlton-cum-Hardy – is a defence against Viking invaders and was dug in 869–870.
[27] The Anglo Saxon Chronicle detail that in 919 Edward the Elder sent men "to Mameceaster, in Northumbria, to repair and man it"; this probably refers to a burh at Manchester as an advanced post of Mercia.
[37] In 1223, Manchester gained the right to hold an annual fair; the market was held in Acresfield – where St Ann's Square is today – on what was then arable land.
The abolitionist Thomas Clarkson noted during a speech in Manchester in 1787 "'I was surprised also to find a great crowd of black people standing round the pulpit.
'[56] From the 1940s onwards further waves of immigration brought Cypriots and Hungarians fleeing conflict but in the largest numbers came people re-settling from the British Colonies of the Indian subcontinent, Caribbean and Hong Kong.
[58] It has been suggested as a result of the last two hundred years that Manchester having been involved in all these periods of immigration is the most polyglot of all British cities aside from London[59] The unconventional background of such a diverse population stimulated intellectual and artistic life.
At that time, it seemed a place in which anything could happen—new industrial processes, new ways of thinking (the so-called 'Manchester School', promoting free trade and laissez-faire), new classes or groups in society, new religious sects and new forms of labour organisation.
The magistrates, believing that the Yeomanry were under attack, then ordered the 15th Hussars to disperse the crowd, which they did by charging into the mass of men, women and children, sabres drawn.
Many institutions were established including Belle Vue Zoological Gardens (founded by John Jennison in 1836), the Manchester Athenaeum (1836–37), the Corn Exchange (1837) and the Royal Victoria Gallery of Practical Science (1840–42).
[citation needed] During the late 19th century, Manchester began to suffer an economic decline, partly exacerbated by its reliance on the Port of Liverpool, which was charging excessive dock usage fees.
[citation needed] Trafford Park in Stretford (outside the city boundaries) was the world's first industrial estate and still exists today, though with a significant tourist and recreational presence.
During this period, textile manufacture, Manchester's traditional staple industry went into steep decline, largely due to the Great Depression of the 1930s and foreign competition.
It was attacked a number of times by the Luftwaffe, particularly in the "Christmas Blitz" of December 1940, which destroyed a large part of the historic city centre and seriously damaged the cathedral, which took 20 years to restore.
The establishment of Granada Television based in the city attracted much of the production talent from the studios and continued Manchester's tradition of cultural innovation, often with its trademark social radicalism in its programming.
[citation needed] Manchester United had won two league titles and a FA Cup in the first two decades of the 20th century, but the inter-war years had been blighted by a loss of form on the pitch and ongoing financial problems.
He then built a highly successful new side consisting of mostly young players (nicknamed the Busby Babes by the media) which went on to win two league titles and became the first English club to play in the new European Cup.
Then tragedy struck in February 1958; eight of the club's players (three of them established England internationals; Roger Byrne, Tommy Taylor and Duncan Edwards) died as a result of the Munich air disaster on the return flight from a European Cup tie in Yugoslavia and two others injured to such an extent that they never played again.
High-profile players to have played for the club during Sir Alex Ferguson's management (he was knighted in 1999) include Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes, Ryan Giggs, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Wayne Rooney.
The "Post Office South Lancashire Radiophone Service" was controlled from the city's Peterloo telephone exchange and enabled customers with the apparatus installed in their vehicle to phone to any UK subscriber.
[citation needed] In the 1990s, Manchester earned a reputation for gang-related crime, particularly after a spate of shootings involving young men, and reports of teenagers carrying handguns as "fashion accessories".
[91] After a meeting with the Prime Minister, Manchester City Council issued a press release on 24 July 2007 stating that "contrary to some reports the door is not closed to a regional casino".
[92] The supercasino was officially declared dead in February 2008 with a compensation package described by the Manchester Evening News as "rehashed plans, spin and empty promises".
[96] On 22 May 2017, the city suffered its worst postwar tragedy when an Islamic extremist, Libyan immigrant Salaman Abedi, carried out a suicide bombing following a concert by the American singer Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena.
The municipal borough was slightly smaller than the parliamentary constituency of Manchester which had been created under the Reform Act 1832, which also included Bradford, Harpurhey and Newton.
[citation needed] In 1986 Greater Manchester County Council was abolished by the Local Government Act 1985 and most of its functions were devolved to the ten boroughs, making them effectively unitary authorities.
[citation needed] In one of its most noted acts, Manchester City Council carried a resolution in 1980 to create the UK's first Nuclear Free Zone[103][104] The Peace Gardens were later constructed on a small piece of land in Lincoln Square.
Its original proposal was much smaller than the Redcliffe-Maud Report's SELNEC, but further fringe areas such as Wilmslow, Warrington and Glossop were trimmed from the edges and included instead in the shire counties.
