[2] southwest of the River Irwell, 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Manchester, adjoining the town of Pendlebury and suburb of Clifton.

[1] Historically in Lancashire, for centuries Swinton was a hamlet in the township of Worsley, parish of Eccles and hundred of Salfordshire.

[3] In the High Middle Ages, Swinton was held by the religious orders of the Knights Hospitaller and Whalley Abbey.

Farming was the main occupation, with locals supplementing their incomes by hand-loom woollen weaving in the domestic system.

In 1817 some Swinton weavers joined in the Blanketeers' demonstration and marched to London to put their grievances to the Prince Regent.

In contrast with other institutions for the poor around that time, which were places of final resort, the Swinton Industrial School was built in response to a more enlightened attitude.

Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire since the early 12th century, Swinton anciently formed part of the hundred of Salford (civil jurisdiction).

[2] A regulatory body responsible for standards of hygiene and sanitation, it covered Swinton itself and the majority of the neighbouring township of Pendlebury.

The area of the local board became Swinton and Pendlebury UD, an urban district of the administrative county of Lancashire.

[13] Swinton and Pendlebury received its Charter of Incorporation as a municipal borough from Edward Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby at a ceremony in Victoria Park on 29 September 1934.

Topographically, Swinton occupies an area of gently sloping ground, roughly 213 feet (65 m) above sea level,[16] and is on the south side of the River Irwell.

Swinton lies in the west-central part of the Greater Manchester Urban Area,[17] the UK's second largest conurbation.

[19] The site of the former Swinton Industrial School on Chorley Road was purchased for £12,500 and the foundation stone of the new town hall laid on 16 October 1936.

The club was based just over the local boundary in Pendlebury until 1992, when financial mismanagement necessitated a move from the Station Road ground to play at Gigg Lane in Bury.

The financial failure of main creditor and de facto owner Hugh Eaves in 2002 put the future of the club in jeopardy and it spent a short time regrouping at Moor Lane in Kersal, as tenants of Salford City F.C.

In 2006, the club acquired land to build a 6,000 capacity stadium with training facilities and community use in Agecroft, Pendlebury.

was the starting point in the career of Ryan Giggs, who grew up in neighbouring Pendlebury and went on to become a Manchester United player, and also of Dean Holden.