An Introduction to Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is in West/central England and is the administative region which incorporates the City of Manchester along with the towns of Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan. Manchester is the centre of one of the most densely populated area of England with a population of approximately 2.5 million.

The region is situated in the old county of Lancashire, on the west side of the Pennine Hills, which form the backbone of the country. It was here that the modern world was born through the enterprise, industry and early development of its merchant skills, along with the mix of climate, suitable natural resources and geography, the skills of its people, the early building of transport infrastructures and a strong industrial entrepreneurial spirit.

The region was once the leading textile area (its textile industry dates back to the 14th century) of England, but in the late 20th century there has been a the terminal decline of this textile-based economy. Other industries, especially chemical and pharmaceutical production and research industries have become more prominent. It is also the centre of printing and publishing in the North of England and has been regenerating itself by building new towns and complexes since the 1970’s.

The geographical regions of the region give rise to a great deal of confusion. Outsiders invariably refer to the wider region of the North West of England as "Manchester". Geographical terms like "Manchester", "Lancashire" or "Greater Manchester" are freely interchanged as if they all meant the same thing - much to the annoyance of the many residents of the 10 towns which now make up the Greater Metropolitan County of Manchester (listed above).

For the visitor, Manchester itself (Englands third largest city) offers all that one can expect of a mojor city as well as a rich and varied history. A Celtic settlement is believed to have existed on the site of Manchester when the Romans called the town Mancunium and there are many remains of their occupation.

Manchester powered on through history and made a name for itself as an innovative city. The first application of steam to machinery for spinning cotton was made in Manchester in 1789 and a terminus of the first English passenger railroad (to Liverpool) was constructed here by George Stephenson in 1830. The Manchester Ship Canal, opened in 1894, gave the city access to the sea. The first municipal airport in Britain was established at Manchester in 1929.

The city is rich in academia and learning with several libraries, including the John Rylands Library (founded 1899) and the Chetham Library (founded 1653), one of Europe's first free public libraries. The regionsis home to the University of Manchester and the University of Salford. Manchester has been an important centre for scientific research. John Dalton, Lord Rutherford, and Niels Bohr, among others, worked in nuclear physics here. At Jodrell Bank, nearby, is a large radio telescope, once the world's largest.

Manchester is also rich in cultural pursuits with several art galleries; a symphony orchestra of international repute, the Hallé Orchestra, founded in 1857 by Sir Charles Hallé; and the striking Imperial War Museum of the North. Robert Peel, the statesman, and Thomas de Quincy, the author, were born in Manchester.