51 Facts About Salford

Salford is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England.

Salford is located in a meander of the River Irwell which forms part of its boundary with Manchester.

The former County Borough of Salford, which included Broughton, Pendleton and Kersal, was granted city status in 1926.

In 1974 the wider Metropolitan Borough of the City of Salford was established with responsibility for a significantly larger region.

Salford became a major cotton and silk spinning and weaving factory town in the 18th and 19th centuries and important inland port on the Manchester Ship Canal from 1894.

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Industries declined in the 20th century, causing economic depression, and Salford became a place of contrasts, with regenerated inner-city areas like Salford Quays next to some of the most socially deprived and violent areas in England.

Salford is home to the University of Salford, and has seen several firsts, including the world's first free public library, and the first street to be lit by gas.

Salford's MediaCityUK became the headquarters of CBBC and BBC Sport in 2011, joined by ITV Granada in 2013.

Salford is directly across the River Irwell opposite Manchester to the northwest and to the north of Old Trafford, southeast of Bolton and south of Bury.

Name of Salford derives from the Old English word Sealhford, meaning a ford by the willow trees.

Salford appears in the pipe roll of 1169 as "Sauford" and in the Lancashire Inquisitions of 1226 as "Sainford".

Salford began to emerge as a small town early in the 13th century.

One of the first factories to be built was Philip's and Lee's Twist Mill in Salford, completed in 1801, the second iron-framed multi-story building to be erected in Britain.

Salford developed several civic institutions; in 1806, Chapel Street became the first street in the world to be lit by gas.

However, a crackdown by Greater Manchester Police coupled with investment in, and structural changes to the housing stock, began changing Salford's fortunes; population decline has slowed, and Salford's city councillors have insisted it is a safe place to visit.

Salford has suffered from high levels of unemployment, housing, and social problems since around the 1960s, although there are regeneration schemes to reverse its fortunes.

Salford now has many tourist attractions, such as Ordsall Hall, the Bridgewater Canal and the Lowry Centre, an award-winning theatre and art gallery complex, consisting of two theatres and three art galleries.

Salford received its town charter from Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, then Lord of the Manor, in 1230.

Salford was enfranchised as a parliamentary borough by the Great Reform Act of 1832, returning a single Member of Parliament.

Since 1997, Salford has lain within the reconstituted Salford parliamentary constituency.

Salford is contiguous with Manchester, and has been described "in participation of its trade, and for all other practical purposes, an integral part of it; presents a near resemblance to it in streets and edifices; contains several public buildings and a great public park, which belong fully more to Manchester than to itself".

Greengate, the original centre of Salford, is located at a fording point on the river opposite Manchester Cathedral.

Salford has expanded along the river valley to the north and south and on to higher ground on the valley sides at Irlams o' th' Height and Higher Broughton.

The City Engineer's Department of the City of Salford recorded one such incident near Great Clowes Street in February 1882, and others in 1886,1887 and 1888.

Salford's built environment is made up of a range of building stock.

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Land use in Salford is overwhelmingly urban, with a number of green spaces.

The territory of Salford is contiguous with other towns on all sides, and as defined by the Office for National Statistics forms the sixth-largest settlement in the Greater Manchester Urban Area, the United Kingdom's second-largest conurbation.

Salford has not, in general, attracted the same minority ethnic and cosmopolitan communities as in other parts of Greater Manchester, although it did attract significant numbers of Irish in the mid-19th century.

In 1848, Salford Roman Catholic Cathedral opened, reflecting the large Irish-born community in Salford at that time.

In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886, which is about the same size as Rochdale.

Salford has become a lot more ethnically diverse since the previous census mostly due to boundary changes but due to the relocation of many BBC establishments from London between 2011 and 2012.

Decades Salford's economy was heavily dependent on manufacturing industry, especially textiles and engineering.

However, since the Second World War, Salford has experienced decades of growing unemployment as these sectors diminished and new sectors located out of town in areas with better transport links.

Salford is credited as the birthplace of the Bush Roller Chain.

Salford is linked to Manchester by a series of bridges, including the Grade II listed Blackfriars Bridge, completed in 1820.

Salford Town Hall, situated in Bexley Square off Chapel Street, is a Neo-classical brick building dressed in stone, designed by Richard Lane.

Salford Lads' Club is a recreational club established in 1903 and located in Ordsall.

One of the earliest transport schemes in Salford was constructed by the Salford to Wigan Turnpike trust, by an Act of Parliament of 1753.

Electric trams were a common sight in early 20th century Salford, and had from 1901 replaced the earlier horse-drawn vehicles.

Public transport in Salford is co-ordinated by Transport for Greater Manchester, a county-wide public body with direct operational responsibilities such as supporting local bus services, and managing integrated ticketing in Greater Manchester.

University of Salford has over 19,000 students, and was ranked 81st in the UK by The Times newspaper.

Salford Cathedral is one of the largest Catholic cathedrals in Northern England.

Salford Deanery is in the Salford Archdeaconry of the Church of England.

Salford has a notable history in sports, which includes hosting some of the events in the 2002 Commonwealth Games: rugby league, speedway, and horse racing.

Salford had a venue for horse racing since the 17th century; the earliest record of racing at Kersal Moor dates from 1687.

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Salford Quays has been used as a major international triathlon site, but a 2009 aquathlon was cancelled because of a lack of competitors.

Salford was featured in the second series of the Channel 4 programme The Secret Millionaire, screened in 2007.

Under the requirements of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1835, the County Borough of Salford was obliged to appoint a Watch Committee to establish a police force and appoint a chief constable.

Since 1974, Home Office policing in Salford has been provided by the Greater Manchester Police.

Later renamed Hope Hospital and then again as Salford Royal, it is a large NHS hospital administrated by Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust.

Salford is the hometown of the band Happy Mondays and punk poet John Cooper Clarke.