Greater Manchester

I

Introduction

Greater Manchester, non-administrative metropolitan county, north-western England, bounded by the county of Lancashire and West Yorkshire metropolitan county to the north, the county of Derbyshire to the east, the county of Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside metropolitan county to the west. Greater Manchester is highly urbanized, having the densest population of any county outside Greater London, but there are some areas of attractive countryside surrounding the towns. It was created in the local government reorganization of 1974, taking most of its territory from Lancashire; some towns in the south came from Cheshire. After further reorganization in 1986, Greater Manchester devolved many administrative functions to its ten metropolitan boroughs. The area of Greater Manchester is 1,287 sq km (497 sq mi).

II

Land and Resources

The area of the county is mostly underlain by coal measures, and its plateaux are formed by sandstones and shales. The lowlands in the west are of clay.

The climate is cool. Manchester has the reputation of being one of the wettest cities in England, but in fact the annual rainfall over the county as a whole is in the region of 760 to 1,000 mm (30 to 40 in), which, while fairly high, does not approach, for instance, the level in the Lake District.

III

Population and Administration

The population of Greater Manchester is estimated at 2,482,352 (2001). The main towns are all industrial centres, including Bolton (population, 2000 estimate, 267,600), Bury (2001, 180,608), Manchester (2001 estimate, 392,900), Oldham (2000 estimate, 218,100), Rochdale (2000 estimate, 210,800), Salford (2000 estimate, 224,300), Stockport (2000 estimate, 291,100), and Wigan (2000 estimate, 312,000). Other towns of note include Ashton-under-Lyne (1991, 43,906), Cheadle (1991, 10,833), Gatley, and Stalybridge (1991, 22,921). Manchester and Salford both have city status. There are large populations of South Asians in Greater Manchester, particularly in Manchester, Bolton, and Oldham.

Until 1986 there was a metropolitan county council, based in Manchester. In 1986, ten single-tier metropolitan district councils—Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan—were created. These took on most of the responsibilities of the former county council.

IV

Education and Culture

The University of Manchester, the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), and Manchester Metropolitan University are all in Manchester. The University of Salford is based in Salford. Stockport Grammar School was founded in 1487, Manchester Grammar School in 1515, and Chetham's School of Music, Manchester, 1653. They are all public schools.

Sir Robert Peel was born near Bury in 1788, and another prime minister to be, David Lloyd George, came into the world in Manchester in 1863. Thomas De Quincey was born in the same city in 1785, as was the suffragette leader, Emmeline Pankhurst, in 1858. John Dalton, the chemist and physicist, moved to Manchester in 1793, where he remained for the rest of his life and where he did most of his important work. The artist L. S. Lowry was born in Manchester in 1887, and lived and worked for 40 years in Salford, before moving to Cheshire. Rochdale was the birthplace in 1898 of the singer Gracie Fields.

The Manchester Guardian, now The Guardian, one of Britain's broadsheet newspapers, was first published in the city in 1821. Manchester is the site of the main ground of the Lancashire County Cricket Club at Old Trafford, where Test matches are also played. The homes of two of the most prominent rugby league teams, Wigan and Salford, are to be found in the county, as are those of the football clubs Manchester United, Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Oldham Athletic, Rochdale, Bury, Wigan Athletic, and Stockport County.