Information AboutStockport |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT STOCKPORT | |
| towns in greater manchester | |
| stockporttowns in greater manchester | |
| stockport | |
| towns in greater manchester | |
|
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester , in North West England . The town of Stockport has a population of 136,082 (2001) 1 . It is the largest town within the Metropolitan Borough Of Stockport . HISTORY Stockport was originally a in AD79 recognised its strategical advantages and fortified Stockport to guard the passage of the Mersey . (Source: Local history page on Stockport Council's web site , March 3 2005) An alternative theory put forward for the derivation of the town's name is that it is a corruption of Stopford, after a ford across the river at the bottom of what is now the town centre street named Market Street Brow. Pupils at the town's principal private secondary school, Stockport Grammar School (founded 1487) call themselves Stopfordians. After the Norman Conquest , it became ruled by a hereditary Baron of Stockport. Stockport has never been a sea or river port. The river Mersey , which starts in Stockport at the confluence of the Rivers Goyt and Tame , is not navigable to anything much above canoe size, and in the centre of Stockport has been Culvert ed and the main shopping street Mersey Way built above it. The town was connected to the national canal network by the 5 miles of the Stockport Branch of the Ashton Canal opened in 1797 which continued in use until the 1930's. Much of it is now filled in, but there is an active campaign to re-open it. The 1835 Municipal Corporation Act made Stockport a town divided into seven wards. In 1888, its status was raised to County Borough. Due to its close proximity to Manchester, Stockport rapidly expanded during the Industrial Revolution , helped particularly by the growth of the cotton manufacturing industries. However, economic growth took its toll, and 19th Century philosopher Friedrich Engels wrote in 1844 that Stockport was "renowned as one of the duskiest, smokiest holes in the whole of the industrial area". In 1967 the Stockport Air Disaster occurred, when a British Midland Airways Argonaut crashed in the Hopes Carr area of the town, resulting in the deaths of 72 passengers. In recent years, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council has embarked on an ambitious regeneration scheme, known as Future Stockport . The plan is to bring over 3,000 residents into the centre of the town, and revitalise its' residential property and retail markets, in a similar fashion to the nearby major city of Manchester . Many ex-industrial areas around the town's core will be brought back into productive use as Mixed-use residential and commercial developments. FEATURES Stockport is home to the following:
COMMERCE Stockport's principal commercial district is located in the town centre, with branches of most high-street stores to be found in the Merseyway Shopping Centre. The Grand Central Leisure Park complex boasts an Olympic sized swimming pool, a Ten-screen Cinema , bars, a bowling alley, health complex, and several restaurants. Stockport is located seven miles away from Manchester City Centre , making it convenient for commuters and shoppers. REPUTATION Although the suburbs of " (however, given that its fellows on this list were places such as Oxford , Winchester , Liverpool (European Capital of Culture), and tiny London commuter belt villages, the relevance of the list is disputed). POLITICS There are five parliamentary constituencies in the Stockport Metropolitan Borough: Stockport , Cheadle , Hazel Grove , Denton And Reddish and Bredbury and Woodley. Stockport has been represented by Labour MP Ann Coffey since 1992 . The Liberal Democrat Patsy Calton was elected in Cheadle in 2001 over long-standing Conservative member Stephen Day by the smallest margin of any constituency in the country. She died in 2005 , a month after increasing her majority to over 4,000 in the 2005 Election ; in the following By-election the Liberal Democrat Mark Hunter defeated Stephen Day. Andrew Stunell has been the Liberal Democrat MP for Hazel Grove since 1997 . The constituency of Denton and Reddish bridges Stockport and Tameside ; the current member is Andrew Gwynne who holds the seat for Labour with a massive majority. NOTABLE PEOPLE FROM STOCKPORT
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|