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{{Short description|History of the city of Manchester, England}}
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[[File:Manchester Town Hall October 2010.jpg|thumb|[[Manchester Town Hall]]]]
The '''history of Manchester''' encompasses its change from a minor [[Township (England)|township]] in [[Lancashire]] to an industrial [[metropolis]] in the United Kingdom and the world.<ref name="Industrial city">
*{{cite book|title=Manchester: A History| last=Kidd|first=Alan|year=2006|publisher=Carnegie Publishing| location=Lancaster|isbn=1-85936-128-5}}
*{{cite book|title=Tradition in Action. The historical evolution of the Greater Manchester County|last=Frangopulo|first=Nicholas|year=1977|publisher=EP Publishing|location=Wakefield|isbn=0-7158-1203-3}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/energyhall/page84.asp |title=Manchester - the first industrial city |publisher=Entry on Sciencemuseum website |access-date=17 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309184810/http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/energyhall/page84.asp |archive-date=9 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> [[Manchester]] began expanding "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century as part of a process of unplanned [[urbanisation]] brought on by a boom in [[textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution]].<ref name="Cotton">{{cite book|title=The Cotton Industry|last=Aspin|first=Chris|publisher=Shire Publications Ltd|year=1981|isbn=0-85263-545-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/cottonindustry0000aspi/page/3 3]|url=https://archive.org/details/cottonindustry0000aspi/page/3}}</ref> The transformation took little more than a century.

Having evolved from a Roman [[castra|castrum]] in [[Celts|Celtic]] Britain, in the Victorian era Manchester was a major locus of the [[Industrial Revolution]], and was the site of one of the world's first passenger [[railway station]]s as well as important scientific achievements. Manchester also led the political and economic reform of 19th-century Britain as the vanguard of [[free trade]].<ref>Asa Briggs,  ''Victorian cities'' (1965) pp 83-136pp</ref> The mid-20th century saw a decline in Manchester's industrial importance, prompting a depression in social and economic conditions. Subsequent investment, [[gentrification]] and rebranding from the 1990s onwards changed its fortunes and reinvigorated Manchester as a [[post-industrial]] city with multiple [[Sport in Manchester|sporting]], [[Media in Manchester|broadcasting]] and [[education]]al institutions.

Manchester has been on a provisional list for UNESCO World Heritage City on numerous occasions. However, since the [[1996 Manchester bombing|1996 bombing]], local authorities have persisted on a course of economic evolution rather than prioritising the past. This economic evolution is perhaps best illustrated with the {{convert|558|ft|m|abbr=off|adj=on}} [[Beetham Tower, Manchester|Beetham Tower]] which instantly "torpedoed" any possibility of World Heritage City status according to one author.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Punter |first=John |title=Urban Design and the British Urban Renaissance |page=59 |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-203-86920-8}}</ref> Despite this, areas perceived as internationally important in the Industrial Revolution, such as [[Castlefield]] and [[Ancoats]], have been sympathetically redeveloped.

==Toponymy==
The name ''Manchester'' originates from the [[Latin]] name ''Mamucium'' or its variant ''Mancunio''. These names are generally thought to represent a [[Latinization of names|Latinisation]] of an original [[Common Brittonic|Brittonic]] [[Celtic placenames|name]]. The generally accepted etymology of this name is that it comes from Brittonic *''mamm-'' ("[[breast]]", in reference to a "[[breast-like hill]]").<ref name=":0">''The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society'', ed. by Victor Watts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), under ''MANCHESTER''.</ref><ref name="Place names2">{{cite book|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199609086.001.0001/acref-9780199609086|title=A Dictionary of British Place-Names|last=Mills|first=A.D.|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2003|isbn=0-19-852758-6|location=Oxford|access-date=7 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021051450/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199609086.001.0001/acref-9780199609086|archive-date=21 October 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Hylton (2003), p.&nbsp;6.</ref> However, more recent work suggests that it could come from *''mamma'' ("[[mother]]", in reference to a [[River Medlock|local river]] [[Celtic mythology|goddess]]). Both usages are preserved in [[Insular Celtic languages]], such as ''mam'' meaning "breast" in [[Irish Gaelic|Irish]] and "mother" in Welsh.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Breeze|first=Andrew|year=2004|title=Manchester's Ancient Name|journal=The Antiquaries Journal|volume=84|pages=353–357|doi=10.1017/S0003581500045893|s2cid=163005777|issn=0003-5815}}</ref> The [[suffix]] -chester is from [[Old English]] ''ceaster'' ("Roman fortification", itself a loanword from Latin ''castra'', "fort; fortified town").<ref name="Place names2" /><ref name=":0" />

The Latin name for Manchester is often given as ''Mancuniun''. This is most likely a [[neologism]] coined in Victorian times, similar to the widespread Latin name ''Cantabrigia'' for [[Cambridge]] (whose actual name in Roman times was ''Duroliponte''<ref>{{cite book | last = Burnham | first = Barry C |author2=Wacher, John  | title = The Small Towns of Roman Britain | publisher = B T Batsford | year = 1990 | location = London | isbn = 0-7134-6175-6}}</ref>).

==Prehistory==
[[File:Manchester Airport.jpg|thumb|left|Runway 2 of [[Manchester Airport]] lies on top of Oversley Farm, a Neolithic farming community.]]
Prehistoric evidence of human activity in the area of Manchester is limited, although scattered stone tools have been found.<ref name="Nevell08 11">Nevell (2008), p.&nbsp;11.</ref>

There is evidence of Bronze Age activity around Manchester in the form of burial sites.<ref name="Nevell08 11"/> Although some prehistoric artefacts have been discovered in the [[Manchester city centre|city centre]], these have come from redeposited layers, meaning they do not necessarily originate from where they were found; wider evidence has been found for activity in other parts of the borough.<ref>Nevell (2008), p.&nbsp;12.</ref> Before the [[Roman invasion of Britain]], the location lay within the territory dominated by the [[Brigantes]] and prior to the Roman conquest of the area in the 70s&nbsp;AD, it was part of the territory of the [[Brigantes]], a [[Celts|Celtic]] tribe, although it may have been under the control of the [[Setantii]], a sub-tribe of the Brigantes.<ref>Kidd (1996), p.&nbsp;12.</ref>

For the important prehistoric farm site at Oversley Farm, see {{section link|Oversleyford|Oversley Farm}}.

==Roman==
{{Main|Mamucium}}
[[File:Romeinse ruines (2).jpg|thumb|right|A reconstructed gateway of Mamucium fort]]
The [[castra|Roman fort]] of Mamucium was established c.&nbsp;AD&nbsp;79 near a crossing point on the [[River Medlock]].<ref>Gregory (2007), pp.&nbsp;1,&nbsp;3.</ref> The fort was sited on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and [[River Irwell|Irwell]] in a naturally defensible position.<ref>Gregory (2007), p.&nbsp;1.</ref> It was erected as a series of fortifications established by [[Gnaeus Julius Agricola]] during his campaign against the [[Brigantes]] who were the Celtic tribe in control of most of what would become [[northern England]].<ref>Mason (2001), pp.&nbsp;41–42.</ref> It guards the [[Deva Victrix]] ([[Chester]]) to [[Eboracum]] ([[York]]) [[Roman road]] running east to west, and a road heading north to [[Bremetennacum]] ([[Ribchester]]).<ref>Gregory (2007), pp.&nbsp;1–2.</ref> The neighbouring forts were [[Castleshaw Roman fort|Castleshaw]] and [[Northwich]].<ref>Walker (1999), p.&nbsp;15.</ref> Built first from turf and timber, the fort was demolished around 140. When it was rebuilt around 160, it was again of turf and timber construction.<ref>Gregory (2007), p.&nbsp;3.</ref> In about 200 the fort underwent another rebuild, this time enhancing the defences by replacing the gatehouse with a stone version and facing the walls with stone.<ref>Philpott (2006), p.&nbsp;66.</ref> The fort would have been garrisoned by a [[cohort (military unit)|cohort]], about 500 infantry, of [[Auxiliaries (Roman military)|auxiliary]] troops.<ref name="guide">{{cite web |title=A guide to Mamucium |author=Norman Redhead |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2008/04/10/100408_roman_manchester_feature.shtml |publisher=BBC |date=20 April 2008}} Retrieved on 20 July 2008.</ref>
[[File:Roman Manchester by Charles Roeder p83.jpg|250px|thumb|Map of Manchester from ''Roman Manchester'' (1900)]]
Evidence of both pagan and Christian worship has been discovered. Two altars have been discovered and there may be a temple of [[Mithraic Mysteries|Mithras]] associated with Mamucium. A [[sator square|word square]] was discovered in the 1970s, which may be one of the earliest examples of Christianity in Britain.<ref>Shotter (2004), p.&nbsp;129.</ref> A civilian settlement (the first in Manchester), or ''[[Vicus (Rome)|vicus]]'', grew in association with the fort, made up of traders and families of the soldiers. An area that has a concentration of furnaces and industrial activity has been described as an [[industrial estate]].<ref>Shotter (2004), p.&nbsp;117.</ref> The ''vicus'' was probably abandoned by the mid 3rd century, although a small garrison may have remained at Mamucium into the late 3rd and early 4th centuries.<ref>Gregory (2007), p.&nbsp;190.</ref> The [[Castlefield]] area of Manchester is named after the fort.

==Post-Roman==
[[File:NicoDitch.jpg|thumb|left|Looking west along Nico Ditch, near [[Levenshulme]]]]
Once the Romans left Britain, the focus of settlement in Manchester shifted to the confluence of the rivers [[River Irwell|Irwell]] and [[River Irk|Irk]].<ref>Hylton (2003), pp.&nbsp;3,&nbsp;8.</ref> During the [[Early Middle Ages]] that followed – and persisted until the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman conquest]] – the settlement of Manchester was in the territory of several different kingdoms.<ref name="Hylton7">Hylton (2003), p.&nbsp;7.</ref> In the late 6th and early 7th centuries, the kingdom of [[Northumbria]] extended as far south as the [[River Mersey]], south of what was then the settlement of Manchester.<ref name="Hylton7"/> [[Etymology|Etymological]] evidence indicates that the areas to the north west of Manchester (such as [[Eccles, Greater Manchester|Eccles]] and [[Chadderton]]) were [[Britons (historic)|British]] while the parts of Manchester (such as [[Clayton, Greater Manchester|Clayton]], [[Gorton]] and [[Moston, Greater Manchester|Moston]]) were [[Angles (tribe)|Anglian]], and the south west of Manchester was [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danish]] (including [[Cheadle Hulme]], [[Davyhulme]], [[Hulme]] and [[Levenshulme]]).<ref name="Hylton7"/>

Between the 6th and 10th centuries, the kingdoms of Northumbria, [[Mercia]] and [[Wessex]] struggled for control over [[North West England]].<ref name="Hylton7"/> In 620, [[Edwin of Northumbria]] may have [[looting|sacked]] Manchester, and the settlement may have been sacked again in 870 by the Danes.<ref name="Hylton8">Hylton (2003), p.&nbsp;8.</ref> According to legend, [[Nico Ditch]]&nbsp;– which runs east–west from [[Ashton-under-Lyne]] to [[Stretford]] and passes through [[Gorton]], [[Levenshulme]], [[Burnage]], [[Rusholme]], Platt Field Park in [[Fallowfield]], [[Withington]] and [[Chorlton-cum-Hardy]]&nbsp;– is a defence against Viking invaders and was dug in 869–870. Whether this is true is uncertain, but the ditch does date from between the 7th and 9th centuries.<ref>Nevell (1992), pp.&nbsp;77–83.</ref> The ''[[Anglo Saxon Chronicle]]'' detail that in 919 [[Edward the Elder]] sent men "to ''Mameceaster'', in Northumbria, to repair and man it"; this probably refers to a [[burh]] at Manchester as an advanced post of [[Mercia]]. Although it is unsure where the site is,<ref>{{PastScape|mnumber=1348592 |access-date=10 January 2008}}</ref> it is possibly a reference to the Roman fort.<ref name="Hylton8"/> In 1055, most of what later became Lancashire was under the control of [[Tostig]].<ref name="Hylton8"/>

The [[Manchester (ancient parish)|ancient parish of Manchester]] covered a wider area than today's metropolitan borough (although not including its full extent), and was probably established in the Anglo-Saxon period (there were at that time only two churches in the parish: at Manchester and Ashton-under-Lyne). Forty distinct townships developed in the parish and in medieval times the royal manor of [[Salford, Greater Manchester|Salford]] was the most important of these.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

==Medieval==
[[File:Hundred of Salford.png|thumb|300px|right|Map of the [[Salford (hundred)|Salford Hundred]], with Manchester in the south-east]]
[[File:Manchester parish map.svg|thumb|300px|right|Map of the [[Manchester (ancient parish)|ancient parish of Manchester]]]]
[[File:Chetham's.jpg|thumb|right|Chetham's School of Music]]
[[File:Shambles Square.jpg|thumb|right|''Old Wellington Inn'' [[Shambles Square, Manchester|Shambles Square]] was built in 1552.]]
Manchester was administratively part of the [[Salford (hundred)|Salford Hundred]].<ref name="Kidd13">Kidd (1996), p.&nbsp;13.</ref> In 1086 the hundred covered about {{convert|350|sqmi|km2}} and had a population of about 3,000.<ref name="Hylton10">Hylton (2003), p.&nbsp;10.</ref> It was given to [[Roger the Poitevin|Roger de Poitou]]; Roger divided the hundred into [[fiefdom]]s and made the Gresle family barons of Manchester. [[Albert de Gresle]] was the first baron of Manchester.<ref name="Kidd13"/> Although the Gresle family did not reside at the manor, Manchester continued to grow in their absence and stewards represented the lords of the manor.<ref name="The city and parish of Manchester: Introduction">{{cite book|chapter=The city and parish of Manchester: Introduction|title=A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4|year=1911|pages=174–187|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41404|accessdate=17 August 2022}}</ref>

Manchester's entry in the [[Domesday Book]] reads "the Church of St Mary and the Church of St Michael hold one [[carucate]] of land in Manchester exempt from all customary dues except tax".<ref name="Hylton9">Hylton (2003), p.&nbsp;9.</ref> St Mary's Church was an Anglo-Saxon church on the site of [[Manchester Cathedral]];<ref name="Hylton9"/> St Michael's Church may have been in [[Ashton-under-Lyne]].<ref name="Hylton10"/> The [[Manchester (ancient parish)|parish of Manchester]]&nbsp;– of which St Mary's Church was a part<!--delspace-->&nbsp;– was the ecclesiastical centre of the Salford Hundred. It covered about {{convert|60|sqmi|km2}} and extended as far as the edges of [[Flixton, Greater Manchester|Flixton]] and [[Eccles, Greater Manchester|Eccles]] in the west, the Mersey between [[Stretford]] and [[Stockport]] in the south, the edge of Ashton-under-Lyne in the east, and the edge of [[Prestwich]] in the north.<ref name="Hylton10"/> That such a large area was covered by a single parish has been taken as evidence of the area's "impoverished and depopulated status". The only tax the parish was subject to was [[Danegeld]].<ref name="Hylton10"/>

There was a [[Manchester Castle|castle in Manchester]] overlooking the rivers Irk and Irwell, where [[Chetham's School of Music]] stands today.<ref name="Kidd13"/> This castle was probably a [[ringwork]]<ref>Newman (2006), p.&nbsp;141.</ref> and has been described as "of no political or military importance".<ref name="Kidd13"/> By the late 13th century, the Grelleys or Gresles, who were barons of Manchester for two centuries,<ref name="Kidd13"/> had replaced the castle with a [[fortified manor house]]. They used the house as the administrative centre of the manor.<ref name="Kidd14">Kidd (1996), p.&nbsp;14.</ref> While the town was owned by the lords of the manor, they directly leased land to tenants and created [[burgage]] tenements for indirect rent; as well as containing a house, these plots of land could also contain workshops and gardens.<ref name="Kidd14"/> The family also owned the only corn mill in the manor which was used by all the [[Leasehold estate|tenants]] of the manor to grind their corn. Medieval Manchester was centred on the manor house and the Church of St Mary mentioned in the Domesday Book.<ref name="Kidd14"/> As well as a castle at Manchester, there was also one in [[Ringway, Greater Manchester|Ringway]]. [[Ullerwood Castle]], a [[motte-and-bailey]], probably dates from the 12th century and was owned by [[Hamon de Massey]] who owned several manors in the north east of [[Cheshire]].<ref>Nevell (1997), p.&nbsp;27,&nbsp;33,&nbsp;35.</ref>

The first lord of the manor to actually live in Manchester was Robert Grelley (1174–1230); his presence led to an influx of skilled workers, such as stonemasons and carpenters, associated with the construction of the manor house.<ref name="Hylton11">Hylton (2003), p.&nbsp;11</ref> In the early 13th century, Manchester for a period was not under the control of the Grelleys. Robert Grelley was one of the barons who made [[John, King of England|King John]] sign [[Magna Carta]]. Grelley was [[excommunicate]]d for his role in the rebellion and when King John later ignored the terms of Magna Carta, Grelley forfeited his lands. King John died in 1216 and [[Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent]], returned Grelley's land to him on behalf of [[Henry III of England|King Henry III]]<ref name="Hylton11"/> In the medieval period Manchester grew into a [[market town]] and had a market every Saturday.<ref>Kidd (1996), p.&nbsp;15.</ref> In 1223, Manchester gained the right to hold an annual [[fair]]; the market was held in Acresfield&nbsp;– where St Ann's Square is today&nbsp;– on what was then arable land. It was the first fair to be established in the Salford Hundred and the fourth in south Lancashire.<ref>Kidd (1996), pp.&nbsp;14–15.</ref> Manchester became a market town in 1301 when it received its [[charter]].<ref name="Kidd14"/> On 1 November 1315, Manchester was the starting place of a rebellion by Adam Banastre.<ref name="The city and parish of Manchester: Introduction"/> Banastre, Henry de Lea, and William de Bradshagh rebelled against [[Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Liverpool: The castle and development of the town|title=A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4|year=1911|pages=4–36|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41370|access-date=17 August 2022}}</ref>

The medieval town's defences incorporated the rivers Irk and Irwell on two sides and a {{convert|450|yd|m|adj=on}} long ditch on the others. The ditch, known as Hanging Ditch, was up to {{convert|40|yd|m}} wide and {{convert|40|yd|m}} deep. It was spanned by [[Hanging Bridge]], the main route in and out of the town. The name may derive from ''hangan'' meaning hollow,<ref>Hylton (2003), p.&nbsp;16.</ref> although there is an alternative derivation from the [[Old English]] ''hen'', meaning wild birds, and the Welsh ''gan'', meaning between two hills.<ref>Cooper (2003), p.&nbsp;52.</ref> It dates to at least 1343 but may be even older.<ref>Cooper (2003), p.&nbsp;51.</ref>

In the 14th century, Manchester became home to a community of [[Flemings|Flemish]] weavers, who settled in the town to produce wool and linen. This in part helped to develop a tradition of cloth production in the region, which in turn sparked the growth of the city to become [[Lancashire]]'s major industrial centre. The various townships and chapelries of the [[Manchester (ancient parish)|ancient parish of Manchester]] became separate [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]]es in 1866.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

Thomas de la Warre was a [[Lord of the Manor]] and also a [[priest]]. He obtained licences from the [[Pope]] and [[Henry V of England|King Henry V]] to enable him to found and endow a [[collegiate church]], dedicated to the [[Blessed Virgin]], [[St. George]] and [[Saint Denis of Paris|St. Denys or St. Denis]], the latter two being the patron saints of England and France respectively. Construction began around 1422, and continued until the first quarter of the 16th century. The 'merchant princes' of the town endowed a number of [[Chantry|chantry chapels]], reflecting an increasing prosperity based on wool. This church later became [[Manchester Cathedral]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

Thomas also gave the site of the old [[manor house]] as a residence for the priests. It remains as one of the finest examples of a medieval secular religious building in Britain and is now the home of Chetham's School of Music.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

==Growth of the textile trade==
[[File:2004-10-09 Royal Exchange.jpg|Royal Exchange, Cross Street|thumb]]
By the 16th century, the wool trade had made Manchester a flourishing market town. The [[collegiate church]], which is now the cathedral, was finally completed in 1500–1510. The magnificent carved choir stalls date from this period, and in 1513 work began on a chapel endowed by [[James Stanley (bishop)|James Stanley]], [[Bishop of Ely]], in thanksgiving for the safe return of his kinsman (sometimes said to be his son) John Stanley from the [[Battle of Flodden]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The [[English Reformation]] resulted in the [[Manchester Cathedral|collegiate church]] being refounded as a [[Protestant]] institution. One of the more famous Wardens of this institution at the time was Dr [[John Dee (mathematician)|John Dee]], known as "Queen Elizabeth's Merlin".{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The town's growth was given further impetus in 1620 with the start of [[fustian]] weaving. In this period Manchester grew heavily due to an influx of [[Flemish people|Flemish]] settlers who founded Manchester's new weaving industry.<ref>Frangopulo, N. (ed.) (1962) ''Rich Inheritance''. Manchester: Education Committee; pp.&nbsp;109–111</ref> In the course of the 17th century, thanks to the development of the textile industry and contacts with the [[City of London]], Manchester became a noted centre of [[puritan]]ism. Consequently, it sided with [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] in the quarrel with [[Charles I of England|Charles I]]. Indeed, it might be said that the [[English Civil War]] started here. In 1642, [[James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby|Lord Strange]], the [[Royalist]] son of the [[William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby|Earl of Derby]] attempted to seize the militia magazine stored in the old college building. In the ensuing scuffle, Richard Percival, a linen weaver, was killed. He is reckoned by some to be the first casualty in the [[English Civil War]].

Lord Strange returned and attempted to besiege the town, which had no permanent fortifications. With the help of [[John Rosworm]], a German mercenary, the town was vigorously defended. Captain Bradshaw and his musketeers resolutely manned the bridge to Salford. Eventually, Strange realised that his force was ill-prepared, and after hearing that his father had died, withdrew to claim his title.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

During the [[English Commonwealth|Commonwealth]], Manchester was granted a seat in [[British Parliament|Parliament]] for the first time. Maj Gen [[Charles Worsley]], scion of an old [[Worsley baronets|Lancashire family]] and one of [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]]'s most trusted lieutenants, had been given the Mace at the famous dissolution of Parliament in 1654. Elected Manchester's first MP, he did not sit for long before Parliament was again dissolved, leading to the [[Rule of the Major Generals]]: effectively [[martial law]]. Worsley, given responsibility for [[Lancashire]], Cheshire and [[Staffordshire]], took his duties seriously, turning out alehouses, banning [[bear baiting]] and cracking down on the celebration of [[Christmas]]. He eventually died in 1656, at a time of the gradual ebbing away of Cromwell's authority.<ref>Durston, Christopher (2001) ''Cromwell's Major-Generals''. Worsley and his descendants lived at Platt Hall, Rusholme (now a museum) until 1906.</ref>

On the [[English Restoration]] in 1660, as a reprisal for its defence of the Parliamentarian cause, Manchester was deprived of its recently granted [[Member of Parliament|Members of Parliament]]. No MP was to sit for Manchester until 1832. The consequences of the restoration led to a great deal of soul searching. One clergyman, [[Henry Newcombe]], could not remain in the remodelled [[Anglican Church]], and was instrumental in the establishment of the [[Cross Street Chapel]] in 1694. This later passed into [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] hands, and a new chapel on the original site can be visited.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

[[Humphrey Chetham]] purchased the old college buildings after the civil war, and endowed it as a [[Charity school|bluecoat school]]. Chetham's Hospital, as it was known, later became [[Chetham's School of Music]]. The endowment included a collection of books, which in 1653 became [[Chetham's Library]], the first free public library in the English-speaking world. As of 2017, it is still open and free to use.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chethams.org.uk | title = Chetham's Library Home Page |publisher = Chetham's Library}} Retrieved on 6 July 2007.</ref>

Despite the political setbacks, the town continued to prosper. A number of inhabitants supported the [[Glorious Revolution]] in 1688. They became discontented with the [[Tory]] clergy at the [[collegiate church]], and a separate church, more to their tastes, was founded by Lady Ann Bland. [[St Ann's Church, Manchester|St Ann's Church]] is a fine example of an early Georgian church, and was consecrated in 1712. The surroundings, what is now St Ann's Square but was previously known as Acresfield, were in imitation of a London square.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

About this time, [[Daniel Defoe|Defoe]] described the place as "the greatest mere village in England", by which he meant that a place the size of a populous market town had no form of local government to speak of, and was still subject to the whims of a [[lord of the manor]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

In 1745, [[Charles Edward Stuart]] and his army entered Manchester en route to London. Despite its previous radicalism, the town offered no resistance and the [[Jacobitism|Jacobites]] obtained enough recruits to form a '[[Manchester Regiment (Jacobite)|Manchester Regiment]]'. It is suggested that this was because the town had no local government to speak of, and the [[magistrate]]s, who could have organised resistance, were mostly conservative landowners. Moreover, these [[Tory]] landowners had taken to apprenticing their sons to Manchester merchants, so the political complexion of the town's elite had changed. The Jacobite army got no further than [[Derby]] and then retreated. On their way back through Manchester, the stragglers were pelted by the mob. The luckless 'Manchester Regiment' were left behind to garrison [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]], where they quickly surrendered to the pursuing [[British Army]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

==Industrial Revolution==
[[File:McConnel & Company mills, about 1820.jpg|thumb|right|McConnel & Company's [[cotton mill]]s in [[Ancoats]], {{circa|1820}}]]
[[File:Wyld, William - Manchester from Kersal Moor, with rustic figures and goats - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|right|''Manchester from [[Kersal Moor]]'', by [[William Wyld]] in 1852. Manchester acquired the nickname "[[Cottonopolis]]" during the early 19th century owing to its many textile factories.]]
[[File:Liverpool Road station, Manchester.jpg|thumb|right|[[Liverpool Road railway station (Manchester)|Liverpool Road railway station]], the terminus of the [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]]]]
[[File:Old building, Princess Street, Manchester 6.jpg|thumb|right|A 19th-century [[slum]] dwelling. The overhang contained privies, whose waste fell straight into the [[River Medlock]] below.<ref>Hylton, p.&nbsp;144.</ref>]]
Manchester remained a small market town until the late 18th century and the beginning of the [[Industrial Revolution]]. The [[Spinning Jenny]] in 1764 marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and brought with it the first fully mechanised production process. The myriad small valleys in the [[Pennines|Pennine Hills]] to the north and east of the town, combined with the damp climate, proved ideal for the construction of water-powered [[cotton mill]]s such as [[Quarry Bank Mill]],<ref>Established as a silk mill in 1784 by Samuel Greg at Styal, Cheshire. Pevsner, Nikolaus & Hubbard, Edward (1971) ''Cheshire''. Harmondsworth: Penguin; p. 347.</ref> which industrialised the spinning and weaving of cloth.

Indeed, it was the importing of [[cotton]], which began towards the end of the 18th century, that revolutionised the textile industry in the area. This new commodity was imported through the port of [[Liverpool]], which was connected with Manchester by the [[Mersey and Irwell Navigation]]—the two rivers had been made navigable from the 1720s onwards.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

Manchester now developed as the natural distribution centre for raw cotton and spun [[yarn]], and a marketplace and distribution centre for the products of this growing textile industry. [[Richard Arkwright]] is credited as the first to erect a [[Shudehill Mill|cotton mill]] in the city. His first experiment, installing a [[Newcomen steam engine]] to pump water for a [[waterwheel]] failed, but he next adapted a [[Watt steam engine]] to directly operate the machinery. The result was the rapid spread of [[cotton mills]] throughout Manchester itself and in the surrounding towns. To these must be added bleach works, textile print works, and the engineering workshops and foundries, all serving the cotton industry. During the mid-19th century Manchester grew to become the centre of [[Lancashire]]'s cotton industry and was dubbed "[[Cottonopolis]]", and a branch of the [[Bank of England]] was established in 1826.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The city had one of the first [[telephone exchange]]s in Europe (possibly the first in the UK) when in 1879 one was opened on [[Chinatown, Manchester|Faulkner Street]] in the city centre using the [[Bell Telephone Company|Bell]] patent system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mosi.org.uk/media/33871608/early%20manchester%20telephone%20exchanges.pdf |title=Early Manchester telephone exchanges |publisher=Mosi.org |access-date=4 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605155116/http://www.mosi.org.uk/media/33871608/early%20manchester%20telephone%20exchanges.pdf |archive-date=5 June 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> By 1881 it had 420 subscribers—just 7 years later a new exchange had the capacity for 10 times that number. Manchester Central exchange was still the largest outside the capital in [[Edwardian era|Edwardian times]] when it employed 200 operators and the city had several other important roles in the [[Telephony In Greater Manchester|history of telephony]].

==Transport==
The growth of the city was matched by the expansion of its transport links. The growth of steam power meant that demand for [[coal]] rocketed. To meet this demand, the first [[canal]] of the industrial era, the Duke's Canal, often referred to as the [[Bridgewater Canal]], was opened in 1761, linking Manchester to the coal mines at [[Worsley]]. This was soon extended to the [[Mersey Estuary]]. Soon an extensive network of canals was constructed, linking Manchester to all parts of England.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

One of the world's first public omni[[bus]] services began in 1824; it ran from [[Market Street, Manchester|Market Street]] in Manchester to [[Pendleton, Greater Manchester|Pendleton]] and [[Salford, Greater Manchester|Salford]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

===The world's first steam passenger railway===
In 1830, Manchester was again at the forefront of transport technology with the opening of the [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]], the world's first steam passenger railway. This provided faster transport of raw materials and finished goods between the port of [[Liverpool]] and mills of Manchester. By 1838, Manchester was connected by rail with [[Birmingham]] and London, and by 1841 with [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]]. The existing horse-drawn omnibus services were all acquired by the Manchester Carriage Company, Ltd in 1865. Horse-drawn trams began in Salford (1877) and Manchester (1880–81), were succeeded by electric trams in 1901–03 and by 1930 [[Manchester Corporation Tramways]] were running the third largest system in the UK.<ref>Bett, W. H. & Gillham, J. C. (1976) ''The Tramways of South-east Lancashire''. Hanwell, London: Light Railway Transport League {{ISBN|0-900433-62-0}}; pp.&nbsp;5–6</ref>

==Population==
The [[Industrial Revolution]] resulted in Manchester's population exploding as people moved from other parts of the [[British Isles]] into the city seeking new opportunities.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

Particularly large numbers came from [[Ireland]], with one area of the city centre becoming known as [[Little Ireland]] between 1827 and 1847.<ref name = JMW>{{cite journal|title=The Irish in Manchester, 1832-49|first=John M.|last=Werly|journal=Irish Historical Studies|volume=18|issue=71|date=1973-03-01|pages=345–358 | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]| location = Cambridge |doi=10.1017/S0021121400025852 |jstor=30005421| url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30005421|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=MB1>{{cite journal| last =Busteed| first =Mervyn| title ='The Most Horrible Spot'? The Legend of Manchester's Little Ireland| journal =Irish Studies Review| volume =4| issue =13| pages =12–20| publisher =Routledge| date = 1 December 1995 | doi =10.1080/09670889508455511}}</ref> Numbers of Irish immigrants increased further after the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]] of the 1840s. In 1851, it was estimated that 15% of the population of Manchester were Irish born. The first Irish community in the city was said to date back to 1798 and with further waves of immigration from Ireland coming after the Second World War. The Irish influence continues to this day and, every March Manchester plays host to a large [[St Patrick's Day]] parade. It is estimated that about 35% of the population of Manchester and Salford has some Irish ancestry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.themanchesterreview.co.uk/?p=2976|title = President Higgins on Manchester's Irish Connection|date = 15 May 2013}}</ref>

Scottish migration in to Manchester can be traced back to before 1745 when the [[Jacobitism|Jacobites]] marched through the city but the population of Scottish born residents peaked at almost 2% of the city's total population in 1871. Many of the city's machine making firms which powered the Industrial Revolution had their roots in emigrant Scottish engineers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.manchester.gov.uk/directory_record/212567/scottish/category/1373/view_all_records|title = Migration and ethnic history - Scottish &#124; Manchester City Council}}</ref>

A [[Welsh people|Welsh]] community has existed in Manchester since the 16th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.manchester.gov.uk/directory_record/212570/welsh/category/1373/view_all_records|title = Migration and ethnic history - Welsh &#124; Manchester City Council}}</ref> In 1892 there was 80,000 Welsh born residents in the North West of England with particularly high concentrations in Manchester and Liverpool. [[David Lloyd George]] was born in the city and Welsh socialist [[Robert Jones Derfel]] spent much of his life in the city.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40178621|jstor = 40178621|title = Welsh Immigrants in the Cities of North West England. 1890-1930: Some Oral Testimony|last1 = Jones|first1 = Merfyn|journal = Oral History|year = 1981|volume = 9|issue = 2|pages = 33–41}}</ref>

Large numbers of (mostly Jewish) immigrants later came to Manchester from [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]]. The area, including [[Broughton, Salford|Broughton]], [[Prestwich]] and [[Whitefield, Greater Manchester|Whitefield]] today has a Jewish population of about 40,000. This is the largest Jewish community outside London by quite some way. To these groups may be added (in later years) [[Levant]]ines (involved in the Egyptian cotton trade), Germans and Italians. The German influence can be seen in the city's [[Halle Orchestra]] and the [[Ancoats]] area of the city was known as Little Italy. By the beginning of the 20th century, Manchester was a very cosmopolitan place and had additionally received immigrants from [[France]], [[Greece]], [[Armenia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Poland]] and [[Ukraine]]. The opening of the [[Manchester Ship Canal]] in 1894 lead to influx of workers from [[Africa]], [[Asia]], [[Middle East]] and [[Scandinavia]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

There has been a presence of [[Black British people|Black people]] in Manchester since the 1700s. There are records of black people being buried at [[Manchester Cathedral]] from 1757. The abolitionist [[Thomas Clarkson]] noted during a speech in Manchester in 1787 "'I was surprised also to find a great crowd of black people standing round the pulpit. There might be forty or fifty of them.'<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://revealinghistories.org.uk/what-evidence-is-there-of-a-black-presence-in-britain-and-north-west-england.html|title = What evidence is there of a black presence in Britain and north west England? &#124; Revealing Histories}}</ref>

From the 1940s onwards further waves of immigration brought [[Greek Cypriots|Cypriots]] and [[Hungarians]] fleeing conflict but in the largest numbers came people re-settling from the [[British Colonies]] of the [[Indian subcontinent]], [[Caribbean]] and [[Hong Kong]]. There has been a [[Chinese people|Chinese]] community in the city since the early 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/chinatown/2004/01/history.shtml|title = BBC Manchester - Chinatown - History of Manchester's Chinatown}}</ref> [[Chinatown, Manchester]] is said to be the second largest in the United Kingdom and the third largest in Europe.

From the 1990s onwards [[Demographics of Kosovo|Kosovans]], [[Afghans]], [[Iraqis]] and [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congolese]] have settled in the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://salfordmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/01/Immigration-timeline.pdf|title=Immigration Timeline|website=Salford Museum}}</ref>

It has been suggested that Manchester, having been involved in all these periods of immigration over the last two hundred years, is the most [[Multilingualism|multilingual]] of all British cities aside from [[London]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2007/10/03/031007_migrant_history_manchester_feature.shtml|title = Manchester: Migrant city}}</ref>

==Intellectual life==
The unconventional background of such a diverse population stimulated intellectual and artistic life. The ''Manchester Academy'', for example, opened in [[Mosley Street]] in 1786, having enjoyed an earlier incarnation as the [[Warrington Academy]]. It was originally run by [[Presbyterians]] being one of the few [[English Dissenters|dissenting]] academies that provided religious [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|nonconformist]]s, who were excluded from the universities of [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], with higher education. It taught [[classics]], [[Radicalism (historical)|radical]] [[theology]], [[science]], [[modern languages]], [[language]] and [[history]]. In the arts, the [[Hallé Orchestra]], was patronised in its early years, by the [[Germans|German]] community and attracted a loyal following.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

Manchester's rapid growth into a significant industrial centre meant the pace of change was fast and frightening. At that time, it seemed a place in which anything could happen—new industrial processes, new ways of thinking (the so-called 'Manchester School', promoting [[free trade]] and [[laissez-faire]]), new classes or groups in society, new religious sects and new forms of labour organisation. Such radicalism culminated in the opening of the [[Free Trade Hall]] which had several incarnations until its current building was occupied in 1856. It attracted educated visitors from all parts of Britain and Europe. "What Manchester does today," it was said, "the rest of the world does tomorrow." [[Benjamin Disraeli]], at that time a young novelist, had one of his characters express such sentiments. "The age of ruins is past&nbsp;... Have you seen Manchester? Manchester is as great a human exploit as Athens&nbsp;...".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://public-library.uk/ebooks/23/61.pdf|title=Coningsby|last=Disraeli|first=Benjamin|year=1844|website=public-library.uk|access-date=2019-01-12}}</ref>

==Reform==
[[File:Peterloo Massacre.png|thumb|left|The [[Peterloo Massacre]] was a major event in the history of the city.]]
At the beginning of the 19th century, Manchester was still governed by a [[court leet]] on the medieval model, and a [[Reeve (England)|boroughreeve]] was responsible for law and order during the daylight hours. The [[Manchester and Salford Police Act 1792]] ([[32 Geo. 3]]. c. 69) created police commissioners, whose job was to provide a night-watch. The commissioners were also given responsibility for road-building, street cleaning, street lighting and the maintenance of fire engines.<ref>Reid (1989), p.&nbsp;21.</ref>

The end of the 18th century saw the first serious [[recession]] in the textile trade. There were food riots in 1797, and soup kitchens were established in 1799. Manchester was the scene of the [[Blanketeers|Blanketeer]] agitation in 1817. Popular unrest was paralleled by discontent with Manchester's lack of representation at [[Westminster Parliament|Westminster]], and the town quickly became a centre of [[Radicalism (historical)|radical]] agitation.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The protest turned to bloodshed in the summer of 1819. A meeting was held in St Peter's Field on 16 August to demonstrate for parliamentary reform. It was addressed by [[Henry Hunt (politician)|Henry Hunt]], a powerful speaker known as Orator Hunt. Local magistrates, fearful of the large crowd estimated at 60,000–80,000, ordered volunteer cavalry from the [[Manchester and Salford Yeomanry]] to clear a way through the crowd to arrest Hunt and the platform party. The Yeomanry were armed with sabres and some reports say that many of them were drunk. They lost control and started to strike out at members of the crowd. The magistrates, believing that the Yeomanry were under attack, then ordered the [[15th Hussars]] to disperse the crowd, which they did by charging into the mass of men, women and children, sabres drawn. These events resulted in the deaths of fifteen people and over six hundred injured. The name "Peterloo" was coined immediately by the radical ''Manchester Observer'', combining the name of the meeting place, St Peter's Field, with the [[Battle of Waterloo]] fought four years earlier. One of those who later died from his wounds had been present at Waterloo, and told a friend shortly before his death that he had never been in such danger as at Peterloo: "At Waterloo there was man to man but there it was downright murder."<ref>Reid (1989), p.&nbsp;201.</ref>

The ''[[Manchester Guardian]]'', a newspaper with a radical agenda, was established shortly afterwards. In 1832, following the [[Great Reform Act]], Manchester elected its first MPs since the election of 1656. Five candidates, including [[William Cobbett]], stood and [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]]s [[Charles Poulett Thomson]] and [[Mark Philips (politician)|Mark Philips]] were elected. The [[Great Reform Act]] led to conditions favourable to [[municipal incorporation]]. Manchester became a [[municipal borough]] in 1838,<ref name=ParkinsonBailey>{{cite book|title=Manchester: an architectural history|first=John J.|last=Parkinson-Bailey|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=2000|isbn=9780719056062}}</ref> and what remained of the [[manorial rights]] were later purchased by the town council.

==Industrial and cultural growth==<!-- This section is linked from [[Chorlton-cum-Hardy]] -->
The prosperity from the [[Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution|textile industry]] led to an expansion of Manchester and the surrounding conurbation. Many institutions were established including [[Belle Vue Zoological Gardens]] (founded by John Jennison in 1836), the [[Manchester Athenaeum]] (1836–37), the [[Corn Exchange, Manchester|Corn Exchange]] (1837) and the [[Royal Victoria Gallery of Practical Science]] (1840–42).{{fact|date=December 2024}}

This wealth fuelled the development of science and education in Manchester. The Manchester Academy had moved to [[York]] in 1803 and, though it returned in 1840, in 1853 it moved again to London, eventually becoming [[Harris Manchester College, Oxford]]. However, a [[Mechanics' Institute]], later to become [[UMIST]], was founded in 1824 by among others, [[John Dalton]] the "father of atomic theory". In 1851 [[Owens College]] was founded by the trustees of [[John Owens (merchant)|John Owens]], a textile merchant who had left a bequest for that purpose. Owens College was to become the first constituent college of the [[Victoria University (UK)|Victoria University]] which was granted its Royal Charter in 1880. This flowering of radicalism and reform took place within the context of ferment in Manchester's cultural and intellectual life. [[John Dalton]] lectured on his [[atomic theory]] at the [[Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society|Literary and Philosophical Society]] in 1803. The establishment of the [[Portico Library]] in 1806, the [[Royal Manchester Institution]] (later the Art Gallery) in 1823, and the Manchester Botanical and Horticultural Society in 1827 are evidence of this.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The growth of city government continued with Manchester finally being [[incorporation (municipal government)|incorporated]] as a [[borough]] in 1838, covering the [[Manchester (ancient township)|township of Manchester]] (the area which is now the [[Manchester city centre|city centre]]), along with [[Ardwick]], [[Beswick, Manchester|Beswick]], [[Cheetham, Manchester|Cheetham]], [[Chorlton-on-Medlock]] and [[Hulme]].<ref name=charter/>

In 1841, [[Robert Angus Smith]] took up work as an [[analytical chemistry|analytical chemist]] at the Royal Manchester Institution and started to research the unprecedented environmental problems. Smith went on to become the first director of the [[Alkali Inspectorate]] and to characterise, and coin the term, ''[[acid rain]]''.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

Manchester continued to be a nexus of political radicalism. From 1842 to 1844, the German social [[philosopher]] [[Friedrich Engels]] lived there and wrote his influential book ''Condition of the Working Class in England'' (1845). He habitually met [[Karl Marx]] in an alcove at [[Chetham's Library]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

In 1846 the Borough bought the [[Manorialism|manorial rights]] from [[Sir Oswald Mosley, 2nd Baronet, of Ancoats|Sir Oswald Mosley]] and the granting of [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] followed in 1853.<ref name="mosley">{{cite web |title=Withington history |url=https://www.withingtoncivicsociety.co.uk/manor.html |website=www.withingtoncivicsociety.co.uk |access-date=20 October 2025}}</ref><ref name="Farrer">{{cite book |last1=Farrer |first1=William |last2=Brownbill |first2=J. |title=The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4, West Derby hundred contd., Salford hundred |date=1911 |publisher=Archibald Constable |pages=231,235}}</ref>

In 1847 the [[Anglican Diocese of Manchester|Manchester diocese]] of the [[Church of England]] was established.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

In 1851, the Borough became the first local authority to seek [[water supply|water supplies]] beyond its boundaries.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

By 1853, the number of cotton mills in Manchester had reached its peak of 108.<ref>Miller and Wild (2007), p.&nbsp;77.</ref> Warehouses became commonplace in what now makes up the city centre. These 19th-century Mancunian warehouses were often decorative and ornate for a building of such simple function. The most notable 19th-century warehouse is [[Watts Warehouse]] on Portland Street.

The [[Cooperative Wholesale Society]] was formed in 1863.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Webb, Catherine|chapter=Chapter III|url=http://gerald-massey.org.uk/webb/Chapter_03.html|title=Industrial Co-operation|location=Manchester|publisher=Co-operative Union|year=1904|access-date=2016-11-27}}</ref> Manchester is now home to [[the Co-operative Group]], the largest mutual business in the world with over six million members. The group remained based on their listed estate in Manchester city centre.

The outbreak of the [[American Civil War]] in 1861 saw an immediate shortage of [[cotton]] and the ensuing [[cotton famine]] brought enormous distress to the area until the war ended in 1865.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The first [[Trades Union Congress]] was held in Manchester (at the Mechanics' Institute, [[Princess Street, Manchester|David Street]]), from 2 to 6 June 1868. Manchester was the subject of [[Friedrich Engels]]' ''[[The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844]]'', Engels himself spending much of his life in and around Manchester. Manchester was also an important cradle of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] and the [[Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom|Suffragette Movement]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

Manchester's golden age was perhaps the last quarter of the 19th century. Many of the great public buildings (including the town hall) date from then. The city's cosmopolitan atmosphere contributed to a vibrant culture, which included the [[Hallé Orchestra]]. In 1889, when county councils were created in England, the municipal borough became a [[county borough]] with even greater autonomy.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

[[File:Albert-Square-Manchester.jpg|thumb|right|Albert Square]]
During the late 19th century, Manchester began to suffer an economic decline, partly exacerbated by its reliance on the Port of [[Liverpool]], which was charging excessive dock usage fees. Championed by local industrialist [[Daniel Adamson]], the [[Manchester Ship Canal]] was built as a way to reverse this. It gave the city direct access to the sea allowing it to export its manufactured goods directly. This meant that it no longer had to rely on the railways and Liverpool's ports. When completed in 1894 it allowed Manchester to become Britain's third busiest port, despite being {{convert|40|mi|km}} inland. The Manchester Ship Canal was created by canalising the Rivers Irwell and Mersey for {{convert|36|mi|km}} from [[Salford, Greater Manchester|Salford]] to the Mersey estuary at the port of Liverpool. This enabled oceangoing ships to sail right into the Port of [[Manchester Docks|Manchester]] (actually in Salford). The docks functioned until the 1970s when their closure led to a large increase in unemployment in the area.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

===The world's first industrial estate===
[[Trafford Park]] in Stretford (outside the city boundaries) was the world's first industrial estate and still exists today, though with a significant tourist and recreational presence. Manchester suffered greatly from the inter-war depression and the underlying structural changes that began to supplant the old industries, including textile manufacture.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

==Further expansion==
The [[municipal borough]] created in 1838 covered the six townships of [[Ardwick]], [[Beswick, Manchester|Beswick]], [[Cheetham, Manchester|Cheetham]], [[Chorlton-on-Medlock]], [[Hulme]] and [[Manchester (ancient township)|Manchester]].<ref name=charter>{{cite news |title=Copy of the Charter |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ |access-date=3 September 2022 |work=Manchester Times |date=27 October 1838 |page=2 |quote=...a Charter of Incorporation for the district comprised within the boundaries of the townships of Manchester, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, Hulme, Ardwick, Beswick, and Cheetham, in the said county palatine of Lancaster, which said townships (together with the townships of Newton, Harpurhey, and Bradford) comprise the boundaries of the Parliamentary Borough of Manchester... Witness ourself at our Palace at Westminster, this twenty-third day of October, in the second year of our reign.}}</ref> The borough became a city in 1853. Expansion of the city limits was constrained westwards, as [[County Borough of Salford|Salford]] immediately to the west had been given its own borough charter in 1844. These areas were included in the city limits of Manchester at these dates:-
* 1885: [[Harpurhey]], [[Bradford-with-Beswick]], [[Rusholme]]
* 1890: [[Crumpsall]], [[Blackley]] and [[Moston, Greater Manchester|Moston]], [[Newton Heath]], [[Clayton, Greater Manchester|Clayton]], [[Openshaw]], [[Gorton|West Gorton]]
* 1903: [[Heaton Park]]. So far most expansion had been northerly and easterly.
* 1904: [[Moss Side]], [[Chorlton-cum-Hardy]], [[Withington]], [[Burnage]], [[Didsbury]], all to the south.
* 1909: [[Gorton]], [[Levenshulme]].
* 1931: The parishes of [[Northenden]], [[Baguley]] and [[Northen Etchells]], beyond the [[River Mersey]], previously in [[Bucklow Rural District]] in Cheshire. They later formed the [[Wythenshawe]] housing estate. This followed an unsuccessful attempt to annex the same area in 1927.<ref>''Manchester Extension Bill Approved''. The Times. 17 April 1930.</ref>
*1974 ([[Local Government Act 1972]]): [[Ringway, Greater Manchester|Ringway]], [[Manchester Airport|Manchester International Airport]].

==20th century==
By 1900, the Manchester city region was the 9th most populous in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011201f.htm |title=Top 10 Cities of 1900 (T. Chandler). Retrieved 28 August 2007 |access-date=28 August 2007 |archive-date=20 September 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050920013856/http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011201f.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the early 20th century, Manchester's economy diversified into [[engineering]] chemical and electrical industries. The stimulus of the ship canal saw the establishment of [[Trafford Park]], the world's first [[industrial park]], in 1910 and the arrival of the [[Ford Motor Company]] and [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation]] from the USA. The influence is still visible in "Westinghouse Road" and a grid layout of numbered streets and avenues.

[[Henry Price (architect)|Henry Price]] (1867–1944) was appointed as the first [[City Architect]] of Manchester in 1902.<ref name="price">{{cite web| url= https://manchestervictorianarchitects.org.uk/architects/john-henry-price | title=(John) Henry Price | work=A Biographical Dictionary of the Architects of Greater Manchester, 1800–1940 | first=Neil | last=Darlington | publisher=[[The Victorian Society]] | date=2024 | accessdate=30 December 2024 }}</ref> He was succeeded in 1932 by [[George Noel Hill]] (1893–1985).<ref name="hill">{{cite web| url= https://manchestervictorianarchitects.org.uk/architects/george-noel-hill | title=George Noel Hill | work=A Biographical Dictionary of the Architects of Greater Manchester, 1800–1940 | first=Neil | last=Darlington | publisher=[[The Victorian Society]] | date=2024 | accessdate=30 December 2024 }}</ref>

In 1931, the population of Manchester reached an all-time peak of 766,311. However, the period from the 1930s onwards saw a continuous decline in population. During this period, textile manufacture, Manchester's traditional staple industry went into steep decline, largely due to the [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s and foreign competition.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}} During this period the Women's Citizens League campaigned for better maternity facilities in the city.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Spring Conference {{!}} North West Labour History Society|url=http://www.nwlh.org.uk/?q=node/139|access-date=2022-01-16|website=www.nwlh.org.uk}}</ref>

Significant changes in this period were the move of the [[Manchester Royal Infirmary]] from Piccadilly in 1908 and the building of a new [[Manchester Central Library|public library]] and town hall extension in the 1930s.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

===Second World War===
[[File:Manchester Central Library.jpg|thumb|Manchester Central Library, St Peter's Square]]
In the [[Second World War]] Manchester played a key role as an industrial manufacturing city, including the [[Avro]] aircraft factory (now [[BAE Systems]]) which built countless aircraft for the [[Royal Air Force|RAF]], the most famous being the [[Avro Lancaster]] bomber. As a consequence of its war efforts, the city suffered heavily from bombing during [[the Blitz]] in 1940 to 1941. It was attacked a number of times by the [[Luftwaffe]], particularly in the "[[Manchester Blitz|Christmas Blitz]]" of December 1940, which destroyed a large part of the historic city centre and seriously damaged the cathedral, which took 20 years to restore.<ref>{{cite web | website=Manchester Cathedral| url= http://www.manchestercathedral.org/history/timeline | title= Timeline | access-date= 5 May 2009 | publisher= Manchester Cathedral Online | year= 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160416153101/http://www.manchestercathedral.org/history/timeline | archive-date= 16 April 2016 | url-status= dead }}</ref> In total, 589 civilians are recorded to have died as result of enemy action within the Manchester County Borough.<ref>{{cite web|last=CWGC|title=Civilian War Dead, Manchester County Borough|url=https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/4004227/manchester-county-borough/|website=[[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]]|access-date=2023-09-15}}</ref>

===Post-war===
The [[Royal Exchange, Manchester|Royal Exchange]] ceased trading in 1968.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The 1950s saw the start of Manchester's rise as a [[football (soccer)|football]] superpower. Despite the [[Munich air disaster]], [[Manchester United F.C.]] went on to become one of the world's most famous clubs, rising to a dominance of the English game from the early 1990s onwards.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

[[Mancunian Films]] had been established by [[John E. Blakeley]] in the 1930s as a vehicle for northern [[comedian]]s such as [[George Formby, Jr.|George Formby]] and [[Frank Randle]]. The company opened its own studios, [[Dickenson Road Studios]], in Manchester in 1947 and produced a successful sequence of films until Blakeley's retirement six years later. The studio was sold to the [[BBC]] in 1954, the same year that saw the advent of [[ITV (TV network)|commercial television]] in the UK. The establishment of [[Granada Television]] based in the city attracted much of the production talent from the studios and continued Manchester's tradition of cultural innovation, often with its trademark social [[Radicalism (historical)|radical]]ism in its programming.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The same period saw the rise to national celebrity of local stars from the Granada TV [[soap opera]] ''[[Coronation Street]]'', which was first aired on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] in December 1960 and remains on air more than 60 years later.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The city also attracted international media and public attention for the success of its two senior football clubs—[[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] and [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

[[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] had won two league titles and a [[FA Cup]] in the first two decades of the 20th century, but the inter-war years had been blighted by a loss of form on the pitch and ongoing financial problems. The club's revival occurred with the appointment of [[Matt Busby]] as manager in 1945; he guided the club to an [[FA Cup]] triumph in 1948 and a league title in 1952. He then built a highly successful new side consisting of mostly young players (nicknamed the ''[[Busby Babes]]'' by the media) which went on to win two league titles and became the first English club to play in the new [[European Cup]]. Then tragedy struck in February 1958; eight of the club's players (three of them established [[England national football team|England internationals]]; [[Roger Byrne]], [[Tommy Taylor]] and [[Duncan Edwards]]) died as a result of the [[Munich air disaster]] on the return flight from a European Cup tie in [[Yugoslavia]] and two others injured to such an extent that they never played again. Busby, who was seriously injured in the crash, was left to build a new team.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manutd.com/en/Players-And-Staff/Managers/Matt-Busby.aspx?pageNo=3 |title=Sir Matt Busby - Official Manchester United Website |publisher=Manchester United F.C. |access-date=4 October 2013}}</ref> His new United side, built around Munich crash survivors including [[Bill Foulkes]] and [[Bobby Charlton]], went on to dominate the English game in the 1960s, featuring new stars like [[Denis Law]] and [[George Best]], winning two more league titles, a FA Cup and then the [[European Cup]] in 1968—the first English club to win the trophy. Busby retired the following year after 24 years in charge.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manutd.com/en/Players-And-Staff/Managers/Matt-Busby.aspx?pageNo=4 |title=Sir Matt Busby - Official Manchester United Website |publisher=Manchester United F.C. |date=28 December 1970 |access-date=4 October 2013}}</ref> The club was less successful in the 1970s, its only major trophy of the decade being the FA Cup in 1977, and the club even spent a season outside the top division of English football. The 1980s were slightly more successful with a further two FA Cups wins and regular top four league finishes, but the club has enjoyed an unmatched run of success which began after the appointment of [[Alex Ferguson]] as manager in 1986. By the time Ferguson retired in 2013 after 27 years as manager, the club had won a further 13 league titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups and two European Cups. High-profile players to have played for the club during Sir Alex Ferguson's management (he was knighted in 1999) include [[Bryan Robson]], [[Mark Hughes]], [[Ryan Giggs]], [[Eric Cantona]], [[David Beckham]] and [[Wayne Rooney]].

Manchester City entered the [[English Football League|Football League]] in 1899, and won their first major honour with the [[FA Cup]] in [[1904 FA Cup Final|1904]]. [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] had been league champions once and FA Cup winners twice by 1939, but enjoyed further success in the post-war years, starting with an FA Cup win in 1956. The club's next success came more than a decade later, with a league championship triumph in 1968, an FA Cup triumph in 1969, and a double of the [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners' Cup]] and [[Football League Cup]] in 1970 under the management of [[Joe Mercer]] and [[Malcolm Allison]]. Great players of the 1950s and 1960s sides included [[Don Revie]], [[Bert Trautmann]], [[Francis Lee (footballer)|Francis Lee]], [[Colin Bell (footballer, born 1946)|Colin Bell]] and [[Tony Book]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcfc.co.uk/the-club/club-history|title=Club History - Manchester City FC|date=21 March 2013|publisher=Manchester City F.C.|access-date=4 October 2013|archive-date=16 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516024406/http://www.mcfc.co.uk/the-club/club-history|url-status=dead}}</ref> They won the League Cup in 1976 but after &nbsp;losing the [[1981 FA Cup Final]], the club went through a period of decline, which eventually saw them [[Promotion and relegation|relegated]] as far down as [[EFL League One|third tier]] of [[English football league system|English football]] by the end of the 1997–98 season.

They since regained promotion to the top tier in 2001–02 and have remained a fixture in the Premier League since 2002–03. For 80 years until 2003, the club had played at the [[Maine Road]] stadium in the [[Moss Side]] area of the city, before moving to the [[City of Manchester Stadium]] to the east of the city centre, which had been constructed for the previous year's Commonwealth Games. In 2008, Manchester City was purchased by [[Abu Dhabi United Group]] for £210 million and received considerable financial investment. The club's next major trophy was the FA Cup&nbsp;in 2011. The club's first top division league title for 44 years followed in 2012, and a League Cup triumph followed in 2014.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The club have now won seven [[List of English football champions|domestic league titles]]. Under the management of [[Pep Guardiola]] they won the Premier League in [[2017–18 Premier League|2018]] becoming the only Premier League team to [[Premier League records and statistics#Points|attain 100 points]] in a single season. [[2018–19 Manchester City F.C. season|In 2019]], they [[List of association football teams to have won four or more trophies in one season#Four titles in one season|won four trophies]], completing an unprecedented sweep of all [[Football in England#Men's Cup competitions|domestic trophies in England]] and becoming the first English men's team to win the [[Treble (association football)|domestic treble]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bullin |first1=Matt |title=Man City win treble - how impressive is that achievement? |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/48321358 |access-date=18 May 2019 |work=BBC Sport |date=18 May 2019}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/911093473 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/911071742 cite #3 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref> Manchester City's revenue was the [[Deloitte Football Money League|fifth highest]] of a football club in the world in the 2017–18 season at €527.7 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/deloitte-football-money-league.html|title=Deloitte Football Money League 2018|date=23 January 2018|access-date=23 January 2018|publisher=Deloitte}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/911093473 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/911071742 cite #4 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref><ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/the-20-most-popular-rich-list-football-teams-on-social-media-2018-8 UK Business Insider] {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/911093473 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/911071742 cite #5 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref> In 2018, Forbes estimated the club was the [[Forbes' list of the most valuable football clubs|fifth most valuable]] in the world at $2.47 billion.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2018/06/12/the-worlds-most-valuable-soccer-teams-2018/|title=The World's Most Valuable Soccer Teams 2018|last=Ozanian|first=Mike|work=Forbes|access-date=2018-06-12}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/911093473 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/911071742 cite #6 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref>

As with many British cities during the period. The 1950s and 1960s saw extensive re-development of the city, with old and overcrowded housing cleared to make way for high-rise blocks of [[Tower block|flats]]. This changed the appearance of Manchester considerably, although the high-rise experiment later proved unpopular and unsuccessful. The city centre also saw major redevelopment, with developments such as the [[Manchester Arndale Centre|Manchester Arndale]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

Manchester's key role in the industrial revolution was repeated and the city became a centre of [[research and development]]. Manchester made important contributions to the [[computer revolution]]. The father of modern computing [[Alan Turing]] was based at [[Manchester University]] and it was his idea of the stored-program concept that led in 1948 to the [[Manchester Baby]], which was the first electronic [[stored-program computer]] to run a programme. This was developed by [[Frederic Calland Williams|Frederic C. Williams]] and [[Tom Kilburn]] at the [[University of Manchester]]. This was followed by the [[Manchester Mark 1]], in 1949. These inventions were commercialised in the [[Ferranti Mark 1]], one of the first commercially available computers.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

In the late 1950s, Manchester was chosen as a testing ground for a new telephone service which formed the foundations of what we now know of as [[mobile phone]] technology. The "Post Office South Lancashire Radiophone Service" was controlled from the city's [[Telephony In Greater Manchester|Peterloo]] telephone exchange and enabled customers with the apparatus installed in their vehicle to phone to any UK subscriber.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

In 1974, Manchester was split from the county of [[Lancashire]], and the Metropolitan Borough of Manchester was created.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The diversification of the city's economy helped to cushion the blow of this decline. However, as with many inner-city areas, the growth of car ownership and commuting meant that many people moved from the inner-city and into surrounding [[suburb]]s. By 1971 the population of Manchester had declined to 543,868, and by 2001 422,302.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

===IRA bomb and its effects===
[[File:Manchesterbomb-devestation.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The devastation left by the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]] [[1996 Manchester bombing|bombing]]]]
[[File:Manchester Exchange Squares.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Manchester's [[Exchange Square (Manchester)|Exchange Square]] undergoing extensive regeneration]]
During the 1980s, with the demise of many traditional industries under the radical economic restructuring often known as ''[[Thatcherism]]'', the city and region experienced some decline. The revival started towards the end of the decade, catalysed, not only by wider growing prosperity in the UK but by the creative music industry. New institutions such as [[Factory Records]] and [[Fac 51 Hacienda]] earned the city the [[sobriquet]] ''[[Madchester]]''.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

At 11.20 am on Saturday 15 June 1996, the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]] detonated a large [[1996 Manchester bombing|bomb in the city centre]], the largest to be detonated on British soil. Fortunately, warnings given in the previous hour had allowed the evacuation of the immediate area, so this bomb caused over 200 injuries but no deaths. The principal damage was to the physical infrastructure of nearby buildings. Since then the city centre has undergone extensive rejuvenation alongside the more general efforts to regenerate previously run-down areas of the wider city (such as [[Hulme]] and [[Salford, Greater Manchester|Salford]]). This reconstruction spurred a massive regeneration of the city centre, with complexes such as [[The Printworks (Manchester)|the Printworks]] and the [[Corn Exchange, Manchester|Triangle]] creating new city focal points for both shopping and entertainment. The following regeneration took over a decade to complete. The completion of the renovated [[Manchester Arndale]] in September 2006 allowed the centre to hold the title of the UK's largest city centre shopping mall.<ref>[http://www.cadweb.co.uk/aboutus/pdf_docs/Arndale_Project_Sheet.pdf "CADWeb Project Management - Manchester Arndale"], CADWeb, 2005. Retrieved 28 June 2007</ref> The bomb is commemorated by a plaque fixed to a nearby postbox which withstood the blast, which reads "This postbox remained standing almost undamaged on June 15, 1996 when this area was devastated by a bomb. The box was removed during the rebuilding of the city centre and was returned to its original site on November 22nd 1999."

==21st century==
[[File:Beetham Tower from below.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Beetham Tower, Manchester|Beetham Tower]], Manchester's second tallest building, was completed in 2006.]]
In 2002, the city hosted the [[2002 Commonwealth Games|XVII Commonwealth Games]] very successfully, earning praise from many previously sceptical sources. Manchester has twice failed in its bid to host the [[Olympic Games]], losing to [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]] in 1996 and Sydney in 2000.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

In the 1990s, Manchester earned a reputation for gang-related crime, particularly after a spate of shootings involving young men, and reports of teenagers carrying handguns as "fashion accessories". A more concerted effort to reduce such crime has focused on prohibiting the availability of firearms, working with the community, deterring young individuals from joining gangs and jailing ringleaders have all helped to reduce gun crime. Consequently, gun crime has plummeted year on year since 2007.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Greater Manchester gun crime down by 20% |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-11563463 |work=BBC News |date=18 October 2010 |access-date=29 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Manchester gang-related shootings decline |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-16301463 |work=BBC News |date=22 December 2011 |access-date=29 September 2012}}</ref> Crime figures from 2011 show there were 19.2 firearm crimes per 100,000 population in Greater Manchester—compared to 35.1 in the [[Metropolitan Police]] area and [[City of London Police|City of London]], and 34.3 in the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Comment: Let's keep things in perspective&nbsp;... gun crime has fallen across Greater Manchester since 2007 |url=http://mancunianmatters.co.uk/content/24095581-comment-lets-keep-things-perspective-gun-crime-has-fallen-across-greater-manchester |work=Mancunian Matters |date=24 September 2012 |access-date=29 September 2012 |archive-date=1 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001075630/http://mancunianmatters.co.uk/content/24095581-comment-lets-keep-things-perspective-gun-crime-has-fallen-across-greater-manchester |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Canal Street, Manchester|Canal Street]] area of the city is well known as the "[[homosexuality|Gay]] Village". Manchester's claim to the status of "gay capital of the UK" was strengthened in 2003 when it played host city to the annual [[Europride]] festival.<ref>{{cite news | title=Europe's biggest gay festival to be held in UK |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/51498_europes_biggest_gay_festival_to_be_held_in_uk.html |work=Manchester Evening News |publisher=M.E.N. Media |date=11 February 2003|access-date=20 May 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=More gay couples want children |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/80968_more_gay_couples_want_children.html |work=Manchester Evening News |publisher=M.E.N. Media |date=12 February 2004 |last=Ottewell |first=David |access-date=20 May 2007 |archive-date=21 April 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421003919/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/80968_more_gay_couples_want_children.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the 1980s, the Victoria University of Manchester had somewhat complacently exploited its reputation as one of the leading ''[[Red Brick university|red brick]]'' universities. During the same period, many of those universities established post-war vigorously pursued policies of growth and innovation. The university consequently saw its standing decline and only in the 1990s did it embark on a ''catch-up'' programme. In October 2004 the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST merged to form the [[University of Manchester]], the largest University in the UK with ambitious plans to be one of the world's leading research-intensive universities.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

Since the regeneration after the 1996 IRA bomb, and aided by the [[2002 Commonwealth Games|XVII Commonwealth Games]], Manchester's city centre has changed significantly. Large sections of the city dating from the 1960s have been either demolished and re-developed or modernised with the use of glass and steel; a good example of this transformation is the [[Manchester Arndale]]. Many old mills and textile warehouses have been converted into apartments, helping to give the city a much more modern, upmarket look and feel. Some areas, like [[Hulme]] (first unsuccessfully regenerated in the 1960s when multi-storey flats replaced Victorian slums), have undergone extensive regeneration programmes and many million-pound lofthouse apartments have since been developed to cater for its growing business community. The 168&nbsp;metre tall, 47-storey [[Beetham Tower, Manchester|Beetham Tower]], completed in 2006, provides the highest residential accommodation in the United Kingdom — the lower 23 floors form the Hilton Hotel, while the upper 24 floors are apartments. The [[Beetham Tower, Manchester|Beetham Tower]] was originally planned to stand 171&nbsp;metres in height, but this had to be changed due to local wind conditions.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/4944590.stm|title=City building reaches full height|work=BBC News|date=26 April 2006|access-date=2 May 2006}}</ref>

In January 2007, the independent Casino Advisory Panel awarded Manchester a licence to build the only [[supercasino]] in the UK to regenerate the Eastlands area of the city,<ref name="Supercasino">{{Cite press release |url=http://www.culture.gov.uk/cap/pressnotices/press_finalpanelreport300107.htm | title= Casino Advisory Panel Recommends to Secretary of State Where 17 New Casinos Should Be Located | access-date= 9 October 2008 | publisher= Department for Culture, Media and Sport | date= 13 October 2006 | url-status= dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014190823/http://www.culture.gov.uk/Cap/pressnotices/press_finalpanelreport300107.htm | archive-date= 14 October 2008 | df= dmy-all }}<br />• {{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2007/01/30/dome_feature.shtml | title= Greenwich loses Casino Bet | access-date= 9 October 2008 | publisher= BBC | date= 15 February 2007 }}</ref> but in March the [[House of Lords]] rejected the decision by three votes rendering previous [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] acceptance meaningless. This left the supercasino, and 14 other smaller concessions, in parliamentary limbo until a final decision was made.<ref name="Supercasino rejected">{{Cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6500859.stm | title= Lords scupper super-casino plan |access-date=9 October 2008 | date= 28 March 2007|work=BBC News}}</ref> On 11 July 2007, a source close to the government declared the entire supercasino project "dead in the water".<ref name="Supercasino dead">{{Cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUKL1156722520070711 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713181541/http://uk.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUKL1156722520070711 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 July 2007 | title= Brown cools on supercasino plan | access-date=9 October 2008 |work=Reuters | date= 11 July 2007}}</ref> A member of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce professed himself "amazed and a bit shocked" and that "there has been an awful lot of time and money wasted".<ref name="Supercasino anger">{{Cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/6292630.stm | title= Anger at super-casino plan review |access-date=9 October 2008 | date= 11 July 2007|work=BBC News}}</ref> After a meeting with the Prime Minister, Manchester City Council issued a press release on 24 July 2007 stating that "contrary to some reports the door is not closed to a regional casino".<ref name="Supercasino not dead">{{cite web |url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/news_article.php?newsID=2812 | title= Manchester reaffirms casino commitment |access-date=9 October 2008 |work=manchester.gov.uk| publisher=Manchester City Council }}</ref> The supercasino was officially declared dead in February 2008 with a compensation package described by the ''[[Manchester Evening News]]'' as "rehashed plans, spin and empty promises".<ref name="SupercasinoDead">{{Cite news |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1038288_empty_promises_and_spin | title=Empty promises and spin | access-date=9 October 2008 | work=[[Manchester Evening News]]| publisher=M.E.N. media  | date= 26 February 2008 |author=Ottewell, David|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706182634/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1038288_empty_promises_and_spin|archive-date=6 July 2008}}</ref>

Parts of the city centre were affected by rioting by [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]] fans during the [[2008 UEFA Cup final riots]].<ref>{{cite news |agency=Press Association |title=Hooligans jailed after Rangers' Uefa Cup final riot in Manchester |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/sep/03/rangers-hooligans-manchester-riot |work=The Guardian |date=3 September 2010}}</ref>

By 2011, Manchester and [[Salford, Greater Manchester|Salford]] were on a tentative list for [[UNESCO]] World Heritage Site status.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Manchester and Salford (Ancoats, Castlefield and Worsley) |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1316/ |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=21 September 2011}}</ref> The proposal centres on the [[Bridgewater Canal]], regarded as the first true canal which helped create the industrial revolution.

On [[Timeline of 2011 England riots#Tuesday, 9 August|Tuesday 9 August]], the centres of Manchester and Salford were among the many cities and towns affected by the [[2011 England riots]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Clifton |first1=Helen |last2=Allison |first2=Eric |title=Manchester and Salford: a tale of two riots |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/dec/06/reading-the-riots-manchester-salford |work=The Guardian |date=6 December 2011}}</ref>

On 22 May 2017, the city suffered its worst postwar tragedy when an [[Islamic extremist]], [[Libya]]n immigrant Salaman Abedi, carried out [[Manchester Arena bombing|a suicide bombing]] following a concert by the American singer [[Ariana Grande]] at the [[Manchester Arena]]. Abedi killed himself and 22 other people, and injured over 800, with many of the casualties being children, teenagers and young adults.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-44129386|title=Manchester Arena attack: Bomb 'injured more than 800'|work= BBC News|date=16 May 2018}}</ref> It was the deadliest terrorist attack and the first suicide bombing in Britain since the [[7 July 2005 London bombings]]. The attack caused [[Reactions to the Manchester Arena bombing|worldwide condemnation]] and the changing of the [[UK Threat Levels|UK's threat level]] to "critical" for the first time since 2007.<ref>{{cite news|title=Manchester attack: Terror threat reduced from critical to severe|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40069959|work= BBC News|date=27 May 2017}}</ref> Many of the injured and dead were from the Greater Manchester area and neighbouring parts of [[Cheshire]] and [[Lancashire]].

On 2 October 2025 an [[Antisemitism in the United Kingdom|antisemitic]] [[Manchester synagogue attack|terrorist attack]] occurred outside the [[Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation]] in Manchester during [[Yom Kippur]]. Jihad al-Shamie, 35, rammed his car into pedestrians and stabbed worshippers before police shot him dead, killing two people and seriously injuring three.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Noble |first=Phil |last2=McKay |first2=Hannah |date=2025-10-02 |title=Synagogue attack on Yom Kippur kills two in UK's Manchester; suspect shot dead |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-police-respond-incident-outside-synagogue-manchester-2025-10-02/ |access-date=2025-10-05 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref>

==Civic history==
The town of Manchester (as it was then) was granted a charter in 1301 by Thomas de Grelley, Baron of Manchester, who was also the [[Lord of the Manor]] of Manchester, but the borough status it conferred on the town was lost following a court case in 1359.<ref name=gmcro>{{cite web|url=http://www.gmcro.co.uk/Guides/Gazeteer/gazzm2n.htm|title=Greater Manchester Gazetteer|publisher=Greater Manchester County Record Office|at=Places names - M to N|archive-date=18 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718144323/http://www.gmcro.co.uk/Guides/Gazeteer/gazzm2n.htm}}</ref>

Until the 19th century, Manchester was one of the many [[Township (England)|township]]s in the [[Manchester (ancient parish)|ancient parish of Manchester]] which covered a wider area than today's{{when|date=December 2024}} metropolitan borough.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

In 1792 commissioners, usually known as police commissioners, were established for the improvement of the [[Manchester Township (England)|Township of Manchester]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

The [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]] converted many older [[ancient borough|boroughs]] into a new standardised type of borough called [[municipal borough]]s, with elected councils, and included provisions to allow other towns to become municipal boroughs. Manchester took advantage of the new provisions and secured a charter incorporating the town as a municipal borough on 23 October 1838. The borough as created in 1838 covered the six townships of Ardwick, Beswick, Cheetham, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Hulme and Manchester. The municipal borough was slightly smaller than the parliamentary constituency of Manchester which had been created under the [[Reform Act 1832]], which also included [[Bradford, Manchester|Bradford]], [[Harpurhey]] and [[Newton Heath|Newton]].<ref name=gmcro/><ref name=charter/> The first election to the borough council (also called the corporation) was held on 14 December 1838. The council held its first meeting on 15 December 1838 at the Manor Court Room on Brown Street, when [[Thomas Potter (mayor)|Thomas Potter]] was appointed the first [[List of lord mayors of Manchester|Mayor of Manchester]] and [[Joseph Heron]] was appointed the first town clerk, a post he would hold for over forty years.<ref>{{cite news |title=Municipal elections |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ |access-date=3 September 2022 |work=Manchester Times |date=22 December 1838}}</ref>

On 11 December 1840, the Manchester [[Poor Law Union]] was formally declared and took responsibility for the administration and funding of the [[English Poor Laws|Poor Law]] in the area.<ref name=Workhouse>{{cite web|url=http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Manchester/|title=Manchester, Lancashire|work=The Workhouse|access-date=2016-11-27}}</ref>

===City of Manchester===
On 29 March 1853, the borough was elevated to [[City status in the United Kingdom|city]] status.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Whitehall, March 31, 1853 |journal=London Gazette |date=1 April 1853 |issue=21426 |page=950 |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/21426/page/950 |access-date=3 September 2022}}</ref> In 1885 further areas were added to the City of Manchester with [[Bradford, Greater Manchester|Bradford]], [[Harpurhey]], [[Rusholme]] and parts of [[Moss Side]] and [[Withington]] townships.

By the [[Local Government Act 1888]], the City of Manchester became in 1889 a [[county borough]], although it still kept the city title.<ref name=gmcro/>

Other areas, which had been under the control of [[Lancashire County Council]], were added to the city between 1890 and 1933:

* 1890: [[Blackley]], [[Crumpsall]], [[Moston, Greater Manchester|Moston]], [[Openshaw]] and [[Newton Heath|Newton]] (incl. Kirkmanshulme) townships, [[Clayton, Greater Manchester|Clayton]] area (part of [[Droylsden]] township) and part of [[Gorton]] township.
* 1901: A very small part of [[Gorton]] Urban District.
* 1903: Part ([[Heaton Park]] area) of [[Prestwich]] Urban District.
* 1904: [[Burnage]], [[Didsbury]] and [[Chorlton-cum-Hardy]] civil parishes and [[Moss Side]] and [[Withington]] Urban Districts.
* 1909: [[Levenshulme]] Urban District and the remaining area of [[Gorton]] Urban District.
* 1913: Part of [[Heaton Norris]] Urban District.
* 1933: Part of [[Denton, Greater Manchester|Denton]] Urban District.
* In addition to these areas, in 1931 the Cheshire civil parishes of [[Baguley]], [[Northenden]], and [[Northen Etchells]] were also added to the City of Manchester.<ref name=gmcro/>

Under the [[Local Government Act 1972]], the City of Manchester, with the addition of the [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] of [[Ringway, Greater Manchester|Ringway]], became on 1 April 1974 one of the ten [[Metropolitan Borough]]s of the newly created [[Metropolitan county]] of [[Greater Manchester]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

In 1986 [[Greater Manchester County Council]] was abolished by the [[Local Government Act 1985]] and most of its functions were devolved to the ten boroughs, making them effectively [[unitary authority|unitary authorities]]. Some of the County Council's functions were taken over by joint bodies such as a [[passenger transport executive|passenger transport authority]], and joint fire, police, and waste disposal authorities.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

In one of its most noted acts, Manchester City Council carried a resolution in 1980 to create the UK's first [[Nuclear Free Zone]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/a_to_z/service/1554/nuclear_free_local_authorities|title=Nuclear free local authorities|work=manchester.gov.uk|publisher=Manchester City Council|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713135312/http://www.manchester.gov.uk/a_to_z/service/1554/nuclear_free_local_authorities|archive-date=13 July 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2005/08/05/060805_hiroshima_manchester_feature.shtml |title=Manchester - Features - Still working for a nuclear free world |publisher=BBC |access-date=4 October 2013}}</ref> The Peace Gardens were later constructed on a small piece of land in [[Albert Square, Manchester#Lincoln Square|Lincoln Square]].

==Greater Manchester==
Before 1974 the area of Greater Manchester was split between Cheshire and [[Lancashire]] with numerous parts being independent [[county borough]]s. The area was informally known as "SELNEC", for "South East Lancashire North East Cheshire". Also, small parts of the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]] (around [[Saddleworth]]) and [[Derbyshire]] were covered.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

SELNEC had been proposed by the [[Redcliffe-Maud Report]] of 1969 as a "metropolitan area". This had roughly the same northern boundary as today's Greater Manchester but covered much more territory in north-east Cheshire – including [[Macclesfield]] and [[Warrington]]. It also covered [[Glossop]] in Derbyshire.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

In 1969 a SELNEC [[passenger transport executive|Passenger Transport Authority]] was set up, which covered an area smaller than the proposed SELNEC, but different from the eventual Greater Manchester.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

Although the Redcliffe-Maud report was rejected by the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] government after it won the [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 general election]], it was committed to local government reform and accepted the need for a county based on Manchester. Its original proposal was much smaller than the Redcliffe-Maud Report's SELNEC, but further fringe areas such as [[Wilmslow]], Warrington and Glossop were trimmed from the edges and included instead in the shire counties. The [[metropolitan county]] of Greater Manchester was eventually established in 1974.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

Greater Manchester's representative [[county council]] was abolished in 1986, following the [[Local Government Act 1985]]. However, Greater Manchester is still a [[metropolitan county]] and [[ceremonial county]].{{fact|date=December 2024}}

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=28em}}
* [[Beyer, Peacock & Company]]
* [[History of England]]
* [[List of famous Mancunians]]
* [[List of railway stations in Greater Manchester]]
* [[Manchester Metropolitan University]]
* [[Politics in Manchester]]
* [[Stephenson's Rocket|Stephenson's ''Rocket'']]
* [[Timeline of Manchester history]]
* [[Transport in Manchester]]
* [[University of Manchester]]
* [[University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology]]
* [[Victoria University of Manchester]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{Citation |publisher = University of California Press |isbn = 0-520-07922-1 |location = Berkeley, Calif |title = Victorian Cities |author = [[Asa Briggs]] |year = 1993 |chapter=Manchester |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_mWoFbgJsg8C&pg=PA88 }}

* Boxen, Jennifer L. " 'A spirit of benevolence': Manchester and the origins of modern public health, 1790-1834" (PhD Dissertation, Florida Atlantic University; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  2013. 1523407).
*{{Cite book |last=Cooper |first=Glynis |title=Hidden Manchester |publisher=Breedon Books Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=1-85983-401-9 }}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Gregory |editor-first=Richard  |title=Roman Manchester: The University of Manchester's Excavations within the Vicus 2001–5 |publisher=Oxbow Books |year=2007 |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-84217-271-1}}
*{{cite book |first=Stuart |last=Hylton |year=2003 |title=A History of Manchester |publisher=Phillimore and co. Ltd. |location=Chichester |isbn=1-86077-240-4}}
*{{cite book |first=Alan |last=Kidd |year=1996|title=Manchester |publisher=Keele University Press |location=Keele |isbn=1-85331-028-X}}
*{{cite book |last=Mason |first=David J.P. |title=Roman Chester: City of the Eagles |publisher=Tempus Publishing Ltd |year=2001 |location=Stroud |isbn=0-7524-1922-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Miller |first=Ian |author2=Wild, Chris  |title=A & G Murray and the Cotton Mills of Ancoats |publisher=[[Oxford Archaeology North]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-904220-46-9}}
*Mosley, Stephen. ''The chimney of the world: a history of smoke pollution in Victorian and Edwardian Manchester'' (Routledge, 2013)
*{{cite book |first=Mike |last=Nevell |year=1992 |title=Tameside Before 1066 |publisher=Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council |isbn=1-871324-07-6}}
*{{cite book |first=Mike |last=Nevell |year=1997 |title=The Archaeology of Trafford |publisher=Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council with the [[Manchester University|University of Manchester Archaeological Unit]] |isbn=1-870695-25-9}}
*{{cite book |first=Mike |last=Nevell |year=2008 |title=Manchester: The Hidden History |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-0-7524-4704-9}}
*{{cite journal |first=Caron |last=Newman |year=2006 |title=Medieval Period Resource Assessment |journal=Archaeology North West|volume=8 |pages=115–144 |issn=0962-4201}}
*{{cite journal |first=Robert A. |last=Philpott |year=2006 |title=The Romano-British Period Resource Assessment |journal=Archaeology North West |pages=59–90 |issn=0962-4201|volume=8}}
*{{cite book |first=Robert |last=Reid |year=1989 |title=The Peterloo Massacre |publisher=William Heinemann Ltd |isbn=0-434-62901-4}}
*{{cite book |first=David |last=Shotter |date=2004|orig-year= 1993 |title=Romans and Britons in North-West England |publisher=Centre for North-West Regional Studies |location=Lancaster |isbn=1-86220-152-8}}
*{{cite book |editor-first=John |editor-last=Walker |year=1989 |title=Castleshaw: The Archaeology of a Roman Fortlet |publisher=Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit |isbn=0-946126-08-9}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
;Published in the 19th century
* {{Citation |publisher = Vernor, Hood & Sharpe |location = London |title = Beauties of England and Wales |author =[[John Britton (antiquary)|John Britton]] |title-link = Beauties of England and Wales |year = 1807 |volume=9 |chapter=Manchester |hdl = 2027/mdp.39015063565736?urlappend=%3Bseq=278 |chapter-url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015063565736?urlappend=%3Bseq=278 }}
* {{Citation |title=Black's Picturesque Tourist and Road-book of England and Wales |title-link=Black's Guides |edition=3rd |year=1853 |publisher = Adam and Charles Black |location = Edinburgh |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/blackspicturesq00ltdgoog#page/n288/mode/2up |chapter= Manchester }}
* {{Citation |publisher = Methuen & Co. |location = London |title = Municipalities at Work: the Municipal Policy of Six Great Towns and its Influence on their Social Welfare |author = Frederick Dolman |year = 1895 |oclc = 8429493 |chapter=Manchester |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/municipalitiesat00dolm }}
* {{Citation |publisher = Karl Baedeker |location = Leipsic |title = Great Britain |year = 1897 |edition=4th |oclc = 6430424 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/greatbritainhand00karl#page/338/mode/2up |chapter= Manchester }}

;Published in the 20th century
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Manchester |volume= 17 |last= Axon |first= William Edward Armytage |author-link= William Edward Armytage Axon | pages = 544&ndash;549 |short= 1}}
* {{Citation |publisher = Harper & Brothers |location = New York |title = Seven English Cities  |author = [[William Dean Howells]] |year = 1909 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/sevenenglishciti00howeuoft#page/14/mode/2up |chapter= Some Merits of Manchester }}
*{{cite book | author=Kargon, R.H. | title=Science in Victorian Manchester: Enterprise and Expertise |url=https://archive.org/details/scienceinvictori0000karg | url-access=registration | publisher=Manchester University Press | year=1977 | isbn=0-7190-0701-1 }}
*Shercliff, W. H. (1977) ''Manchester: a Short History of its Development''
*{{cite book |first=Dave |last=Haslam |year=1999 |title=Manchester, England; the Story of the Pop Cult City |publisher=Fourth Estate |location=London |isbn=1-84115-146-7}}
*[https://archive.org/stream/mamecestrebeing01harlgoog#page/n56/mode/1up/search/ruhwinton Mamchestre Mamchestre pg 36 chap IV]

==External links==
*[http://www.mancuniensis.info/ Manchester chronology]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110927181453/http://www.tramways.freeserve.co.uk/Tramframe.htm?http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tramways.freeserve.co.uk%2FCards%2FPostc45.htm Image of Deansgate in Manchester, with trams, about 1910]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070125012716/http://www.arthurchappell.clara.net/thecivilwarinmanchester.htm The English Civil War in Manchester]
*[http://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/ManMenu.html Our Manchester]
*[http://www.localhistories.org/manchester.html A brief history of Manchestery]

{{Outline of Manchester}}
{{Manchester}}
{{History of England|bar=yes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manchester, History}}
[[Category:History of Manchester|*]]