Bury

:This article is about the town of Bury in North West England. For burial, see burial. For other uses, see Bury (disambiguation).

History

Located in the foothills of the western Pennines in North West England, this market town was first mentioned as a parish in AD 962. Formerly in the county of Lancashire, it merged with the neighbouring boroughs of Radcliffe and Prestwich, together with the urban districts of Whitefield, Tottington and Ramsbottom to become the Metropolitan Borough of Bury in the early 1970s. This borough is part of Greater Manchester. For decades, the town was a sleepy backwater, but following the industrial revolution, the town greatly expanded in importance and there was a steady increase in population.

Related Topics:
Pennines - Lancashire - Radcliffe - Prestwich - Whitefield - Tottington - Ramsbottom

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Development was swift in the late 18th and early 19th century, when the town was linked to the national canal network by the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal. Following this, railways opened, linking the town´s Bolton Street station with Manchester, Radcliffe, Rawtenstall and Accrington, and from the old Knowsley Street Station to the neighbouring mill towns of Bolton, Heywood and Rochdale. The town made the most of its position between the River Irwell and the River Roch, with countless cotton mills opening in the 1800s. Other industries which thrived included paper?making, calico printing and some light engineering. The town expanded out to incorporate the former townships of Elton, Walmersley and Heap and rows of terraced housing encircled the town centre by the turn of the 19th century.

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In the postwar period, there was a major decline in the cotton industry, and in common with many neighbouring towns, Bury´s skyline was soon very different, with countless factory chimneys being pulled down and the associated mills closing their doors forever. The old shopping area around Princess Street and Union Street was demolished in the late 1960s, and a concrete precinct emerged to replace it. This charmless development was mercifully replaced with the more polished Millgate centre in the late 1990s. The town centre is still famous for its traditional Lancashire market, with its nationally famous Black Pudding stalls. Bury Market was also once famous for its tripe...though this has declined in the past few decades.

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The last 30 years has seen the town developing into an important commuter town for neighbouring Manchester. Large scale housing development has taken place around Unsworth, Sunnybank, Brandlesholme and Elton. The old railway to Manchester Victoria closed in the 1980s, replaced by the light rapid transit system Metrolink. The town is also linked to the motorway network with the M66 to the east of the town.

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