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The Greater Manchester Portal

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan. Greater Manchester was created on 1 April 1974, as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, and designated a functional city region on 1 April 2011. Greater Manchester is formed of parts of the historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Greater Manchester spans 493 square miles (1,277 km²), which roughly covers the territory of the Greater Manchester Built-up Area, the second most populous urban area in the UK. Though geographically landlocked, it is connected to the sea by the Manchester Ship Canal which is still open to shipping in Salford and Trafford. Greater Manchester borders the ceremonial counties of Cheshire (to the south-west and south), Derbyshire (to the south-east), West Yorkshire (to the north-east), Lancashire (to the north) and Merseyside (to the west). There is a mix of high-density urban areas, suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Greater Manchester, but land use is mostly urban—the product of concentric urbanisation and industrialisation which occurred mostly during the 19th century when the region flourished as the global centre of the cotton industry. It has a focused central business district, formed by Manchester city centre and the adjoining parts of Salford and Trafford, but Greater Manchester is also a polycentric county with ten metropolitan districts, each of which has at least one major town centre and outlying suburbs.

Greater Manchester is governed by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which consists of political leaders from each of the ten metropolitan borough councils, plus a directly elected mayor, with responsibility for economic development, regeneration and transport. Andy Burnham is the inaugural Mayor of Greater Manchester, elected in 2017. For the 12 years following 1974, the county had a two-tier system of local government; district councils shared power with the Greater Manchester County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 and so its districts (the metropolitan boroughs) effectively became unitary authority areas. However, the metropolitan county continued to exist in law and as a geographic frame of reference, and as a ceremonial county, with a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff. Several county-wide services were co-ordinated through the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities between 1985 and 2011. (Full article...)

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Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted city status in 1853. It has a population of , and lies at the centre of the Greater Manchester Urban Area, which has a population of 2,240,230, the United Kingdom's third largest conurbation. Manchester has the second largest urban zone in the UK and the fourteenth most populous in Europe. l Forming part of the English Core Cities Group, often described as the second city of the UK, and the "Capital of the North", Manchester today is a centre of the arts, the media, higher education and commerce. In a poll of British business leaders published in 2006, Manchester was regarded as the best place in the UK to locate a business. A report commissioned by Manchester Partnership, published in 2007, showed Manchester to be the "fastest-growing city" economically.

Manchester was the world's first industrialised city and played a central role during the Industrial Revolution. Manchester City Centre is now on a tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, mainly due to the network of canals and mills constructed during its 19th-century development.

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General images

The following are images from various Greater Manchester-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Trafford Centre in Trafford is one of the largest shopping centres in the United Kingdom. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 2Stockport Bus Station in 1988. Greater Manchester Transport (later GM Buses) operated bus services throughout the county, from 1974 to 1993. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 3A bus stop in Denton bearing the logo of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). TfGM is a functional executive body of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and has responsibilities for public transport in Greater Manchester. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 4The Peterloo Massacre was a major event in the history of the city (from History of Manchester)
Image 5Map of the ancient parish of Manchester (from History of Manchester)
Image 6The Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre (better known as the G-Mex centre and now rebranded as Manchester Central) was the converted former Manchester Central railway station in Manchester city centre used for hosting the county's cultural events. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 7Manchester from Kersal Moor, by William Wyld in 1852. Manchester acquired the nickname Cottonopolis during the early 19th century owing to its many textile factories. (from History of Manchester)
Image 8The population of Greater Manchester increased from around 328 thousand in 1801, to 2.68M in 2011, peaking in 1971 at 2.7M. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 9The coat of arms of Greater Manchester County Council (from Greater Manchester)
Image 10The main entrance of Old Trafford Cricket Ground (from Greater Manchester)
Image 11The Greater Manchester Urban Area, as defined in 2001, highlighted in red against the boundaries of the Metropolitan County (from Greater Manchester)
Image 12Sale Town Hall (from Greater Manchester Built-up Area)
Image 13Map of the Salford Hundred, with Manchester in the south-east (from History of Manchester)
Image 14Looking west along Nico Ditch, near Levenshulme (from History of Manchester)
Image 15Much of Greater Manchester's housing stock consists of terraced houses constructed as low-cost dwellings for the populations of local factory towns. This street in Salford was renovated by Urban Splash. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 16Manchester Town Hall (from History of Manchester)
Image 17Skyline of Manchester. (from Greater Manchester Built-up Area)
Image 18Greater Manchester lies at the conjunction of the ancient county boundaries of Cheshire, Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 19The Greater Manchester Urban Area in 2001 (from Greater Manchester Built-up Area)
Image 20A reconstructed gateway of Mamucium fort (from History of Manchester)
Image 21An aerial photograph of Greater Manchester, looking west (from Greater Manchester)
Image 22Former weavers' cottages in Wardle. The development of Greater Manchester is attributed to a shared tradition of domestic cloth production, and textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 23Eccles cake is a small round flaky pastry cake filled with currants, sugar and spice. It is native to Eccles. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 24GMC County Hall (now known as Westminster House) in Manchester housed the Greater Manchester County Council until its abolition in 1986. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 25First Greater Manchester operate bus services in northern-Greater Manchester. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 26Old Wellington Inn Shambles Square was built in 1552. (from History of Manchester)
Image 27The Imperial War Museum North in Trafford Park was designed by Daniel Libeskind, and is one of the Imperial War Museum's five branches. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 28Runway 2 of Manchester Airport lies on top of Oversley Farm, a Neolithic farming community. (from History of Manchester)
Image 29The City of Manchester Stadium, the main venue of the 2002 Commonwealth Games and home to Manchester City F.C. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 30Beetham Tower, Manchester's second tallest building, was completed in 2006 (from History of Manchester)
Image 31Liverpool Road railway station the terminus of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (from History of Manchester)
Image 32A Metrolink tram in Radcliffe, part of Greater Manchester's light rail network. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 33Chetham's School of Music (from History of Manchester)
Image 34Bolton Town Hall (from Greater Manchester Built-up Area)
Image 35A 19th-century slum dwelling. The overhang contained privies, whose waste fell straight into the River Medlock below. (from History of Manchester)
Image 36The Lowry is a combined theatre and exhibition centre at Salford Quays, and is Greater Manchester's most visited tourist attraction. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 37Old Trafford, home to Manchester United F.C. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 38Bolton Wanderers F.C. are based at the University of Bolton Stadium, in Horwich (from Greater Manchester)
Image 39Albert Square (from History of Manchester)
Image 40Cotton mills in Ancoats about 1820. (from History of Manchester)
Image 41Andy Burnham has served as the inaugural Mayor of Greater Manchester since May 2017. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 42Population density map (from Greater Manchester)
Image 43Royal Exchange, Cross Street (from History of Manchester)
Image 44Common cottongrass (Eriophorum angustifolium), seen here at Light Hazzles Reservoir near Littleborough, was voted the county flower of Greater Manchester in 2002 (from Greater Manchester)
Image 45Manchester Central Library, St Peter's Square (from History of Manchester)
Image 46Map of Manchester from Roman Manchester (1900) (from History of Manchester)
Image 47The M60 motorway, seen here at Failsworth, is an orbital motorway in Greater Manchester. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 48Oldham, painted during the Industrial Revolution by J. H. Carse. Many towns in Greater Manchester were built around the mills. (from Greater Manchester)
Image 49Skyline of Salford. (from Greater Manchester Built-up Area)
Image 50Manchester's Exchange Square undergoing extensive regeneration. (from History of Manchester)
Image 51A view over the borough of Tameside, towards Manchester city centre circa 2008. (from Greater Manchester)

Boroughs

Greater Manchester is split into 10 boroughs:

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Hannah Beswick (1688 – February 1758), of Birchin Bower, Hollinwood, England, was a woman with a pathological fear of premature burial. Following her death in 1758 her body was embalmed and kept above ground, to be periodically checked for signs of life. Beswick's mummified body was eventually bequeathed to the Museum of the Manchester Natural History Society, where she was put on display and acquired the soubriquet of the Manchester Mummy, or the Mummy of Birchin Bower.

The museum was subsequently transferred to Manchester University, when it was decided, with the permission of the Bishop of Manchester, that Beswick should finally be buried. Her burial took place at Harpurhey cemetery on 22 July 1868; her grave is unmarked.

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Did you know?

...that the Albert Medal was one of the awards given to Mark Addy for rescuing more than 50 people from the highly polluted River Irwell, Manchester, in the 19th Century?
...that the Port of Runcorn in Cheshire, England, was an independent customs port for two separate periods before becoming part of the Port of Manchester in 1894?
...that a word square found in Mamucium (pictured), a Roman fort in Manchester, may be one of the earliest examples of Christianity in Britain?
...that the women's scratch race at the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held in Manchester and was won by Ellen van Dijk?

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v t e Ceremonial county of Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester Portal
Statutory City Region	Greater Manchester Combined Authority Greater Manchester Statutory City Region Mayor of Greater Manchester
Metropolitan districts	City of Manchester City of Salford Metropolitan Borough of Bolton Metropolitan Borough of Bury Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough of Stockport Metropolitan Borough of Tameside Metropolitan Borough of Trafford Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
Major settlements	Altrincham Ashton-in-Makerfield Ashton-under-Lyne Astley Atherton Audenshaw Blackrod Bolton Bramhall Bredbury Bury Chadderton Cheadle Cheadle Hulme Chorlton-cum-Hardy Didsbury Denton Droylsden Dukinfield Eccles Failsworth Farnworth Golborne Hale Hazel Grove Heywood Hindley Horwich Hyde Ince-in-Makerfield Irlam Kearsley Leigh Littleborough Little Lever Manchester Marple Middleton Milnrow Mossley Oldham Orrell Partington Pendlebury Prestwich Radcliffe Ramsbottom Rochdale Romiley Royton Sale Salford Shaw Stalybridge Standish Stockport Stretford Swinton Tottington Tyldesley Urmston Walkden Westhoughton Whitefield Wigan Worsley Wythenshawe See also: List of civil parishes in Greater Manchester
Rivers	Beal Bollin Croal Douglas Etherow Goyt Irk Irwell Medlock Mersey Roch Spodden Tame Tib Tonge
Canals	Bridgewater Canal Fletcher's Canal Hulme Locks Branch Canal Islington Branch Canal Manchester and Salford Junction Canal Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal Manchester Ship Canal Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal Manchester and Salford Junction Canal Mersey and Irwell Navigation Peak Forest Canal Stockport Branch Canal
Topics	Parliamentary constituencies and Members of Parliament Crime Cycling Demography People Public art Schools Geography Greater Manchester County Council (1974-1986) Places Population of major settlements Castles Churches Flag Football clubs Grade I listed buildings Grade II* listed buildings Mills Scheduled monuments SSSIs History Lord Lieutenant High Sheriff Museums Places of interest Transport Transport for Greater Manchester Manchester Airport Manchester Metrolink