Altrincham
Altrincham is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 census, the built up area had a population of 49,680.
It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, and became part of Greater Manchester in 1974. Altrincham developed as a market town following the right to hold a market being granted in 1290; the market continues today. Further socioeconomic development came with the extension of the Bridgewater Canal to Altrincham in 1765 and the arrival of the railway in 1849, stimulating industrial activity in the town. Outlying villages were absorbed by Altrincham's subsequent growth, along with the grounds of Dunham Massey Hall, formerly the home of the Earl of Stamford, and now a tourist attraction with three Grade I Listed Buildings and a deer park.
Altrincham has good transport links to Manchester, Sale, Stretford and Stockport among other destinations. The town has a strong middle-class presence: there has been a steady increase in Altrincham's middle classes since the 19th century. It is also home to Altrincham F.C. and three ice hockey clubs: Manchester Storm, Altrincham Aces and Trafford Tornados.
History
Local evidence of prehistoric human activity exists in the form of two Neolithic arrowheads found in Altrincham, and, further afield, a concentration of artefacts around Dunham. The remains of a Roman road, part of one of the major Roman roads in North West England connecting the legionary fortresses of Chester and York, run through the Broadheath area. As it shows signs of having been repaired, the road was in use for a considerable period of time. The name Altrincham first appears as "Aldringeham", probably meaning "homestead of Aldhere's people". As recently as the 19th century it was spelt both Altrincham and Altringham.Until the Normans invaded England, the manors surrounding Altrincham were owned by the Saxon thegn Alweard; after the invasion they became the property of Hamon de Massey, though Altrincham is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The earliest documented reference to the town is from 1290, when it was granted its charter as a 'free borough' by Baron Hamon de Massey V. The charter, which still exists and is held by Trafford Council, allowed a weekly market to be held, and it is possible that de Massey established the town to generate income through taxes on trade and tolls. Altrincham was probably chosen as the site of the planned town rather than Dunham – which would have been protected by Dunham Castle – because its good access to roads was important for trade.
Altrincham Fair became St James's Fair or Samjam in 1319 and continued until 1895. Fair days had their own court of Pye Powder, presided over by the mayor and held to settle disputes arising from the day's dealings. By 1348 the town had 120 burgage plots – ownership of land used as a measure of status and importance in an area – putting it on a par with the Cheshire town of Macclesfield and above Stockport and Knutsford. The earliest known residence in Altrincham was "the Knoll", on Stamford Street near the centre of the medieval town. A 1983 excavation on the demolished building, made by South Trafford Archaeological Group, discovered evidence that the house dated from the 13th or 14th century, and that it may have contained a drying kiln or malting floor. During the English Civil War, men from Altrincham fought for the Parliamentarian Sir George Booth. During the war, armies camped on nearby Bowdon Downs on several occasions.
In 1754, a stretch of road south of Altrincham, along the Manchester to Chester route, was turnpiked. Turnpikes were toll roads which taxed passengers for the maintenance of the road. Further sections were turnpiked in 1765 from Timperley to Sale, and 1821 from Altrincham to Stockport. The maintenance of roads passed to local authorities in 1888, although by then most turnpike trusts had already declined. The connection of the Bridgewater Canal to Altrincham in 1765 stimulated the development of market gardening, and for many years Altrincham was noted for its vegetables. By 1767, warehouses had been built alongside the canal at Broadheath, the first step in the development of Broadheath as an industrial area and the beginning of Altrincham's industrialisation. The canal was connected in 1776 to the River Mersey, providing the town not only with a water route to Manchester, but also to the Irish Sea.
Moves to connect the town to the UK's railway network gained pace in 1845, when the Act of Parliament for the construction of the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway was passed. The first train left Altrincham early on 20 July 1849, carrying 65 passengers. The MSJAR had two stations in the town: Altrincham, on Stockport Road, and Bowdon – though not actually in Bowdon – on Lloyd Street/Railway Street. Both were replaced in 1881 by Altrincham & Bowdon railway station on Stamford New Road. The London and North Western Railway's station at Broadheath, on the town's northern edge, was opened in 1854, while a further connection was created on 12 May 1862 by the Cheshire Midland Railway, who opened their line from Altrincham to Knutsford.
With its new railway links, Altrincham and the surrounding areas became desirable places for the middle classes and commuters to live. Professionals and industrialists moved to the town, commuting into Manchester. While some travelled daily by coach, the less well–to–do commuted by express or "flyer" barges from Broadheath. Between 1851 and 1881 the population increased from 4,488 to 11,250. Broadheath's industrial area, covering about, was founded in 1885 by Harry Grey, 8th Earl of Stamford, to attract businesses. By 1900 Broadheath had its own docks, warehouses and electricity generating station. The site's proximity to rail, canal and road links proved attractive to companies making machine tools, cameras and grinding machines. The presence of companies like Tilghmans Sand Blast, and the Linotype and Machinery Company, established Broadheath as an industrial area of national standing. By 1914, 14 companies operated in Broadheath, employing thousands of workers. One of those was the Budenberg Gauge Company. Linotype also created 172 workers' homes near its factory, helping cater for the population boom created by Broadheath's industrialisation. Between 1891 and 1901 the population of Altrincham increased by 35 per cent, from 12,440 to 16,831.
From the turn of the 20th century to the start of the Second World War, there were few changes in Altrincham. Although the town was witness to some of the Luftwaffe's raids on the Manchester area in the latter war, it emerged from the war relatively unscathed having lost only 23 civilian residents through enemy action, and as with the rest of Britain, experienced an economic boom. This manifested itself in the construction of new housing and the 1960s rebuilding of the town centre. However, during the 1970s employment at Broadheath declined by nearly 40 per cent.
Governance
There is one main tier of local government covering Altrincham, at metropolitan borough level: Trafford Council. The council is a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which is led by the directly-elected Mayor of Greater Manchester.Administrative history
Altrincham was historically a township in the ancient parish of Bowdon, which formed part of the Bucklow Hundred of Cheshire.From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under the poor laws, in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including Bowdon, the civil functions were exercised by each township separately rather than the parish as a whole. In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so Altrincham became a civil parish. In ecclesiastical terms, Altrincham became a chapelry in 1799 after St George's Church was built as a chapel of ease to St Mary's, Bowdon. Altrincham subsequently became its own ecclesiastical parish separate from Bowdon in 1860.
Altrincham was granted a charter in June 1290 by the Lord of the Manor, Hamon de MasseyV. The charter allowed for the creation of a merchants' guild, run by the town's burgesses, to tax people passing through the borough and to regulate the market. Burgesses were free men who lived in the town. The borough was ruled by a court leet and elected a mayor from at least 1452. Amongst the court's responsibilities were keeping the public peace and regulating the markets and fairs. Although described as a 'free borough', a government survey of boroughs in 1835 found that in practice the town was a seigneurial borough, remaining subservient to the lord of the manor, with the borough authorities having very few functions. The borough was therefore left unreformed when the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 reformed most ancient boroughs across the country into municipal boroughs.
As such, the old borough authorities continued to exist with the few functions they had, but were ineligible to take on any new powers. A new town hall was built on Church Street in 1849, commissioned by George Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, as lord of the manor, for holding the court leet and other public meetings. It replaced an earlier town hall which had stood in the middle of Old Market Place. In order to provide more modern local government functions, the Altrincham township was made a local board district in 1851, administered by an elected local board with powers including the provision of sewers and water supply, overseeing public health, and other functions. From 1851 to 1886, the old borough and its officers existed alongside the local board. In 1886, the old borough was finally abolished. In recognition of the fact that Altrincham's mayor had been a purely honorary position for many years, the court leet was allowed to continue to appoint an honorary mayor, but with no powers or jurisdiction.
Local board districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894. A new Altrincham Town Hall on Market Street was commissioned for the urban district council. It was designed by Charles Albert Hindle and was completed in November 1901. Altrincham Urban District was expanded in 1920 when parts of Carrington and Dunham Massey civil parishes were added. A further expansion took place in 1936 when Timperley civil parish was abolished and most of its area incorporated into Altrincham Urban District. At the same time, there was a minor exchange of areas with Hale Urban District; a minor addition from Bowdon Urban District; and a further substantial portion of Dunham Massey civil parish was added. In 1937 the Altrincham Urban District was incorporated to become a municipal borough. The new borough was granted a coat of arms which featured heraldic references to the Masseys and Earls of Stamford.
The Municipal Borough of Altrincham was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The area became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester.
For parliamentary representation, an Altrincham constituency was created in 1885. It was replaced by the Altrincham and Sale constituency in 1945. In 1997, this in turn became part of the newly created constituency of Altrincham and Sale West. Since 2024, Altrincham and Sale West has been represented in the House of Commons by the Labour MP, Connor Rand.