Visit Eccles, Greater Manchester Places

Welcome to Visit Eccles, Greater Manchester Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Eccles, Greater Manchester

  

Eccles, Greater Manchester Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Eccles, Greater Manchester

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Eccles, Greater Manchester history

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Toponymy

“Eccles” place-name is derived from the Romano-British Ecles or Eglys, itself derived from Ancient Greek Ecclesia. A popular theory is that the word denoted the site of a building recognised by the Anglo-Saxons as a church and feature of the landscape.

Early history

Pre-historic finds in the parish of Eccles include dugout boats found at Barton upon Irwell, an arrowhead, a spear and axes at Winton. Human habitation in the area may extend as far back as 6000 BC, with two separate periods of settlement on Chat Moss. The village may have been founded by refugees from Manchester (Mamucium) during the Diocletianic Persecution in the early 4th century.

Textiles and the Industrial Revolution

The Bridgewater Foundry was built in 1836 and opened in 1906. It was designed by Potts, Son and Hennings of Manchester, Bolton and Oldham. In 1835, 1,124 people were employed in cotton mills, and two mills used power looms. The area became renowned for its production of silk, with two mills at Eccles and one at Patricroft.

Post-industrial history

Bridgewater Foundry ceased operations in 1940, taken over by the Ministry of Supply and converted into a Royal Ordnance Factory. The factory closed in the late 1980s, and the land is now occupied by a housing estate. Eccles is included in the City of Salford’s Unitary Development Plan 2004–2016.

Eccles, Greater Manchester culture & places

Eccles is perhaps best known for the Eccles cake. Dating from the 18th century they were first sold from a shop owned by James Birch in 1793. Traditionally made in the town from a recipe of flaky pastry, butter, nutmeg, candied peel, sugar and currants.

Eccles, Greater Manchester landmarks

The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is the only Grade I listed building in Eccles. Eccles Library was funded by Andrew Carnegie and designed by Edward Potts. The former Lyceum Theatre is a Grade II listed building. Salford City Council is bidding for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to be included in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.

Eccles, Greater Manchester geography / climate

Eccles is 3.7 miles (6 km) west of Manchester on the north bank of the Manchester Ship Canal. The underlying geology is made up of New Red Sandstone and pebble beds. The coal measures of the Lancashire coalfield extend south to Monton and Winton.

You can visit Eccles, Greater Manchester places with Walkfo Eccles, Greater Manchester to hear history at Eccles, Greater Manchester’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Eccles, Greater Manchester has 114 places to visit in our interactive Eccles, Greater Manchester map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Eccles, Greater Manchester, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Eccles, Greater Manchester places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Eccles, Greater Manchester & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 114 audio facts unique to Eccles, Greater Manchester places in an interactive Eccles, Greater Manchester map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Eccles, Greater Manchester Places Map
114 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Eccles, Greater Manchester historic spots	Eccles, Greater Manchester tourist destinations	Eccles, Greater Manchester plaques	Eccles, Greater Manchester geographic features
Walkfo Eccles, Greater Manchester tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Eccles, Greater Manchester

  

Best Eccles, Greater Manchester places to visit

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Eccles, Greater Manchester has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Eccles, Greater Manchester’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Eccles, Greater Manchester’s information audio spots:

Chill Factore Chill Factor is the UK’s longest indoor ski slope; a £31M real snow centre . Designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects, the centre opened in November 2007 at which time it was the widest in the world, at 180 metres (590 ft) long .

Real Radio XS Real Radio XS was a radio station brand operated by Real and Smooth Ltd (formerly GMG Radio) based in Salford, Greater Manchester, broadcasting a variety of peak-time news, rock music and talk output. The Manchester-based version of the service was broadcast to Greater Manchester on FM, and to a number of areas on DAB.

St Thomas’ Church, Pendleton St Thomas’ Church is on Broad Street, Pendleton, Salford, Greater Manchester. It was a Commissioners’ church, having received a grant towards its construction from the Church Building Commission. It is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.

Greater Manchester Built-up Area The Greater Manchester Built-up Area has a population of 2,553,379 according to the United Kingdom Census 2011. It is the second most populous conurbation in the UK after the Greater London built-up area. The area is not conterminous with Greater Manchester, for it excludes settlements such as Wigan and Marple from Greater Manchester.

Irlams o’ th’ Height Irlams o’ th’ Height is a suburb of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is located in the centre of the city’s population.

Langworthy (ward) Langworthy (ward) is an electoral ward of Salford, England. It is represented in Westminster by Rebecca Long-Bailey MP Rebecca Long Bailey. A profile of the ward recorded a population of 12,980 in 2014.

Claremont (ward) Claremont (ward) is an electoral ward of Salford, England. It is represented in Westminster by Rebecca Long-Bailey MP Rebecca Long Bailey. A profile of the ward conducted in 2014 recorded a population of 10,166.

Cross Lane drill hall, Salford Cross Lane drill hall is a former military installation in Salford, England. The Cross Lane Drill Hall is a drill hall in the city’s Cross Lane area.

Municipal Borough of Swinton and Pendlebury Swinton and Pendlebury was a local government district of Lancashire. It was created in 1894 as an urban district and enlarged in 1934 as a municipal borough. The urban district was governed from Pendleburgh Town Hall on Bolton Road at the junction with Carrington Street.

St Luke’s Church, Pendleton St Luke’s Church is an Anglican church that stands on raised ground in Pendleton, Salford. It was designated as a Grade II* listed building in 1980. The church is in the parish of Weaste, Seedley and Langworthy.

Visit Eccles, Greater Manchester plaques