Ashton upon Mersey is an area of the
Metropolitan Borough of Trafford,
Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 9,693 at the
2011 census. It lies on the south bank of the
River Mersey, south of
Manchester city centre.
Historically
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
part of
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
, it became an
urban district in 1895 under the
Local Government Act 1894. In 1930, the Ashton upon Mersey urban district was abolished and the area became a part of the urban district of
Sale. It was part of the Borough of Sale, Cheshire, until 1974.
History
A 4th century
hoard
A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...
of 46 Roman coins was discovered and is one of four known hoards dating from that period discovered within the Mersey
basin. In the 18th century, it was thought that Ashton upon Mersey might have been the site of ''Fines Miaimae et Flaviae'', a Roman station next to the River Mersey. However, this was based on the ''
De Situ Britanniae'', a manuscript forged by
Charles Bertram, and there is no evidence to suggest any such station existed. "Ashton" is Old English for "village or farm near the
ash tree
''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergree ...
s", suggesting that Ashton upon Mersey is of Anglo-Saxon origin. The township is first mentioned in 1260.
[Nevell (1997), p. 32.] The first building of St. Martin's Church dated from 1304, but a Chantry on the same site is believed to have existed since the 9th Century.
Ashton-on-Mersey School
Ashton-on-Mersey School is a secondary school in Ashton upon Mersey, Greater Manchester, England.
The school is an academy, part of The Dean Trust which includes Broadoak School and Lord Derby Academy in Huyton. Ashton-on-Mersey School serves ...
is located in the area.
Notable citizens
*
Lascelles Abercrombie, poet and professor of English
*
Sir Patrick Abercrombie, architect, noted for the redevelopment of post-war London
*
Stanley Houghton, playwright and author of ''
Hindle Wakes''
*Vincent James, animator and cartoonist, best known work on
Count Duckula and
Philbert Frog
*
Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington (born 23 September 1972) is an English presenter, comedian, actor, voice-artist, producer and author.
After working with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as producer on their XFM radio show, Pilkington became a co-host of '' ...
, author and radio and TV personality
*
Andy Rourke of
the Smiths
*
Chris Sievey, better known as
Frank Sidebottom
See also
*
Listed buildings in Sale, Greater Manchester
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*
*
*
Areas of Greater Manchester
Geography of Trafford
Sale, Greater Manchester
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