Ashton upon Mersey is an area of the

Metropolitan Borough of Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urm ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, England, with a population of 9,693 at the 2011 census. It lies on the south bank of the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

, south of

Manchester city centre Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...

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 Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

in 1895 under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

. 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 ''The Description of Britain'', also known by its Latin name ' ("On the Situation of Britain"), was a literary forgery perpetrated by Charles Bertram on the historians of England. It purported to be a 15th-century manuscript by the English monk R ...

'', a manuscript forged by

Charles Bertram Charles Julius Bertram (1723–1765) was an English expatriate in Denmark who "discovered"—and presumably wrote—'' The Description of Britain'' ( la, De Situ Britanniae), an 18th-century literary forgery purporting to be a mediaeval work on ...

, 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 Lascelles Abercrombie, (9 January 1881 – 27 October 1938) was a British poet and literary critic, one of the "Dymock poets". After the First World War he worked as a professor of English literature in a number of English universities, w ...

, poet and professor of English *

Sir Patrick Abercrombie Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie (; 6 June 1879 – 23 March 1957) was an English regional and town planner. Abercrombie was an academic during most of his career, and prepared one city plan and several regional studies prior to the Second World ...

, architect, noted for the redevelopment of post-war London *

Stanley Houghton William Stanley Houghton (22 February 1881 – 11 December 1913) was an English playwright. He was a prominent member, together with Allan Monkhouse and Harold Brighouse, of a group known as the Manchester School of dramatists. His best kno ...

, playwright and author of '' Hindle Wakes'' *Vincent James, animator and cartoonist, best known work on

Count Duckula ''Count Duckula'' is a British children's animated comedy horror television series created by British studio Cosgrove Hall Films and produced by Thames Television as a spin-off from '' Danger Mouse'', a series in which an early version of the ...

and

Philbert Frog ''Philbert Frog'' is a British children's animated television series made by Fat City Films and produced by Heather Pedley and Philbert Frog Ltd. Created by Vincent James, it was first shown on the BBC on 24 September 1993 and ended on 17 Decemb ...

*Karl Pilkington, author and radio and TV personality *Andy Rourke of the Smiths *Chris Sievey, better known as Frank Sidebottom

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * Areas of Greater Manchester Geography of Trafford Sale, Greater Manchester {{GreaterManchester-geo-stub

History

Notable citizens

See also

References