regions of England
The regions, formerly known as the government office regions, are the highest tier of sub-national division in England, established in 1994. Between 1994 and 2011, nine regions had officially devolved functions within government. While they no ...
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 ...
,
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
,
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 ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
and
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
. The North West had a population of 7,052,000 in 2011. It is the third-most-populated region in the United Kingdom, after the
South East
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
and
Greater London
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality
*Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
*Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
*Greater (song), "Greate ...
. The largest settlements are
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
.
Subdivisions
The official
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
consists of the following subdivisions:
After abolition of the Greater Manchester and Merseyside County Councils in 1986, power was transferred to the metropolitan boroughs, making them equivalent to unitary authorities. In April 2011, Greater Manchester gained a top-tier administrative body in the form of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which means the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs are once again second-tier authorities.
Geography
North West England is bounded to the east by the
Pennines
The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...
and to the west by the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
. The region extends from the
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...
in the north to the
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
region in the south. To its southwest is
North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
and the Cheshire Plain. The highest point in North West England (and the highest peak in England) is Scafell Pike, Cumbria, at a height of .
Windermere
Windermere (sometimes tautology (language), tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere, Cumbria (town), Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in leng ...
is the largest natural lake in England, while Broad Crag Tarn on Broad Crag is England's highest lake.
Wast Water
Wast Water or Wastwater () is a lake located in Wasdale, a valley in the western part of the Lake District National Park, England. The lake is almost long and more than wide. It is a glacial lake, formed in a glacially 'over-deepened' valley. ...
is England's deepest lake, being 74 metres deep.
A mix of rural and urban landscape, two large
conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...
s, centred on
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, occupy much of the south of the region. The north of the region, comprising Cumbria and northern Lancashire, is largely rural, as is the far south which encompasses parts of the Cheshire Plain and Peak District.
The region includes parts of three
National park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
s (all of the
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
, and small parts of the
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...
and the
Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954.
The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills ri ...
Arnside and Silverdale
Arnside and Silverdale is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England, on the border between Lancashire and Cumbria, adjoining Morecambe Bay. One of the smallest AONBs, it covers 29 square miles (75 km2) between the Kent Estuary, the Ri ...
Forest of Bowland
The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however ro ...
).
Weather
The North West is generally regarded as having the most average weather in the UK. Temperatures are generally close to the national average. Cumbria usually experiences the most severe weather, with high precipitation in the mountainous regions of the Lake District and Pennines. In winter, the most severe weather occurs in the more exposed and elevated areas of the North West, once again mainly the
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
and Pennine areas.
Parts of the North West experienced a White Christmas in 2009, and again in 2010, where sleet and snow fell on December 25.
The
A635
The A635 is a main road that runs between Manchester and Doncaster running east–west through Stalybridge, Saddleworth Moor, Holmfirth, Barnsley and the Dearne Valley.
The section forming the eastern part of the Mancunian Way is a motorway and ...
was closed for almost a month in January 2010 due to high amounts of snowfall.
Demographics
Population, density, and settlements
''Source:
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible for th ...
Mid Year Population Estimates in 2008''
North West England's population accounts for just over 13% of England's overall population. 37.86% of the North West's population resides in Greater Manchester, 21.39% in Lancashire, 20.30% in Merseyside, 14.76% in Cheshire and 7.41% live in the largest county by area, Cumbria.
Ethnicity
According to 2009
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible for th ...
estimates, 91.6% (6,323,300) of people in the region describe themselves as 'White': 88.4% (6,101,100)
White British
White British is an ethnicity classification used for the native white population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population wa ...
White Other
The term Other White is a classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom and has been used in documents such as the 2011 UK Census to describe people who self-identify as white (chiefly European) persons who are not of the English, Welsh, ...
. During the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
hundreds of thousands of
Welsh people
The Welsh ( cy, Cymry) are an ethnic group native to Wales. "Welsh people" applies to those who were born in Wales ( cy, Cymru) and to those who have Welsh ancestry, perceiving themselves or being perceived as sharing a cultural heritage and sh ...
migrated to the North West of England to work in the coal mines. Parts with notably high populations with Welsh ancestry as a result of this include
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
Widnes
Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464.
Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...
,
Halewood
Halewood is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It lies near the city of Liverpool's southeastern boundary, bordered by the suburbs of Netherley, Hunt's Cross and Woolton.
Historically a part of Lancashire, ...
,
Wallasey
Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
.
The Mixed Race population makes up 1.3% (93,800) of the region's population. There are 323,800 South Asians, making up 4.7% of the population, and 1.1%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
(80,600). 0.6% of the population (39,900) are
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
and 0.5% (36,500) of people belong to another ethnic group.
North West England is a very diverse region, with Manchester and Liverpool amongst the most diverse cities in Europe. 19.4% of
Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen is a borough and unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of the industrial town of Blackburn and the market town of Darwen including other villages around the two towns.
Formation
It was fou ...
's population are Muslim, the third-highest among all local authorities in the United Kingdom and the highest outside London. Areas such as Moss Side in Greater Manchester are home to a 30%+
Black British
Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76–7 ...
population. In contrast, the town of St. Helens in Merseyside, unusually for a city area, has a very low percentage of ethnic minorities with 98% identifying as White British. The City of Liverpool, over 800 years old, is one of the few places in Britain where ethnic minority populations can be traced back over dozens of generations: being the closest major city in England to Ireland, it is home to a significant ethnic Irish population, with the city being home to one of the first ever
Afro-Caribbean
Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...
communities in the UK, as well as the oldest Chinatown in Europe.
; Summarised
* There are around 400,000 people living in the North West of any Asian ethnicity
* Around 125,000 people from the North West are of full or partial Sub-African and/or Caribbean descent
* The single largest non-white ethnic group in the North West are Pakistanis, numbering at least 144,400
Place of birth
The list below is not how many people belong to each ethnic group (e.g. there are over 25,000 ethnic
Italians
, flag =
, flag_caption = The national flag of Italy
, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, region2 ...
in Manchester alone, whilst only 6,000 Italian-born people live in the North West). The fifteen most common countries of birth in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
for North West citizens were as follows (2008 estimates, where available, in brackets)
*England – 6,169,753
*Scotland – 109,163
*Wales – 73,850
*Ireland – 56,887 (51,000 in 2008)
*Pakistan – 46,529 (58,000 in 2008)
*Poland – (37,000 in 2008)
*Northern Ireland – 34,879
*India – 34,600 (48,000 in 2008)
*Germany – 19,931 (25,000 in 2008)
*China and Hong Kong – 15,491
*Bangladesh – 13,746
*South Africa – 7,740
*United States – 7,037
*Jamaica – 6,661
*Italy – 6,325
*Australia – 5,880
*Eritrea & Ethiopia – 4,000
Religion
The table below is based on the
2011 UK Census
A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...
.
One in five of the population in the North West is
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, a result of large-scale Irish emigration in the nineteenth century as well as the high number of English recusants in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
.
Social deprivation
Of the nine regions of the England, the North West has the fourth-highest GVA per capita—the highest outside southern England. Despite this the region has above average multiple deprivation with wealth heavily concentrated on very affluent areas like rural Cheshire, rural Lancashire, and south Cumbria. As measured by the
Indices of deprivation 2007 The Indices of deprivation 2007 (ID 2007) is a deprivation index at the small area level, created by the British Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and released on 12 June 2007. It follows the Indices of deprivation 2004 (ID200 ...
, the region has many more Lower Layer Super Output Areas in the 20% most deprived districts than the 20% least deprived council districts. Only
North East England
North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...
shows more indicators of deprivation than the North West, but the number of affluent areas in the North West is very similar to
Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
.
The most deprived local authority areas in the region (based on specific wards within those borough areas) are, in descending order—Liverpool, Manchester, Knowsley, Blackpool, Salford, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Rochdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Halton, Hyndburn, Oldham, Pendle, St Helens, Preston, Bolton, Tameside, Wirral, Wigan, Copeland, Sefton, and Rossendale.
In 2007 when Cheshire still had district councils, the least deprived council districts in the region by council district, in descending order, were—Congleton, Ribble Valley, Macclesfield, and South Lakeland. These areas have Conservative MPs, except South Lakeland has a Lib Dem and Labour MPs. At county level, before it was split into two, Cheshire was the least deprived, followed by Trafford, and by Warrington and Stockport.
In March 2011, the overall unemployment claimant count was 4.2% for the region. Inside the region the highest was Liverpool with 6.8%, followed by Knowsley on 6.3%, Halton with 5.5% and Rochdale with 5.1%. The lowest claimant count is in Eden (Cumbria) and
Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The total population of the non-metropolitan district at the 2011 Census was 57,132. Its council is based in Clitheroe. ...
(Lancashire) each with 1.3%, followed by
South Lakeland
South Lakeland is a local government district in Cumbria, England. The population of the non-metropolitan district was 102,301 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 103,658 at the 2011 Census. Its council is based in Kendal. It includes ...
with 1.4%.
Elections
In the 2019 general election, the Conservatives gained ten seats, from the Labour Party, with no other seats changing hands. Labour held 42 of their 52 seats, albeit many with slimmed down majorities. They remain the dominant party in the region by seat count, with the Conservatives total now standing at 27. The Conservatives made two gains in Cheshire, three gains in Lancashire, five gains in Greater Manchester, notably including
Andy Burnham
Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. He served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2007 to 2008, Culture Secretary from 2008 ...
's former seat of Leigh.
In the
2017 general election
This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*5 November ...
, the area was dominated by the Labour Party. Fifty-five percent of the region's electorate voted Labour, 36.3% Conservative, 5.4% Liberal Democrat, 1.9% UKIP and 1.1% Greens; however, by number of parliamentary seats, Labour have 54, the Conservatives have 20, and the Liberal Democrats have 1. The Lib Dems' North West seat is in south Cumbria; Labour dominates Greater Manchester, and the Conservatives' vote is concentrated in affluent suburban areas such as Cheadle,
Hazel Grove
Hazel Grove is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, close to the Peak District national park.
Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, the area was kno ...
and Altrincham and Sale West. Labour seats also predominate in Merseyside. In Cheshire the 2015 result was reversed, with Labour winning seven seats and the Conservatives four, whilst Lancashire is competitive between Labour and Conservative (8 seats each); the Labour seats in Lancashire are concentrated in the south of the county along the M65. For the region, the Labour gained 3 seats; there was a 5.2% swing from Conservative to Labour.
In the 2015 general election,
Liverpool Walton
Liverpool, Walton is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Dan Carden of the Labour Party. Carden won the highest percentage share of the vote in June 2017 of 650 constituencies, 85.7%. It is th ...
was the safest seat in the UK, with a 72% majority, and in 2017 this was repeated with a 77% majority for Dan Carden (Labour), when an astonishing 85.7% of the electorate voted for him (the Conservatives came second with 8.6%). In the by-election of 2012, Manchester Central has the record for the lowest turnout in the UK—18%. Gwyneth Dunwoody, for Crewe and Nantwich, was the longest serving female MP until her death in 2008.
In the final
European Elections
Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.
Until ...
in the UK in 2019, 31.23% voted for the Brexit Party, with Labour polling 21.91%, the Liberal Democrats 17.15% and the Green Party 12.48%. The Conservatives came fifth in the region with 7.55% of votes cast.
Language and dialect
The earliest known language spoken in the North West was a dialect of the Brythonic language spoken across much of Britain from at least the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
up to the arrival of English in the first millennium AD. Fragments of this early language are seen in the inscriptions and place names of the Roman era. In some parts of the region, the Brythonic dialect developed into the medieval language known today as
Cumbric
Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...
, which continued to be spoken perhaps as late as the 12th century in the north of Cumbria. This early Celtic heritage remains today in place names such as
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and Eden.
English may have been spoken in the North West from around the 7th century AD, when the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
first appears to have made inroads west of the Pennines. The language at this time would have been the Northumbrian dialect of
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
. The high percentage of English place names in the region as a whole suggests English became almost ubiquitous over the coming centuries, particularly in the area south of the Lake District. Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster, Blackburn and Preston are among the region's many English place names. In the 9th to the 11th centuries, Danes from the east and Norsemen from Ireland and Scotland began settling in the area. The North West is really the only area of England where Norse settlement was significant and their influence remains in the place names and dialect of the region. Elements like ''fell'', ''thwaite'' and ''tarn'', which are particularly common in Cumbria, are all Norse. The numerous Kirkbys and place names with "holm" and "dale" show the
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n influence throughout the North West.
Through the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
the dialects of the North West would have been considerably different from those spoken in the Midlands and south. It was only with the spread of literacy (particularly with the publication of the
King James Bible
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
) that
Standard English
In an English-speaking country, Standard English (SE) is the variety of English that has undergone substantial regularisation and is associated with formal schooling, language assessment, and official print publications, such as public service a ...
spread to the region. Even so, local dialects continued to be used and were relatively widespread until the 19th and 20th centuries.
In modern times, English is the most spoken language in the North West, with a large percentage of the population fluent in it, and close to 100% conversational in it. To the north-east of the region, within the historic boundaries of
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
, the
Cumbrian dialect
The Cumberland dialect is a local Northern English dialect in decline, spoken in Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands, not to be confused with the area's extinct Celtic language, Cumbric. Some parts of Cumbria have a mor ...
is dominant. The historical county of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
covered a vast amount of land, and the
Lancashire dialect
The Lancashire dialect or (colloquially, Lanky) refers to the Northern English vernacular speech of the English county of Lancashire. The region is notable for its tradition of poetry written in the dialect.
Scope of Lancashire dialect
La ...
and accent is still predominant throughout the county, and stretches as far north as Furness in South Cumbria to parts of north
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 ...
and
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
in the south of the region. The region boasts some of the most distinctive accents in the form of the Scouse accent, which originates from
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and its surrounding areas, and the Manc accent, deriving from the central
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
district. Both of these descend from the Lancashire dialect but have some distinctions from it, especially Scouse. The region's accents are among those referred to as ' Northern English'.
Large immigrant populations in the North West result in the presence of significant immigrant languages. South Asian languages such as
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
and
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
are widespread, with the largest number of speakers residing in
Preston
Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to:
Places
England
*Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement
**The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement
**County Boro ...
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
once made up the largest minority in the region (as Liverpool has one of the oldest Chinese settlements in Europe), and still do to the far north where Chinese is spoken by small but significant communities. Since the enlargement of the EU, over one million
Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
have immigrated to the UK, a large number of them settling in the North West. Places such as
Crewe
Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...
as well as larger cities make
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
written information available for the public, to much controversy. Other immigrant languages with a presence in the North West are Spanish, mainly amongst the
Latin American
Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...
communities in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, as well as various other Eastern European and Asian languages.
The most taught languages in schools across the North West are English, French and Spanish. German and Italian are available at more senior levels and, in cities such as Manchester and Liverpool, even Urdu and Mandarin are being taught to help maintain links between the local minority populations.
Eurostat NUTS
In the
Eurostat
Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statis ...
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or NUTS (french: Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques) is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard, adopted in 2003, ...
(NUTS), North West is a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKD", which (since 2015) is subdivided as follows:
Cities and towns
Population > 400,000
Population > 100,000
Population > 70,000
Population > 50,000
Population > 30,000
Population > 20,000
Population > 10,000
Population > 5,000
Metropolitan areas
The five largest metropolitan areas in the North West are as follows:
* Greater Manchester metropolitan area – 2,556,000
* Liverpool/Birkenhead metropolitan area – 2,241,000
* Blackburn/
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
– 391,000
*
Preston
Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to:
Places
England
*Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement
**The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement
**County Boro ...
– 354,000
*
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
−304,000
Liverpool and Manchester are sometimes considered parts of a single large polynuclear
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
, or megalopolis but are usually treated as separate metropolitan areas. In some studies, part of
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
in Greater Manchester is considered part of the Liverpool metropolitan area.
Politics
The North West of England has historically been held by the Labour Party.
National politics
In the
2019 United Kingdom general election
The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party receiving a Landslide victory, landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 4 ...
, the Labour Party won a plurality of seats in the North West.
Elected regional assembly
It is one of the two regions (along with
Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
) that were expected to hold a referendum on the establishment of an elected regional assembly. However, when the
North East
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
region of England rejected having an elected regional assembly in a referendum, further referendums were cancelled and the proposals for elected regional assemblies in England put on hold. The regional leaders' forum, 4NW is based on Waterside Drive in
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
Ten English regions were established by the government in 1994. At that time,
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
, which already had its own Government Office, formerly the Merseyside Task Force, was regarded as a separate region. In 1998, Merseyside was merged into the North West region. This action was controversial in some quarters. Regional Government Offices were abolished in April 2011 by the Coalition Government.
Geiger counter
A Geiger counter (also known as a Geiger–Müller counter) is an electronic instrument used for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation. It is widely used in applications such as radiation dosimetry, radiological protection, experimental ph ...
was invented, which demonstrated the existence of the
atomic nucleus
The atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford based on the 1909 Geiger–Marsden gold foil experiment. After the discovery of the neutron i ...
. Sir
J. J. Thomson
Sir Joseph John Thomson (18 December 1856 – 30 August 1940) was a British physicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics, credited with the discovery of the electron, the first subatomic particle to be discovered.
In 1897, Thomson showed that c ...
of Cheetham Hill discovered the electron (given its name in 1891 by
George Johnstone Stoney
George Johnstone Stoney FRS (15 February 1826 – 5 July 1911) was an Irish people, Irish physicist. He is most famous for introducing the term ''electron'' as the "fundamental unit quantity of electricity".
He had introduced the concept, thoug ...
) in April 1897 and received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1906; his son
George Paget Thomson
Sir George Paget Thomson, FRS (; 3 May 189210 September 1975) was a British physicist and Nobel laureate in physics recognized for his discovery of the wave properties of the electron by electron diffraction.
Education and early life
Thomson ...
would win the Nobel Prize for Physics 1937 for discovering
electron diffraction
Electron diffraction refers to the bending of electron beams around atomic structures. This behaviour, typical for waves, is applicable to electrons due to the wave–particle duality stating that electrons behave as both particles and waves. Si ...
(at the University of Aberdeen).
John Dalton
John Dalton (; 5 or 6 September 1766 – 27 July 1844) was an English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. He is best known for introducing the atomic theory into chemistry, and for his research into colour blindness, which he had. Colour b ...
, from Cumbria and moved to Manchester, developed
atomic theory
Atomic theory is the scientific theory that matter is composed of particles called atoms. Atomic theory traces its origins to an ancient philosophical tradition known as atomism. According to this idea, if one were to take a lump of matter a ...
electromagnet
An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by an electric current. Electromagnets usually consist of wire wound into a coil. A current through the wire creates a magnetic field which is concentrated in the ...
ozone–oxygen cycle
The ozone–oxygen cycle is the process by which ozone is continually regenerated in Earth's stratosphere, converting ultraviolet radiation (UV) into heat. In 1930 Sydney Chapman resolved the chemistry involved. The process is commonly called ...
in the
stratosphere
The stratosphere () is the second layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is an atmospheric layer composed of stratified temperature layers, with the warm layers of air ...
, being the first to propose that atmospheric oxygen or ozone molecules absorb (harmful UVB and UVC)
ultraviolet
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...
wavelengths of light in
photolysis
Photodissociation, photolysis, photodecomposition, or photofragmentation is a chemical reaction in which molecules of a chemical compound are broken down by photons. It is defined as the interaction of one or more photons with one target molecule. ...
, to produce reactive single atoms which accumulate to form the
ozone layer
The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the atmosphere, although still small in rela ...
.
Graphene
Graphene () is an allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice nanostructure.
was discovered at the University of Manchester in 2004 under Prof Sir
Andre Geim
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Sochi, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
, death_date =
, death_place =
, workplaces =
, nationality = Dutch and British
, fields = Condensed matter physics
...
and Sir
Konstantin Novoselov
Sir Konstantin Sergeevich Novoselov ( rus, Константи́н Серге́евич Новосёлов,
p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ nəvɐˈsʲɵləf; born 1974) is a Russian-British physicist, and a professor at the ...
John Rex Whinfield
John Rex Whinfield CBE (16 February 1901 in Sutton, Surrey, England – 6 July 1966 in Dorking, Surrey) was a British chemist. Together with James Tennant Dickson, Whinfield investigated polyesters and produced and patented the first polyeste ...
and
James Tennant Dickson
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
discovered
polyethylene terephthalate
Polyethylene terephthalate (or poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P), is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foods ...
, known as PET, a common
polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...
crimplene
Crimplene is a texturised continuous fibre launched in 1959, produced by modifying Terylene. The patent was taken out by Mario Nava of Chesline and Crepes Ltd of Macclesfield, and sold to ICI Fibres. ICI licensed the product to various throwsters ...
(the fabric that is now referred to as polyester).
ICI Dyestuffs
ICI or Ici may refer to:
Companies and organisations
* ICI Homes, builder, Florida. US
* Former UK Imperial Chemical Industries
** ICI Australia, later Orica
* Independent Curators International, New York City, US
* Indian Concrete Institute
* ...
Winnington Laboratory
The Winnington Laboratory was a former chemical laboratory at Winnington, near Northwich, in Cheshire, England.
History
The Winnington Works were built in 1874.
The laboratory was set up by the ICI Alkali Division of Imperial Chemical Indus ...
on 27 March 1933, Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson discovered
polythene
Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bott ...
in an ICI laboratory in Northwich, when reacting
benzaldehyde
Benzaldehyde (C6H5CHO) is an organic compound consisting of a benzene ring with a formyl substituent. It is the simplest aromatic aldehyde and one of the most industrially useful.
It is a colorless liquid with a characteristic almond-like odor. ...
atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
s; the process was improved in 1935 by Sir
Michael Perrin
Sir Michael Willcox Perrin, CBE, FRSC (13 September 1905 – 18 August 1988) was a scientist who created the first practical polythene, directed the first British atomic bomb programme, and participated in the Allied intelligence of the Nazi a ...
.
Halothane
Halothane, sold under the brand name Fluothane among others, is a general anaesthetic. It can be used to induce or maintain anaesthesia. One of its benefits is that it does not increase the production of saliva, which can be particularly useful i ...
, the world's first synthetic inhalation general anaesthetic gas, was discovered in 1951 at ICI's
Widnes Laboratory
The Widnes Laboratory was a research institute in northern Cheshire, run by Imperial Chemical Industries.
History
The site opened in 1891 as the Central Laboratory.
On Monday 7 August 1950, an explosion at the site killed one man and injured a ...
by Wallasey's
Charles Suckling
Charles Walter Suckling (24 July 1920 – 31 October 2013) was a British chemist who first synthesised halothane, a volatile inhalational anaesthetic in 1951, while working at the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Central Laboratory in Widnes ...
, and first tested on a patient in Manchester in 1956; it works by binding to the
GABA receptor
The GABA receptors are a class of receptors that respond to the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the chief inhibitory compound in the mature vertebrate central nervous system. There are two classes of GABA receptors: GABAA and ...
hip replacement
Hip replacement is a surgical procedure in which the hip joint is replaced by a prosthetic implant, that is, a hip prosthesis. Hip replacement surgery can be performed as a total replacement or a hemi (half) replacement. Such joint replacement o ...
in 1962 at
Wrightington Hospital
Wrightington Hospital is a health facility in Wrightington, Lancashire, England. It is managed by the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust.
History
The facility was built as a private house known as Wrightington Hall, which was co ...
, Lancashire, north-west of Wigan.
Clatterbridge Hospital
Clatterbridge Hospital is a general hospital located on Clatterbridge Health Park in Bebington, Wirral, England. It is managed by Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
History
The hospital has its origins in the accommod ...
proton therapy
In medicine, proton therapy, or proton radiotherapy, is a type of particle therapy that uses a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue, most often to treat cancer. The chief advantage of proton therapy over other types of external beam ra ...
.
Alderley Park opened in October 1957, and
ICI Pharmaceuticals
ICI or Ici may refer to:
Companies and organisations
* ICI Homes, builder, Florida. US
* Former UK Imperial Chemical Industries
** ICI Australia, later Orica
* Independent Curators International, New York City, US
* Indian Concrete Institute
* I ...
was formed in the same year. In 1962
Dora Richardson
Dora may stand for:
*Dora (given name)
Places United States
*Dora, Alabama
*Dora, Arkansas
* Dora, Missouri
*Dora, New Mexico
* Dora, Oregon
*Dora, Pennsylvania
* Mount Dora, Florida
Other countries
*Lake Dora (Tasmania)
*Lake Dora (Western ...
of ICI discovered
tamoxifen
Tamoxifen, sold under the brand name Nolvadex among others, is a selective estrogen receptor modulator used to prevent breast cancer in women and treat breast cancer in women and men. It is also being studied for other types of cancer. It has b ...
. ICI
Alderley Park
Alderley Park was a country estate at Nether Alderley, Cheshire, England, between Macclesfield and Knutsford. It was the residence of the Stanley family of Alderley from the 1500s. It became the headquarters of ICI Pharmaceuticals in the 1950s. I ...
Fulvestrant
Fulvestrant, sold under the brand name Faslodex among others, is a medication used to treat hormone receptor (HR)-positive metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression as well as HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced br ...
,
Goserelin
Goserelin, sold under the brand name Zoladex among others, is a medication which is used to suppress production of the sex hormones (testosterone and estrogen), particularly in the treatment of breast and prostate cancer. It is an injectable gona ...
Zeneca
Zeneca (officially Zeneca Group PLC) was a British multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It was formed in June 1993 by the demerger of the pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals businesses of Imperial Che ...
Clifford Cocks
Clifford Christopher Cocks (born 28 December 1950) is a British mathematician and cryptographer.
In 1973, while working at the United Kingdom Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), he invented a public-key cryptography algorithm equiv ...
and
James H. Ellis
James Henry Ellis (25 September 1924 – 25 November 1997) was a British engineer and cryptographer. In 1970, while working at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham, he conceived of the possibility of "non-secret encr ...
from Cheshire, with
Malcolm J. Williamson
Malcolm John Williamson (2 November 1950 – 15 September 2015) was a British mathematician and cryptographer. In 1974 he developed what is now known as Diffie–Hellman key exchange. He was then working at Government Communications Headquarters ...
, invented the
RSA (algorithm)
RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) is a public-key cryptosystem that is widely used for secure data transmission. It is also one of the oldest. The acronym "RSA" comes from the surnames of Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman, who publicly ...
in 1973 at GCHQ, used for
public-key cryptography
Public-key cryptography, or asymmetric cryptography, is the field of cryptographic systems that use pairs of related keys. Each key pair consists of a public key and a corresponding private key. Key pairs are generated with cryptographic alg ...
. Sir
Richard Owen
Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and paleontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkable gift for interpreting fossils.
Owe ...
from Lancaster coined the word ''
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
'' in 1842, and he founded the
Natural History Museum, London
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
inter-city rail
Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains.
There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...
Stockton and Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected collieries near Shildon with Darl ...
William Molyneux, 2nd Earl of Sefton
William Philip Molyneux, 2nd Earl of Sefton (18 September 1772 – 20 November 1838), also known as Lord Dashalong, was a sportsman, gambler and a friend of the Prince Regent.
Personal life
Born in 1772, Lord Sefton was the only son of Charles Mo ...
. The
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, Greater Manchester, Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was ...
was the first recognised canal of the modern era. Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater had visited France and noted their canals. John Gilbert had the innovative idea to use water pumped out of his coal mines to fill a canal from the Duke's Worsley mines to Manchester. It was designed by
James Brindley
James Brindley (1716 – 27 September 1772) was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century.
Early life
Born i ...
and built in 1761.
The
Bridgewater Foundry
Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company, originally called The Bridgewater Foundry, specialised in the production of heavy machine tools and locomotives. It was located in Patricroft, in Salford England, close to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, th ...
in
Patricroft
Patricroft is a suburb near Eccles, Greater Manchester, England.
History
Patricroft may derive its name from 'Pear-tree croft', or more likely, 'Patrick's Croft'. In 1836, Scottish engineer James Nasmyth, in partnership with Holbrook Gaskell, bu ...
(Salford), can claim to be the world's first factory
with an assembly line type arrangement in 1836.
Joseph Huddart
Joseph Huddart FRS (1741–1816) was a British hydrographer, engineer and inventor. He surveyed harbours and coasts but made a fortune from improving the design and manufacture of rope. He was highly regarded in his time, and his likeness featu ...
of Cumbria was the first to mechanise the production of rope in 1793. The spinning jenny was invented in 1764 in Lancashire by James Hargreaves, a mechanical advance on the
spinning wheel
A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning f ...
.
The
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
built the world's first
programmable computer
A stored-program computer is a computer that stores program instructions in electronically or optically accessible memory. This contrasts with systems that stored the program instructions with plugboards or similar mechanisms.
The definition ...
random-access memory
Random-access memory (RAM; ) is a form of computer memory that can be read and changed in any order, typically used to store working Data (computing), data and machine code. A Random access, random-access memory device allows data items to b ...
(RAM); the baby computer was made from 550 Mullard valves. The first commercially available computer, the Ferranti Mark 1, was made in Manchester and sold in February 1951 to the University of Manchester. The world's first transistor computer was the Manchester Transistor Computer in November 1953.
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
was another important computer developed at the University of Manchester, largely developed by
Tom Kilburn
Tom Kilburn (11 August 1921 – 17 January 2001) was an English mathematician and computer scientist. Over the course of a productive 30-year career, he was involved in the development of five computers of great historical significance. With ...
; at the time in 1962 it was most powerful computer in the world. The government had dropped its financial support of this computer, and was only funded by Ferranti—the total development cost was around £1m. Britain was leading the world at this time in computing, with the only main competitor being IBM; after the mid-1950s America took over the industry. The spreadsheet was invented in 1974, known as the
Works Record System
Works may refer to:
People
* Caddy Works (1896–1982), American college sports coach
* Samuel Works (c. 1781–1868), New York politician
Albums
* '' ''Works'' (Pink Floyd album)'', a Pink Floyd album from 1983
* ''Works'', a Gary Burton album ...
, and used an
ADABAS
Adabas, a contraction of “adaptable database system," is a database package that was developed by Software AG to run on IBM mainframes. It was launched in 1971 as a non-relational database. As of 2019, Adabas is marketed for use on a wider range ...
database on an
IBM 3270
The IBM 3270 is a family of block oriented display and printer computer terminals introduced by IBM in 1971
and normally used to communicate with IBM mainframes. The 3270 was the successor to the IBM 2260 display terminal. Due to the text ...
at ICI in Northwich; it was developed by
Robert Mais
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
and it was around four years before (the more well-known) VisiCalc in 1978. The University of Manchester has collected 25 Nobel prizes, though recent years have been less notable.
Parsonage Colliery at Leigh had the UK's deepest mine—1,260 metres in 1949. Macclesfield was the base of UK's
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
weaving industry.
John Benjamin Dancer
John Benjamin Dancer (8 October 1812 – 24 November 1887) was a British scientific instrument maker and inventor of microphotography. He also pioneered stereography.
Life
By 1835, he controlled his father's instrument making business in Li ...
of Manchester invented microphotography in 1839, which would lead to
microform
Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original document size. F ...
in the 1920s.
Frank Hornby
Frank Hornby (15 May 1863 – 21 September 1936) was an English inventor, businessman and politician. He was a visionary in toy development and manufacture, and although he had no formal engineering training, he was responsible for the inven ...
from Liverpool invented Meccano in 1901, where Meccano Ltd would be based for over 60 years.
Bryant and May
Bryant & May was a British company created in the mid-19th century specifically to make matches. Their original Bryant & May Factory was located in Bow, London. They later opened other match factories in the United Kingdom and Australia, such ...
match
A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
factory in the UK, closing in 1994 to become The Matchworks business centre off the A561 west of the former Speke airport.
Cottonopolis
Cottonopolis was a 19th-century nickname for Manchester, as it was a metropolis and the centre of the cotton industry.
Background
Early cotton mills powered by water were built in Lancashire and its neighbouring counties. In 1781 Richard Arkw ...
was the industrial name for Manchester and the local area. Manchester at one time was the world's richest city. The
CIS Tower
The CIS Tower is an office skyscraper on Miller Street in Manchester, England. Designed for the Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) by architects Gordon Tait and G. S. Hay, the building was completed in 1962 and rises to 118 m (387 feet) in h ...
, built by John Laing in 1962, was Europe's tallest building, and Britain's tallest building until 1963, and Manchester's tallest building until 2006.
Kirkby was planned in the 1950s as the largest
trading estate
An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...
in Britain—1,800 acres. Trafford Park is the world's first planned industrial estate.
Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers
The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, founded in 1844, was an early consumers' co-operative, and one of the first to pay a patronage dividend, forming the basis for the modern co-operative movement.
Although other co-operatives preceded it, ...
opened their first co-operative outlet on 21 December 1844.
Alastair Pilkington invented the
float glass
Float glass is a sheet of glass made by floating molten glass on a bed of molten metal, typically tin, although lead and other various low- melting-point alloys were used in the past. This method gives the sheet uniform thickness and very flat sur ...
method of manufacture in 1957 at St Helens, announcing it in January 1959. It was manufacturered from 1961, and 80% of the world's glass is made with the process; the former site closed in 2014 and it is made now at the Green Gate site. Pears soap, made at Port Sunlight, is the world's first registered brand, and world's oldest brand in existence. Elihu Thomson, born in Manchester who subsequently moved to America, formed Thomson-CSF which became
Thales Group
Thales Group () is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures electrical systems as well as devices and equipment for the aerospace, defence, transportation and security sectors. The company is headquartered in Paris' ...
in 2000. The British part (
British Thomson-Houston
British Thomson-Houston (BTH) was a British engineering and heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England, and founded as a subsidiary of the General Electric Company (GE) of Schenectady, New York, United States. They were kno ...
) would later become part of GEC; he invented the
arc lamp
An arc lamp or arc light is a lamp that produces light by an electric arc (also called a voltaic arc).
The carbon arc light, which consists of an arc between carbon electrodes in air, invented by Humphry Davy in the first decade of the 1800s, ...
.
Henry Brunner
Henry Brunner (22 January 1838 – 17 June 1916) was an English chemist.
Henry Brunner was born in Everton, Liverpool, the elder son of John Brunner, a Swiss Unitarian and schoolmaster, and Margaret Curphey, who originated from the Isle of Man. ...
from Liverpool would join with
Ludwig Mond
Ludwig Mond FRS (7 March 1839 – 11 December 1909) was a German-born, British chemist and industrialist. He discovered an important, previously unknown, class of compounds called metal carbonyls.
Education and career
Ludwig Mond was born i ...
in the 1860s to form a chemical company which became ICI in 1926. Mossbay Steelworks in Workington, when opened in 1877, were the world's first large-scale steelworks; its
austenitic
Austenite, also known as gamma-phase iron (γ-Fe), is a metallic, non-magnetic allotrope of iron or a solid solution of iron with an alloying element. In plain-carbon steel, austenite exists above the critical eutectoid temperature of 1000 K ...
manganese steel (
mangalloy
Mangalloy, also called manganese steel or Hadfield steel, is an alloy steel containing an average of around 13% manganese. Mangalloy is known for its high impact strength and resistance to abrasion once in its work-hardened state.
Material proper ...
) was produced from 1877 until 1974, with Britain's railways converting from iron to steel by the 1880s. Track was made there for the UK's railways (exclusively from the 1970s onwards, with the steel made in Teesside) until August 2006; much of the rails made were exported (from 1882), with its main competitor being Voestalpine of Austria, and a plant (bought by British Steel in 1999) in Hayange, France, who make all of
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...
's railway tracks, and the
Katowice Steelworks
Katowice Steelworks (Polish: ''Huta Katowice'') is a large steel plant, located in southern Poland, on the boundary between the historical provinces of Lesser Poland and Upper Silesia. The current name of the plant is ArcelorMittal Poland Dąbro ...
in Poland. Workington was thought to make the best quality
rail track
A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...
electrical engineer
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
who designed the layout for
Deptford Power Station
Three distinct coal-fired power stations were built at Deptford on the south bank of the River Thames, the first of which is regarded as the first central high-voltage power station in the world.
History Deptford East (Low Pressure)
One of the ...
, the first
alternating current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...
power station
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.
Many p ...
in the world in 1887, and whose design all others would follow; his later company
Ferranti
Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
The firm was known ...
, of Oldham, would later be an industry leader in Britain's defence electronics, on the
FTSE 100 Index
The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with (in principle) the highest market ...
. Ferranti's design of increasing AC voltage to high tension at the power station, to be stepped-down at a transformer at substations before entering properties, is the system all electricity networks take today; the system reduces wasteful heating of electricity transmission cables.
The
Chain Home
Chain Home, or CH for short, was the codename for the ring of coastal Early Warning radar stations built by the Royal Air Force (RAF) before and during the Second World War to detect and track aircraft. Initially known as RDF, and given the off ...
radar transmitters were built by Metrovick at its Trafford Park Works, which became part of AEI in 1929, GEC in 1968, and as
Alstom
Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...
it was closed in June 2000.
2ZY
2ZY was the name of a radio station established by the British Broadcasting Company in Manchester, England, in 1922. Part of the newly nationalised British Broadcasting Corporation from 1 January 1927, the station continued broadcasting under the 2 ...
, the first broadcasts in the
north of England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
, were made from the Metrovick factory in November 1922, which became part of the BBC National Programme in 1927. GEC opened its first factory in Manchester in 1888, moving to Salford in 1895 at the
Peel Works
Peel or Peeling may refer to:
Places Australia
* Peel (Western Australia)
* Peel Island, Queensland
*Peel, New South Wales
* Peel River (New South Wales)
Canada
* Peel Parish, New Brunswick
* Peel, New Brunswick, an unincorporated communit ...
, and had built the
Osram
Osram Licht AG is a German company that makes electric lights, headquartered in Munich and Premstätten (Austria). Osram positions itself as a high-tech photonics company that is increasingly focusing on sensor technology, visualization and tre ...
electric light company in 1893. The
Metropolitan-Vickers F.2
The Metropolitan-Vickers F.2 is an early turbojet engine and the first British design to be based on an axial-flow compressor. It was an extremely advanced design for the era, using a nine-stage axial compressor, annular combustor, and a two- ...
of Trafford Park Works, Manchester was the first axial-flow jet engine, with a nine-stage compressor, first running in 1941. It would end up as the
Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire
The Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire is a British turbojet engine that was produced by Armstrong Siddeley in the 1950s. It was the ultimate development of work that had started as the Metrovick F.2 in 1940, evolving into an advanced axial flow de ...
and the American-built
Wright J65
The Wright J65 was an axial-flow turbojet engine produced by Curtiss-Wright under license from Armstrong Siddeley. A development of the Sapphire, the J65 powered a number of US designs.
Design and development
Curtiss-Wright purchased a license f ...
. The F.2 gas turbine would power MGB.2009 the first gas-turbine-powered vessel in 1947.
No. 1 Parachute Training School RAF
The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...
—the main parachute training site for the war—was at
RAF Ringway
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
(the
Central Landing Establishment
The Central Landing Establishment was the Second World War British development centre for airborne warfare at RAF Ringway airfield near Manchester.Thompson 1989, p. 4.
Establishment
Following Prime Minister Winston Churchill's decision to crea ...
Merlin
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
s; the nearby Metropolitan-Vickers factory built many Lancasters.
Calder Hall
Sellafield is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nucle ...
was the world's first nuclear power station in 1956. There are approximately 430
nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
stations around the world, and the UK is the third most experienced operator of nuclear reactors after the US and France, and is the world's ninth largest producer of nuclear-generated electricity, with nine stations operating in the UK producing around 10GW. New-build nuclear power stations will either be the AP1000 (Toshiba Westinghouse
NuGeneration
NuGeneration (NuGen) was a company that planned to build a new nuclear power station nearby the Sellafield nuclear site in the United Kingdom. The proposed site was called '' Moorside'', and is to the north and west of Sellafield. On 8 November ...
Areva
Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...
EDF EDF may refer to:
Organisations
* Eclaireurs de France, a French Scouting association
* Education for Development Foundation, a Thai charity
* Électricité de France, a French energy company
** EDF Energy, their British subsidiary
** EDF Luminus, ...
;
Centrica
Centrica plc is a British multinational energy and services company with its headquarters in Windsor, Berkshire. Its principal activity is the supply of electricity and gas to consumers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
It is the largest su ...
( British Gas) had also wanted to buy it; 26 Magnox reactors were built in the UK, followed by 14 AGR reactors.
Operation Hurricane
Operation Hurricane was the first test of a Nuclear weapons of the United Kingdom, British atomic device. A plutonium Nuclear weapon design#Implosion-type weapon, implosion device was detonated on 3 October 1952 in Main Bay, Trimouille Island ...
on 3 October 1952, Britain's first
nuclear bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
Montebello Islands
The Montebello Islands, also rendered as the Monte Bello Islands, are an archipelago of around 174 small islands (about 92 of which are named) lying north of Barrow Island (Western Australia), Barrow Island and off the Pilbara region of We ...
in the state of
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, was made of plutonium-239 mostly made at Windscale (which began production in 1950), with some possibly from
Chalk River Laboratories
Chalk River Laboratories (french: Laboratoires de Chalk River; also known as CRL, Chalk River Labs and formerly Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories, CRNL) is a Canadian nuclear research facility in Deep River, about north-west of Ottawa.
CRL is a ...
in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada (where the Tube Alloys project was later moved).
W. T. Glover & Co. of Salford were important electricity cable manufacturers throughout the early 20th century. BAE Systems Wind Tunnel Department at Warton—one its four wind tunnels—the High Speed Wind Tunnel—can test speeds intermittently up to Mach 3.8 (
trisonic
Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
Reynolds number
In fluid mechanics, the Reynolds number () is a dimensionless quantity that helps predict fluid flow patterns in different situations by measuring the ratio between inertial and viscous forces. At low Reynolds numbers, flows tend to be domi ...
(introduced elsewhere by the mathematician George Gabriel Stokes), showed in the early 1880s that wind tunnels (invented by Francis Herbert Wenham in 1871) could model large-scale objects accurately.
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft produced the last fully UK-built airliner in November 2001 and owned by BAE Systems, the Avro RJX (formerly the BAE 146). While this business unit no longer manufactures commercial regional airliners, it continues ...
assembled Britain's last airliner, the
British Aerospace 146
The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Manufacture by Avro International ...
(Avro RJX), at
Woodford Woodford may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Woodford, New South Wales
*Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region
*Woodford, Victoria
Canada
* Woodford, Ontario
England
*Woodford, Cornwall
* Woodford, Gloucestershire
*Woodford, Greate ...
in November 2001. The Merlin-powered
Avro Tudor
The Avro Type 688 Tudor was a British piston-engined airliner based on Avro's four-engine Lincoln bomber, itself a descendant of the famous Lancaster heavy bomber, and was Britain's first pressurised airliner. Customers saw the aircraft as ...
G-AGPF, which took off from what is now Manchester Airport on 14 June 1945, was Britain's first
pressurised
{{Wiktionary
Pressurization or pressurisation is the application of pressure in a given situation or environment.
Industrial
Industrial equipment is often maintained at pressures above or below atmospheric.
Atmospheric
This is the process by ...
civilian aircraft; only 38 were built and it was designed for the
North Atlantic route
The North Atlantic air ferry route was a series of Air Routes over the North Atlantic Ocean on which aircraft were ferried from the United States and Canada to Great Britain during World War II to support combat operations in the European Theate ...
. On 13 May 1949, ''VN799'' the English Electric Canberra first flew from Warton: Warton at the time was a former USAAF wartime maintenance base; the German Arado Ar 234 was technically the world's first jet bomber; the Canberra would be the first jet aircraft to make a non-stop crossing of the Atlantic on 21 February 1951.
Robert Whitehead of Bolton invented the modern-day
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
in 1866. Sir
William Pickles Hartley
Sir William Pickles Hartley (23 February 1846 – 25 October 1922) was an English jam manufacturer and philanthropist who founded the Hartley's jam company.
Biography
Hartley was born in Colne, Lancashire, the only surviving child of John Hart ...
of Lancashire founded Hartley's Jam in 1871, building a purpose-built village at Aintree. Sir Henry Tate also came from Lancashire, joining
Abram Lyle
Abram Lyle (14 December 1820 – 30 April 1891) is noted for founding the sugar refiners '' Abram Lyle & Sons'' which merged with the company of his rival Henry Tate to become Tate & Lyle in 1921.
Early life
He was born on 14 December 1820 i ...
in 1921, of whose Golden syrup tins are claimed to be Britain's oldest brand; he established the
Tate
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
organ. The Christys' & Co factory in Stockport was the largest hat-making factory in the world in the nineteenth century; it became part of
Associated British Hat Manufacturers Associated British Hat Manufacturers Ltd was a holding company formed in 1966, by merging five of Britain's largest felt hat manufacturers.''Denton and the Archaeology of the Felt Hatting Industry'' by Michael Nevell, Brian Grimsditch and Ivan Hrad ...
and is now in
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
. The company owner's son founded Christy in 1850 in
Droylsden
Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689.
Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the ...
(now in Tameside), which invented the industrially produced towel.
Britain's most popular car, the Ford Escort, was made throughout its life (until 21 July 2000) at Halewood by Ford; 5 million were made there from 1967. In 1998, production of its replacement the Focus was transferred to
Saarlouis
Saarlouis (; french: link=no, Sarrelouis, ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located on t ...
and
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, which signalled the end of the site's ownership by Ford. The Jaguar X-Type was first made there in May 2001, until late 2009. In the UK, the
Mondeo
The Ford Mondeo is a large family car manufactured by Ford since 1993. The first Ford model declared as a "world car", the Mondeo was intended to consolidate several Ford model lines worldwide (the European Sierra, the Telstar in Asia and Austr ...
has sold 1.4m since 1993, and is made in
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
in Spain.
Starchaser Industries
Starchaser Industries is a privately-owned space tourism company based in the UK. Formed i1992 the company designed and built several prototype rocket systems for space tourism vehicles. Starchaser's rocket NOVA 1 launched in 2001 from Morec ...
of Hyde is hoping to send a British citizen into space, on a British rocket; only Richard Branson will be able to compete for that honour;
BAC
BAC or Bac may refer to:
Places
* Bac, a village in Montenegro
* Baile Átha Cliath, Irish language name for Dublin city.
* Bîc River, aka ''Bâc River'', a Moldovan river
* Baç Bridge, bridge in Turkey
* Barnes County Municipal Airport (ICAO a ...
at Preston had proposed its MUSTARD re-usable spacecraft in 1964, which although not built had given
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
a concept.
Culture
The
Suffragette
A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
movement came from Manchester—the
Women's Social and Political Union
The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and ...
.
Arthur Wynne
Arthur Wynne (June 22, 1871January 14, 1945) was the British-born inventor of the modern crossword puzzle.
Early life
Arthur Wynne was born on June 22, 1871, in Liverpool, England, and lived on Edge Lane for a time. His father was the editor of ...
, born in Liverpool, invented the
crossword
A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answ ...
in December 1913. On 13 August 1964, Britain carried out its last two executions at Strangeways and
Walton Prison
HM Prison Liverpool (formerly Walton Gaol) is a category B local men's prison in Walton, Liverpool, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
History
Liverpool Prison (originally known as Walton Gaol) was constructed between 18 ...
. Under the
Museums Act 1845
The Museums Act 1845 ( 8 & 9 Vict c 43), sometimes called the Museums of Art Act 1845 or the Museums of Art in Boroughs Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which gave the town councils of larger municipal boroughs the power t ...
Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Salford Museum and Art Gallery, in Peel Park, Salford, Greater Manchester, opened to the public in November 1850 as the Royal Museum and Public Library. The gallery and museum are devoted to the history of Salford and Victorian art and architect ...
in 1850; Canterbury had been first in 1847. The first
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre
A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...
was held in 1868 at the
Mechanics' Institute, Manchester
The Mechanics' Institute, 103 Princess Street, Manchester, is notable as the building in which three significant British institutions were founded: the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) and the University of ...
. The
World Pie Eating Championship
The annual World Pie Eating Championship is usually held at ''Harry's Bar'' on Wallgate, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The competition has been held since 1992. In November 2006, a vegetarian version was added after "relentless pressure", fr ...
is held in Wigan each year.
Ann Lee
Ann Lee (29 February 1736 – 8 September 1784), commonly known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founding leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, or the Shakers.
After nearly two decades of participation in a re ...
from Manchester started the USA
Shakers
The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...
movement, founded out of the
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
, which itself has strong links to
Pendle Hill
Pendle Hill is in the east of Lancashire, England, near the towns of Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Brierfield, Clitheroe and Padiham. Its summit is above mean sea level. It gives its name to the Borough of Pendle. It is an isolated hill in the Pe ...
in Lancashire.
Joseph Livesey
Joseph William Livesey (5 March 1794 – 2 September 1884) was an English temperance campaigner, social reformer, local politician, writer, publisher, newspaper proprietor and philanthropist.
Early life
Livesey was born on 5 March 1794 at Wal ...
of Preston was the founder of Britain's temperance movement, and the word ''teetotal'' was first coined in Preston in 1833. The crumbly
Cheshire cheese
Cheshire cheese is a dense and crumbly cheese produced in the English county of Cheshire, and four neighbouring counties, Denbighshire and Flintshire in Wales and Shropshire and Staffordshire in England.
History
Cheshire cheese is one of the ...
is thought to be the oldest in Britain. Heaton Park in north Manchester is the largest municipal park in Europe. Jelly Babies were invented in Lancaster in 1864, at Fryers of Lancashire. The first
KFC
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...
outlet in the UK was on Fishergate in Preston in May 1965, opened by the entrepreneur Ray Allen. Oldham claims to be the site of the first fried potatoes in the UK in 1860. The UK's biggest dance music festival takes place on the August Bank Holiday at Creamfields on Daresbury Estate. Ingvar Kamprad's
IKEA
IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
opened its first UK store in Warrington on 1 October 1987; the UK was the 20th country at the time that IKEA had been established. The
International Cheese Awards
The International Cheese Awards is an annual cheese show and competition. Until 2019, it was held at Dorfold Park near Nantwich, England. Held since 1897, the show attracts entries from around the world.
In Nantwich, day one of the two-day eve ...
are held at the end of July in Nantwich.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, the two largest cities in the North West by population, are known for being the birthplace of
beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle ...
(also called "Merseybeat") during the 1960s to 1970s, and the development of the Madchester music scene from the 1980s, and 1990s respectively.
''
A Taste of Honey
''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalise British theatre and address social issues that ...
'' was an influential 1960s film set in Salford, depicting
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
poverty in ways not previously seen at the cinema, known as
kitchen sink realism
Kitchen sink realism (or kitchen sink drama) is a British cultural movement that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose protagonists usually could be described as "angry young men" w ...
;
Walter Greenwood
Walter Greenwood (17 December 1903 – 13 September 1974) was an English novelist, best known for the socially influential novel ''Love on the Dole'' (1933).
Early life
Greenwood was born at 56 Ellor Street, his father's house and hairdres ...
's '' Love on the Dole'', a 1930s book also set in Salford, was thought by the BBFC to be too sordid a depiction of poverty to be made into a film;
Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...
, from Salford, has produced films on a similar subject.
Transport
Transport policy
As part of the national transport planning system,
the North West Regional Assembly was, before its abolition in 2008, required to produce a Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) to provide long term planning for transport in the region. This involved region wide transport schemes, such as those carried out by the Highways Agency and
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
. Within the region, the local transport authorities plan for the future by producing Local Transport Plans (LTPs) which outline their strategies, policies and implementation programmes. The most recent LTP is that for the period 2006–11. In the North West region, the following transport authorities have published their LTP online:
Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen is a borough and unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of the industrial town of Blackburn and the market town of Darwen including other villages around the two towns.
Formation
It was fou ...
U.A,
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
U.A.,
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 ...
,
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
,
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 ...
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
,
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
and
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
U.A. Since 1 April 2009, when the county of Cheshire was split into two unitary councils the Cheshire transport authority ceased to exist, however it is the most recent LTP for the area.
Road
Regionwide
Regionwide, the principal road link is the M6, which enters the region, from
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, near
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
in the north and leaves it, for the
English Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
, near
Crewe
Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...
in the south. It connects such towns and cities as Penrith,
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
Preston
Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to:
Places
England
*Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement
**The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement
**County Boro ...
,
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. The M6 intersects many of the North West's motorways and A-roads, carrying almost 120,000 vehicles per day (41,975,000 per year).
Britain's most severe steep road is Hardknott Pass in Cumbria and the highest road in the UK is the former A6293 at 2,780 ft at
Milburn, Cumbria
Milburn is a small village and civil parish in the Eden, Cumbria, Eden district of Cumbria, England. It is located on the northern side of the River Eden, Cumbria, Eden Valley, about east of Penrith, Cumbria, Penrith. The parish had a populatio ...
; the highest classified road in England was the
A689
The A689 is a road in northern England that runs east from the A595, to the west of Carlisle in Cumbria, to Hartlepool in County Durham.
The road begins west of Carlisle, just outside the city at the A595. The initial stretch was recently co ...
east of Nenthead in Cumbria on the Durham boundary.
.
Greater Manchester and Merseyside
The Greater Manchester and Merseyside areas are home to almost 4 million people; over half of the region's population. The road networks intertwining these
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
s are extremely important to the economy and are largely motorway, including the M62 which crosses the entire country (east to west,
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
to Liverpool); this motorway directly connects the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, carrying 78,000 vehicles in the North West per day.
The Merseyside-Manchester region has many other motorways that serve many millions on a daily basis: the M61 connects Manchester to Preston; the M56 runs south of Manchester to Cheshire and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
M58 motorway
The M58 is a motorway passing through Merseyside and Lancashire, terminating in Greater Manchester. It is 12 miles (19.3 km) long and provides a link between the M6 motorway and the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton and hence on, via the A5 ...
s run north of Liverpool and connect towns such as St. Helens and
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
ring road
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
M66 motorway
The M66, also known as the Bury Easterly Bypass, is a motorway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is long and provides part of the route between the M62 and M60 motorways and the M65, with the rest being provided by the A56. ...
s run east and north respectively, both of these roads are under and link Manchester to smaller outlying settlements. On top of this there are countless numbers of A-roads, B-roads and minor roads which circle, entwine and serve these two major metropolises.
Cumbria
In Cumbria the M6 runs all the way down the east of the county connecting the very north of England to the Lancashire border. The
A590
The A590 is a trunk road in southern Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It runs north-east to south-west from M6 junction 36, through the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness to terminate at Biggar Bank on Walney Island.Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
to
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
with around 14,000 vehicles per day. The
A595
The A595 is a primary route in Cumbria, in Northern England that starts in Carlisle, passes through Whitehaven and goes close to Workington, Cockermouth and Wigton. It passes Sellafield and Ravenglass before ending at the Dalton-in-Furness by ...
runs all the way along the West Cumbrian coast beginning near Barrow and ending in Carlisle, linking towns such as
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...
and
Workington
Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207.
Loca ...
. The
A591 road
The A591 is a major road in Cumbria, in the north-west of England, which lies almost entirely within the Lake District national park. A 2009 poll by satellite navigation firm Garmin named the stretch of the road between Windermere and Keswick ...
runs from Kendal to the centre of the county connecting
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
settlements like
Windermere
Windermere (sometimes tautology (language), tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere, Cumbria (town), Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in leng ...
,
Ambleside
Ambleside is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, Cumbria, Lakes, in Cumbria, in North West England.
Historic counties of England, Historically in Westmorland, it marks the head (and sits on the east side of the northern ...
and Keswick. Other important A-roads include the A5092, A66,
A596
The A596 is a primary route in Cumbria, in northern England, that runs between Thursby ( north-east of Wigton) and Workington. For its entirety the A596 parallels the A595 road, A595, and meets the A595 at both ends. The A596 begins its course ...
and formerly the A74, until this was upgraded to motorway standard as an extension of the M6 between 2006 and 2008 to meet the
A74(M)
The A74(M) and M74 form a major motorway in Scotland, connecting it to England. The routes connect the M8 motorway in central Glasgow to the Scottish-English border at Gretna. In conjunction with their southward continuation, the M6 motorwa ...
at the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border.
Lancashire
The Lancashire economy relies strongly on the M6, which also runs from north to south (Lancaster to Chorley). Other motorways in the region include the M55 motorway, M55, which connects the city of Preston and the town of Blackpool at in length. The M65 motorway runs from east to west, starting in the town of Colne, running past
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
, Accrington, Blackburn and terminating in Preston. The Lancaster-Morecambe area is served by the A683 road, A683, A6 road (Great Britain), A6, A588 road, A588 and A589 roads. The Blackpool-The Fylde, Fylde-Fleetwood area is home to the A583 road, A583, A584 road, A584, A585 road, A585, A586 road, A586, A587 road, A587 and A588 roads. The city of Preston and its surroundings are served by the A6 road (Great Britain), A6, A59 road (Great Britain), A59, A582, A583, A584 and, to the very south-east, the M61 motorway. To the east of the county are the A59, A6119, A677, A679, A666, A680, A56, A646 and A682. The M66 motorway, M66 begins inside the county border near Edenfield, providing an important link between east Lancashire and Manchester.
Cheshire
In Cheshire, there are four motorways: the M6, the M56 (linking Chester to the east), the M53 (linking Chester to
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
) and the M62, which runs just along the county's northern border with Merseyside and Greater Manchester. The Cheshire road system is made up of of highway and the principal road (M6) carries 140,000 vehicles in the county daily, linking the North West to the
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
.
The county town of Chester is served by the A55 road, A55, A483 road, A483 and A494 roads, amongst others. To the west of the M6,
Crewe
Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...
, Northwich and Sandbach are served by the A54 road, A54, A51 road, A51, A49 road, A49, A533, A556 and A530 roads; these all eventually link up connecting the towns to the larger cities, including Stoke-on-Trent to the south. To the east of the M6 in Cheshire lies the
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...
and towns such as Macclesfield and Congleton, which are served by the A6 road (Great Britain), A6, A537, A536, A34 road (Great Britain), A34, A523 and A566 roads.
Air
The biggest international airport in the region is Manchester Airport, which serves 28.2 million passengers annually; more than some of the world's major aviation hubs. The airport is home to Manchester Airport#Terminals and destinations, three terminals, plus the Manchester Airport#World Freight Terminal, World Freight Terminal, which serve destinations worldwide. The largest airlines at the airport (in terms of numbers of flights in 2007) were Flybe (1979-2020), Flybe, BMI (airline), BMI, British Airways, Jet2.com and Lufthansa; several long-haul carriers such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, Singapore Airlines and Emirates (airline), Emirates also operate from the airport. Manchester Airports Group is owned approximately one-third by Manchester Council and one-third by the other nine Greater Manchester councils. In 2007, Manchester had a recorded 222,703 aircraft movements. The airport is also a Airline hub, hub for major holiday airlines such as First Choice Airways and Thomson Airways; it was previously served by Thomas Cook Airlines and Monarch Airlines.
The region's second largest airport, but is the oldest and fastest growing, is Liverpool John Lennon Airport, which serves over 5 million passengers annually. The airport serves destinations primarily in the UK and Europe and is a major hub for EasyJet and Ryanair.
The only other significant passenger airport in the region was Blackpool Airport, which was refurbished in 2006 and handled around half a million passengers annually. Destinations ranged from the Canary Islands in Spain to the Republic of Ireland. Commercial flights ended there in March 2017.
; Cumbria
* Barrow/Walney Island Airport – Operated by BAE Systems Submarines, private use
* Carlisle Lake District Airport – Operated by Stobart Group, public use
; Greater Manchester
* City Airport Manchester – Operated by City Airport Manchester Ltd, public use
* Manchester Airport – Major international airport operated by Manchester Airport Group, destinations worldwide
* Woodford Aerodrome – Operated by
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft
BAE Systems Regional Aircraft produced the last fully UK-built airliner in November 2001 and owned by BAE Systems, the Avro RJX (formerly the BAE 146). While this business unit no longer manufactures commercial regional airliners, it continues ...
, now closed
; Lancashire
* Blackpool Airport – Operated by Balfour Beatty, public use (commercial flights withdrawn)
* Warton Aerodrome – Operated by BAE Systems, private use
; Merseyside
* Liverpool John Lennon Airport – International airport operated by Liverpool Airport plc, destinations worldwide
* RAF Woodvale – Operated by the Royal Air Force, military use
* Southport Birkdale Sands airstrip – Sand runway located on Southport beach (infrequent use, subject to prior permission)
Rail
The main connection by train is the West Coast Main Line, connecting most of the North West. Other important lines are the Liverpool to Manchester Lines and the North TransPennine, which connects Liverpool Lime Street railway station, Liverpool to Manchester Piccadilly station, Manchester through Warrington Central railway station, Warrington. East-west connections in Lancashire are carried via the Caldervale Line to Blackpool North railway station, Blackpool. Liverpool and Manchester both have extensive local passenger rail networks operating high-frequency commuter trains. The quietest railway station in the region, by usage, is Reddish South railway station, Reddish South, the 4th quietest in Britain.
The InterCity (British Rail), InterCity branded service in the UK began between London and Manchester in the mid-1960s; the new Euston railway station, Euston station opened in 1968. With the new electrification of the line in the late 1960s, passenger numbers doubled.
The region saw the last steam-train service on the UK network – the Fifteen Guinea Special on 11 August 1968, with
three LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0, Black Five locomotives.
Water
Royal Daffodil ship in Liverpool.jpg, Mersey Ferry Royal Daffodil
Caribbean Princess and Princes Parade, Liverpool (geograph 2978483).jpg, ''Liverpool Cruise Terminal''
Leeds-Liverpool Canal - panoramio.jpg, ''Leeds and Liverpool Canal''
Manannan and Liver Building, Pier Head, Liverpool (geograph 2978805).jpg, Isle of Man Steam Packet
Steam packet route map.svg, Isle of Man Steam Packet route map
Manchester Ship Canal map.svg, Manchester Ship Canal
NORBAYslr.jpg, MS Norbay operates Liverpool to Dublin
Sea ferries depart from the following ports: Port of Liverpool (Gladstone Dock), Bootle to Dublin (P&O Ferries) and Douglas, Isle of Man, Douglas on the Isle of Man (Isle of Man Steam Packet);
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
(Twelve Quays, Twelve Quays Terminal) to Belfast and Dublin (Norfolkline, Norfolkline Irish Sea Ferries – former Norse Merchant Ferries); Fleetwood to Larne (Stena Line) in Northern Ireland; and Heysham Port to Douglas (Isle of Man Steam Packet).
The world's first hovercraft service took place on 20 July 1962, from Leasowe (Moreton, Merseyside, Moreton) to Rhyl, operated by British United Airways in a Vickers-Armstrongs VA-3, powered by two turboprop engines.
Leeds and Liverpool Canal has run into Liverpool city centre, via Liverpool Canal Link at Pier Head, since 2009.
Liverpool Cruise Terminal in the city centre provides long-distance passenger cruises; Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, MS Black Watch (1971), MS Black Watch and Cruise & Maritime Voyages MS Magellan all use the terminal to depart to Iceland, France, Spain and Norway.
Economy
The North West is historically linked with the textiles industry, mainly before the mid 20th century. The Greater Manchester region produces List of ceremonial counties in England by gross value added, the most economic output according to GVA in 2014 with £57,395m, followed by Merseyside £28,257m, Lancashire with £27,668m, Cheshire £25,803m and Cumbria with £10,747m.
According to research by Cushman & Wakefield in 2008, Manchester is the second best city to locate a business in the UK whilst Liverpool is the eleventh best city. The ''Financial Times'' stated that the North West economy, led by the redevelopment of Manchester and Liverpool, is a genuine rival to "overheated London".
The area's electricity, formerly looked after by MANWEB and NORWEB, is now looked after by Scottish Power, ScottishPower Energy Networks and United Utilities respectively. The Rampside Gas Terminal, Morecambe Bay gas field provides 6% of the UK's natural gas.
Cheshire
Cheshire is linked with the Salt in Cheshire, salt industry. AstraZeneca, the fifth largest pharmaceutical company in the world, has a manufacturing site in the north-east of Macclesfield on Hurdsfield Ind Est (former ICI Pharmaceuticals) off the A523, where it makes Zoladex (goserelin); it was formerly ICI until June 1993 when it became
Zeneca
Zeneca (officially Zeneca Group PLC) was a British multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It was formed in June 1993 by the demerger of the pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals businesses of Imperial Che ...
. Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall, home of the Vauxhall Astra, Astra, is on a RAF Hooton Park, former airfield next to the M53 motorway, M53, and Stanlow Refinery, Essar Energy (former Royal Dutch Shell, Shell, partly in Thornton-le-Moors) are in Ellesmere Port. Industrial inspection organisation SGS S.A., SGS UK is based on junction 8 of the M53 at Rossmore Business Park. Innospec (former Octel) is west of the refinery near junction 9 of the M53 (A5032 road, A5032); Innospec also has a site at Widnes (former Aroma Fine Chemicals) which makes Lilestralis. Vidrala, Encirc Glass (former Aventas group) make glass bottles to the east of the refinery at Elton, Cheshire, Elton; the Shell Technology Centre on the southern side of the Ellesmere Port to Warrington Line, railway, off the A5117 and the M56 Hapsford Interchange on the east side of the refinery, closed in 2014; to the east is the large site of Kemira GrowHow, CF Fertilisers UK (former Shellstar) who make the Nitram brand of fertiliser.
Lex Autolease, the UK's largest vehicle leasing company, is in the east of Chester, towards Hoole. Ball Corporation, Ball Packaging Europe is based on the A483 road, A483 at Chester Business Park, near the A55 junction in Eccleston, Cheshire, Eccleston, which has a main office of Marks & Spencer; east of M&S, south of the A55 bypass is Sira (notified body), Sira, which issues ATEX directive, ATEX product approvals. To the north at Dunkirk, Cheshire, Dunkirk at the end of the M56 on the A5117 road, A5117, is Max Spielmann (including the former Klick) in Lea-by-Backford; further north at Capenhurst, next to the Wirral Line, railway, Urenco Group have a Enriched uranium, uranium enrichment plant, partly in Ledsham, Cheshire, Ledsham. Sandbach used to be home of ERF (lorry manufacturer), ERF and Edwin Foden, Sons & Co., Fodens trucks. Tata Chemicals Europe (former Brunner Mond) next to the A530 road, A530, next to the Mid-Cheshire Line, railway, is partly in Lostock Gralam just west of Northwich; there is another main site at Winnington on the A533 road, A533 north-west of Northwich. British Salt is in Middlewich; Bisto used to be made there by Centura Foods (RHM), but production moved to Worksop (Nottinghamshire) in 2008. Henkel, Henkel UK (the consumer adhesive division, maker of Pritt and Sellotape) is on the Winsford Ind Estate in the east of Winsford, home of the UK's Salt in Cheshire, largest salt mine at Meadowbank, Cheshire, Meadowbank run by Salt Union, who are owned by Compass Minerals.
Mornflake is in Crewe on the B5071, Focus (DIY), Focus closed in July 2011, and Orion Optics make telescopes. Bentley, Bentley Motors (owned by Volkswagen since 1998) have their Bentley Crewe, main plant in the west of the town between the A530 road, A530 and A532, next to the railway to Chester. Crewe Works built the InterCity 125, HST (British Rail Class 43 (HST), Class 43) power cars, and now carries out maintenance for Bombardier Transportation, Bombardier. Unipart Rail is on the B5071 next to Crewe railway station. Bargain Booze is at the A532/A5020 roundabout in the east of the town, and further along the A532 Whitby Morrison are the world's leading manufacturer of ice cream vans. Air Products have a main HQ off the A534 road, A534 in central Crewe near the Virgin Trains training academy. UK Fuels (fuel cards) are off the A532, north of Crewe railway station.
BAE Systems Land & Armaments, BAE Systems Global Combat Systems at ROF Radway Green, Radway Green, Barthomley north of M6 junction 16, south of Alsager makes small arms ammunition, and Freshpack make pies next to the A5011 towards the east of the town; Twyford Bathrooms (owned since 2001 by the Finnish Sanitec) are off the B5077, but their enormous factory next to the Crewe to Derby Line, railway closed in early 2011, with production moving overseas. Amec is south of Knutsford at Booths Hall off the A537 road, A537, now the HQ of Amec Foster Wheeler; also in the town is Edmundson Electrical. Between Knutsford and Wilmslow in Mobberley off the B5085, close to the southern approach of Manchester Airport, is a large site of Harman Technology (known worldwide as Ilford Photo). Four Seasons Health Care is in central Wilmslow; north of the town on the A538 road, A538 is a large £60m mass spectrometry research site of the Waters Corporation, built in 2014 on a former research site of Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals (who formed Novartis in 1996), next to the River Bollin. Pets at Home is next to the Crewe to Manchester Line, railway at Handforth near Wilmslow and the Stockport boundary near Handforth Dean (A34). Boalloy Industries are on Radnor Park Ind Est in West Heath, Cheshire, West Heath in west Congleton north of the A534/A34 junction, make Semi-trailer, trailers, and pioneered the Tautliner curtain-sided trailer design in the 1970s. Reginox UK (kitchen sinks) are in the north of Congleton; Siemens Industry Automation & Drive Technologies UK make Adjustable-speed drive, variable-speed drives, exporting 98% of production, on Eaton Bank Trading Est near the River Dane. OK Diner is in Macclesfield (previously in Middlewich); Tullis Russell at Bollington makes the paper for all Great Britain commemorative stamps 2010–19, Royal Mail stamps, and has done for many years.
Ineos Fluor (the site was previously owned by Imperial Chemical Industries, ICI Chemicals) is at Runcorn which produces chlorine and caustic soda from Cheshire salt, piped from Lostock Gralam, south of Northwich; most of the chlorine in the UK comes from this plant; it also makes Organofluorine chemistry, hydrofluoroalkanes (HFAs) for metered-dose inhalers and the anaesthetic halothane. There is Ineos Chlor and Ineos Vinyls. BNFL and its subsidiary Sellafield Ltd (former British Nuclear Group), and ABB are based in Daresbury near Runcorn, although most of BNG's operations take place at Sellafield in Cumbria. Daresbury is also home of the EMMA (accelerator), EMMA and ALICE (accelerator), ALICE FFAG accelerators. Diageo bottles Guinness at Preston Brook, between the A56 and A533 road, A533, and nearby Saint-Gobain UK make Isover insulation. Kawneer UK (part of Alcoa) make architectural aluminium systems (curtain wall (architecture), curtain walls) off the A533 road, A533 at Astmoor in north Runcorn. APPH (aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage) is based off the A558 on Manor Park (Runcorn), Manor Park in Sandymoor near TALL Security Print, the UK's leading provider of business cheques; further to the west is Yokogawa Electric UK. Schachihata UK (Xstamper and Artline (marker), Artline) are based at Ashville Ind Est on the A557 road, A557 at junction 12 of the M56 next to the Weaver Navigation and the 3,200 ft Weaver Viaduct south of Runcorn towards Sutton Weaver. Croda International, Croda Enterprise Technology Group does its important R&D in Halebank, Widnes, south of Ditton, Cheshire, Ditton. The Thermphos International, Thermphos factory on the A557 south of Widnes closed in 2013.
United Utilities is based in the west of Warrington at Lingley Mere Business Park in Great Sankey, next to the St Helens boundary; in Lingley Green to the south on the A57 was the former HQ of North West Water; to the north, Amazon have a fulfilment centre. Unilever makes ''Persil'' and ''Surf (detergent), Surf'' Laundry detergent, washing powders next to the Warrington Bank Quay railway station, Bank Quay railway station; next door between the A5061 road, A5061 and River Mersey is PQ Corporation, PQ Silicas (former Joseph Crosfield). Cogent Skills (the UK's Sector Skills Councils, SSC for science) is in the south of Warrington off the A5060, on the other side of the Ellesmere Port to Warrington Line, railway from Bank Quay. New Balance UK is at Centre Park, off the A5060 in south-west Warrington, with a factory at Flimby, on the Cumbria coast. Konftel, Konftel UK is at Thelwall. ASICS UK (sportswear) is on the Gemini Business Park, off the A574 in Burtonwood and Westbrook north of Warrington, next to the M62 and a large IKEA and M&S on Gemini Retail Park; next door is KYB UK, part of the world's largest (Japanese) manufacturer of shock absorbers; nearby is Krauss-Maffei UK (Injection molding machine, injection moulding machines); AlphaBiolabs provide the DNA paternity testing for ''The Jeremy Kyle Show'' on Carina Park in Westbrook, Cheshire, Westbrook.
Burtonwood Brewery (the HQ of Thomas Hardy Burtonwood, who developed Britain's alcopop drinks in the 1990s) is on the B5204 in the west of Burtonwood, towards St Helens borough. Birchwood Park has to be the main technical business park in the North West. The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (United Kingdom), MPC's Agency for the North West is on Birchwood Park near the HQ of GB Oils, the UK's leading fuel oil supplier (owned by DCC Plc, DCC), and the operator of Gulf Oil UK, Gulf Oil petrol stations in the UK. Electricity North West (the North West's distribution network operator) is near by, with ESR Technology, who did work for the Philae (spacecraft), Philae space probe and owns the National Centre of Tribology at Whittle House in Risley, with TalkTalk Business to the west, near International Nuclear Services and Sellafield Ltd at Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside, Hinton House. Terberg Group, Terberg Matec UK (Dutch) supply lifts for bin wagons next to M62 junction 11. Also west of the park is Nuvia UK (part of Soletanche Freyssinet). Betfred (having the largest turnover in the region—£13.3bn) is at the western end of Birchwood itself, next to the M6 and Birchwood railway station. Birchwood was built on the former ROF Risley.
Lancashire
The Office for National Statistics, ONS 2010 Annual Business Survey states that 30.3% of jobs in the British aerospace industry are based in Lancashire. The main private employer in the county is BAE Systems Military Air & Information who have two sites east and west of
Preston
Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to:
Places
England
*Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement
**The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement
**County Boro ...
for the manufacture of military aircraft. Samlesbury Aerodrome, Samlesbury (4000 employees) makes air-frames; the front fuselage, canards and tailfin of the Eurofighter. Warton Aerodrome, Warton, BAE Systems' main site (former English Electric, then
BAC
BAC or Bac may refer to:
Places
* Bac, a village in Montenegro
* Baile Átha Cliath, Irish language name for Dublin city.
* Bîc River, aka ''Bâc River'', a Moldovan river
* Baç Bridge, bridge in Turkey
* Barnes County Municipal Airport (ICAO a ...
), in Bryning-with-Warton (6500 employees). BAE builds a Eurofighter every two weeks (takt time). Rolls-Royce plc, Rolls-Royce make turbofan blades in Barnoldswick (950 employees). Nearby Weston EU manufacture components in Foulridge (250) and engine maintenance contractor Euravia are in Kelbrook (100). Safran Aircelle make engine nacelles and Thrust reversal, thrust reversers in
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
(800), and mostly make thrust reversers for the Rolls-Royce Trent 700, Trent 700. GE subsidiary Unison Engine Components (320), are the largest of several others in the area.
(Westinghouse Electric Company, Westinghouse) (BNFL) make nuclear fuel at the Springfields site at Salwick, off the A583 road, A583 in Newton-with-Clifton. The boiler firm BAXI have a factory in the south of Preston, and next door, Assystem UK (engineering consultancy) are off the B5258 in Bamber Bridge. Anheuser-Busch InBev, AB InBev have a brewery on the B6230 in nearby in Samlesbury (former Whitbread, and brews Stella Artois); further east the BAE Systems factory is between the A677 and A59, mainly in Balderstone, Lancashire, Balderstone. To the north-east of Preston, Bodycare Group make toiletries at the Red Scar Business Park on the B6243, near junction 31a of the M6, where Goss International UK make printing presses. Webb Ivory (charity fundraising, owned by Findel plc) is off the A6 in Avenham, in the south of Preston.
Alstom
Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...
Transport (former GEC Traction) is at TLS Preston; company's main Trafford Park site closed in the early 1990s. Bosal (company), Bosal was the UK's leading manufacturer of car exhausts on Walton Summit, between the M6 and M61 until they closed operations. The Pilkington European Technical Centre is at Lathom.
Voith Paper has a site in Stubbins, at the northern end of the M66, off the A676 road, A676. Silentnight (600) is in Barnoldswick, where Hope Technology make mountain bike components; nearby Johnson Matthey makes automotive catalysts. At Whitworth, Lancashire, Whitworth on the A671, BCH engineer equipment for the food processing industry (Nestlé and Mars (company), Mars).
Brands originating in Lancashire include TVR, Reebok, Jaguar Cars and Warburtons. Leyland Trucks manufactures several truck ranges from Leyland, Lancashire, Leyland, home of Enterprise plc, and where Albion Motors, Albion Automotive (part of American Axle) make crankshafts at Farington. CCA Occasions makes greeting cards on the B5253 on the Moss Side, South Ribble, Moss Side Ind Estate and nearby Dr Oetker makes Chicago Town and Pizza Ristorante pizzas (330); 40% of the UK's frozen pizzas are made here, and the Pizza Ristorante brand, solely made in Lancashire, is Italy's best-selling frozen pizza with 20% of the Italian market. Nearby, Nitecrest is the UK's leading manufacturer of Gift card, gift, Payment card, payment, Loyalty program, loyalty and Telephone card, phone cards, and exports most of its products.
Walkers (snack foods), Walker's make Monster Munch at junction 5 of the M58 on the Pimbo Ind Est in Up Holland; nearby Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, SCA Hygiene has their Skelmersdale Mill which makes Paper towel, kitchen towel, with Uretek UK (polyurethane). To the east is Frederick's Dairies in East Pimbo, who make Cadbury's ice creams, near TAAG Steelwork, who built the Olympic Energy Centre. To the west, Turtle Wax Europe are next to M58 junction 4 on Gillibrands Ind Est. The Co-operative Bank are administered from Delf House in the centre of Skelmersdale.
Victrex make PEEK (a thermoplastic) just north of Blackpool at Cleveleys. Next door, AGC Chemicals Europe, owned by Asahi Glass Co., makes ETFE (fluon) for Electrical wiring, electrical wire insulation, and silica gel off the B5268 at Thornton-Cleveleys. HTI Group in Fleetwood makes toys and owns Barbie.
Ennis Prismo make traffic white line products at Chorley; Walmsleys is a paper manufacturer off the A675 in Withnell. DXC Technology (former CSC) have sites in Chorley and Preston. Along the M65, Fort Vale based in Simonstone, Lancashire, Simonstone (near
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
) (300) are a world leader in valves and fittings for Tank truck, road tankers. Close by, office furniture manufacturer Senator International (800) are the largest in the UK in their field. Off the A646 in Habergham Eaves, east of Burnley, is AMS Neve, a renowned manufacturer of Mixing console, audio mixing desks. Telecoms provider Daisy Group (former Pipex, 400), based in Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson is one of the UK's fastest growing companies, on Lomeshaye Ind Est north of M65 junction 12 in Brierfield, Lancashire, Brierfield; Cott, Cott Beverages (former Macaw Soft Drinks before 2006) is off junction 12 of the M65 in Brierfield, Lancashire, Brierfield, west of Nelson, next to Pendle Water. Jura Elektroapparate, Jura UK (Swiss coffee machines) is off the A6068 in Colne. At Horrocksford near Clitheroe, Hanson Cement have their large Ribblesdale Cement works, next to the River Ribble, which supplied construction of the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Bensons for Beds (previously in Burtonwood and Westbrook, Burtonwood near Warrington) and Sleepmasters (both owned by Steinhoff International) are in the north of Accrington, off junction 8 (A56) of the M65, near Huncoat railway station. Kleeneze (owned by Findel plc) is based with Express Gifts off the A678 road, A678 in Clayton-le-Moors off the M65 Hyndburn Interchange between Blackburn and Burnley, north of Accrington with a main distribution centre off the A679 in Church, Lancashire, Church on the other side of the M65 in the west of Accrington, with both sites next to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. Off the A678 road, A678 near the River Calder in Altham, Lancashire, Altham (north east of Clayton le Moors) is Senator (furniture), Senator who claim to be the UK's largest manufacturer of office furniture; Simon Jersey designed and made the Team GB clothing for the Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016 Olympics opening and closing ceremonies.
In Blackpool is the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Amber Taverns, Premium Bonds and National Savings and Investments. Dennis Eagle makes bin wagons in Marton; Tangerine Confectionery are based at Little Marton, with another factory to the east, just south of the main government building site. The Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (MoD's pensions, former Veterans Agency) is off the A585 road, A585 in east Blackpool at the B268 roundabout at Norcross in the south of Anchorsholme. The NS & I office of Blackpool is on the A583 road, A583, off the M55 Marton Circle, in Marton, Blackpool, Little Marton on the eastern edge of the town. Disability Living Allowance, replaced by Personal Independence Payment, is administered by the DWP, with the Disablement Services Authority at Warbreck House west of the A587 road, A587, accessed from the B5265 and next to Bispham High School Arts College, Bispham High School. At the end of the M55 (junction 4) off the A5230 in Westby-with-Plumptons is DWP's large Peel Park Control Centre, on the Blackpool boundary. Amber Taverns is near Blackpool North railway station. To the north of Peel Park, next to the Clifton Retail Park in Mereside is Glasdon (Street furniture, roadside furniture), off the A583.
Burton's Biscuit Company (owned since November 2013 by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan) have many head office functions in Layton, Blackpool and a factory off the B5124, in the south of Warbreck, next to the Blackpool Branch Lines, railway line, which makes Maryland Cookies, Cadbury Fingers and Wagon Wheels (with another main factory in Torfaen, south Wales); it is the UK's second largest biscuit maker and was founded in Blackpool.
Crown Paints is in Darwen (500). DS Smith have the Hollins paper mill just south of junction 4 of the M65, off the A666 in Darwen, which is set to close. Across the M65 to the north Apeks make diving equipment at Blackamoor, Lancashire, Blackamoor. Graham & Brown at Blackburn make fancy wallpaper, next to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, and off the A6077 is CWV (company), CWV (Coloroll and Crown Wallpaper); Capita Group runs Television licensing in the United Kingdom, TV Licensing in the middle of the town; Lucite International has its main plant on the A666 in the north of the town centre, where it makes Lucite; this site, under ICI Acrylics, manufactured the perspex for wartime aircraft canopies from 1940, becoming Ineos Acrylics from 1999 until 2002 and the company is the world's largest manufacturer of methyl methacrylate (MMA); ICI Acrylics invented the process to make perspex in 1936; the granular form of Perspex was known by ICI as Leukon. Tensar, Tensar International, invented and manufacture geogrids for construction, off the A6077 near junction 5 of the M65 in Blackburn near the B6231 roundabout; nearby is A. M. Castle & Co., Castle Metals UK; also on the Shadsworth Business Park is Evertaut, who make auditorium seating.
Greater Manchester
Tyco International, Tyco UK is based on the A62 in Newton Heath. Joseph Holt's Brewery is off the A665 next to Manchester (HM Prison), Strangeways prison; Boddingtons' Strangeways Brewery closed in 2006. Avecia (biotechnology) is off the A664 in the Hexagon Tower in Blackley near the North Manchester General Hospital. North of the hospital at Crumpsall was B3 Cable Solutions, the UK's only former manufacturer of telecommunications cables, based next to the River Irk. Heineken (former Scottish & Newcastle) have their large Royal Brewery in Moss Side next to the A5103, north of the B5219 junction. Admiral Sportswear are in Northenden. British Textile Technology Group is in Didsbury. Timpson (retailer), Timpson is in Wythenshawe; Sharwood's used to make their sauces there until Premier Foods moved production to Bury St Edmunds in 2008. Duerr's make honey and jam at the Roundthorn Ind Estate in Wythenshawe, off the A560 road, A560.
Shell UK (retail) was at Rowlandsway House in Wythenshawe until 2011 and has moved to Brabazon House nearby on the Concord Business Park; Royal Dutch Shell, List of largest companies by revenue, by revenue ($458bn) in 2010, was the world's largest company, with ExxonMobil second. Electrium make their Wylex Distribution board, fuse boxes on the B5168 and B5166 in Wythenshawe, north of the Sharston Interchange of the M56; to the west is a plant of the Heimbach Group. PZ Cussons (formerly in Cheadle Heath) is off the Airport Interchange of the M56, with a manufacturing site on the former Agecroft Colliery next to the Ribble Valley Line, railway in Pendlebury, Salford, off the A6044. Nearby in Moss Nook is Franke (company), Franke UK, the world's largest manufacturer of domestic sinks and Simon Carves (process engineering), and Renold, Renold plc is an international chain company based on the B5166, off the Manchester Airport spur of the M56. Amazon (company), Amazon have a Fulfillment house, fulfilment centre off the A538 west of the airport, south of the Hale Four Seasons Roundabout of the M56.
N Brown Group (JD Williams) is one of Britain's main clothing manufacturers and retailers, and based in
central Manchester near the A62/A665 junction and Sir Owen Williams (engineer), Owen William's Daily Express Building, Manchester, Daily Express Building, and owns well-known brands. Gazprom, Gazprom Energy is on Quay Street (A34) towards the River Irwell.
JJB Sports is at Marsh Green, Wigan, Marsh Green near the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas, set up by former footballer Dave Whelan who owns Wigan Athletic F.C.; also in Wigan are The Tote, Shearings Holidays and Girobank, and R&R Ice Cream (former Richmond Foods) make De Roma ice cream. Contitech UK (part of Continental AG) makes industrial Belt (mechanical), belts off the A587 road, A587 in Bickershaw, between Wigan and Leigh. Bulldog Tools make spades on the A577 in the east of Wigan. Electrium (Volex) make Electrical wiring in the United Kingdom, electrical wiring off the A578, north of Westleigh, Greater Manchester, Westleigh. Ainscough Crane Hire is the UK's largest lifting services company on Bradley Hall Est in Standish, Greater Manchester, Standish, next to the WCML. Off the A580 at the A573 road, A573 roundabout at Golborne, at Stone Cross Park south of the borough, is Alpla UK (plastic bottles) and Sofology (furniture).
Makro is in Eccles. Akcros Chemicals are off the A576. Cooper & Stollbrand make premium garments next to the River Irwell on Cambridge Ind Est in Broughton, Greater Manchester, Lower Broughton. On the Bolton boundary in north of the borough in Little Hulton, Eaton Corporation, Eaton Transmissions closed in 2006, with production moving to Tczew in Poland. Colgate closed its toothpaste factory in October 2008, on the A5066 road, A5066, and is now called Soapworks, near the former Manchester Docks, Pomona Docks in Ordsall, Greater Manchester, Ordsall. Pentair Safety Systems have a main site in Linnyshaw, west of the M61 Worsley Braided Interchange.
Sock Shop is in Bolton, and MBDA (Matra BAe Dynamics Alenia Marconi Systems, Alenia, owned 37.5% by BAE Systems) makes missiles in Lostock, Bolton, Lostock near the Horwich Link Interchange of the M61; it is the historic main manufacturing site of Britain's aircraft-launched missiles; MBDA Lostock is MBDA's largest production site (of the whole company) and makes the air-to-air ASRAAM (found on the Eurofighter) and the air-to-surface active radar homing Brimstone (missile) designed by GEC-Marconi in the 1990s, and previously made the Rapier (missile), Rapier surface-to-air missile, and the De Havilland Firestreak, Britain's first (infrared homing) air-to-air missile. Cash Generator is south of the borough off the A575 road, A575 in Farnworth, north of the Salford boundary; Cosatto (nursery equipment) is on the A575 Moses Gate, in East Farnworth. dabs.com, an e-commerce site owned by BT, is in Wingates (Westhoughton), west of Bolton off the A6 and the Horwich Link Interchange of the M61, next to Krones UK (German) on the Wingates Ind Est, which produces machinery for bottling manufacture; nearby is a hologram factory of De La Rue. Benteler International, Benteler UK (carbon steel tubes) is next to the River Croal off the A58 at Tonge Moor next to Astley Bridge in north Bolton and to the south PMT Italia, PMT Industries makes paper drying machines. Watson Steel Structures (Severfield, opposite MBDA in Lostock) built steel structures for Olympic Stadium (London), Olympic Stadium, the Lee Valley VeloPark, Velodrome, the Basketball Arena (London), Basketball Arena, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, and the Copper Box, Handball Centre, as well as numerous well-known Structural steel, steel structures around the UK, such as Aspire (sculpture), Aspire, and the Clyde Arc.
BAE Systems built aircraft in Chadderton and Woodford in Stockport (former Avro) off the A5102 (the eastern half of the airfield is in Cheshire East); the British Aerospace 146, BAe 146 (Avro RJ) was manufactured at Woodford until 2001. Senior plc, Senior Aerospace BWT at Adlington, Cheshire off the A523 at the eastern end of Woodford Aerodrome, make air-conditioning systems for business jets. Det Norske Veritas, DNV UK (engineering standards), National Tyres and Autocare, National Tyre Service (at the A5145/A6 junction) and Britain's first internet bank Smile (bank), Smile (founded by the Co-op in 1999) are nearby in Stockport. Wienerberger UK, the Austrian brick company who own Baggeridge, are based at the Cheadle Royal Business Park at the B5358/A34 junction, as is Umbro, and Agilent Technologies UK (biomedical equipment), and Chiesi UK (Pulmonology, respiratory medicine). DBS Civilian HR (the former Pay and Personnel Agency) is off A555 at Cheadle Hulme. Adidas, Adidas UK is in Bramhall Moor, Hazel Grove off the A5143, and further south is NXP Semiconductors UK make MOSFETs; on the opposite side of the railway is MAN Diesel & Turbo, which is next to Stepping Hill Hospital. BASF, BASF UK is in Handforth next to the A34/A555 road, A555 junction on the Cheshire boundary. Thales Underwater Systems (former Thomson Marconi Sonar, Ferranti Thomson Sonar Systems) is in Cheadle Heath. McVitie's make their Jaffa Cakes, Penguin (biscuit), Penguins and Digestive biscuit, chocolate digestives at a factory in South Manchester on the A6. Jysk (store), JYSK UK (mattresses) are off the A523 near the A6 junction. Pilkington's Tiles are based on Bredbury Park Ind Est, near a main factory of Renold Chain on the A6017 off the M60 Bredbury Interchange; also in Bredbury off the A6017 road, A6017 is Janome UK (sewing machines).
Russell Hobbs is in the south of the borough at Failsworth on the A62 road, A62, west of the M60 Hollinwood Interchange; nearby to the Hollinwood railway station in Oldham, Trinity Mirror (former Mirror Colour Print before 2006) prints the ''Mirror'' and ''Independent'' for the north of England, as well as the ''Manchester Evening News'' and ''Liverpool Echo''. Diodes Incorporated, Diodes Semiconductors (former Zetex) based off the A669 in Alder Root, Chadderton, is a leader in LED lamp, LED lighting. Money Controls, in Royton in the north of the borough, make currency detectors, being owned by Crane Merchandising Systems, Crane Payment Solutions, and Pulse Home Products (makes Breville, owned by Jarden in Florida) is on the B6195. BAE Chadderton was next to the M60 and B6393, and a Caldervale Line, railway, and closed in March 2012; later a repair facility, it built the Avro Lancaster, Lancaster and Avro Vulcan, Vulcan. Mölnlycke Health Care UK on the B6194 in central Oldham make Scrubs (clothing), surgical clothing and Surgical mask, masks. Shop Direct have their Shaw National Distribution Centre.
Revolution Bars Group (former Inventive Leisure before December 2014), who own the Revolution (vodka bars), Revolution pub chain, are in Ashton-under-Lyne. Kerry Group, Kerry Foods at Godley, Greater Manchester, Godley Hill (Hyde) on the A57 make Richmond and Wall's (meat), Wall's sausages. Robertson's (now owned by Premier Foods since it was bought from Rank Hovis McDougall) moved their marmalade (Golden Shred) and jam processing from
Droylsden
Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689.
Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the ...
to Histon (Cambridgeshire) in October 2008. Brother Industries, Brother Europe (typewriters and sewing machines) are at Hooley Hill on the A6017 next to Guide Bridge railway station, east of the Snipe Interchange of the M60. Outdoor Sports Company owner of Mountain Equipment (company), Mountain Equipment, Ronhill (running clothing), and Sprayway, are based off the B6468 in Hyde.
Cotton Traders are in Altrincham, and Dulux, Dulux Decorator Centres is in Timperley, West Timperley. Britannia Hotels is on the A538 road, A538 in Hale near the A5144 junction. LyondellBasell UK (former Basell Polyolefins), makes polypropylene resin at Carrington Works, off the A6144(M) motorway, A6144 (former motorway) in Carrington, Greater Manchester, Carrington, off the Carrington Interchange of the M60, which was set up to exploit the British-invented Catarole process, later bought by Shell in 1955. Ethel Austin is in Altrincham (formerly Knowsley until 2010). Virtalis (virtual reality) is off the B5397 near Dane Road Metrolink station in Sale. S2Blue, a radio jingles company run by Steve England, is off the A6144 near the B5165 junction, in Ashton upon Mersey in the former studios of Alfasound (having moved from Leek, Staffordshire, Leek in 2013). HomeForm Group, owner of Moben Kitchens, Möben Kitchens, Sharps Bedrooms and Dolphin Bathrooms until 2011, was on the A56 road, A56 in Old Trafford (district), Old Trafford. Itron UK (flow metering) have a plant at the A56/A5014 junction at Gorse Hillin Stretford; further along the A5014 there is Kelloggs UK HQ next to the Old Trafford cricket ground. Regatta (clothing), Regatta and Craghoppers are on Barton Dock Road (B5211), near the Trafford Centre (the base of The Peel Group), on the other side of the A5081. Holt Lloyd, known as Holts, the largest car care company in the world in the 1980s, now owned by Honeywell Consumer Products Group, is based on Barton Dock Road (B5211), at Merlin Park on the south of Trafford Park, off the M60 Lostock Circle. On Trafford Park near the A576 Centenary Bridge (Manchester), Centenary Bridge Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, SCA makes household tissue products (owned by Procter & Gamble, P&G before 2007), and next door is P&G's Manchester Plant which makes its ''Pampers'' nappies. The Fragrance Shop is based near Trafford Ecology Park, on Trafford Park. Soreen is made south of Trafford Park, next to the Bridgewater Canal off the A5081 Parkway Circle roundabout; next door UK Data Capture (Lockheed Martin) processed all the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census data.
Kelloggs is in Trafford Park (Manchester); to the north Adidas have their European distribution centre, and nearby TDG Limited, TDG was on the industrial estate, until bought by Norbert Dentressangle in 2011. DHL Freight UK is at Manchester International Freight Terminal, west of the Old Trafford football ground. Chemtura (chemicals, former site of Ciba-Geigy) is between the A576 and B5214 towards the north end of the industrial park. Lucchini RS, Lucchini UK (railway Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets and axles) are on Trafford Park off the B5214, and are a main supplier for UK trains. Ocean Finance is on Trafford Park (previously in Tamworth, Staffordshire, Tamworth). Hot Animation, who made ''Bob the Builder'', are on Hanover Business Park in the east of Altrincham, in Broadheath, Greater Manchester, Broadheath; to the south towards the Bridgewater Canal, across a Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway, former railway, on the Altrincham Ind Est, Girlguiding UK run their trading service.
JD Sports is west of the Pilsworth Interchange of the M66 in Unsworth south of Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury; Birthdays (retailer), Birthdays is west of the Heap Bridge Interchange; Tetrosyl Group Ltd, UK maker of car care products are at Walmersley, off the A56 and also at junction 2 (A58) of the M66. At A6053/A56 junction in Redvales, to the south of Bury is Swintex, Melba Swintex, a main supplier of street furniture—traffic cones and Traffic barrier, barriers, claiming to be a world leader. Milliken & Company, Milliken make airbags on the A58, south-west of Bury.
PTG (Holroyd Machine Tools) are based off the M62 Milnrow Interchange; nearby off the A6193 are Takeuchi Manufacturing UK (construction equipment). Premier Foods make Sarson's on the A669 near Mills Hill railway station in Middleton, Greater Manchester, Middleton; on the opposite side of the railway Vita Group make List of polyurethane applications, polyurethane foam (Vitafoam, the largest supplier in the UK). Voith Paper have a servicing centre on the A576 road, A576, west of Middleton town centre. The Co-op UK, Co-op is based in Manchester and Rochdale. Minky Homecare (Housekeeping, household cleaning) and Freudenberg Group, Freudenberg Household Products UK is in the centre of Rochdale off the A671 road, A671. Zen Internet is at Sandbrook House on Sandbrook Park at end of the A627(M) motorway, A627(M) off the A664 in Stoneyfield in the south of Rochdale, and next door is the HQ of The Co-operative Pharmacy. We Buy Any Car is at Castleton, Greater Manchester, Castleton near the A664, in the south-west of Rochdale, the same site of Carcraft. C.H. Guenther, Guenther Bakeries (owned by Golden West, part of RHM, until 2005) in the south of Heywood, east of the large Heywood Distribution Park, makes the bread buns for McDonald's (with another site in Banbury).
Merseyside
Pilkington is in St. Helens; Knauf Insulation UK, is south-west of the town centre. Alumasc Exterior Building Products is on B5204 near St Helens Junction railway station in Sutton, St Helens, Sutton. Kalzip, a division of Tata Steel Europe, make aluminium roofs in Haydock; Gas Control Equipment Ltd, GCE Group UK, who make Medical gas supply, medical gas controllers and diving regulators, are on the A599 road, A599 near the M6 Haydock Island; to the north-west is a large Sainsbury's RDC; further up the A49 before Ashton-in-Makerfield and Byrchall High School is Speedy Hire, the biggest hire firm in the UK. Vimto is owned by Nichols plc of Newton-le-Willows, although actually made by Cott, Cott Beverages in north Leicestershire.
Littlewoods are in Garston, who are owned by the Shop Direct Group in Speke. Princes (company), Princes, Johnsons Cleaners UK, A. P. Moller-Maersk Group, Maersk Line UK, the Beetham Organization, John West Foods, Bibby Line, Home Bargains, the Royal Liver Friendly Society, Royal Liver Assurance and T J Hughes have their headquarters in Liverpool. Towards Aintree, Jacob's and their crackers are historically based, and also make Twiglets at their site at Hartley's Village in Fazakerley, and nearby is Sportech PLC, owner of the football pools; Trigon Snacks make Big D (peanuts) in Aintree, and have done since the 1970s on the Greylaw Ind Est off the B5187, near the Archbishop Beck Catholic Sports College. HMRC's (former Inland Revenue) National Insolvency Unit is at Regian House (previously at Queen's Dock, Port of Liverpool, Queen's Dock) opposite Liverpool James Street railway station and next to Liverpool's Armed Forces Careers Office. The Criminal Records Bureau is on Prince's Dock, Liverpool, Prince's Dock, since 2013 part of the new Disclosure and Barring Service (with the former Independent Safeguarding Authority, ISA in Darlington). The Defence Bills Agency was at Mersey House next to St James railway station, now part of Defence Business Services, DBS Finance.
Tangerine Confectionery makes its Princess marshmallows off Edge Lane (A5047) in east Liverpool, west of Wavertree Technology Park. Home Bargains are off the A580 road, A580 west of junction 4 of the M57, on the Knowsley boundary at Stonebridge Park, Liverpool, Stonebridge Park. JF Renshaw (Renshaw Napier), who have a Royal warrant, make Icing (food), cake icing on the A562 road, A562 next to the Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool Women's Hospital in Edge Hill; 90% of the UK's marzipan comes from this factory. At Speke on the A561, west of the Jaguar Land Rover, JLR plant, partly in Knowsley, Novartis make vaccines such as Influenza vaccine, Fluvirin, and directly to the south MedImmune (owned by AstraZeneca) makes components of influenza vaccine (Live attenuated influenza vaccine, FluMist); Briggs Automotive Company is on Speke Hall Ind Est, with HP Chemie Pelzer UK (automobile Absorption (acoustics), acoustics). At Hunts Cross on the northern side of the railway line, the large Eli Lilly and Company, Eli Lilly Speke Operations manufacturing plant produces antibiotics such as Capreomycin, and in 1981 produced the world's first Biosynthesis, biosynthetic product, by manufacturing biologic medical product, biologic insulin, and has also produced biosynthetic human growth hormone since 1985; the plant was owned by The Distillers Company after the war until 1962, where it made penicillin and later made thalidomide. Near the A561/A562 junction, the Northwest Regional Development Agency, NWDA-funded National Biomanufacturing Centre was built in 2006. On the south side of the A561 in Speke is Estuary Commerce Park. Further to south is Prinovis UK and B & M (previously in Blackpool) on the Liverpool International Business Park; on the former Speke Aerodrome is Shop Direct near the National Biomanufacturing Centre.
Jaguar Land Rover has 166 acres of its main Halewood Body & Assembly, production site (formerly owned by Ford of Europe, Ford) in
Halewood
Halewood is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It lies near the city of Liverpool's southeastern boundary, bordered by the suburbs of Netherley, Hunt's Cross and Woolton.
Historically a part of Lancashire, ...
, making the Land Rover Freelander, Freelander and Range Rover Evoque. Getrag, Getrag Ford Transmissions, make 400,000 Automatic transmission, automatic and manual transmissions next door to the east of JLR's Halewood plant, for Ford, Volvo and Mazda vehicles. Magna International, Magna Decoma, west of JLR Halewood and east of Novartis, make car interiors and exteriors. Dairy Crest makes Vitalite and Utterly Butterly on the A5207 in Kirkby, off the M57 Randles Farm Interchange, opposite a former site of Ethel Austin; to the east of Dairy Crest is Yorkshire Copper Tube, Britain's main manufacturer of copper tubing, owned by Italian KME Group; Counterline make foodservice counters on Knowsley Business Park; Clarke Energy is on the A5208 road, A5208. Further north on the estate next to the A5208 is QVC (UK), QVC UK's distribution centre, with all three in Kirkby. Further north, next to the Lancashire boundary is Goodrich Actuation Systems on the Huyton Ind Est (in former Huyton Quarry) on the north-west side of the M62 Tarbock Island M62 (off the A5080) in Tarbock. Next door Halewood International, who make Lambrini, Red Square, Lamb's Navy Rum and some alcopops, are in Whitefield Lane End, in the south of Huyton at the M62/M57 junction. Belling Ltd (owned by Glen Dimplex) is in Whiston, Merseyside, Whiston, next to the large Whiston Hospital; Glen Dimplex Whiston is the UK's only manufacturer of cookers, around 350,000 a year (Stoves plc before 2001), and also owns LEC Refrigeration, LEC fridges. Manesty manufactures medicine tablets off the B5194 on the Knowsley Business Park. Nationwide fashion retailer Matalan has its head office and main distribution centre in the north of the Knowsley Ind Est (at Skelmersdale until 2014); the Knowsley Ind Estate is all on the former ROF Kirkby. Camelot Group have their Liverpool Prize Payout Centre on the Kings Business Park on the A57, west of the M57 Forest House Interchange.
Typhoo tea is made in Moreton, Merseyside, Moreton off the A551 next to Moreton (Merseyside) railway station, Moreton railway station, and on the same site there is Manor Bakeries (Premier Foods, former J. Lyons and Co., Lyons Cakes, before April 1995) who make List of Cadbury products, mini rolls, and a factory of Burton's Biscuit Company closed in December 2011 which made Cadbury's biscuits (Cadbury Fingers) and Wagon Wheels, where they still have a chocolate refinery. Bristol-Myers Squibb UK have their main research laboratories east of the Moreton bakery, near Leasowe railway station. CML Group (part of Teledyne Technologies, Teledyne) makes composites and aircraft components off the A41 at Bromborough near Eastham, Merseyside, Eastham Country Park; to the south is Einhell UK (power tools). Stiebel Eltron UK (heat pumps) nearby, are near Meyer Corporation, Meyer Prestige (cookware), Prestige who make Cookware and bakeware, cookware (who also own Circulon and Anolon) and Givaudan UK have a fragrances factory. Lithium Corporation of America, FMC Lithium, east of the A41 at Wirral International Business Park, makes butyllithium and other Organometallic chemistry, organometallic compounds. At Port Sunlight, Unilever make and research detergents and shampoo, such as ''Timotei'' and ''Sunsilk'', as well as ''Comfort (fabric softener), Comfort'' and ''Persil Liquid''. Cammell Laird at Birkenhead build ships, including two UGM-27 Polaris, Polaris Resolution-class submarines in the 1960s; on Twelve Quays off the A554 road, A554 is Faiveley Transport UK (railway electrical components). Survitec Group, RFD Beaufort (known as Beaufort Air-Sea Equipment in the 1980s) make G-suits for fighter aircraft and Lifeboat (shipboard), liferafts. Eastham Oil Terminal, Eastham Refinery off junction 6 of the M53, at Eastham, Merseyside, Eastham in Wirral, just north of Hooton Park (in Cheshire), is owned by Nynas.
Pontins is in Ainsdale, Sefton. HMRC at St John's House, Bootle, St John's House on the A5057 in Bootle, is the national office for dealing with tax for individual savings accounts (ISAs) and other savings schemes, charities (Gift Aid), non-resident trusts, and Domicile (law), domicile status; opposite is Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, Sefton Council's Magdalen House. Nearby to the west on the A5057, the Health and Safety Executive, HSE and Office for Nuclear Regulation have their head office at Redgrave Court, near the main site of Hugh Baird College. The Inland Revenue had its main office at The Triad, Bootle, The Triad in Bootle, next to the New Strand Shopping Centre, Strand Shopping Centre, and the site is still run by HMRC. Unipart Dorman make LED traffic lights near Meols Cop railway station in Blowick, east of Southport; to the north at Crossens, Railex make filing cabinets.
Cumbria
Royal Navy submarines and ships are made by BAE Systems Submarine Solutions in
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
. The coast of
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
is known as Britain's Energy Coast due to the large amounts of energy being produced along the coast of the county; Sellafield is a power station which is located in West Cumbria and is a major contributor to the "Energy Coast" also,
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
is major town in contributing to the "Energy Coast" with a power station (Roosecote Power Station), Gas Terminals (Rampside Gas Terminal) and an offshore wind farm (Walney Wind Farm) which is approximately 14 km (8.6 miles) west of the town's coastline with some of the largest wind turbines on Earth. On the Westlakes Science & Technology Park off the A595 south of Whitehaven, is the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (in Herdus House).
The British Cattle Movement Service is at Workington next to Tata Steel Europe, Tata Steel Projects, near a site of the National Nuclear Laboratory on Derwent Howe Ind Est. Iggesund Paperboard is south of Workington, off the
A596
The A596 is a primary route in Cumbria, in northern England, that runs between Thursby ( north-east of Wigton) and Workington. For its entirety the A596 parallels the A595 road, A595, and meets the A595 at both ends. The A596 begins its course ...
; next door is Eastman Chemical Company, Eastman Chemical. Amcor, Amcor Flexibles Cumbria (former Alcan before 2009) in the south of Workington prints Potato chip, crisp packets and confectionery wrappers, for distribution around the UK's factories.
The
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
is popular with holiday makers. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is near Whitehaven. Lakeland (company), Lakeland, who make kitchenware, are in Windermere. Stobart Group is in
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
. M-Sport, the Rallying, rally team at Dovenby Hall, and Jennings Brewery are in Cockermouth. James Cropper (company), James Cropper, Europe's leading manufacturer of coloured paper, is in Burneside, north of Kendal, on the River Kent near the A591 road, A591. Pirelli have their main UK tyre plant (for prestige cars) on the B5299 in south Carlisle; to the south in Cummersdale next to the River Caldew, Stead McAlpin have a large textile site, formerly owned by John Lewis Partnership, John Lewis. BSW Timber, the UK's largest sawmilling company, has a large site north of Carlisle at Cargo, Cumbria, Cargo in Kingmoor, next to Carlisle Kingmoor TMD on the WCML. BillerudKorsnäs had a paper mill at Beetham on the A6 next to the River Bela in the south of the county. Sealy Corporation, Sealy UK make beds and mattresses on the B5031 next to Aspatria railway station in north Cumbria, west of Carlisle; next door First Milk (company), First Milk make Lake District Cheddar. Further east along the A596, Innovia Films (former British Rayophane) have a large site at Wigton. GSK Ulverston, built in 1949 as Glaxo to produce penicillin with a new plant to be built, makes cephalosporin antibiotics including cefuroxime and ceftazidime.
Education
Secondary education
Secondary schools are mostly comprehensive, but Trafford retains a wholly selective school system, and there are some other grammar schools in Lancashire, Wirral, Liverpool and Cumbria.
There are around 345,000 at secondary school in the region, the third highest in England, after South East England and
Greater London
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality
*Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
*Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
*Greater (song), "Greate ...
. This is around three times as much as there are in
North East England
North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...
. For school truancy the most persistent truants are in Manchester with a rate of 7.3%, followed by Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Knowsley with 6.9%, and
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
with 6.6%. The lowest truancy rate is in South Ribble with 2.4% followed by
Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The total population of the non-metropolitan district at the 2011 Census was 57,132. Its council is based in Clitheroe. ...
with 2.9% (both in Lancashire).
At A level in 2010, Trafford performed the best and, again like its results at GCSE, is one of the best areas in England. The lowest performing area is, again, Knowsley but followed by Rochdale. Knowsley has had some dreadful results at A-level; Halewood Academy, its last school sixth-form, closed in 2016; there is now no school-based A-level provision in Knowsley, it is provided by the Knowsley Community College. For traditional counties, Lancashire gets excellent results at A-level, being one of the best in England. Areas also performing above the England average, in order of results, are Blackpool, Warrington, Wigan, Cheshire West and Chester, Bury, Cumbria, Wirral, and Stockport. Blackpool performs not particularly well at GCSE, yet produces much better results at A level—even better than Cheshire West and Chester, and the third-best in the region.
; Top ten state schools in the North West (2015 A level results)
# Altrincham Grammar School for Girls (1223)
# Altrincham Grammar School for Boys
# The Liverpool Blue Coat School, Blue Coat School, Liverpool
# Lancaster Girls' Grammar School
# The Blue Coat School, Oldham, The Blue Coat CofE School, Oldham
# Wirral Grammar School for Girls
# Wirral Grammar School for Boys
# Loreto Grammar School, Altrincham
# West Kirby Grammar School
# Clitheroe Royal Grammar School
The areas that have school children most likely to attend university are Trafford and Cheshire, followed by Wirral, Sefton, Stockport and Bury. Four of these areas are or were part of Cheshire.
Colleges
* Aquinas College, Stockport, Aquinas College, Stockport
* Ashton Sixth Form College, Ashton-under-Lyne
* Barrow 6th form, Barrow-in-Furness Sixth Form College, Barrow-in-Furness
* Blackburn College (Blackburn with Darwen), Blackburn College, Blackburn
* Blackpool and The Fylde College, Blackpool
* Blackpool Sixth Form College, Blackpool
* Bolton College, Bolton
* Bolton Sixth Form College, Bolton
* Burnley College, Burnley
* Bury College, Bury
* Carlisle College, Carlisle
* Carmel College (St Helens), Carmel College, St Helens
* Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College, Cheadle
* Furness College, Barrow-in-Furness, Furness College, Barrow-in-Furness
* Hazel Grove High School Sixth Form, Stockport
* Holy Cross College (UK), Bury
* Hopwood Hall College, Rochdale
* Hugh Baird College, Bootle
* Kendal College, Kendal
* King George V College, Southport
* Lancaster and Morecambe College, Lancaster
* Liverpool Community College, Liverpool
* Loreto College, Manchester, Loreto College, Manchester
* Macclesfield College, Macclesfield
* The Manchester College, Manchester
* Mid Cheshire College, Northwich
* The Oldham College, Oldham
* Oldham Sixth Form College, Oldham
* Preston College, Preston
* Priestley College, Warrington
* Rainford College, St Helens
* Riverside College, Widnes, Riverside College, Widnes
* Runshaw College, Leyland
* Salford City College, Salford
* South Cheshire College, Crewe
* Southport College, Southport
* Sir John Deane's College, Northwich
* Stockport College, Stockport
* St Helens College, St Helens
* St John Rigby College (Wigan), St John Rigby College, Wigan
* St. Mary's College, Blackburn, St. Mary's College, Blackburn
* St. Wilfrids C of E Sixth Form College, Blackburn
* Thomas Whitham Sixth Form, Burnley
* Trafford College, Trafford
* West Cheshire College Ellesmere Port
* Wigan and Leigh College, Wigan
* Winstanley College, Wigan
* Xaverian College, Manchester
The two main higher education colleges in the region are Blackburn College (Blackburn with Darwen), Blackburn College and Blackpool and The Fylde College. There are forty three FE colleges. The regional LSC was in central Manchester; this is now the SFA and the YPLA.
Universities
The universities in the North West are listed below:
*
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
, Manchester – The List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, largest single-site university in the UK with 36,907 students
* Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester – Also one of the country's largest universities with 40,420 students – second-largest university in the region
* University of Central Lancashire, UCLAN, Preston – The University of Central Lancashire in Preston, 28,850 students – third-largest university in the region
* Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool – 24,085 students
* University of Liverpool, Liverpool – 20,765 students
* University of Salford, Salford – 20,185 students
* Lancaster University, Lancaster – 17,415 students
* The University of Law, Chester, Manchester
* Edge Hill University, Ormskirk – 15,645 students
* University of Chester, Chester and Warrington – 15,095 students
* University of Bolton, Bolton – 8,540 students
* Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool – 8,205 students
* University of Cumbria – The region's newest university located across Cumbria, parts of Lancashire and London, and formerly known as the Cumbria Institute of the Arts
Over 60% of university students in the region are native to the region. The region with the next-highest number of students in the North-West is
Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
, so approximately 80% of university students in the area are from the north of England. The region's students have the highest proportion of students from so-called low-participation neighbourhoods.
Local media
; TV
* Liverpool TV is a local television station serving Liverpool City Region and surrounding areas. The station is owned and operated by Local Television Limited and is required to broadcast 35 hours a week of first-run local programming.
* That's Manchester is a local television station serving Greater Manchester. It is owned and operated by That's TV and broadcasts on Freeview channel 7 from studios at The Flint Glass Works in the Ancoats suburb of Manchester.
* Regional news programmes for the Isle of Man, North West England and south of Cumbria – ''BBC North West Tonight, North West Tonight'' (BBC North West) and ''Granada Reports'' (ITV Granada), both based in Salford Quays since Autumn 2011 and Spring 2013 respectively.
* Regional news programmes for the north of Cumbria – ''BBC Look North (North East and Cumbria), Look North'' (BBC North East and Cumbria) based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle and ''Lookaround'' (ITV Tyne Tees & Border) based in Gateshead.
* Regional news programmes for the West Craven area of Lancashire, historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire – ''BBC Look North (Yorkshire and North Midlands), Look North'' and ''ITV News Calendar'' both based in Leeds. Both are broadcast from the Skipton transmitter which is part of the Emley Moor transmitter group.
** N.B. Digital TV comes from Winter Hill transmitting station, Winter Hill for the south of the region, and Caldbeck transmitting station, Caldbeck for Cumbria. Digital switchover dates in the United Kingdom, Digital switchover took place in mid-2009 for Cumbria and late-2009 for the south of the region.
; Radio
* BBC Local Radio services for the region include BBC Radios BBC Radio Manchester, Manchester, BBC Radio Merseyside, Merseyside, BBC Radio Lancashire, Lancashire and BBC Radio Cumbria, Cumbria.
* National radio comes from Holme Moss (for Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and Cheshire) and Sandale transmitting station, Sandale for Cumbria. There is a main MW transmitter for the region (and England), over the border in Kirklees, at Moorside Edge transmitting station, Moorside Edge.
* Commercial radio stations include:
** Heart North West (broadcast to Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside via a regional service - formerly 105.4 Century FM and Real Radio - and to
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
, Morecambe and Lancaster, formerly Heart North Lancashire and Cumbria, The Bay.
** The Hits Radio network is based at Castlefield, Manchester; its stations include Hits Radio Manchester (formerly Key 103), 97.4 Rock FM, Rock FM (Preston), Radio City 96.7, Radio City (Liverpool), and CFM Radio, CFM (City of Carlisle, Carlisle and west Cumbria), with the Castlefield studios also providing the majority of programmes for Hits Radio UK.
** Capital Manchester and Lancashire (created from the former Galaxy Manchester and 2BR , the latter having earlier absorbed 106.5 Central Radio and The Bee (radio station), The Bee), and Capital Liverpool (former Juice FM), with the Wirral and Cheshire served as part of Capital North West and North Wales.
** Smooth North West (regional service) and Smooth Lake District (
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
)
** Greatest Hits Radio North West broadcasts to Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool & The North West, Merseyside, The Revolution (radio station), Oldham and Rochdale, Tower FM, Bolton and Bury, 104.9 Imagine FM, Stockport, Wish FM, Wigan and St. Helens, Radio Wave 96.5, Blackpool and Wire FM, Warrington and Runcorn on FM, and to Liverpool, Manchester and central Lancashire via DAB and formerly AM. A localised version for Cumbria launched on DAB in 2021. Some programmes for the Greatest Hits Radio network are broadcast from Castlefield or St John's Beacon, Liverpool.
** XS Manchester
** Dee 106.3 (Chester) and sibling Silk 106.9 (Macclesfield)
The UK's Time from NPL (MSF), Time signal comes from Anthorn Radio Station on the north-west Cumbrian coast, where there are three atomic clocks.
; Newspapers
* ''Blackpool Gazette'', Blackpool
* ''The Bolton News, Bolton News'', Bolton
* ''Bury Times'', Bury
* ''Chester Evening Leader'', Chester
* ''Lancashire Evening Post'', Preston
* ''Lancashire Telegraph'', Blackburn
* ''Liverpool Echo'', Liverpool
* ''Manchester Evening News'', Manchester
* ''News and Star'', Carlisle
* ''North-West Evening Mail'', Barrow-in-Furness
* ''Oldham Evening Chronicle'', Oldham
* ''Southport Visiter'', Southport
* ''The Reporter'', St Helens
* ''The Star'', St Helens
* ''Westmorland Gazette'', Kendal
* ''Wigan Evening Post'', Wigan
Guardian Media Group have a printing site at Trafford Park Printers off the A5081 (M60 junction 9) between the Bridgewater Canal and the A576 road, A576 roundabout which prints the ''Guardian'' (it is owned 50% with the Telegraph and 50% by Guardian Print Centre); it printed the ''Telegraph'' until 2008, and is known also as GPC Manchester. From 2008, the ''Telegraph'' has been printed at the Newsprinters huge site at Knowsley. Newsprinters have a site near Dairy Crest at Knowsley, and prints the ''Times'', ''Telegraph'' and ''Sun'' titles, near the B5202.
Broughton Printers, owned by Northern & Shell, print the ''Daily Express, Express'' and ''Daily Star (British newspaper), Star'' at Fulwood, Lancashire, Fulwood on the B6241 south of the M55/M6 junction, on the same site as the ''Lancashire Evening Post''.
; Magazines
Prinovis in Liverpool (Speke) prints ''OK!'', the ''The Sun (United Kingdom), Sun on Sunday'' magazine (''Fabulous''), and the ''Sunday Times'' The Sunday Times Magazine, magazine.
Town and city twinnings
Sport
The modern Darts, dart board was invented in 1896 by Lancashire carpenter Brian Gamlin from Bury, aged 44. Oulton Park, in central Cheshire, is the home of the British Touring Car Championship in June. The International Netball Federation is situated in Manchester, home to the National Squash Centre and the National Cycling Centre (Manchester Velodrome and British Cycling) at Sportcity. The first greyhound racing in the UK was in July 1926 in Manchester at the purpose-built oval Belle Vue Stadium. The National Football Museum is in Manchester.
Football
The following football clubs are based in the North West, and compete in the Premier League or Football League (the top four division of the English football league system) going into the 2022–23 in English football, 2022-23 season.
Teams in the North West have won 63 out of 123 English football champions, English football League titles (Just over 50%), more than any other region, with Manchester United having won more than any other team.
Rugby League
The following rugby league clubs are based in the North West, and compete in the Super League or the Rugby League Championships, Championships (the top three division of the British rugby league system) as of 2021 in rugby league, 2021.
Super League teams
* Leigh Centurions (Leigh, Greater Manchester)
* Salford Red Devils, Salford City Reds (Salford, Greater Manchester)
* St Helens R.F.C., St. Helens (St Helens, Mersyside)
* Warrington Wolves (Warrington, Cheshire)
* Wigan Warriors (Wigan, Greater Manchester)
British Swimming have one of its three Intensive Training Centres at the Grand Central Stockport, Grand Central Pools in Stockport.
Golf
Royal Birkdale Golf Club is at Southport and there is the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club. Royal Liverpool Golf Club is at Hoylake.
See also
* Cumbric language
* Envirolink Northwest
* List of schools in the North West of England
* Northwest Development Agency
* Outline of England
References
External links
*
{{authority control
North West England,
Northern England, .
Regions of England
NUTS 1 statistical regions of England
NUTS 1 statistical regions of the European Union