Partington is a town and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
Metropolitan Borough of Trafford
Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urm ...
, Greater Manchester, England, south-west of
Manchester city centre
Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...
.
Within the boundaries of the
historic county of
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
, it lies on the southern bank of the
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...
, opposite
Cadishead
Cadishead is a village in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 10,739 in 2014. Within the historic county of Lancashire.
History
The earliest record of Cadishead date to 1212, and show that the whole of Cad ...
on the northern bank. It has a population of 7,327.
The completion of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 transformed Partington into a major coal-exporting port and attracted other industries. Until 2007
Shell Chemicals UK operated a major petrochemicals manufacturing complex in
Carrington, Partington's closest neighbour to the east. The gas storage facility in the north-eastern corner of the town was once a gasworks and another significant employer.
Shortly after the Second World War, local authorities made an effort to rehouse people away from
Victorian slum
A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...
s in inner-city Manchester. An area of Partington became an
overspill estate
An overspill estate is a housing estate planned and built for the housing of excess population in urban areas, both from the natural increase of population and often in order to rehouse people from decaying inner city areas, usually as part of the ...
and is now one of the most deprived parts of Greater Manchester. The
Cheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated of track in the then counties of Lancashire an ...
opened a railway line through the town in 1873, but it closed in 1964.
History
Partington, first recorded in 1260, was in the medieval and post-medieval parish of
Bowdon. The name derives from
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 first element may be a personal name such as ''Pearta'' or ''Pærta'', or ''part'' "land
divided up into partitions" followed by ''inga'', meaning "people of"; the suffix ''tun'' means "farmstead". The village consisted of dispersed farmsteads, with no nucleated centre. It was surrounded by wetlands on all sides, reducing the amount of land available for agriculture. According to the
hearth tax
A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern period, levied on each hearth, thus by proxy on wealth. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area and is cons ...
returns of 1664, Partington had a population of 99.
![Partington erlam farm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Partington_erlam_farm.jpg)
In 1755 a
paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...
on the River Mersey was opened in Partington, the first factory to be established in present-day Trafford. Erlam Farmhouse dates from the late 18th century and is a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. Also protected as a Grade II listed building are the
stocks
Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...
on the village green. Its stone pillars are from the 18th century, although the wooden restraints were replaced in the 20th century.
The completion of the
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...
in 1894 transformed Partington into a major coal-exporting port. The canal was widened to for three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) to allow for the construction of a coaling basin, equipped with four hydraulic coal hoists. Partington was the nearest port to the
Lancashire Coalfield
The Lancashire Coalfield in North West England was an important British coalfield. Its coal seams were formed from the vegetation of tropical swampy forests in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago.
The Romans may have been the fir ...
s, and brought the south
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
collieries
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
closer to the sea. Between 1898 and 1911, exports of coal accounted for 53.4 per cent of the total export tonnage carried by the ship canal. The coal trade in turn resulted in Partington becoming a major railway depot, and attracted a range of other industries, including the Partington Steel & Iron Company, which was encouraged by the availability of coal to construct a steelworks. The works became a part of the
Lancashire Steel Corporation
The Lancashire Steel Corporation Ltd was a United Kingdom steel producer. The company was formed in 1930 by amalgamating the iron and steel interests of the Pearson & Knowles Coal & Iron Co, the Partington Steel & Iron Co, and the Wigan Coal & Iron ...
in 1930, and dominated the economy of nearby
Irlam
Irlam is a suburb in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, it had a population of 19,933. It lies on flat ground on the south side of the M62 motorway and the north bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Salford ...
until their closure in 1976. After the Second World War, Partington was extended as an overspill estate.
Governance
The
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
of Partington was created in 1894, under the
Local Government Act 1894
The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...
and has its own
town council
A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities.
Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions.
Republic of Ireland
Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...
. Partington became part of the
Metropolitan Borough of Trafford
Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urm ...
in 1974 upon the borough's creation, but was previously in
Bucklow Rural District
Bucklow Rural District was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in the north of the administrative county of Cheshire, England. Following the Local Government Act 1972, this rural district was split between the new Greater Manchester ...
. The town is part of the Bucklow St Martin
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
; Partington Parish Council is made up of local residents and ward councillors.
Partington also belongs to the
Stretford and Urmston constituency. Since its creation in 1997 the constituency's Member of Parliament has been a member of the Labour Party,
Kate Green
Katherine Anne Green OBE (born 2 May 1960) is a British politician, serving as Greater Manchester's Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime from January 2023. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford and Urmston between 2010 and 2022. A me ...
being the present incumbent.
Geography
At (53.42, −2.43), Partington lies west of
Sale, north-east of the civil parish of
Warburton, and is on Trafford's northern border with the
City of Salford
The City of Salford () is a metropolitan borough within Greater Manchester, England. The borough is named after its main settlement, Salford. The borough covers the towns of Eccles, Swinton,
Walkden and Pendlebury, as well as the villages ...
. It is south-west of
Manchester city centre
Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...
. Sinderland Brook runs east–west through the area, and the town is about above sea level on generally flat ground.
Partington's local
drift geology is a mixture of
alluvial deposits
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...
,
fluvio-glacial
Fluvio refers to things related to rivers and glacial refers to something that is of ice. Fluvio-glacial refers to the meltwater created when a glacier melts. Fluvio-glacial processes can occur on the surface and within the glacier. The deposits t ...
gravel, and
peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
deposited about 10,000 years ago, during the last
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
. The bedrock is
Keuper
The Keuper is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Keuper consists of dolomite, shales or claystones and evaporites that were deposited during the Middle and Late ...
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
in the south and
Bunter sandstone
The Buntsandstein (German for ''coloured'' or ''colourful sandstone'') or Bunter sandstone is a lithostratigraphic and allostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Buntsands ...
in the north. The town's climate is generally temperate, like the rest of Greater Manchester. The mean highest and lowest temperatures ( and ) are slightly above the national average, while the annual rainfall () and average hours of sunshine (1394.5 hours) are respectively above and below the national averages.
Demography
According to the
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 ...
, at the time of the
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.
The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...
, Partington had a population of 7,723. The 2001 population density was , with a 100 to 93.1 female-to-male ratio. Of those over 16 years old, 34.7% were single (never married), 34.9% married, and 10.5% divorced. Partington's 3,354 households included 33.5% one-person, 28.7% married couples living together, 8.8% were
co-habiting couples, and 16.3% single parents with their children. Of those aged 16–74, 38.9% had no
academic qualifications, significantly higher than the averages of Trafford (24.7%) and England (28.9%).
It has been described as one of the most deprived places in the Greater Manchester conurbation.
As of the 2001 UK census, 76.8% of Partington's residents reported themselves as being Christian, 0.8% Muslim, 0.2% Hindu, 0.2% Jewish, and 0.1% Sikh. The census recorded 14.7% as having no religion, 0.1% had an alternative religion and 7.1% did not state their religion.
Economy
![Partington, Manchester Shopping Centre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Partington%2C_Manchester_Shopping_Centre.jpg)
The main shopping area of Partington is on Central Road, in the centre of town. Partington also has a traditional market on Smithy Lane.
Spanish company,
SAICA, bought a lease on a disused wharfside site by the
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...
in 2009 to recycle paper into packaging. The plant is the most "advanced, fully integrated facility in the UK". It uses water recycled from the ship canal and its heat and power plant supplies surplus power to the national grid.
The plant cost £300 million and production started in January 2012.
According to the 2001 UK census, the industry of employment of residents aged 16–74 was 19.3% retail and wholesale, 15.0% manufacturing, 14.7% property and business services, 10.8% health and social work, 9.1% transport and communications, 7.2% construction, 5.2% education, 4.8% hotels and restaurants, 3.8% finance, 3.1% public administration, 1.3% agriculture, 0.7% energy and water supply, 0.1% mining, and 4.9% other. Compared with national figures, Partington had a relatively high percentage of residents working in transport and communications, and a relatively low percentage working in public administration. The census recorded the economic activity of residents aged 16–74, 1.8% students were with jobs, 3.4% students without jobs, 7.7% looking after home or family, 10.6% permanently sick or disabled, and 3.8% economically inactive for other reasons.
The proportion of those who were permanently sick or disabled in Partington was above the Trafford and England average (5.4% and 6.5% respectively).
Education
Trafford maintains a selective education system assessed by the
11-plus
The eleven-plus (11+) is a Test (assessment), standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools ...
exam. There are three primary schools and one secondary school in Partington. The oldest school still standing in the town was opened in 1958 and used to be called Partington County Primary School but is now known as Partington Central Academy. There is one other state primary schools at Forest Gate with Academy status. There is also a Roman Catholic school – Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School on Lock Lane.
Broadoak School
Broadoak School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status located in Partington in the English county of Greater Manchester.
Previously a foundation school administered by Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council, Broadoak School ...
is a secondary school with
academy status for pupils aged 11 to 16. Partington Central Academy, Forest Gate and Broadoak School are all a part of The Dean Trust.
Transport
![Partington railway station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Partington_railway_station.jpg)
Partington's main road is the
A6144 between
Lymm
Lymm is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England, which incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little Heatley, Oughtrington, Reddish, Rushgreen and ...
and the
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
area of
Sale. The
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...
also carries some industrial traffic. The nearest road crossing over the canal is at
Warburton Bridge
Warburton is a village and civil parish within the Trafford, Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Cheshire, Warburton lies on the south bank of the River Mersey between t ...
, one of the few remaining pre-motorway toll bridges in the UK, and the only one in Greater Manchester. The
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
describes Partington as "geographically isolated with road access restricted by the proximity of the Manchester Ship Canal and the nearby petrochemical works
n Carrington and notes that there are low levels of car ownership.
The 255 operates every 30 minutes during the day, and hourly after 1955 into Manchester Piccadilly 7 days a week
The town was served by
a railway station to the north of the town, the
Cheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated of track in the then counties of Lancashire an ...
Glazebrook to
Stockport
Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here.
Most of the town is within ...
Tiviot Dale Line. The station was opened in 1873, eight years after the line opened, and was in use until 30 November 1964. A grant of £312,000 was made by the government to set up Partington Cooperative Transport (PACT) with the purpose of improving public transport in the town.
Amenities
![The Fuse, Partington, Greater Manchester](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/The_Fuse%2C_Partington%2C_Greater_Manchester.jpg)
Founded in 2003 as part of a government project for 11- to 19-year-olds, Partington and Carrington Youth Partnership (PCYP) has since expanded its scope and provides facilities for youths up to the age of 25. It runs a 5-a-side football league and Screamin' Wheels Skate Park. In 2009 it was announced that a £5 million youth centre would be built in the town. Based on designs by pupils from Broadoak Secondary School, the centre will provide facilities for workshops in dance, film-making, and art.
Headmaster of the school, Andy Griffin, said "It's a massive thing for Partington as this will help kick-start regeneration of the town. I think it will also help bring people to Partington rather than leaving".
Providing opportunities for sport, a £2 million sports complex was opened next to Broadoak Secondary School in 2008.
It features a pool, a sports hall, outdoor pitches and grass courts, and facilities for other activities. The town is served by an
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
church, St Mary's, a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
church dedicated to
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes (french: Notre-Dame de Lourdes) is a title of the Virgin Mary. She is venerated under this title by the Roman Catholic church due to her apparitions that occurred in Lourdes, France. The first apparition of 11 February 1858, o ...
, a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
chapel, and a
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
church called the People's Church. St Mary's Church is a Grade II listed building, and Our Lady of Lourdes' RC Church and parish was founded in 1957. Partington is in the Catholic Dioceses of
Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury is a Roman Catholic diocese in the Province of Birmingham which encompasses the pre-1974 counties of Shropshire and Cheshire in the North West and West Midlands of England.
The diocese includes rural are ...
and the Anglican
Diocese of Chester
The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York covering the pre-1974 county of Cheshire and therefore including the Wirral and parts of Stockport, Trafford and Tameside.
History
Ancient diocese
Before the si ...
.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Partington
References
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
Partington general information and history
{{authority control
Towns in Greater Manchester
Civil parishes in Greater Manchester
Geography of Trafford