Droylsden is in Tameside.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 mid-19th century Droylsden grew as a
mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe Italy * ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...
on the Ashton canal. Beginning in the early 1930s, Droylsden's population expanded rapidly as it became a housing overflow area for neighbouring Manchester. Since 1785, the Fairfield area of Droylsden has been home to a Moravian Church.


History

Droylsden was settled around AD 900. Before Droylsden became a part of Greater Manchester, it was popularly referred to by Mancunians as "The Silly Country". One suggestion as to the source of that nickname is that once a year, some of the townsfolk used to watch an annual
carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
by bringing a pig and sitting it on a wall to watch the passing entertainment with them. The Pig on the Wall public house, converted from a farm in 1978, takes its name from that story. The first machine woven towel in the world – the terry towel – was produced by W. M. Christy and Sons of Fairfield Mills, in Droylsden, in 1851.
William Miller Christy William Miller Christy (1778–1858) was an English Quaker hat and textile manufacturer, known also as a banker. He is credited with the invention of the penny receipt-stamp. Life He was the second son of Miller Christy (1748–1820) and Ann Ri ...
's son,
Henry Christy Henry Christy (26 July 1810 – 4 May 1865) was an English banker and collector, who left his substantial collections to the British Museum. Early life Christy was born at Kingston upon Thames, the second son of William Miller Christy of Woodbin ...
, had brought back a looped towel from Turkey in the 1840s, which Christy's managed to copy on an adapted loom. Their Royal Turkish towels became famous, with Queen Victoria having a regular order. The mill closed at the end of the 1980s, and in 1997 Tesco opened a supermarket on the site. Construction of a
marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
began in 2007, and was completed in 2012. The marina has 92 three and four-bedroom houses, and 291 one and two-bedroom apartments as well as waterside offices, restaurants, and shops.


Geography

Droylsden is located at (53.4826, −2.1582), about to the east of Manchester city centre, close to Ashton-under-Lyne, Failsworth, Clayton,
Openshaw Openshaw is a suburb of Manchester, England, about three miles east of the city centre. Historically part of Lancashire, Openshaw was incorporated into the city of Manchester in 1890. Its name derives from the Old English ''Opinschawe'', which me ...
and Newton Heath.


Transport


Rail

Droylsden is not directly served by railway with the nearest station being Fairfield railway station approximately 1 mile south of the town centre, providing a service to
Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...
and
Rose Hill Marple Rose Hill Marple railway station is in Marple in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, England. The station, which opened in 1869, is the last surviving stop on the former Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (''MB&MR''). It is connected ...
. The town's former railway station was open between 1846 and 1968 and located on Lumb Lane, approximately 1 mile north of the town centre on the Huddersfield Line. The nearest station on this line is Ashton-under-Lyne.


Metrolink

From 2013, Droylsden became a terminus on the East Manchester line of the Manchester Metrolink tram network, with services running to Manchester and
Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
. Trams now run from Droylsden to Ashton-under-Lyne via Audenshaw and Ashton Moss.


Bus

The town has frequent bus services, the majority operated by Stagecoach Manchester. Buses 7, 7A and 7B run between Ashton-under-Lyne and
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 ...
. Bus 216 runs a main-road service between Manchester city centre and Ashton-under-Lyne, sometimes extending to
Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 23,731 at the 2011 Census. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east of Manchester city centre and no ...
in the evening. Bus 217 runs between Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Piccadilly, taking a more indirect route. Buses 230 and 231 run between Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester city centre.


Education

In January 2009, the closure of Droylsden School Mathematics and Computing College for Girls and
Littlemoss High School for Boys Littlemoss High School for Boys was a comprehensive school in Littlemoss, Droylsden, Tameside, England. It merged with Droylsden High School, Mathematics and Computing College for Girls in September 2009 to become Droylsden Academy. Prior to ...
was approved by Tameside Council. This was conditional on the Secretary of State signing an Academy Funding Agreement by 30 April 2009 for the two schools to be replaced by
Droylsden Academy Droylsden Academy is a secondary school in Droylsden, Manchester. It opened in September 2009 on the site of the former Droylsden School, Mathematics and Computing College for Girls which it replaced. The former Littlemoss High School for Boys w ...
. Droylsden Academy, which was sponsored by
Tameside College Tameside College is a further education college located in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. The college offers a range of courses for students from Tameside and the surrounding area. These courses include NVQs, BTECs, Apprenti ...
, opened in September 2009, in the existing buildings of the two former schools. The new Droylsden Academy building opened on the school site of Droylsden School Mathematics and Computing College for Girls in January 2012. Fairfield High School for Girls was unaffected by these changes and has been granted Specialist Science College status.
Tameside College Tameside College is a further education college located in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. The college offers a range of courses for students from Tameside and the surrounding area. These courses include NVQs, BTECs, Apprenti ...
also operates a Local Learning Centre for adult learners in Droylsden.


Governance

Droylsden was anciently a chapelry in the parish of Manchester, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire. It became an
urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
of the administrative county of Lancashire under the Local Government Act 1894, and was granted its arms on 16 October 1950. In 1974, as a result of the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, Droylsden became a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside within the
metropolitan county The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, with populations between 1 and 3 million. They were created in 1974 and are each di ...
of Greater Manchester. Droylsden was once a large township, including Big Droylsden, Little Droylsden, and Clayton. In 1889 Little Droylsden was subsumed into Openshaw, and in 1890 Clayton was ceded from Droylsden's control to become part of Manchester. From 1918 until 1950, Droylsden was represented by the parliamentary constituency of Mossley. Manchester's expansion to the east and the increase in the electorate, resulted in the seat being divided in the 1950 boundary change. The areas adjacent to Manchester, including Droylsden, formed the new Droylsden constituency, with the remainder forming part of Ashton-under-Lyne. The Droylsden constituency was abolished in 1955, when Droylsden itself became part of the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency. David Heyes MP represented the constituency of Ashton-under-Lyne from 2001 to 2015. He was replaced by his fellow Labour Party member Angela Rayner in the
2015 UK General Election The 2015 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 7 May 2015 to elect 650 members to the House of Commons. It was the first and only general election held at the end of a Parliament under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. Local ...
.


Culture

The Droylsden Little Theatre has been running amateur productions since 1931. Horror film production company Fade To Blood Films is based in Droylsden


Population change


Economy

During the 1930s, Droylsden's population expanded rapidly, as it became a housing overflow area for Manchester. Today the area is predominately occupied by employed home owners. Robertson's Jam was a significant employer in the area. The factory was established in 1891, on the banks of the Ashton Canal, on Ashton Hill Lane. At its peak it employed around 1,000 workers; that number was reduced to around 400 before closing during 2008. The factory was demolished during the early part of 2010.


Sport

Droylsden is home to
Droylsden F.C. Droylsden Football Club is a football club in Droylsden, Greater Manchester, England, that last played in the Northern Premier League Division One North West, the eighth tier of English football. History Droylsden were originally formed at th ...
who won the Conference North league in 2006–07, gaining promotion to the
Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...
for the 2007–08 season, although they were relegated back to Conference North for 2008–09, and into the Northern Premier League Premier Division in 2012–13. Now Droylsden play in the
Northern Premier League Division One North The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...
. Droylsden is one of a number of locations which are promoted as the birthplace of speedway racing in the UK. Britain's first ever Speedway meeting was staged in Droylsden on 25 June 1927, billed as dirt track racing.


Notable people

England's rugby union captain from 1956 to 1958, Eric Evans
MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...
, was born in Droylsden in 1921. Harry Pollitt, General Secretary of the
Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...
, was born in the town in 1890. Rev
Arthur Herbert Procter Arthur Herbert Procter VC (11 August 1890 – 27 January 1973) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth for ...
, Victoria Cross recipient, was Rector of St Mary's parish church from 1946 to 1951. A
Blue Plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
is at the church. James Ellor was born in Droylsden on 26 November 1819. At the age of 19, he composed one of the most popular Protestant hymn tunes, Diadem, for the words " All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" by Edward Perronet. Ellor was a hatter by trade and emigrated to USA in 1843. Scott Bruton, '' X Factor'' finalist in 2008, was raised in the town. Other famous people who grew up in the town include
10cc 10cc are an English rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured t ...
's
Eric Stewart Eric Michael Stewart (born 20 January 1945) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer, best known as a founding member of the rock groups the Mindbenders with whom he played from 1963 to 1968, and likewise of 10 ...
, Howard Donald of Take That, cult author Jeff Noon, actress Stephanie Bishop who starred in the Ken Loach movie '' Looking for Eric'', professional boxer
Prince Arron Arron Jones (born 27 December 1987), best known by his nickname of "Prince Arron", is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2006 to 2013. He is a former British Masters champion. He held the British Light middleweight title in ...
, and the musician known as " Damian".
Cyril Lord Cyril Lord (12 July 1911 – 29 May 1984) was a British entrepreneur, known principally for the manufacture of carpets during the 1960s. Born in Droylsden in Lancashire, Lord spent his early years living in a community of textile mill-workers. His ...
(1911–1984), 'the Carpet King', was born and raised in Droylsden. He later established a huge carpet factory in Donaghadee,
County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...
, Northern Ireland. Notorious villain
Dale Creegan Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia *The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada *Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia *Dale (woreda), district ;Norway *Dal ...
was a resident of Droylsden, in which one of the more news notable incidents was performed near Droylsden Town Hall prior to his arrest following the murder of two police women in Hattersley
Eric Stewart Eric Michael Stewart (born 20 January 1945) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer, best known as a founding member of the rock groups the Mindbenders with whom he played from 1963 to 1968, and likewise of 10 ...
, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer, was born in Droylsden.


Twin town

* Villemomble, Paris, France


See also

* Listed buildings in Droylsden


References

Notes Bibliography * {{authority control Towns in Greater Manchester Unparished areas in Greater Manchester Geography of Tameside