The Underbank is an area of Stockport,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, containing the streets of Little Underbank and Great Underbank. Originally considered the finest shopping street in Stockport during the 19th century, the street was dubbed as Stockport's answer to

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

following an influx of independent businesses. The Underbank began to be developed when the increased use of wheeled transport necessitated a practical route from the brow to the nearby Roman road, facilitating traffic to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for over 400 years. The rapid expansion of the town following 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 ...

let to increased development from the late 18th century. By the 19th century, Little Underbank contained a prestigious shopping district, with over 30 shops of various trades such as hosiers,

milliners Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

and curriers. Since 1974, the Underbank has been included in the Market Underbank Conservation Area. Following a £1.8 million grant from the

National Lottery Heritage Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

in 2017,

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The council is currently run by a Liberal Democrat minority administration. At the 2022 local elections, the ...

launched the 'Rediscovering the Underbanks' project, regenerating the area following neglect in favour of the nearby

Merseyway Shopping Centre Merseyway Shopping Centre is a shopping complex in Stockport. Name The centre's name, Merseyway, comes from the fact that the centre is supported above the River Mersey which runs for the length of the centre. History The centre was opened ...

History

The area which would later house the Underbank was formed by the Hempshaw Brook cutting a valley along its southwestern side, eroding the natural red

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 ...

. The Great Underbank and Little Underbank roads came about due to the proliferation of wheeled transport necessitating a practical route to the Roman road nearby the market. The White Lion, then a coaching inn, would acquire its license as early as the 14th century. The inn's proximity to the

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

led to the belief that visitors were permitted to

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

for

Salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

from the

beer garden A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees. Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain co ...

, and to use the inn's

pew A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the thirt ...

at the nearby St Mary's Church. Underbank Hall was built in the late 15th century to serve as a

town house A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

for the Arderne family of

Bredbury Bredbury is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, east of Stockport and south-west of Hyde, Greater Manchester, Hyde. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 16,721. It i ...

. A similar town house was eventually known as The Three Shires was built in 1580 for the

Leghs of Adlington The Leghs of Adlington were established by Robert de Leigh who inherited the lordship of the manor of Adlington from his mother Elena de Corona (''née'' de Baguley). His father, John de Leigh, who was lord of the manor of Over Knutsford and ...

The

led to rapid expansion in the area. Brick buildings began to replace the earlier

timber frame Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

in the late 18th century, and by the 19th century Little Underbank would contain a prestigious shopping district.

Jeweller A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabricat ...

Jacob Winter would move his premises to the Underbank from nearby Lower Hillgate. Winter's jewellers would become notable for its

clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and t ...

, and hydraulically operated security features. The Underbank began to suffer from neglect, with traders complaining that the area was neglected in favour of

, which opened in 1965. Other complaints included the lack of

street lighting A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution ...

, lack of parking spaces and its untidy state. The area would become part of the newly designated Market Underbank Conservation Area in 1974. In 2017, a grant of £1.8 million was secured through the

, allowing

and the Stockport Heritage Trust to pursue the 'Rediscovering the Underbanks' project, aimed at breathing new life im the area. The streets cobbles were repaired, and buildings in the area were restored and refurbished. The area would also see an influx of independent businesses, leading the area to be coined as 'Stockport's Soho'.

Landmarks

The Underbank contains many historic

listed buildings 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 ...

, such as the remnants of the

medieval 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 ...

town wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

, the Tudor Underbank Hall and the Three Shires Hall, and several Victorian buildings.

Culture

The Underbank was used as a filming location for 2019

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

History

Landmarks

Culture

References