Beswick () is an area of east

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, in the county of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, England. Historically in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, it neighbours the district of

Openshaw Openshaw is a suburb of Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, about three miles east of the Manchester city centre. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Lancashire, Openshaw was incorporated into the city of Manchester in 1890. ...

to the east. The

River Medlock The River Medlock in Greater Manchester, England rises in east Oldham and flows south and west for to join the River Irwell in Manchester city centre. Sources Rising in the hills that surround Strinesdale just to the eastern side of Oldham M ...

and the

Ashton Canal The Ashton Canal is a canal in Greater Manchester, England, linking Manchester with Ashton-under-Lyne in Tameside. Route The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie St. Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for through 18 locks, ...

both run through it. Beswick boasts world-class sporting facilities which include the Etihad Stadium. Beswick is also situated close to the National Squash Centre, the Manchester Regional Athletics Arena and the National Cycling Centre. A real hive of sporting activity – you’ll find sessions for all ages and abilities – at each of these centres. The area is also home to East Manchester Academy, a mixed secondary school, which opened in 2010 and was built as part of the regeneration project. This wonderful, modern glass-fronted building also offers the well-equipped and welcoming Beswick Library.

History

Around 1200–1230 it was known as ''Bexwic'' and it is believed to be a combination of a personal name and a settlement or dwelling place. At the height of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

there was less industry here than in Bradford and it was primarily a residential area of terraced houses. In 2002, east Manchester was the focus of the XVII Commonwealth Games, which brought new development to the area including the

City of Manchester Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium, currently known as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, and commonly shortened as The Etihad, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53, ...

, National Cycling Centre (Manchester Velodrome), English Institute of Sport, National Squash Centre, Regional Athletics Arena and Indoor Tennis Centre.

Governance

Beswick was the biggest

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of the ancient parish of

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

hundred of the county of

. It was also an extra-parochial tract. It became part of the Township of Manchester in 1838, being joined with

Ardwick Ardwick is an area of Manchester, England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 19,250. Historically in Lancashire, by the mid-nineteenth century Ardwick had grown from being a village into a pleasant and wealt ...

to form a

Municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

Ward in the new township. For Poor Law purposes it was added to the Prestwich Poor Law Union, which was constituted by order of the

Poor Law Board The Poor Law Board was established in the United Kingdom in 1847 as a successor body to the Poor Law Commission overseeing the administration of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The board was abolished in 1871 and replaced by the Local Government ...

in 1850. In 1858 Beswick became a separate

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, on 26 March 1896 the parish was abolished to form

North Manchester North Manchester was, from 1896 to 1916 a civil parish within the Poor Law Union of Manchester, in Lancashire, (now Greater Manchester) England. North Manchester was a local government sub-district used for the administration of Poor Law legisl ...

. In 1891 the parish had a population of 9691.

Gallery

File:St Jerome with St Silas Church, Beswick - geograph.org.uk - 387352.jpg, St Jerome with St Silas Church File:Beswick Co-operative Society Building, Northmoor Road (geograph 4476788).jpg, The former Beswick Co-operative Society Building File:Old Milepost by the A662, Ashton New Road, Beswick (geograph 6069291).jpg, An old milepost by the A662, Ashton New Road

References

{{Manchester Areas of Manchester Former civil parishes in Greater Manchester