Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England.[1] The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census.[2] Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Manchester.
Ashton-under-Lyne
48,604 (2021 census)
12,374 per mi² (4,777 per km²)
160 mi (257 km) SSE
United Kingdom
ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE
0161
Evidence of Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Viking activity has been discovered in Ashton-under-Lyne. The "Ashton" part of the town's name probably dates from the Anglo-Saxon period, and derives from Old English meaning "settlement by ash trees".[3] The origin of the "under-Lyne" suffix is less clear;[4] it possibly derives from the Brittonic-originating word lemo meaning elm or from Ashton's proximity to the Pennines.[5] In the Middle Ages, Ashton-under-Lyne was a parish and township and Ashton Old Hall was held by the de Asshetons, lords of the manor. Granted a royal charter in 1414, the manor spanned a rural area consisting of marshland, moorland, and a number of villages and hamlets.
Until the introduction of the cotton trade in 1769, Ashton was considered "bare, wet, and almost worthless".[5] The factory system, and textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution triggered a process of unplanned urbanisation in the area, and by the mid-19th century Ashton had emerged as an important mill town at a convergence of newly constructed canals and railways. Ashton-under-Lyne's transport network allowed for an economic boom in cotton spinning, weaving, and coal mining, which led to the granting of municipal borough status in 1847.
In the mid-20th century, imports of cheaper foreign goods led to the decline of Ashton's heavy industries but the town has continued to thrive as a centre of commerce[6] and Ashton Market is one of the largest outdoor markets in the United Kingdom. Ashton Town Centre is now home to the 140,000-square-foot (13,000 m2), two-floored Ashton Arcades shopping centre (opened 1995), the outdoor shopping complex Ladysmith Shopping Centre, and a large IKEA store.
In 2018, a large new development opened in Ashton town centre including a new college campus for Tameside College, new council offices and a library. Improvements were also made to the open-air market, including new kiosks and stalls. In 2019, work began on a brand-new transport interchange for the town centre to make getting into the town much easier via bus and Metrolink. This opened in August 2020.
Culture[edit]
Sport[edit]
The town's most prominent football teams are Ashton United F.C. and Curzon Ashton F.C. Ashton United was the first team in the Manchester Football Association to win an FA Cup tie, when they beat Turton 3–0 in 1883. In 1885, they were the first winners of the Manchester Senior Cup, beating Newton Heath (who later became Manchester United) in the final.[100] They currently compete in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football, playing at Hurst Cross. Curzon Ashton has competed since 2015 in the National League North, the highest level in the club's history; they play at the Tameside Stadium. Other sporting venues include the Richmond Park Athletics Stadium, which has an all-weather running track with facilities for field events[101] and is home to the East Cheshire Harriers, Tameside Athletics Club, and Ashton Cricket Club, which has won the Central Lancashire Cricket League's first and second division twice each, and the Wood Cup four times.[102] The Ashton Ladysmith Cricket Club is based at the Ladysmith Sport Center at Rose Hill Road and competes in the North Manchester Cricket League.[103]
Media[edit]
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter.[120]
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Manchester on 95.1 FM, Capital Manchester and Lancashire on 102.0 FM, Heart North West on 105.4 FM, Smooth North West on 100.4 FM, XS Manchester on 106.1 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West on 96.2 FM, and Tameside Radio, a community based station which broadcast from the town on 103.6 FM.[121]
The local newspaper is the Tameside Reporter, published on Thursdays.[122]
Transport[edit]
Roads[edit]
In 1732, an Act of Parliament was passed which permitted the construction of a turnpike from Manchester, then in Lancashire, to Salters Brook in Cheshire. The road passed through Ashton-under-Lyne as well as Audenshaw, Mottram-in-Longdendale, and Stalybridge. A turnpike trust was responsible for collecting tolls from traffic; the proceeds were used for road maintenance. The trust for Manchester to Salters Brook was one of over 400 established between 1706 and 1750, a period in which turnpikes became popular.[123] It was the first turnpike to be opened in Tameside, and driven by economic growth, more turnpikes were opened in the area in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Acts of Parliaments were passed in 1765, 1793, and 1799 permitting the construction of turnpikes from Ashton-under-Lyne to Doctor Lane Head in Saddleworth, Standedge in Saddleworth, and Oldham respectively. Towards the end of the 19th century, many turnpike trusts were wound up as they were superseded by local government; the last in Tameside to close was the Ashton-under-Lyne to Salters Brook road in 1884.[124] Ashton is now served by the M60 motorway, which cuts through the west end of Ashton (Junction 23).
Public services[edit]
In the early 19th century, Ashton-under-Lyne's growth made it necessary to find a new water supply. Before the introduction of piped water the town's inhabitants drew water from wells and the nearby River Tame. Industrial processes had, however, polluted the river and the wells could not sustain a rapidly expanding population. From 1825, a private company was responsible for piping water from reservoirs, but there were still many homes without proper drainage or water supply.[45] Waste management is now co-ordinated by the local authority via the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority.[145]
The first power station in Tameside was built in 1899, providing power for the area.[146] Ashton's distribution network operator for electricity is United Utilities;[147] there are no power stations in the town. United Utilities also manages the drinking and waste water.[147]
Home Office policing in Ashton-under-Lyne is provided by the Greater Manchester Police. The force's Tameside Division have their divisional headquarters for policing Tameside in the town.[148][149] Public transport in the area is co-ordinated by Transport for Greater Manchester. Statutory emergency fire and rescue service is provided by the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, which has one station on Slate Lane.[150] The Tameside General Hospital is a large NHS hospital on the outskirts of the town,[151] administered by Tameside & Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust.[152] The North West Ambulance Service provides emergency patient transport.