Colin Crosby Heritage Tours

Salford

Salford is a city in Greater Manchester, formerly Lancashire, immediately across the River Irwell from Manchester.

It received its first charter in 1226, and was granted city status in 1926.

Industrialisation had caused Salford to grow to enormous proportions, with vast areas of poor quality housing.

Today, the old city centre has swathes of dereliction, with remnants of once fine public and commercial buildings.

Salford Cathedral (Catholic) was consecrated in the late 19th century. Its fine spire took its inspiration from St. Marys Church at Newark.

The nearby St. Philip`s Church was designed by Robert Smirke and opened in 1825.

The opening of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 turned Salford into a major inland port. Today, the docks have been converted into Salford Quays, effectively the new centre, with leisure and retail developments and the Lowry art gallery and theatre complex, which opened in 2000.

L.S. Lowry spent most of his working life walking the streets of Salford as a council rent collector, and the scenes depicted in so many of his paintings reflect this background.

Salford has a fine University, formerly the Royal Technical Institute.

The famous play "Hobson`s Choice", by Harold Brighouse, is set in Salford.

Among those born at Salford are George Bradshaw, railway timetable publisher; Alistair Cooke, broadcaster; Albert Finney, actor; Shelagh Delaney, playwright; Mike Leigh, film director; Ewan MacColl, singer and songwriter; and Paul Scholes, England footballer.

Sir Caharles Halle, the eminent conductor, is buried at Salford, and writer Hilaire Belloc was once the city`s M. P..