Droylsden

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Droylsden is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is situated Template:Convert to the east of Manchester City Centre, and Template:Convert west-southwest of Ashton-under-Lyne, it has a population of 23,172 inhabitants.

Historically a part of Lancashire, Droylsden grew as as a mill town around the cotton mills established in the mid-19th century, and the Ashton Canal and Peak Forest Canals. Beginning in the early 1930's, Droylsden's population expanded rapidly, as it became a housing overflow area for neighbouring Manchester.

The Fairfield area of Droylsden has notably been home to a Moravian community since 1785, and which still exists to this day.^[1]

1 History
2 Geography
3 Education
4 Governance
- 4.1 Civic history
- 4.2 Parliamentary representation
5 Economy
6 Sports
7 Notable people
8 References
- 8.1 External links

[edit] History

Before Droylsden became a part of Greater Manchester, it was popularly referred to by Mancunians as "The Silly Country".^[2] One suggestion as to the source of that nickname is that once a year, some of the town's folk used to watch an annual carnival 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 Ltd, of Fairfield Mills, in Droylsden, in 1851.^[3] William's son, Henry, 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 1980's, and in 1997 Tesco opened a supermarket on the site.

[edit] Geography

Droylsden is located at 53°28′58″N, 2°9′30″W (53.4826, -2.1582), about Template:Convert to the east of Manchester city centre, close to Ashton-under-Lyne, Clayton, Openshaw and Newton Heath.

[edit] Education

Littlemoss High School for Boys is a comprehensive school, located in Cryer Street, that educates around 550 boys aged 11-16.^[4]

[edit] Governance

[edit] Civic history

Image:DroylsdenArms.jpg

Arms of the former Droylsden Urban District Council

Droylsden was anciently a chapelry in the parish of Manchester, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire.^[5] It became an urban district of the administrative county of Lancashire under the Local Government Act 1894, and was granted its arms on the 16th October 1950.^[6] In 1974, as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, Droylsden became a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside within the metropolitan county 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.^[3]

[edit] Parliamentary representation

From 1918 until 1950, Droylsden was represented by the parliamentary constituency of Mossley. Manchester's expansion to the east and, and the increase in the electorate, resulted in the seat being divided in the 1950 boundary change. The areas adjacent to Manchester, including Droylsden itself, formed the new Droylsden constituency, with the remainder forming part of Ashton-under-Lyne. The Droylsden constituency was itself abolished in 1955, when Droylsden also became part of the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency.

David Heyes MP has represented the constituency of Ashton-under-Lyne since 2001. He is a member of the Labour Party.

[edit] 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 is 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 is reduced today to around 400.

[edit] Sports

Droylsden is home to Droylsden F.C. who won the Conference North league in 2006-07, gaining promotion to the Conference National for the 2007-08 season.

Droylsden is one of a number of locations which are promoted as the birthplace of speedway racing in the UK. An event was staged in 1927, billed as dirt track racing.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Notable people

England's rugby union captain from 1956 to 1958, Eric Evans MBE, was born in Droylsden in 1921.

Communist Party leader Harry Pollitt was born in the town. A plaque on Droylsden Library commemorating his life was unveiled by the Mayor of Tameside in 1995.

Other famous people who grew up in the town include pop stars Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, 10cc's Eric Stewart, Howard Donald of Take That, The Monkees' Davy Jones and cult author Jeff Noon.