Gazetteer of
British Place Names

Manchester is a major city in Lancashire. Manchester sits in the low ground of southern Lancashire drained by the Mersey basin, with the Pennines to the north and east. The Cheshire plain lies to the south, across the Mersey. The recorded history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of Mamucium or Mancunium, which was established in about AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. In the Anglo-Saxon period Manchester was apparently a fortified town; the Mercian army is recorded as having taken Mameceaster on Norþhymbrum from the Norsemen in 919. Manchester became a town of national and indeed world significance in the Victorian period, as the heart of the manufacturing revolution. During its growth it has encompassed several villages and towns. Manchester today is a centre of the arts, the media, higher education and commerce. Manchester Town Hall, built in the Gothic revival style, is considered one of the most important Victorian buildings in England. Heaton Park is a public park of over 600 acres around the neoclassical 18th-century country house, Heaton Hall. The city is within the council area of Manchester.

Place Type: City
Historic County: Lancashire
Lat, Long: 53.479543,-2.248942
Grid Reference: SJ 8357 9812
Council Area: Manchester CA
Strategic Authority Area: Greater Manchester SA
Police Area: Greater Manchester PA

GBPN ID: 29251
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Manchester,_Lancashire_29251

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