Manchester The Place

From RedCafe.net

To fully understand Manchester, it is necessary to know both where it is - its geography, and what goes on there - its history.

[edit] Manchester Overview

A mosaic of Leo Stanley's famous T-Shirt design outside Afflecks Palace

Manchester is a large industrial city situated in the Lancashire plains on a bowl-shaped land area to the West side of the Pennine Mountains of Bronte Country and The Peak District in the North West of England, a region steeped in history. It is bordered to the North by the Pennine Moors, and to the South by the Cheshire plains, and to the West by the great sea port of Liverpool.

It is an urban area consisting of 10 political boroughs (The City of Manchester, The City of Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Tameside, Trafford, Stockport, Wigan) with a population of approximately 2,250,000 (The county of Greater Manchester has a population of approximately 2,500,000), and is considered by many to be the second city of the United Kingdom.

A photograph of the city centre skyline with the Pennines in the background, circa Feb 2006

The centre of the city is mostly located on the East or Left bank of the River Irwell, which is the major boundary within the urban area, physically marking the place where The City of Salford (located on the West or Right bank) stops and The City of Manchester begins. As we will see, it is this location near the Irwell, its junction with the rivers Medlock and Irk, and also the river Mersey (Yes, Manchester is the largest city on the River Mersey) that made Manchester what it is today. Inevitably, the confluence of these rivers means that there is one commodity that Manchester has in abundance: Water. This has given the name of "The Rainy City" to Manchester, which in truth is unfair, as average rainfall is less than many other UK cities, and is more comparable to Rome. Rain isn't normally heavy in Manchester, but at times is a constant drizzle. Maybe Manchester deserves the name "The Humid City".

Stating the obvious, Manchester is home to probably the most famous football club in the World. Manchester United (but you will already know this if you are reading this Wiki). The name of Manchester is known around the world today more likely because of Manchester United than the achievements of the city itself. Other than Manchester United, many people wouldn't know about and/or hold stereotypes of Manchester as being a dirty and rather ugly place, yet know very little about it. Hopefully this section will show Manchester in its true light, that of a vibrant, multi-cultural, modern, and increasingly knowledge based city with ambitions to be amongst the European elite.

An interesting note is that there are 33 Manchesters in addition to the original in England, all are in the USA, 8 of which are cities.

More to go here, more fleshed out than on the main page.................. The same will continue with the headings in this section providing a basic overview that are then fleshed out more on their respective pages...............

[edit] Manchester History

[edit] Geography and Places

[edit] Buildings and Architecture

[edit] Economy and Infrastructure

[edit] Science and Engineering

[edit] Culture and Sport