Bury

Located in the foothills of the western Pennines in North West England, this market town was first mentioned as a parish in AD 962. Formerly in the administrative county of Lancashire, it merged with the neighbouring boroughs of Radcliffe and Prestwich, together with the urban districts of Whitefield, Tottington and Ramsbottom to become the Metropolitan Borough of Bury in 1974. This borough is part of Greater Manchester. For decades, the town was a sleepy backwater, but following the industrial revolution, the town greatly expanded in importance and there was a steady increase in population.

Traditionally, the town was formed around the ancient market place, with road leading west towards Bolton (Bolton Street) and east towards Rochdale (The Rock and Rochdale Road).

Development was swift in the late 18th and early 19th century, when the town was linked to the national canal network by the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal. Following this, railways opened, linking the town's Bolton Street station with Manchester, Radcliffe, Rawtenstall and Accrington, and from the old Knowsley Street Station to the neighbouring mill towns of Bolton, Heywood and Rochdale. The town made the most of its position between the River Irwell and the River Roch, with countless cotton mills opening in the 1800s. Other industries which thrived included paper–making, calico printing and some light engineering. The town expanded out to incorporate the former townships of Elton, Walmersley and Heap and rows of terraced housing encircled the town centre by the turn of the 19th century. Districts such as Freetown, Fishpool and Pimhole were transformed from farmer's fields to rows of terraced housing, with occasional factories and mills. In the postwar period, there was a major decline in the cotton industry, and in common with many neighbouring towns, Bury's skyline was soon very different, with countless factory chimneys being pulled down and the associated mills closing their doors forever. The old shopping area around Princess Street and Union Street was demolished in the late 1960s, and a concrete precinct emerged to replace it. This charmless development was mercifully replaced by the Millgate centre in the late 1990s. However, outside of the Millgate is a large shopping area known as The Rock, populated mainly by pound shops and charity shops. However, plans have been put forward to redevelop these areas into a modern shopping centre with plans for completion in 2009.

The town centre is still famous for its traditional Lancashire market, with its "nationally famous" Black Pudding stalls. Bury Market was also once famous for its tripe, although this has declined in the past few decades. The last 30 years has seen the town developing into an important commuter town for neighbouring Manchester. Large scale housing development has taken place around Unsworth, Redvales, Sunnybank, Brandlesholme, Limefield, Chesham and Elton. The old railway to Manchester Victoria closed in the 1990, and was replaced by the light rapid transit system Metrolink in 1992. The town is also linked to the motorway network with the M66 to the east of the town.

[edit] Districts and neighbourhoods

[edit] Sport

Bury has a professional football club, Bury F.C., which plays at Gigg Lane. The club is currently managed by Chris Casper and plays in League Two, with a thriving Youth and Centre of Excellence department which has recently produced players such as David Nugent, Simon Whaley and Colin Kazim-Richards. Gigg Lane is also used by FC United of the North West Counties First Division. Ironically F.C. United, a breakaway group of former Manchester Utd fans adhering to the anti Malcolm Glazer bandwagon.

[edit] Arts

The Met arts centre, based in the Derby Hall on Market Street, is a small performing arts venue promoting a programme of theatre, music and comedy events. The Met has hosted famous comedy acts such as Steve Coogan and Eddie Izzard in their days before fame.

Bury Art Gallery and Museum on Moss Street is home to a fine collection of Victorian and 20th century art, including works by Turner, Constable, Landseer and Lowry. The most recent renovation includes modern artefacts such as mini-ipods and electric i-robot auto hoovers. The council decided in 2006 to sell the gallery's Lowry in order to fund part of its social service budget shortfall. This aroused controversy in national arts circles.

The Lowry has been sold be Bury MBC to the distress and consternation of the people of Bury. As a result the Local authority have now lost Bury it's museum status. This information can be checked with Bury Times (Headlines: 23 November 2006)

[edit] Education

Colleges

Bury College, formerly Bury Technical college.
Bury Grammar School has existed since the 16th Century.
Holy Cross College, formerly Bury Convent Grammar School and now one of the top ten colleges in the country.

High Schools located in the town are

[edit] Media

Local radio is provided by 107.4 Tower FM, based in nearby Bolton which broadcasts across both towns and Key 103 which promotes local news and events.

The town's local newspaper is the Bury Times, although the Manchester Evening News and Bolton Evening News are also widely available.

[edit] Attractions

Attractions in Bury include:

Image:Bury Station, East Lancs Railway.jpg

The East Lancashire Railway, a heritage railway which runs from the town to Heywood, Ramsbottom and Rawtenstall.
Bury's 'World Famous' Market, which has been on the same site for nearly 600 years; the original license for a market was granted in 1444.
The regimental Museum of the Lancashire Fusiliers.
Peel Tower , Harcles Hill, near Holcombe Village, Ramsbottom. In addition to seeing, or climbing, the tower (dedicated to Sir Robert Peel) hundreds of people climb to the tower tradionally each year on Good Friday. Historically this gathering had a principally religious purpose since the hill is said to be strikingly similar to the hill that Jesus is said to have climbed before he was crucified on Good Friday (Calvalry Hill). In recent years, due to the rise of British 'drink culture', and the fact that Good Friday is inherently a bank holiday, the celebrations extend to a day of outdoor drinking at a pub situated at the bottom of the hill called the 'Hare and Hounds', especially when the weather is rewarding.

[edit] Cuisine

Bury is known for its black pudding – so much so, that it is not uncommon to see it as "Bury black pudding" on a menu.

[edit] Famous People from Bury

Image:Peelstatue.jpg

Sir Robert Peel, the nineteenth century British Prime Minister best known today for the repeal of the corn laws and the invention of the modern police force (hence the terms "bobbies" and "Peelers"), was born in Bury. A monument Peel Tower now exists to his memory. As this is situated nearly 1,000 feet above sea level, it is easily recognizable for miles around. The tower itself was not built for Sir Robert, but to provide work for local workers and was later dedicated to him. A striking statue of Sir Robert Peel exists in the Market Square outside the Sir Robert Peel pub.
John Kay, the inventor of the Flying shuttle, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution.
Cherie Blair, the wife of the current Prime Minister Tony Blair, was born in Bury.
Actor Ralf Little was born in Bury
Rock band Elbow was formed in Bury.
Pop singer Suzanne Shaw, formerly of Hear'Say, was born in Bury.
Comedienne Victoria Wood is from Bury and attended Bury Grammar School for Girls.
Footballers Gary Neville, Philip Neville, Andy Goram, Ben Thornley and netball player Tracy Neville were all born in Bury.
Author Richmal Crompton was born in Ramsbotton, near Bury.
Canadian based author Donald Jack was born in Radcliffe, Bury.
Musician Peter Skellern was born in Bury.
Film producer and director Danny Boyle was born in Radcliffe, Bury.
World cycling champion Reg Harris was born in Birtle, near Bury.
Guitarist Noble from British Sea Power is from Bury.
Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire North East Alistair Burt was born here and was head boy at Bury Grammar School.
Member of Parliament for Bury North David Chaytor was born here.
Member of Parliament for Bolton North East David Crausby was born here.
Actor and dancer Layton Williams comes from here.
Connor Marsh, child actor was born and lives in Bury
Actress and Glamour model Gemma Atkinson was born in Bury.

[edit] Etymology

The name Bury, (also earlier known as "Buri" and "Byri") comes from a Saxon word, probably meaning "a stronghold". Swedish 'Borg' is of same origin. People who actually live in the town pronounce it's name as "burry".