| Droylsden | |
|---|---|
 Droylsden town centre | |
  Droylsden Location withinGreater Manchester | |
| Population | 22,689 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SJ8998 |
| • London | 161 miles (259 km)SSE |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MANCHESTER |
| Postcode district | M43 |
| Dialling code | 0161 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Droylsden is a town inTameside,Greater Manchester, England, 4 miles (6.4 km) east ofManchester and 2 miles (3.2 km) west ofAshton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689.[1]
Within the boundaries of thehistoric county ofLancashire, in the mid-19th century Droylsden grew as amill town on theAshton canal. Beginning in the early 1930s, Droylsden's population expanded rapidly as it became a housing overflow area for neighbouringManchester.
Since 1785, theFairfield area of Droylsden has been home to aMoravian Church.[2]
Droylsden was settled around AD 900.Before Droylsden became a part of Greater Manchester, it was popularly referred to byMancunians as "The Silly Country".[3] One suggestion as to the source of that nickname is that once a year, some of the townsfolk used to watch an annualcarnival by bringing a pig and sitting it on a wall to watch the passing entertainment with them. The Pig on the Wallpublic 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 of Fairfield Mills, in Droylsden, in 1851.William Miller Christy's son,Henry Christy, had brought back a looped towel fromTurkey in the 1840s, which Christy's managed to copy on an adapted loom. Their Royal Turkish towels became famous, withQueen Victoria having a regular order. The mill closed at the end of the 1980s, and in 1997 Tesco opened a supermarket on the site.[4]
Construction of amarina began in 2007, and was completed in 2012. The marina has 92 three and four-bedroom houses, and 291 one and two-bedroom apartments as well as waterside offices, restaurants, and shops.[5]
Droylsden is located at53°28′58″N2°9′30″W / 53.48278°N 2.15833°W /53.48278; -2.15833 (53.4826, −2.1582), about 4 miles (6 km) to the east of Manchester city centre, close to Ashton-under-Lyne, Failsworth,Clayton,Openshaw andNewton Heath.
Neighbouring districts and places. | |
|---|---|
Droylsden is not directly served by railway with the nearest station beingFairfield railway station approximately 1 mile south of the town centre, providing a service toManchester Piccadilly andRose Hill Marple. The town's formerrailway station was open between 1846 and 1968 and located on Lumb Lane, approximately 1 mile north of the town centre on theHuddersfield Line. The nearest station on this line isAshton-under-Lyne.
From 2013,Droylsden became a terminus on theEast Manchester line of theManchester Metrolinktram network, with services running to Manchester andBury.[6] Trams now run from Droylsden to Ashton-under-Lyne viaAudenshaw and Ashton Moss.[7]
The town has frequent bus services, the majority operated byStagecoach Manchester. Buses 7, 7A and 7B run betweenAshton-under-Lyne andStockport. Bus 216 runs a main-road service betweenManchester city centre and Ashton-under-Lyne, sometimes extending toStalybridge in the evening. Bus 217 runs between Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Piccadilly, taking a more indirect route. Buses 230 and 231 run between Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester city centre.
In January 2009, the closure of Droylsden School Mathematics and Computing College for Girls andLittlemoss High School for Boys was approved by Tameside Council. This was conditional on the Secretary of State signing an Academy Funding Agreement by 30 April 2009 for the two schools to be replaced byDroylsden Academy. Droylsden Academy, which was sponsored byTameside College, opened in September 2009, in the existing buildings of the two former schools. The new Droylsden Academy building opened on the school site of Droylsden School Mathematics and Computing College for Girls in January 2012.[8]
Fairfield High School for Girls was unaffected by these changes and has been granted SpecialistScience College status.
Tameside College also operates a Local Learning Centre for adult learners in Droylsden.
Droylsden was anciently a chapelry in theparish of Manchester, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire.[9] It became anurban district of theadministrative county of Lancashire under theLocal Government Act 1894, and was granted its arms on 16 October 1950.[10] In 1974, as a result of theLocal Government Act 1972, Droylsden became a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside within themetropolitan county of Greater Manchester.
Droylsden was once a largetownship, including Big Droylsden, Little Droylsden, andClayton. In 1889 Little Droylsden was subsumed into Openshaw, and in 1890 Clayton was ceded from Droylsden's control to become part of Manchester.[4]
From 1918 until 1950, Droylsden was represented by the parliamentary constituency ofMossley. Manchester's expansion to the east and the increase in the electorate, resulted in the seat being divided in the 1950 boundary change. The areas adjacent to Manchester, including Droylsden, formed the newDroylsden constituency, with the remainder forming part ofAshton-under-Lyne. The Droylsden constituency was abolished in 1955, when Droylsden itself became part of the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency.
David Heyes MP represented the constituency of Ashton-under-Lyne from 2001 to 2015. He was replaced by his fellowLabour Party memberAngela Rayner in the2015 UK General Election.
The Droylsden Little Theatre has been running amateur productions since 1931.[11]
Horror film production company Fade To Blood Films is based in Droylsden
| Year | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,552 | 2,201 | 2,855 | 2,996 | 4,933 | 6,280 | 8,798 | 8,973 | 8,679 | 9,482 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Year | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1939 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 2001 | 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Population | 11,087 | 13,259 | 13,878 | 13,274 | 25,279 | 26,363 | 25,461 | 24,167 | 23,172 | 22,834 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Source:A Vision of Britain through Time[12] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 was 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 was reduced to around 400 before closing during 2008. The factory was demolished during the early part of 2010.[citation needed]
Droylsden is home toDroylsden F.C. who won theConference North league in 2006–07, gaining promotion to theConference National for the 2007–08 season, although they were relegated back to Conference North for 2008–09, and into theNorthern Premier League Premier Division in 2012–13. Now Droylsden play in theNorthern Premier League Division One North.
Droylsden is one of a number of locations which are promoted as the birthplace ofspeedway racing in the UK. Britain's first ever Speedway meeting was staged in Droylsden on 25 June 1927, billed as dirt track racing.[citation needed]
Notes
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