Salford (city), Lancashire Genealogy

Guide to Salford history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



History
Salford is a town lying at the heart of the City of Salford, a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Salford is sited in a meander of the River Irwell, which forms in part its boundary with the city of Manchester to the east. Historically in Lancashire, Salford's early history is marked by its status as a Royal caput and the judicial seat of the ancient hundred of Salfordshire, to which it lent its name. It was granted a charter by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, in about 1230, making Salford a free borough.

The earliest known evidence of human activity in what is now Salford is provided by the Neolithic flint arrow-heads and workings discovered on Kersal Moor and the River Irwell, suggesting that the area was inhabited 7–10,000 years ago. Other finds include a neolithic axe-hammer found near Mode Wheel, during the excavation of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1890, and a Bronze Age cremation urn during the construction of a road on the Broughton Hall estate in 1873.

The Brigantes were the major Celtic tribe in what is now Northern England. The withdrawal of the Romans in AD 410 left the inhabitants at the mercy of the Saxons. The Danes later conquered the area and absorbed what was left of the Brigantes. Angles settled in the region during the Early Middle Ages and gave the locality the name Sealhford, meaning "ford by the willows".

Following the emergence of the united Kingdom of England, Salford became a caput or central manor within a broad rural area in part held by the Kings of England, including Edward the Confessor. The area between the rivers Mersey and Ribble was divided into six smaller districts, referred to as "wapentakes", or hundreds. The south east district became known as the Hundred of Salford, a division of land administered from Salford for military and judicial purposes. It contained nine large parishes, smaller parts of two others, and the township of Aspull in the parish of Wigan.

After the defeat of the Harold II during the Norman conquest of England, William I granted the Hundred of Salford to Roger the Poitevin, and in the Domesday Book of 1086 the Hundred of Salford was recorded as covering an area of 350 square miles (906 km2) with a population of 35,000.

Salford began to emerge as a small town early in the 13th century. In 1228, Henry III granted the caput of Salford the right to hold a market and an annual fair. The fairs were important to the town; a 17th-century order forced each burgess – a freeman of the borough – to attend, but the fairs were abolished during the 19th century. Salford's status as a burgage encouraged an influx of distinguished families, and by the Late Middle Ages Salford was "rich in its manor houses", with over 30 within a 5-mile (8 km) radius.

Salford has a history of textile processing that pre-dates the Industrial Revolution, and as an old town had been developing for about 700 years. Before the introduction of cotton there was a considerable trade in woolen goods and fustians. Other cottage industries prevalent at this time included clogging, cobbling, weaving and brewing. The changes to textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution had a profound effect on both on population and urbanization, as well as the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of Salford.

With the introduction of the steam engine in the late 18th century merchants began to construct mills closer to the centers of Salford and Manchester, where supplies of labor and coal were more readily available (the first steam-powered mill was built in Manchester in 1780). One of the first factories to be built was Philip's and Lee's Twist Mill in Salford, completed in 1801, the second iron-framed multi-story building to be erected in Britain.

Canal building provided a further stimulus for Salford's industrial development. The opening of the Bridgewater Canal in 1761 improved the transport of fuel and raw materials, reducing the price of coal by about 50%. The later Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal (which terminated at Salford) brought more cheap coal from pits at Pendleton, Agecroft Colliery and beyond. By 1818 Manchester, Salford and Eccles had about 80 mills, but it was the completion of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 which triggered Salford's development as a major inland port. Salford Docks, a major dockland on the Ship Canal 35 miles (56 km) east of the Irish Sea, brought employment to over 3,000 laborers.

During the early 20th century, improvements in regional transport infrastructure precipitated the decline of Salford's existing industries, including those at the Salford Docks. Increased foreign competition began to undermine the competitiveness of local textile processing businesses.

Despite extensive redevelopment, throughout the 1980s and 1990s the area experienced chronic poverty, deprivation and unemployment. This social deprivation led to increased levels of gang crime linked to illegal narcotics, firearms and robberies. Organized crime in Salford, particularly in Ordsall and Pendleton, "began to have a disturbing effect on grass roots democracy".

Cemeteries (Civil)
Agecroft Cemetery Langley Road Pendlebury, Salford M27 8SS Phone: +44 161 686 7290

Weaste Cemetery Cemetery Road Salford M5 5NR Phone: +44 161 686 7290

Parishes
Salford has many Anglican churches. A link that identifies each church, including the individual websites, follows:


 * Salford Anglican Parishes


 * St Philip's Church
 * Sacred Trinity Church
 * Church of The Ascension
 * St Clement's Church, Lower Broughton
 * St James' Church, Higher Brougton.
 * St Paul's Church, Kersal
 * St Andrew's, Carrclough
 * St John's Church, Pendlebury
 * St Aidan's Church, Lower Kersal
 * St Thomas' Church, Pendleton
 * Holy Angels, Claremont
 * St Luke's, Weaste
 * Emmanuel LEP
 * St Paul with Christ Church
 * St Clement's church, Ordsall and Salford Quays

Non Conformists
Salford also has a large Roman Catholic population. The website for the RC diocese follows:


 * Diocese of Salford

Other Christian groups follow:


 * Baptists
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
 * Greek Orthodox
 * Jehovah's Witnesses
 * Methodist
 * Presbyterian
 * Salvation Army Church
 * Seventh Day Adventists

Non Christian faiths include the following:


 * Buddhist
 * Hindu
 * Jewish
 * Muslim
 * Sikh

Civil Registration

 * Lancashire BMD


 * Salford City Council BMD records


 * UKBMD: Salford

Local Histories

 * British History: Salford

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Michelin Map of Salford


 * Artus Family History: Old map of Salford


 * Francis Frith: Old Salford Maps


 * Vision of Britain: Salford History and Gazetteer


 * GENUKI: Salford Gazetteer

Newspapers
Salford itself does not have any newspapers. However the Greater Manchester area has a number as identified below:


 * Manchester Evening News


 * The Guardian

Occupations
Salford as suffered from high levels of unemployment and housing and social problems since around the 1960s, although there are regeneration schemes to reverse its fortunes. It is still an area of high unemployment and low opportunity.

The University of Salford was initially established as a Technical College in 1896, but has since grown to become a well known University within the UK. As such, it provides many employment opportunities, both in the world of academia, as well as supporting occupations. The local Council also provides many sources for local employment.

The Salford Group is a private group set up to promote investment in the agricultural and agricultural machinery arena, and has done very well for growth in the region.

There has been a major regeneration effort in the area of the Salford Quays, once a major employer in the maritime industry, but now developed as a seed area for local companies. There are presently more than 830 companies based there providing employment to several thousand individuals.

Societies

 * Manchester and Salford Family History Forum


 * Manchester and Salford Family History Society


 * Manchester and Lancashire Family History Society


 * Forebears: Salford

Archives

 * The National Archives: Salford


 * University of Salford: Archives


 * Salford on Line: History and Archives


 * Salford City Archives

Web Sites

 * Salford City Council


 * Greater Manchester Combined Council


 * Wikipedia: Greater Manchester, Salford