Manchester

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History

The first major Celtic tribe in what is now Northern England were the Brigantes; they had a stronghold in the locality at a sandstone outcrop on which Manchester Cathedral now stands, opposite the River Irwell. Their territory extended across the fertile lowland of what is now Salford and Stretford. In 79 AD, following their conquest of Britain, the Roman general Agricola ordered the construction of a fort named Mamucium to protect Roman interests in Deva Victrix (now Chester) and Eboracum (now York). Central Manchester has remained a continuously populated settlement since. Fragments of the Mamucium fort remain visible in Castlefield. The Roman habitation of Manchester probably ended around the 3rd century; its civilian settlement appears to have been abandoned by the mid-3rd century, although the fort may have supported a small garrison until the late 3rd or early 4th century. The fort was first investigated by archaeologists in 1906, and opened to the public in 1984. After the Roman withdrawal and subsequent Anglo-Saxon settlement, the centre of the town moved to the confluence of the rivers Irwell and Irk. In the Normans' Harrying of the North, much of the area surrounding Manchester was laid waste. The Domesday Book (1086) records Manchester within the hundred of Salford and held as tenant in chief by a Norman named Roger of Poitou. The town was later held by the Grelley family, who were the lords of the manor and residents of Manchester Castle. By 1421, Thomas de la Warre had founded a collegiate church for the parish, which would later become Manchester Cathedral; other church buildings have since become Chetham's School of Music and Chetham's Library. The latter opened in 1653 and remains open to the public, the oldest free public reference library in the UK.…

Geography

At , northwest of London, Manchester lies in a bowl-shaped land area bordered to the north and east by the Pennines, an upland chain that runs the length of northern England, and to the south by the Cheshire Plain. Manchester is north-east of Liverpool and north-west of Sheffield, making the city the halfway point between the two. The city centre is on the east bank of the River Irwell, near its confluences with the Rivers Medlock and Irk, and is relatively low-lying, being between above sea level. The River Mersey flows through the south of Manchester. Much of the inner city, especially in the south, is flat, offering views from many highrise buildings in the city of the foothills and moors of the Pennines, which can often be capped with snow in the winter. Manchester's climate, its proximity to a seaport at Liverpool, the availability of waterpower from its rivers, and its nearby coal reserves were highly influential in its early development as an industrial city. For purposes of the Office for National Statistics, Manchester forms the most populous settlement within the Greater Manchester Urban Area, the United Kingdom's second-largest conurbation. There is a mix of high-density urban and suburban locations. The largest open space in the city, at around , is Heaton Park. Manchester is contiguous on all sides with several large settlements, except for a small section along its southern boundary with Cheshire. The M60 and M56 motorways pass through Northenden and Wythenshawe respectively in the south of Manchester. Heavy rail lines enter the city from all directions, the principal destination being Manchester Piccadilly station, the city's largest railway terminus, and the second-busiest in Great Britain outside of London. Manchester lies at the centre of the…

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  29,825
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  27,621
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26,513
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  25,884
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  24,192
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  23,931
• European Goldfinch

  Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,899
• Western Jackdaw

  Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,568

Most recent

• M 3.4 — 2025-12-03
  0 km ESE of Carnforth, United Kingdom
• M 2.7 — 2023-06-28
  2 km SE of Cheadle, United Kingdom
• M 3.6 — 2022-05-30
  2 km ESE of Prees, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2014-10-28
  2 km NNE of Hucknall, United Kingdom
• M 3.2 — 2013-08-25
  23 km W of Cleveleys, United Kingdom
• M 3.6 — 2011-01-03
  5 km S of Masham, United Kingdom