Partington

History

Partington, first recorded in 1260, was in the medieval and post-medieval parish of Bowdon. The name derives from Old English: the first element may be a personal name such as Pearta or Pærta, or part "land divided up into partitions" followed by inga, meaning "people of"; the suffix tun means "farmstead". The village consisted of dispersed farmsteads, with no nucleated centre. It was surrounded by wetlands on all sides, reducing the amount of land available for agriculture. According to the hearth tax returns of 1664, Partington had a population of 99. In 1755, a paper mill on the River Mersey was opened in Partington, the first factory to be established in present-day Trafford. Erlam Farmhouse dates from the late 18th century and is a Grade II listed building. Also protected as a Grade II listed building are the stocks on the village green; its stone pillars date from the 18th century, although the wooden restraints were replaced in the 20th century. The completion of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 transformed Partington into a major coal-exporting port. The canal was widened to for three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) to allow for the construction of a coaling basin, equipped with four hydraulic coal hoists. Partington was the nearest port to the Lancashire Coalfields, and brought the south Yorkshire collieries closer to the sea. Between 1898 and 1911, exports of coal accounted for 53.4 per cent of the total export tonnage carried by the ship canal. The coal trade in turn resulted in Partington becoming a major railway depot and attracted a range of other industries, including the Partington Steel & Iron Company, which was encouraged by the availability of coal to construct a steelworks. The works became a part of the Lancashire Steel Corporation in 1930…

Geography

Partington lies west of Sale, north-east of the civil parish of Warburton and is on Trafford's northern border with the City of Salford; it is south-west of Manchester city centre. Sinderland Brook runs east–west through the area and the town is about above sea level on generally flat ground. Partington's local drift geology is a mixture of alluvial deposits, fluvio-glacial gravel and peat deposited about 10,000 years ago, during the last ice age. The bedrock is Keuper sandstone in the south and Bunter sandstone in the north. The town's climate is generally temperate, like the rest of Greater Manchester. The mean highest and lowest temperatures ( and ) are slightly above the national average, while the annual rainfall () and average hours of sunshine (1394.5 hours) are respectively above and below the national averages.

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  23,937
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  23,031
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  21,360
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,265
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  19,660
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  19,381
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  16,990
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  15,911

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