Borough of Tameside

Tameside, named for the river that runs through it, is one of the 8 Metropolitan Boroughs contained within Greater Manchester. It covers a number of towns, none of which are called Tameside. The name was coined at the time the borough was formed in 1974. Tameside's administrative centre is Ashton under Lyne but it also includes the towns of Hyde, Dukinfield, Stalybridge, Mossley, Audenshaw, Droylsden, Mottram and Denton amongst its constituent towns. Amongst the famous names associated with the towns of Tameside one stands out, that of the artist LS Lowry who spent the last years of his life living in Mottram.

In Roman times the road ran from Manchester to Leeds, and a branch to the fort at Melandra ran through present day Mossley. Many place names in the borough reflect Anglo Saxon influences indicating that the area might have been without many earlier inhabitants. After the Norman Conquest the lands were part of the Earl of Chester's possessions though Ashton wasn't, at that time, in any way important. It was 1413 before the town was granted a charter allowing a market to be held. The charter was granted to Sir John Assheton and allowed the market to be held close to the church - where St Michael's now stands. The charter also allowed the town to hold a fair in July and November of each year, By the 16th century the busy town was producing quantities of woven cloths so that textiles and sheep farming were an important part of the town's economy. They were fore-runners of the days when Ashton would be a major cotton producing town.

During the Civil War of the 17th century Ashton and the srrounding towns were strongly Parliamentarian.

Ashton developed and grew as the Industrial Revolution gathered pace with cotton and coal as kings. During this period Ashton's population exploded as the railway came and canals were dug, with a junction at Portland Basin between the Lower Peak forest Canal, the Huddersfield Narrow and the Ashton canal. Cotton mills and other factories sprang up to service the demands of the new industrial age. Conditions were often poor but, according to some sources, there were fewer cases of absolute destitution in Ashton than in many other towns.

Today the area is coming to terms with its industrial heritage and moving on into the 21st century with positive determination to succeed. The town's industries are more diverse, including engineering, food processing, textiles, and manufacturing. Where Ashton Moss once used to supply the vegetable and salad needs of the town you can now find a vast retail complex supplying almost every need