Place:Bury, Lancashire, England

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Bury, Lancashire, in A Vision of Britain Through Time

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Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester. Bury is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, with Bury as the largest settlement and administrative centre.

Historically a part of Lancashire, Bury emerged during the Industrial Revolution as a mill town centred on textile manufacture.

Bury is regionally notable for its open-air market - Bury Market - and its popularity has been increased since the introduction of the Manchester Metrolink tram system, which terminates in the town. The market is known for its supply of a local traditional dish - black pudding, served hot or cold and can be eaten either as a takeaway snack, or more commonly as an accompaniment or main ingredient of a meal starter or main course.

One of Bury's most notable residents was Sir Robert Peel, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and founder of the Metropolitan Police Service. A monument to Peel is outside Bury parish church and another, the austere Peel Monument, stands on a hill overlooking the locality.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Toponymy

The name Bury, (also earlier known as "Buri" and "Byri") comes from an Old English word, meaning "castle", "stronghold" or "fort", an early form of modern English borough.

Early history

Bury was formed around the ancient market place but even prior to this there is evidence of activity dating back to the period of Roman occupation. Bury Museum has a Roman Urn containing a number of small bronze coins dated for AD 253-282 and found north of what is now the town centre. Under Agricola the road building programme included a route from the fort at Manchester (Mamucium) to the fort at Ribchester (Bremetennacum) that ran through Radcliffe and Affetside. The modern Watling Street, that serves the Seddons Farm estate on the west side of town, follows the approximate line of the route.

The most imposing early building in the town would have been Bury Castle,^[1] a medieval fortified manor house. The castle was built in 1469 by Sir Thomas Pilkington, lord of the manors of Pilkington and Bury and a powerful member of Lancashire's gentry. It sat in a good defensive position on high ground overlooking the Irwell Valley. At that time the Pilkingtons had been lords of Bury for nearly a century, having inherited the manor from a family named de Bury.

The Pilkington family suffered badly in the Wars of the Roses when, despite the geography they supported the House of York. When Richard III was killed in the Battle of Bosworth, in 1485, Thomas Pilkington was captured and later executed. The outcome of the battle was that the Duke of Richmond, representing the House of Lancaster was crowned Henry VII by Sir William Stanley. As a reward for the support of his family Thomas Stanley was created Earl of Derby and amongst other land the confiscated Pilkington estate in Bury was presented to him.^[2]

The ancestral home of the Earls of Derby is Knowsley Hall on the outskirts of Liverpool. The family maintains a connection with Bury in various ways - the Derby High School is named after them. When the school opened in 1959 the Earl of Derby was patron and the school's badge is based on the Earl's coat of arms.

For many years the castle remains were buried beneath the streets outside the Castle Armoury. From time to time it was the subject of archaeological excavations. These established that there was an earlier manor house on the site. In 2000 the castle site was properly excavated as a focal point in the town centre. The remains of the old walls are now displayed in Castle Square.

Between 1801 and 1830 the population of the town more than doubled from 7072 to 15086. This was the time when the factories, mines and foundries began to dominate the landscape with their spinning machines and steam engines.

Industrial Revolution

Probate evidence from the 17th century and the remains of 18th century weavers' cottages in Elton, on the west side of Bury, indicate that domestic textile production was an important factor of the local economy at a time when Bury's textile industry was dominated by woollens and based upon the domestic production of yarn and cloth as well as water-powered fulling mills.

Development was swift in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The establishment of Brooksbottom Mill, in Summerseat north of the town, as a calico printing works in 1773 by the family of Sir Robert Peel marked the beginning of the cotton industry in Bury. By the early 19th century cotton was the predominant textile industry with the River Roch and River Irwell providing power for spinning mills and processing water for the finishing trades. Development was further promoted when the town was linked to the national canal network by the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal, fully opened in 1808. The canal is provided with water from Elton Reservoir, fed by aqueducts from a weir on the River Irwell, north of what is now the Burrs Country Park. The Burrs is also the site of another mill developed by the Peel family, first founded in 1790. The remains are displayed for the public. There were seven cotton mills in Bury by 1818 and the population grew from 9,152 in 1801 to 58,029 in 1901.

Following this, railways opened, linking the town from Bury Bolton Street railway station to Manchester, Radcliffe, Rawtenstall and Accrington and from the old Knowsley Street railway station to the neighbouring mill towns of Bolton, Heywood and Rochdale. As well as the many cotton mills other industries which thrived included paper–making, calico printing and some light engineering. The town expanded to incorporate the former townships of Elton, Walmersley and Heap and rows of terraced housing encircled the town centre by the turn of the 19th century. Districts such as Freetown, Fishpool and Pimhole were transformed from farmers' fields to rows of terraced housing, beside the factories and mills.

The houses were of the most limited kind without basic facilities, sewers or proper streets. The result was the rapid spread of disease and high mortality rates in crowded areas. In 1838 out of 1,058 working class houses in Bury investigated by the Manchester Statistical Society 733 had 3-4 people in each bed, 207 had 4-5 and 76 had 5-6. Social reformers locally and nationally were concerned about such issues, including Edwin Chadwick. One report that prepared the ground for the reform of public health matters, commissioned by then Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, asked local doctors for information. King Street, Bury was highlighted. It had 10 houses, each with one bedroom, and a population of 69. The average age of death in Bury was 13.8 years. Towns like Bury were likened to 'camps' where newcomers sought work in mill, mine or forge. Many, often from Ireland found shelter in lodging houses. 38 in Bury were surveyed. 73% had men and women sharing beds indiscriminately, 81% were filthy and the average was 5.5 persons to a bed.

Although Bury had few of the classic late 19th century spinning mills that were such a feature of other Lancashire towns a group, known as Peel Mills, are still in use at Castlecroft Road, immediately north of the town centre, their name another reminder of the link with the Peel family.

Lancashire Fusiliers

According to writer Geoffrey Moorhouse, a history of Bury is not complete without reference to its role as the regimental town of the Lancashire Fusiliers.

In 1688 Prince William of Orange (later King William III) landed at Brixham, Devon. He was met by a number of noblemen who were then commissioned to raise Regiments to help him oppose James II. Colonel Sir Robert Peyton raised a Regiment containing six independent companies in the Exeter area. In 1782 the title was changed to the XX or East Devon Regiment of Foot and from 1 July 1881 became the XX The Lancashire Fusiliers. The link with Bury and the Fusiliers started at this time when, following successful recruiting in Lancashire a Regimental Depot was established in Bury, Wellington Barracks, in 1881. Wellington Barracks became XX The Lancashire Fusiliers Regimental Headquarters in 1961.

The regiment has been involved in many campaigns and peace keeping duties including the Jacobite uprising, the American War of Independence, the Napoleonic Wars, the Indian Mutiny and both world wars. Since moving to Bury the Lancashire Fusiliers were part, in 1898, of the force that relieved Khartoum and fought in the Battle of Omdurman and in 1899–1902 during the Boer War took part in the battles of Spion Kop and the Tugela Heights, leading up to the Relief of Ladysmith.

In 1914, the regiment was 4th Battalion of the British Expeditionary Force, the first force to enter France against the Germans. On 24 April 1915 the taking of W beach at Gallipoli six men were each awarded the Victoria Cross. The six were chosen by their comrades for the 'action before breakfast'; this gave rise to the local phrase "Six VCs before breakfast" in reference to the event.

The losses in the Dardanelles had a sharp impact on the town. They were all the more pronounced because many of those killed and wounded were from the regiment's Territorial Battalion based in the town. Like the Pals battalions, it recruited from a small area. It also consisted largely of part-time soldiers who had volunteered for regular service at the outbreak of war and who therefore had strong community ties. They were literally, the local butcher, baker and candlestick maker - who had wives and children resident in the town.

As a consequence, for many years afterwards Gallipoli Day was as much a part of the town's mourning for World War I dead as Armistice Day or latterly Remembrance Sunday.

During World War II the regiment fought at the Battle of Monte Cassino, where Fusilier Jefferson won a VC in July 1943. They were also involved in the D-Day landings, with a successful attack on Villers-Bocage in July 1944. Subsequently they were involved in Burma, at the Suez Canal and Kenya at the time of the Mau Mau rebellion.

In 1968 four fusiliers regiments, the Lancashire, Royal Northumberland, Royal Warwickshire and Royal Fusiliers were amalgamated to create the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. The bringing together of the various regiments saw the demise of the Lancashire regiment's distinctive primrose hackle - the yellow feathers worn above the cap badge. In its place all the battalions adopted the red and white emblem of the Northumberland Fusiliers who were the senior (oldest) regiment to be absorbed into the newly created Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. After the end of national service, with less need to recruit and train soldiers most of Wellington Barracks was redeveloped for housing and playing fields. Parts of the perimeter wall are still visible but the only part of the site still in military use is the Regimental Headquarters and social club. Sited in Elton on the west side of Bury the barracks fronted Bolton Road, the A58 at the corner with Haig Road. This and other local streets in the estate opposite, including Kitchener, Connaught, White, Buller and Powell Streets were named after prominent army figures.

A memorial to the Lancashire Fusiliers who died in the First World War was placed at the front of the former barracks. Designed by Edwin Lutyens, architect of the Whitehall cenotaph, the memorial is a grade 2 listed monument. Because his father and great uncle had been officers in the regiment Lutyens declined a fee for his work. The monument, 5.88 m high and built of Portland stone, was unveiled in April 1922. In 2009, and after some local controversy, the memorial was moved to Bury town centre where in now stands adjacent to a new regimental museum.

In 1859, the 8th Lancashire (Bury) Rifle Volunteer Corps was formed and a new drill hall was proposed. In 1868 the drill hall, or Castle Armoury, was built on the historical site of Bury Castle. To reflect the 'castle' the drill hall has a fortified style with castellations, gargoyles, turrets, towers, arrow slits and other Norman architectural features on the façade. Above the main gate, with a large semi-circular arch, is a large coat of arms incorporating the Lancashire Fusiliers' badge and motto "Omnia Audax", translating to "Dare Anything". Three plaques on the east wall of the drill hall commemorate those who fell in two world wars and the Boer War.

A platoon of Fusiliers still resides at Castle Armoury. It is also HQ East Lancashire Wing of the Air Training Corps and the Bury Detachment of the Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force and accommodates G Squadron of 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital (Volunteers).

The front of the Castle Armoury building has been used regularly as the fictional entrance to 'HMP Weatherfield' in the soap opera Coronation Street.

Recent history

In the post-war period, there was a major decline in the cotton industry, and in common with many neighbouring towns, Bury's skyline was soon very different, with countless factory chimneys being pulled down and the associated mills closing their doors forever. The old shopping area around Princess Street and Union Square was demolished in the late 1960s, and a concrete precinct emerged to replace it. This development was replaced by the Mill Gate Shopping Centre in the late 1990s.

Another large shopping area is located around the Rock. The main street is populated mainly by independent shops and food outlets. At the top end of the street, however, is a modern shopping area. It has a multi screen cinema, bowling alley and department stores including Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Boots UK, Clarks, Poundland, The Body Shop and Warren James Jewellers.

Bury has also benefited from other facilities in the early 2010s including a new medical centre and office accommodation close to Bury Town Hall. Bury is competing as a destination with Bolton and Rochdale. A decision by Marks and Spencer to vacate its store in the Mill Gate Shopping Centre and move into a large new one on the Rock emphasised a change in the makeup of the town.

The town centre is still famous for its traditional market, with its "world famous" black pudding stalls. Bury Market was also once famous for its tripe, although this has declined in the past few decades. The Bury Black Pudding Co provides black pudding to retailers such as Harrods as well as supermarkets and the Market is a haven for people from all over Greater Manchester and beyond. The last 30 years have seen the town developing into an important commuter town for neighbouring Manchester. Large scale housing development has taken place around Unsworth, Redvales, Sunnybank, Brandlesholme, Limefield, Chesham and Elton. The old railway line to Manchester Victoria closed in 1990, and was replaced by the light rapid transit system Metrolink in 1992. The town was also linked to the M66 motorway network, opening in 1978, accessed from the east side of the town.