Stockport Walk: Town Centre【4K】

Located in the county of Greater Manchester, and around 6 miles southeast of Manchester itself, is the town of Stockport.

Geographically Stockport lies near the confluence of the rivers Tame and Goyt, which becomes the River Mersey. The river itself runs underneath the town centre for the most part. Historically the Mersey acted as the approximate border between Cheshire and Lancashire. Before 1974 Stockport was split between Cheshire and Lancashire accordingly prior to the creation of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, to which it now belongs.

The name 'Stockport' derives from the Saxon 'stoc', meaning stockaded castle and 'port', meaning a wood - literally a castle in the wood. There is evidence of a stronghold existing here during Roman times.

In 1220 a charter was granted giving Stockport the right to elect its own mayor. It remained an agricultural market town until the early 17th century when the town started to become renowned for its production of linen, and later, silk.

In the early 18th century Stockport became a prototype textile town. Its first silk mill was opened in 1732, and was the first water-powered textile mill in the North West of England. By the late 18th century it was well poised to take advantage of the burgeoning cotton industry. This was aided by the opening of the Stockport branch of the Ashton Canal in 1797. Goods could now be exported more easily to neighbouring towns and cities along the waterways.

Stockport's most famous industry, perhaps, is hatmaking. This started in the 17th century in domestic workshops. The skills of the local workforce soon came to the attention of major hatting firms in London, in particular Christys, who began to commission work from factories in the town. During the late 19th century, hat factories in Stockport increased around tenfold, launching it to the centre of the country's hatting industry. By 1884 it was exporting more than six million hats per year. The 20th century saw the slow decline of this industry, with the last factory closing in 1997.

Between 1839 and 1840 Stockport's 22-arched railway viaduct was built. Stockport Viaduct carries the West Coast Main Line across the valley of the River Mersey. It is one of the UK's largest brick structures at 547 metres (or around 1800 feet) long, and is Grade II listed. Stockport would receive a railway connection three years later, in 1843.

In 1908 Stockport Town Hall was opened. It was built in the English Baroque style. Several much older buildings are dotted around the town including, in order of appearance, The Three Shires, built circa 1580, The White Lion Hotel, originally built in the 15th century albeit with some more modern alterations, and Underbank Hall, built in the late 15th century (all timestamped for easy reference).

A statue of Richard Cobden appears at the end of the video on St Peter's Square. Cobden was a Member of Parliament for Stockport from 1841 to 1847, and was a staunch free trade campaigner.

Stockport is represented in football by Stockport County Football Club. Nicknamed The Hatters as a nod to their hatmaking industry, they play their home games at Edgeley Park just southwest of the town centre.

Famous people from Stockport include boxer Ricky Hatton and footballer Phil Foden. In 1972 the band 10cc formed in Stockport.

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Filmed: 2nd September 2021

Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Edward Street
0:32 Millennium House
0:37 Wellington Road South
0:41 Stockport Town Hall
0:52 Wellington Road South
5:10 Hooper Street
5:32 Lawrence Street
5:45 Lawrence Street Steps
6:27 Daw Bank
7:01 Chestergate
8:02 Great Underbank
9:32 The Three Shires (built circa 1580)
9:38 Great Underbank
9:57 The White Lion Hotel (originally built 15th century)
10:08 Great Underbank
10:36 Underbank Hall (built late 15th century)
10:43 Great Underbank
11:07 Bridge Street
11:42 Market Place
12:28 St Mary's Parish Church
12:36 Market Place
12:49 Millgate
13:00 Market Place
15:00 Steps down to Little Underbank
15:40 Little Underbank
16:34 Lower Hillgate
18:37 High Street
20:51 St Petersgate
23:07 St Peter's Square
23:17 Richard Cobden Statue
23:37 St Peter's Square

[helenweatherby]

I grew up in Stockport, but haven’t been there in years. Was surprised to see that the Essoldo and the swimming baths aren’t there, and Mersey Square looked the same, only different! Thank you so much for this.

[ПолінаГалюта]

I'm from Ukraine and watching this video was a pleasure 🥺💙💛 this sounds of the street 💔🔅

[AmbientWalking]

Great to travel with you! Always such a pleasure to spend time looking at things through your eyes. Thanks so much! : )

[Nataly]

A very interesting video. Thank you for an enjoyable walk.😍

[ShakeelAhmed-prgn]

Nice town walk. A different sort of. Pleasure to walk along . Thank you.

[psychosoma]

6:25 you can see me rushing to work pmsl.

[milantomic]

I like your videos so i had to subscribe to your channel

[raymondkeen]

Is the white lion still open, and still a whitbread house

[krob]

The best thing about Stockport is no Londoners

[sarribel]

Please, narrow the Wellington st to one lane each way, plant trees on pavements, construct a memorial fountain, build a cycle lane and let the people star enjoying their town. We don't want urban motorways crucifying our cities and destroying our health and the environment any more, do we?. Great video. THX

[SiBanstead]

Sadly this town is slowly but surely going into rapid decline. Shops disappearing all the time