{"id":179447,"date":"2021-05-07T12:41:38","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T11:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/travel\/?p=179447"},"modified":"2021-05-25T11:00:18","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T10:00:18","slug":"stockport-the-five-minute-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/travel\/stockport-the-five-minute-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Stockport The Five-Minute Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Five-Minute Guide to Stockport <\/strong>Greater Manchester\u2019s hidden gem.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Modern-day Stockport is a town big enough to rival any city. With more than 114k residents, it\u2019s big enough to sprawl from Lancashire to Cheshire. Once known as an international hemp producer, rope-making town, and hattery, this place has bags of character and enough appeal for any staycation wanderer.<\/p>\n

Before you pack your bags ready to go visit Stockport\u2019s many attractions, let\u2019s recap on about a thousand years of history. It\u2019s always interesting to learn what formed the town\u2026<\/p>\n

Early Stockport History<\/h2>\n

There have been traces of people in Stockport since the Mesolithic period, which ended roughly 5500 years ago. They left behind tools, funeral urns, and pictures featuring hunting successes. Archaeologists report a thousand-year gap before the Romans came in 70AD, which looks a lot like a period without occupancy. The name comes from the Old English, where a \u2018stok\u2019 was a small town and a \u2018port\u2019, which indicated it was made of wood.<\/p>\n

When the Romans did arrive, nobody knows if they stayed here or not. We do know that the Roman roads connecting other places passed through the town, nearly in the centre, so it makes sense that the area would have seen people passing through occasionally. Despite a lack of solid evidence of Roman settlement, coins have been found buried here, near the banks of the Mersey. Similarly, a fjord in the river meant that it would have been a passing place for Roman riders.<\/p>\n

Post Romal Times<\/h3>\n

The post-Roman years are largely unaccounted for in Stockport. Coins from King Edmund (939-946) were found in a field in the 18th<\/sup> century, indicating that the area was still populated after the Romans left. Nearby Manchester<\/a> has shown some evidence of Viking<\/a> invasions, but Stockport shows little evidence of this. It is possible that the villager\u2019s proximity to Manchester saved them from raiding.<\/p>\n

By the time of the Norman invasion, Stockport was almost uninhabited. It is not mentioned in the Domesday survey at all. This means it was too small to note, or that it fell into someone\u2019s land and wasn\u2019t more than woods or fields. After the Normans invaded, the people in the north protested so much that William the conqueror sent his armies to deal with them. This was known as \u2018the harrying of the north\u2019. Whole towns were extinguished. Stockport \u2013 already a market town before then \u2013 was likely one of these.<\/p>\n

The town was definitely inhabited in the late 12th Century though as St.Mary’s Church pictured below has stood here is one guise or another since 1190.<\/p>\n

\"St

Image:Steve G Parker\/Shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Medieval Stockport<\/h2>\n

The town has recorded the presence of a castle a hundred years after the Normans landed. It was used as a stronghold against king Henry II. The castle was small and wouldn\u2019t have lasted much longer than the 16th<\/sup> century before it fell into ruin. It was eventually levelled and replaced with Warren\u2019s Mill. They gained a charter in 1260 that gave them the right to hold a weekly market and an annual fair.<\/p>\n

The bridge was built in 1282 and the town continued to be a slow-growing market town. It was famous for hats (from the 16th<\/sup> century), produced cattle, leather, and meat, contained a blacksmith, and eventually became a cotton-weaving town. In 1487, a grammar school opened in town.<\/p>\n

During the English Civil War, Stockport supported the Parliament. The man who would try the king was born and educated here. In 1644 Prince Rupert attached the town with men and cannon, which were still unreliable back then. The Prince was successful and marched on through. He would later fall at Marston Moor. There were two plague outbreaks in 1606 and 1665.<\/p>\n

The bridge was dismantled to try and stop Bonnie Prince Charlie from marching on Derby. There was a brief skirmish between the town guard and his army before they marched on past. Of further note was a date in 1784, when a farmer tried to avoid a tax on horses in town by riding an ox, instead.<\/p>\n

Stockport became a focus of industry from the mid-16th<\/sup> century, earlier than most towns. This was due to the demand for Stockport hats, which were being exported to Manchester and thus on throughout the known world.<\/p>\n

Before we get into the ins and outs of the Industrial age in Stockport, let\u2019s take a break to talk about trivia from in and around town.<\/p>\n

 
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