Tyldesley

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 53.5166
longitude= -2.4668
official_name= Tyldesley
population= 34,022 (2001 Census)
metropolitan_borough= Wigan
metropolitan_county= Greater Manchester
region= North West England
constituency_westminster= Worsley
post_town= MANCHESTER
postcode_district = M29
postcode_area= M
dial_code= 01942
os_grid_reference= SD690023
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static_image_caption=
london_distance=

Tyldesley (pronounced "tils-lee") is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is situated convert|7|mi|km|0 east-southeast of Wigan and has a total resident population of 34,022.

History

Toponymy

Tyldesley means "Tilwald's wood or clearing", from Old English personal name "Tilwald" / "Tīlwald" and "leăh" "wood, clearing". The name was recorded as "Tildesleiha" circa 1210. [http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/towns/gazetteer5.html#T] The name Tyldesley is pronounced "Tilslee". Locally it is also known as "Bongs" due to its location on a hill or bank "Bongs" is an old Lancashire dialect term for such a location.Fact|date=July 2007(See explanation: "Tyldesley is known locally as 'Bongs' after the original name of the town 'Tyldesley Banks'. In local dialect 'Banks' became corrupted to 'Bongs.' The Banks refers to the hill upon which the town was established." On the Tyldesley & District History Society site (see External Links). The nearby town of Atherton known as "Bent".

Earliest history

In 1947 two urns containing about 600 Roman bronze coins, minted between AD 259 and AD 273, were found near the route of the ancient Roman road in the town. Remains of a Roman road run through the area, which served the camps at what are now Wigan and Manchester.

Industrial Revolution

Tyldesley grew to prominence, like many of its neighbours, through the coal and cotton industries. Land reclamation and new housing developments have changed the face of its outlying areas, but the centre still retains the atmosphere of a bustling market townFact|date=February 2007with a refurbished market square. The steep terraces branching off the main streets give the town a distinctive character.

Opposite the market is an old church known as Top Chapel. This was built in 1789 for the Countess of Huntingdon’s sect which had broken away from the Church of England.

Edward Entwistle, who was the driver of the first 'inter-city', steam powered, scheduled passenger train in the world, was born in Tyldesley in 1815. He drove the passenger service on the Liverpool to Manchester line.

Governance

Tyldesley became an urban district under the Local Government Act 1894, with an elected urban district council. It initially covered the ancient parish of Tyldesley cum Shakerley. The parish of Astley was added in 1933 from the disbanded Leigh Rural District. The urban district was abolished in 1974 with the area becoming part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester. The electoral ward of Tyldesley has three council seats on the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Council

Education

The main school for secondary education in Tyldesley is Fred Longworth High School, which was awarded Arts College status in 1998. Other high schools in the area include Hesketh Fletcher (CE) in Atherton, St Marys High School (RC), the only Catholic high school and sixth form in the area and Bedford High, although this is more toward Leigh than Tyldesley. Primary schools in the area include Kingshill (formerly Tyldesley County Primary), Sacred Heart RC Primary, Hindsford CE, and St Georges Central, which was a amalgamation in the late 1990's of the historical St George's school and Tyldesley Central school. Shackerley Primary closed down recently, and Garrett Hall Primary School, which was awarded best primary school in Tyldesley.

References

External links

* [http://www.tyldesleyrufc.co.uk/ Tyldesley Rugby Union Football Club, founded 1881]
* [http://www.tyldesleyhistoricalsociety.co.uk/ Tyldesley Historical Society]