Stockport

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Stockport Greater Manchester

Approximate Population: 136,082

Stockport is a large town in Greater Manchester, England.   It lies on elevated ground on the River Mersey at the influx of the rivers Goyt and Tame, 6.1 miles (9.8 km) southeast of the city of Manchester.   Stockport is the largest settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, and has a population of 136,082, the wider borough being 281,000.

Stockport in the 16th century was known for the cultivation of hemp and rope manufacture and in the 18th century the town had one of the first mechanised silk factories in the United Kingdom.   However, Stockport’s predominant industries of the 19th century were the cotton and allied industries.   Stockport was also at the centre of the country’s hatting industry which by 1884 was exporting more than six million hats a year.   In December 1997 the last Stockport hat works closed. The town’s hatting heritage is preserved at ‘Hat Works – the Museum of Hatting’.

Dominating the western approaches to the town is the Stockport Viaduct. Built in 1840, the viaduct’s 27 brick arches over the River Mersey carry the mainline railways from Manchester to Birmingham and London.   This structure featured as the background in many paintings by L.S. Lowry.

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Greater Manchester

Leeds

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Leeds West Yorkshire

Approximate Population: 443,247

Leeds  is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England.   It is the urban core and administrative centre of the wider metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds.  The county borough of Leeds was awarded city status in 1893.   Since 1974 city status has been held by the wider City of Leeds district. Thus Leeds, although commonly referred to as a “city”, does not have this legal status unless the wider area is being discussed.

Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the recorded history of Leeds can be traced to the 5th century when the Kingdom of Elmet was covered by the forest of “Loidis”, the origin of the name Leeds.

During the Industrial Revolution, Leeds developed into a major industrial centre for the production and trade of wool, before emerging as a centre for commerce and higher education, being the location of the University of Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan University and Leeds Trinity and All Saints.   Today Leeds is one of the largest financial and legal centres outside London.

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