Spotlight on Radcliffe - A Brief History of the Town

Reporter: Kevin Burke
Date online: 01 November 2010

Radcliffe was first settled in around 6,000BC, during the Mesolithic period. Stone-age remains, such as rows of sharpened timber an axe-hammer were found near the North bank of the River Irwell, and it is believed ancient burial mounds were built around the reservoir. It is thought that prehistoric man used the site seasonally, taking use of its fresh water and natural resources for farming and early settling.

The Romans certainly knew of Radcliffe, building a road through it that joined Mamucium (Manchester) with Bremetennacum (Ribchester). When the Romans left, everyone else joined them, and the land was left to swamps and mudland.

The Norman Conquest reestablished Radcliffe. It was called Radecliue in the Domesday Book of 1086, which meant the Red Cliff. It became a parish and a township, one of the most influential places in the area, and later became owned by the Pilkington family, close allies of the House of York and the Royal Family.

After the War of the Roses, and the loss of the House of York’s Richard III, the land was confiscated and given to the House of Lancaster.

During the English Civil War, Radcliffe fought alongside the Parliamentarians (Roundheads), whereas Bury fought with the Royalists (Cavaliers), tearing the two towns apart.

Like a lot of places in Manchester, Radcliffe began to boom during the industrial revolution. Sir Robert Peel, father of the founder of the police force, built the first factory in Radcliffe in 1780. This factory used a waterwheel to help weave cotton, which was cutting-edge technology at the time.

Child labour was bought from Birmingham and London, and the children lived on the top floor of the factory. They were unpaid, locked in, and worked over 10 hours a day. Due to the shift work, children leaving for a day shift would sleep in the same bed as children waking up for a night shift. Sir Robert was quoted describing the conditions as ‘very bad’.

An outbreak of Typhoid prompted Sir Robert to introduce an act of parliament, later called the Factory Act, which introduced workers’ rights for the purposes of hygiene. This stopped the children from being bound to a particular factory and was fundamental in later expansions of worker’s rights.

Radcliffe became a rich and important location, thanks to the factories, the canal system, and the coal that lay underneath, but as the textile industry fell and Radcliffe became closer to Bury, the town began to flounder. In 1974 it finally became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury.

This is blamed for the loss of Radcliffe’s identity. Many people from outlying towns in Bury complain that they have slipped down the priority list as spending is given to the administrative centre, with schools and hospitals getting gradually further away. Some MPs and councilors are vowing to reverse this trend, and no-one can truly see what the future will bring.