Today's featured article
|
Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Manchester city centre, 3 miles (5 km) south-southwest of Sale and 10 miles (16 km) east of Warrington. As of the 2001 UK census, it had a population of 41,000. Historically a part of Cheshire, Altrincham was established as a market town in 1290, a time when most communities were based around agriculture rather than trade, and there is still a market in the town today. Further socioeconomic development came with the extension of the Bridgewater Canal to Altrincham in 1765 and the arrival of the railway in 1849, stimulating industrial activity in the town. Outlying villages were absorbed by Altrincham's subsequent growth, along with the grounds of Dunham Massey Hall, formerly the home of the Earl of Stamford, and now a tourist attraction with three Grade I listed buildings and a deer park. Altrincham today is an affluent commuter town, partly because of its transport links. It is also a centre for sport, home to Altrincham F.C. and an English Premier League ice hockey club, Manchester Phoenix. (more...)
Recently featured: Ring-tailed lemur – Buildings of Nuffield College, Oxford – Tom Derrick
|
Did you know...
|
From Wikipedia's newest content:
... that Amish dolls (pictured) are left faceless, possibly to emphasize that "all are alike in the eyes of God"?
... that Sebastian Weigle, named "Conductor of the Year" by Opernwelt three times between 2003 and 2006, performed Wagner's Ring Cycle at the Frankfurt Opera?
... that in 1885, the racehorse Paradox won the 2000 Guineas in May by a head, but lost the Epsom Derby in June, also by a head?
... that some of the leaders of pro-Venetian alliance during Skanderbeg's war against Venice were members of the Humoj family?
... that 2011–12 Ivy League men's basketball season was the first time that four teams (Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale) played in the postseason?
... that in spite of being shot eight times, Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr. ordered his men to tie him to a tree so he could keep fighting, action for which action he received the Medal of Honor?
|
|
|
In the news
|
|
On this day...
|
|
|