Editing Tameside (section)

==History==
The history of the area stretches back up to 10,000 years; there are 22 [[Mesolithic]] sites in Tameside, the oldest dating to around 8000&nbsp;BC; 21 of the 22 sites are in the hilly uplands in the north east of the borough.<ref>Nevell (1992), pp. 21, 25.</ref> Evidence of [[Neolithic]]<ref>Nevell (1992), pp. 29–31.</ref> and [[Bronze Age]] activity is more limited in the borough, although the Bronze Age Stalybridge Cairn is the most complete prehistoric funerary monument in the borough.<ref>Nevell (1992), pp. 40–41.</ref> The people in the area changed from hunter-gatherers to farmers around 2500&nbsp;BC–1500&nbsp;BC due to climate change.<ref>Nevell (1992), p. 34.</ref> Werneth Low is the most likely [[Iron Age]] farmstead site in the borough, probably dating to the late 1st millennium&nbsp;BC.<ref>Nevell (1992), p.&nbsp;51.</ref> Before the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century&nbsp;AD, the area was probably part of the territory of the [[Brigantes]], the [[Celts|Celtic]] tribe controlling most of what is now north west England.<ref>Nevell (1992), p.&nbsp;55.</ref>

The area came under control of the [[Roman Empire]] in the second half of the 1st century. Roads through the area were established from [[Ardotalia]] [[castra|fort]] in [[Derbyshire]] to [[Mamucium]] (Manchester) west of Tameside and [[Castleshaw Roman fort]] in the north.<ref>Nevell (1992), pp. 56–59.</ref> Romano-British finds in the borough include a [[bog body]] in Ashton Moss, occupation sites at Werneth Low, Harridge Pike, Roe Cross, and Mottram.<ref>Nevell (1992), p. 60.</ref> A 4th-century coin hoard was found in Denton and is one of only four hoards from the 4th century in the Mersey [[river basin|basin]].<ref>Nevell (1992), p. 75.</ref> A Byzantine coin from the 6th or 7th centuries, also found in Denton, indicates continued or renewed occupation once the Romans left Britain in the early 5th century.<ref>Nevell (1992), p. 76.</ref>

Nico Ditch, an earthwork stretching from Stretford to Ashton-under-Lyne, is evidence of [[Anglo-Saxon]] activity in Tameside. It was probably dug between the 7th and 9th centuries and may have been used as a boundary between the kingdoms of [[Mercia]] and [[Northumbria]].<ref name="Nevell 1991, 77-83">Nevell (1992), pp. 77–83.</ref> Further evidence of Anglo-Saxon era activity in Tameside comes from the derivation of settlement names from [[Old English]] such as -''tun'', meaning farmstead, and ''leah'' meaning clearing.<ref>Nevell (1992), p. 85.</ref>

According to the [[Domesday Survey]] of 1086, Tameside was divided into four [[manorialism|manors]], those of Tintwistle, Hollingworth, Werneth, and Mottram. The land east of the River Tame was in the [[Hundreds of Cheshire|Hundred of Hamestan]] in Cheshire and held by the [[Earl of Chester]] while to the west of the river was in the [[Salford (hundred)|Hundred of Salford]] under [[Roger the Poitevin|Roger de Poitevin]].<ref>Nevell (1991), pp. 7–9.</ref> These manors were divided to create further manors, so that by the 13th century most of them were owned by local families and remained in the hands of the same families until the 16th century.<ref>Nevell (1991), pp. 46–47.</ref> Manorialism continued as the main form of administration and governance until the mid-19th century.<ref>Nevell (1993), p. 13.</ref>

The Industrial Revolution had a significant impact on Tameside; the area, whose main towns had previously been Ashton-under-Lyne and Mottram-in-Longdendale, was transformed from a collection of the rural, farming communities into [[mill town]]s. The towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge have been described as "amongst the most famous mills towns in the North West".<ref name="McNiel & Nevell">McNiel and Nevell (2005), p. 54.</ref> With only a brief interruption for the [[Lancashire Cotton Famine]] of 1861 to 1865, factories producing and processing textiles were the main industry in Tameside from the late-18th century until the mid-20th century.<ref name="McNiel & Nevell"/><ref>Nevell (1993), p. 170.</ref>

In 1964, Dukinfield Borough Council convened a meeting of neighbouring local authorities with the aim of formulating a policy of cross-authority social improvement for the districts in the Tame Valley.<ref name="Frangopulo168"/> Following [[deindustrialisation]], the area had suffered "gross-neglect" and had large areas of housing unsuitable for human habitation.<ref name="Frangopulo168">{{Harvnb|Frangopulo|1977|p=168}}.</ref> This joint enterprise comprised the nine districts that would become Tameside ten years later, plus the [[County Borough of Stockport]]. This collective agreed on creating "a linear park in the valley [of the River Tame] for the use of the townspeople and as a major recreational resource within the Manchester metropolis".<ref name="Frangopulo168"/>

Tameside was created on 1 April 1974, by the [[Local Government Act 1972]] as one of the ten metropolitan districts of Greater Manchester. The new district covered the territory of nine former districts which were abolished at the same time:<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government Act 1972|year=1972|chapter=70|accessdate=28 August 2022}}</ref>
*[[Ashton-under-Lyne]] [[Municipal Borough]]
*[[Audenshaw]] Urban District
*[[Denton Urban District]]
*[[Droylsden]] Urban District
*[[Dukinfield]] Municipal Borough
*[[Hyde, Greater Manchester|Hyde]] Municipal Borough
*[[Longdendale Urban District]]
*[[Mossley]] Municipal Borough
*[[Stalybridge]] Municipal Borough
Dukinfield, Hyde, Longdendale and Stalybridge had been in the [[Administrative counties of England|administrative county]] of [[Cheshire]] prior to the 1974 reforms, whilst the other five districts had been in the administrative county of [[Lancashire]].

A name for the metropolitan borough proved problematic.<ref name="Clark102"/> The [[Redcliffe-Maud Report]] had used the name Ashton-Hyde, but double-barrelled names were prohibited for the new districts.<ref name="Clark102"/> Had Ashton-under-Lyne been a [[county borough]], or had had a less common name, "it might have been chosen as the new name" for the new district.<ref name="Clark102"/> The eight other towns objected, adamant that "a new name should be found".<ref name="Clark102"/> Thirty suggestions were put forward, including Brigantia, Clarendon, Hartshead, Kayborough, Tame, Ninetowns, and West Pennine, with Hartshead (with reference to [[Hartshead Pike]]) being the most popular throughout most of the consultation period.<ref name="Clark102"/> However, the name Tameside (with reference to the River Tame, but a  concocted name with no historical basis) won 15 votes to Hartshead's 10 in a final stage of voting.<ref name="Clark102">{{Harvnb|Clark|1973|p=102}}.</ref><ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973|year=1973|number=137|accessdate=28 August 2022}}</ref> The new district was awarded [[borough status in the United Kingdom|borough status]] from its creation, allowing the chairman of the council to take the title of mayor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1974/mar/28/district-councils-and-boroughs#S5CV0871P0_19740328_CWA_145|title=District Councils and Boroughs|date=28 March 1974|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref> In 1986 Tameside effectively became a [[unitary authority]] with the abolition of the [[Greater Manchester County Council]].