Episode 3424
Ashton-under-Lyne
Sat, 2026-Sep-19 00:29 UTC
Length - 4:10
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.
The featured article for Saturday, 19 September 2026, is Ashton-under-Lyne.
Ashton-under-Lyne, also known simply as Ashton, is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historically a part of Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, six miles (ten kilometres) east of Manchester.
Evidence of Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Viking activity has been discovered in Ashton-under-Lyne. The "Ashton" part of the town's name probably dates from the Anglo-Saxon period, and derives from Old English meaning "settlement by ash trees". The origin of the "under-Lyne" suffix is less clear; it possibly derives from the Brittonic-originating word lemo meaning elm or from Ashton's proximity to the Pennines. In the Middle Ages, Ashton-under-Lyne was a parish and township and Ashton Old Hall was held by the de Asshetons, lords of the manor. The town became a market town from 1414 when the manor was granted a royal charter.
The introduction of the cotton trade in 1769 transformed Ashton both economically and geographically, with the town being replanned in a grid. The factory system, and textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution triggered a process of unplanned urbanisation in the area, and by the mid-19th century Ashton had emerged as an important mill town at a convergence of newly constructed canals and railways. Ashton-under-Lyne's transport network allowed for an economic boom in cotton spinning, weaving, and coal mining, which led to the granting of municipal borough status in 1847. The population grew from 2,859 in 1775 to 34,886 in 1861, two-thirds of its modern-day size, as a direct result of this extensive industrialisation.
The town saw significant economic decline in the 1920s, with the majority of its mills closing due to insufficient exports. Nevertheless, the town has continued to thrive as a centre of commerce, and Ashton Market is one of the largest outdoor markets in the United Kingdom. In response to high levels of unemployment and deprivation since the town's deindustrialisation, Ashton-under-Lyne underwent extensive regeneration over the course of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Modelled on the nearby town of Hyde, this included both local infrastructure improvements and a focus on training and education. The bus and tram networks were integrated into a single hub which opened in 2020, with plans to connect the National Rail station as well.
A second wave of local regeneration has begun in the 2020s, with mayor Andy Burnham designating the area as a Mayoral Development Zone, and promising investment into housing, businesses, and green space. Ashton Town Centre is now home to the Ashton Arcades shopping centre (opened 1995), a large IKEA store (opened 2006), and Ashton Market (reopened 2008), which was voted the best in the country in 2014. Further development of the outdoor market is continuing with the replacement of over 100 stalls by a canopied area with cabins and stalls.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:29 UTC on Saturday, 19 September 2026.
For the full current version of the article, see Ashton-under-Lyne on Wikipedia.
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Until next time, I'm standard Emma.
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