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The Metropolitan Borough of Bury is a
metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distric ...
of
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...
in
North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
, just north of
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
, to the east of
Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...
and west of
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Bor ...
. The borough is centred around the town of Bury but also includes other towns such as
Ramsbottom Ramsbottom is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 17,872. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the River Irwell in the West Pennine Moors, northwest of B ...
, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and
Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury. Historically part of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ancient pari ...
. Bury bounds the
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...
districts of Rossendale and
Blackburn with Darwen Blackburn with Darwen is a borough and unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of the industrial town of Blackburn and the market town of Darwen including other villages around the two towns. Formation It was f ...
to the north. It is the 10th most populous borough in Greater Manchester. The Metropolitan Borough of Bury, which covers and has a population of 181,900, was created on 1 April 1974, with the transfer of functions from the
county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...
of Bury and the boroughs of Prestwich and Radcliffe, along with the urban districts of Tottington and Whitefield, and part of the urban district of Ramsbottom, all previously in Lancashire.


History

In 2006, facing a budget shortfall of over £10 million, Bury Metropolitan Council decided to sell its painting by L. S. Lowry called ''"A Riverbank"''. The work, which depicts the
River Irwell The River Irwell ( ) is a tributary of the River Mersey in north west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup and flows southwards for to meet the Mersey near Irlam. The Irwell marks the boundary b ...
and cost £175 in 1951, was expected to fetch between £500,000 and £800,000. Between the announcement and the sale at
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is owned by Groupe Artémi ...
, the council was accused of "selling off the family silver". The authority, which had the painting on display at
Bury Art Museum Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre, formerly known as Bury Museum and Art Gallery, is a public museum, archives, and art gallery in the town of Bury, Greater Manchester, northern England, owned by Bury Council. Built in 1901, the Museum's bui ...
, said it was putting its people before a picture. The painting raised £1.25 million for the authority on 17 November 2006 at the auction in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, costing the bidder £1,408,000 including commission. Consequently, the council's membership of the
Museums Association The Museums Association (MA) is a professional membership organisation based in London for museum, gallery and heritage professionals, museums, galleries and heritage organisations, and companies that work in the museum, gallery and heritage s ...
was cancelled and it was deregistered by the
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) was until May 2012 a non-departmental public body and registered charity in England with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, libraries and archives. Its functio ...
, a
quango A quango or QUANGO (less often QuANGO or QANGO) is an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "quasi-NGO", where N ...
that was disbanded in 2011, transferring some of its duties to
Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...
.


Local wards

In 2004 the Electoral Commission reviewed the electoral arrangements for Bury, resulting in 17 wards: These 17 wards are each represented by 3 councillors to form a council of 51 members. The Bury electorate figures based on the 2006 forecast are: Total electorate 140,697; Average electorate for ward 8,276; Average number of electors for councillor 2,759. At the
2008 Bury Metropolitan Borough Council election Elections to Bury Council were held on 1 May 2008. One third of the council was up for election. The Conservative Party gained overall control of the council, from previous No Overall Control of any party. After the election, the composition of ...
the average turnout to vote was 38.22%. This varied locally with 47.32% of electors voting in North Manor ward and a low turnout of only 32.4% in Besses ward. In July 2008 the borough was the first in Greater Manchester to hold a referendum on whether to install a directly-elected mayor. This was the result of a campaign against congestion charge plans that raised a petition with 9,460 names, well above the required five per cent of voters needed to trigger a mayoral vote. The proposal to have an elected Mayor was rejected.


Parliamentary constituencies

The Metropolitan Borough of Bury currently consists of two parliamentary constituencies: *
Bury North Bury North is a borough constituency in Greater Manchester, created in 1983 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. With a Conservative majority of 105 votes, it is the most marginal constituency for a sitting MP in the U ...
James Daly (
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
) * Bury SouthChristian Wakeford ( Labour)


Unparished areas

Showing former status (prior to 1974) The entirety of the borough is unparished. # Bury (County Borough) #
Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury. Historically part of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ancient pari ...
(Municipal Borough) # Radcliffe (Municipal Borough) #
Ramsbottom Ramsbottom is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 17,872. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the River Irwell in the West Pennine Moors, northwest of B ...
(Urban District) (part) # Tottington (Urban District) # Whitefield (Urban District)


Coat of arms

The coat of arms contains symbols representing the six constituent towns, with the design based on the arms of the old County Borough of Bury. The
shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...
is divided diagonally by interweaving alluding to the
textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, textile, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be Natural material, natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry p ...
. On the shield are a bee (representing industry) and
papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to ...
(papermaking) from Bury; a ram's head and a bullock's head represent Ramsbottom and Tottington respectively. The silver field represents Whitefield, whilst the shield is supported with figures from the crests of Radcliffe and Prestwich. These represent the Radcliffe and
Egerton Egerton may refer to: People * Egerton (name), a list of people with either the surname or the given name * Egerton family, a British aristocratic family * George Egerton, pen name of Mary Dunne Bright (1859–1945), Australian-born writer Place ...
families and wear a red rose (for
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...
) and a cogwheel (for industry). The
motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...
'Forward in Unity' sits on a scroll under the shield.


Demography

At the
2021 UK census The decennial 2021 censuses of England and Wales and of Northern Ireland took place on 21 March 2021, and the census of Scotland took place on 20 March 2022. The censuses were administered by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in England an ...
, the Metropolitan Borough of Bury had a total population of 193,846. The population density is . When the Census was taken there were 74,335 households in Bury with an average of 2.4 persons in each one. In more detail, 39.4% of households were married couples living together, 28.9% were one-person households, 8.7% were co-habiting couples and 10.7% were lone parents. Of all the households 75.11% lived in houses they owned, with or without a mortgage, significantly higher than the national average of 68.07%. Of people aged 16–74 in Bury 42.93% were economically active in 2001, higher than the national average of 40.81%. 29.2% of this age group (16–74) had no academic qualifications, slightly higher than 28.9% in all of England. 5.8% of Bury's residents were born outside the United Kingdom, significantly lower than the national average of 9.2%. The largest minority group was recorded as Asian, at 4% of the population.


Population and employment change

The historical population table details the population change since 1801, including the percentage change since the last available census data. Although the Metropolitan Borough of Bury has only existed since 1974, figures have been generated by combining data from the towns, villages, and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
es that would later be constituent parts of the borough. In 1971 34,980 people living in Bury were employed in manufacturing. By 2001 this had fallen to 13,690 – a decrease of 61%. During the same period the numbers of people employed in service industries increased from 34,200 to 54,227, a gain of 58.5%.


Politics and services

Between 1974 and 1986, the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
controlled the council. In 1986, the Labour Party gained control and continued in power, at first with an overall Labour majority and subsequently through a Labour executive running the council in a state of no overall control, until 2007. The May elections in 2007 saw the Conservative Party become the largest group on the council and the Conservative Group took control of the council and its executive. The leader of the council was named as Councillor Bob Bibby. At the 2008 local elections, the Conservatives won three more seats and took overall control of the council. In 2010, the Conservatives lost overall control with the new council having 23 Conservative, 20 Labour and 8 Liberal Democrat councillors. The Audit Commission reported in 2006 that Bury Council continues to make good and sustained progress in improving services for local people. Overall the council was awarded 'three star' status, similar to 47% of all local authorities. The council was said to be improving well in children's services, particularly in social care. The Audit Commission also noted that resident satisfaction was rising, reflecting improvements in the quality of the environment and services generally. Ten parks have achieved
green flag Green Flag or Green Flag Rescue, is a British roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider, which is part of the Direct Line Group. Formed in 1971, as the National Breakdown Recovery Club, as an alternative to the AA and RAC, it used ...
status,
recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The Energy recycling, recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability t ...
levels are above average and street cleanliness is improving. The council is on target to reach its Decent Homes target by 2010. The assessment concluded that the council has improved the way it uses its resources to deliver its plans, improving how it manages its finances and service performance and strengthening arrangements to make sure that it achieves good value for money.


Education

There are 60 primary schools, 13 secondary schools, 3 special schools and 2 Pupil Referral Units in the Borough. Overall, Bury was ranked 23rd of the all
local education authorities Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wi ...
in SATs performance and 3rd in Greater Manchester in 2006. In 2007, Bury LEA was ranked 45th out of 148 in the country – and 3rd in Greater Manchester – based on the percentage of pupils attaining at least 5 A*-C grades at
GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
including maths and English (47.8% compared with the national average of 45.8%). The schools of the area compete annually in the Bury Schools Athletics Championships. The borough has two colleges of
further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...
.
Bury College Bury College is a further education college located within the Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The college offers a wide range of subjects from the A-Level, BTEC, and diploma format among other subjects provided. Overview Bury Co ...
, which was originally Bury Technical College. In 1974, it merged with Radcliffe Technical College to form the Bury Metropolitan College of Further Education and, in 1987, it was renamed Bury College following its merger with Peel Sixth Form College, Stand Sixth Form College and a number of Youth Training Schemes. Holy Cross College was formerly Bury Convent Grammar School. It was a
direct grant A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the remainder attracted ...
Catholic girls' school founded in 1878 by the
Daughters of the Cross The Daughters of the Cross of Liège (french: Filles de la Croix) are Religious Sisters in the Catholic Church who are members of a religious congregation founded in 1833 by the Blessed Marie Thérèse Haze, F.C. (1782–1876). The organizatio ...
, a congregation of religious from
Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far fro ...
. In 2007 it was named 7th in the country. Bury is also home to one of the UK's oldest Islamic seminaries,
Darul Uloom Bury Darul Uloom Al-Arabiyyah Al-Islamiyyah ( ar, دار العلوم العربية الإسلامية), better known as Darul Uloom Bury, was established in 1979 and is the oldest Islamic seminary in the United Kingdom. Located in Holcombe, Bury, ...
, which was established in 1979 and located in Holcombe.


Landmarks

As of February 2004, Bury has 5 Grade I, 8 Grade II*, and 228 Grade II listed buildings. Bury is at the heart of the largest public art scheme in the UK – the Irwell Sculpture Trail. Works in the borough include Ulrich Ruckriem's sculpture in Radcliffe, on the site of the former Outwood Colliery. Ruckreim is one of Germany's most eminent artists, best known for his monumental stone sculptures. His work at Outwood is one of his largest stone settings to date. Edward Allington's ''Tilted Vase'' sits in Market Place in the centre of Ramsbottom and has become a distinctive feature of interest.


Local Nature Reserves

There are six local nature reserves (LNRs) in the borough: * Chapelfield LNR, a Grade B Site of Biological Importance (SBI) with notable Water Violet ''
Hottonia palustris ''Hottonia palustris'', also water violet or featherfoil, is an aquatic plant in the family Primulaceae. Description The plant has a stem reaching up to in height. Its basal roots are buried in the underlying mud, while other silvery, shiny ro ...
''. * Chesham Woods LNR, a group of six woodlands and grazing meadows, established as the borough's second LNR in 2000 * Hollins Vale LNR, encompassing two Sites of Biological Importance: an area of grasslands which with historic hedgerows which
Hollins Brook Hollins Brook is a watercourse in Greater Manchester and a tributary of the River Roch. It originates in Unsworth Unsworth is a village and residential area of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. The population o ...
runs through; and woodland plantation. * Kirklees Valley LNR, through which the Kirklees Trail passes. *Philips Park LNR within the long-established Philips Park, the first and largest LNR in the borough, created in 1999, with a range of habitats, a countryside centre and a mountain bike trail . *Redisher LNR, also called Redisher Wood LNR, a woodland valley around Holcombe Brook


Religion

At the 2021 UK census, 48.8% of people in Bury stated they were
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
. 29.4% of people stated they had no religion, 9.9% following the
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
and 5.5% the
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
faiths. The Jewish community in Prestwich and Whitefield is the second largest in the country. Bury is covered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford, and the
Anglican Diocese of Manchester The Diocese of Manchester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York, England. Based in the city of Manchester, the diocese covers much of the county of Greater Manchester and small areas of the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. ...
. There are four Grade I listed churches in Bury. The Church of All Saints, at Stand in Whitefield, was built in 1826. The Parish Church of St Mary, Radcliffe, is a 14th-century church with a 15th-century tower. The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Prestwich, is a 15th-century church. The current Church of St Mary the Virgin, Bury, was built in 1876 by J. S. Crowther. Of the nine Grade II* listed buildings in Bury, two are churches
Christ Church
Walshaw Walshaw is a village forming part of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the south of Tottington, Greater Manchester, Tottington and 2 miles northwest of Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury. The village has a ...
and the Presbyterian Chapel in Ainsworth. There are around 6
Mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s in Bury including one of the oldest Islamic seminaries in the United Kingdom,
Darul Uloom Bury Darul Uloom Al-Arabiyyah Al-Islamiyyah ( ar, دار العلوم العربية الإسلامية), better known as Darul Uloom Bury, was established in 1979 and is the oldest Islamic seminary in the United Kingdom. Located in Holcombe, Bury, ...
, which was established in 1979 in Holcombe. The original Jewish immigrant community in Manchester was based in the inner city. As in other cities the community gradually moved outward geographically and upward economically from its roots establishing itself in the more leafy suburbs of
Crumpsall Crumpsall is an outer suburb and electoral ward of Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, bordered by Cheetham Hill, Blackley, Harpurhey, Broughton, and Prestwich. The population at the 2011 census was 15,959. Historically par ...
and Broughton Park as well as the town of
Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury. Historically part of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ancient pari ...
. Later, a second migration of young families in the mid-1960s sought pastures even further away from these traditional areas settling in Whitefield, Sunny Bank and Unsworth. There are now about 10 synagogues in the Borough.


Twin towns

The Metropolitan Borough of Bury has five twin towns, in China, France, Germany and the United States. Two of these were originally twinned with a place within the Metropolitan Borough prior to its creation in 1974.


Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Bury.


Individuals

*
Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including '' Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel '' T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', ''28 Days Later'', '' S ...
: 11 May 2009. * Zoe Robinson: 11 May 2009. * Members of the Band
Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the me ...
(
Guy Garvey Guy Edward John Garvey (born 6 March 1974) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and BBC Radio 6 Music presenter. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Elbow. Early life Garvey grew up in Bury, Lancashire. His father was ...
, Craig Potter, Mark Potter, Peter Turner, and Richard Jupp): 11 May 2009. *
Kieran Trippier Kieran John Trippier (; born 19 September 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Newcastle United and the England national team. Trippier started his career in the youth system at Manchester City but f ...
: 14 July 2018. * Henry Donn : 4 April 2022. * Roy Walker: 15 December 2022.


Military Units

* 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital
Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps ...
: 20 October 2017.


See also

*
Bury local elections Bury Metropolitan Borough Council elections are generally held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected each time. Bury Metropolitan Borough Council, generally known as Bury Council, is the local authority for the m ...
* List of people from Bury


References


Notes


Bibliography

*


External links


Bury MBC website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bury, Metropolitan Borough Of Metropolitan boroughs of Greater Manchester 1974 establishments in England