18th Century
1727
.....on December 27th 1727 the FIRST Masonic Lodge in Lancashire was held at the Kings Head Inn
1732
..... automatic traffic lights in the UK were installed at the junction of Eccles Old Road and Langworthy Road in Pendleton
1739
..... the Masonic Lodge of Fortitude first met at the Golden Lion Hotel
1745
..... the FIRST Calico printing works was set up
1752
..... the FIRST turnpike in the Salford area was built near St Thomas's Church, Pendleton
1756
..... Dr John Whittaker was the first to attempt an enumeration of the population in Salford and he said that at this time there were 866 houses and 4756 inhabitants
1758
..... the Duke of Bridgewater obtained an Act of Parliament to make a canal from Worsley to Salford. The plan was later altered and the course of the canal was taken across the River Irwell by an aqueduct at Barton and then to Stretford. The very FIRST steamboat in the world, seven years before the American experiment which claimed the credit, was built at Worsley, and used on the Bridgewater Canal, with engines by Messrs. Sharratt, the Salford engineers. In 1791 a canal was made from Bolton to Salford and the transport of goods and passengers on these inland waterways was a vast improvement
1761
..... the FIRST Blackfriars Bridge was constructed of wood by a company of comedians for the purpose of enabling the inhabitants of Manchester to cross the river to the Riding School Theatre in Salford
1765
..... an act was passed for cleansing and lighting the streets, lanes and passages of Manchester and Salford and for providing fire engines and firemen
1772
..... Mrs Elizabeth Raffald published the FIRST Manchester and Salford directory
1773
..... FIRST steamboat in the UK was built in Worsley and used on the Bridgewater Canal
1786
..... Sunday Schools were FIRST established in Salford
1790
..... Salford Royal Hospital - at a meeting on May 6th it was resolved to institute a hospital. Patients were first seen to at their own homes until a house was taken near Salford Bridge. In 1795, the Bath Inn, at the Lady Pirle Well, was purchased and fitted out as a lying-in hospital. In 1856 this hospital moved to Manchester and was re-named St Mary's Hospital. In May 1827 it was resolved to establish a general hospital and a building in Bank Parade was taken and opened in September of the same year/ The first president was William Garnett, first treasurer was Thomas Heywood and one of the first physicians was Dr Thomas Harland. In 1829 a plot of land at the corner of Adelphi Street was acquired and the first stone was laid on April 23rd 1830. King George 1V authorised the designation of the word "Royal" to be used in the title. The King became a subscriber at 25 guineas a year and this subscription was continued by each succeeding Sovereign. Many distinguished men made bequests to the hospital over the years. In 1922 a ward was endowed, subscribed by the citizens, as a memorial to the Salford men who gave their lives in the Great War of 1914-18. In the early part of the 21st century the hospital was converted into stylish homes after being closed for many, many years
1791
..... the first Methodist Chapel to be built in Salford was on Gravel Lane
1792
..... on June 24th the Manchester & Salford Police Act provided for a single body of Police Commissioners for the two towns but they operated separately until April 1968 when they merged. In modern times Salford Police Force was praised for its efficiency and enterprise with police boxes, play streets, fog glares and distinctive white coats for officers on point duty being among its innovations
1793
..... an act was passed for widening and improving roads for Salford through Worsley, Pendleton, Agecroft and Kersal