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19th Century

1800

..... William Cowherd built Christ Church in King Street and in 1809 established the Bible Christian sect there. As a result of his beliefs and teachings the Vegetarian Society was later formed ( see 1815)

1806

..... gas street lighting was used for the FIRST time in the world when on January 1st the Lee and Phillips factory and a portion of Chapel Street were lit by gas

1810

..... Salford Grammar School in Leaf Square was opened

1815

..... the Vegetarian movement was born when a Salford vicar asked his congregation to give up meat

1816

..... the first Manchester Cup was raced for and was won by Friend Ned. By 1819 there were permanent stands and rings built on Kersal Moor. In 1847 a new racecourse was built at Castle Irwell which was owned by John and Edward Fitzgerald and racing was transferred there. When they died John's son gave notice in 1867 that he was opposed to betting and would not renew the lease. The Manchester Races Company bought land at New Barns in Salford and the race course moved there.  The first Manchester November Handicap was held there in 1876 with Polonaise becoming the winner. New Barns is where the Lowry Centre stands today and where No 9 Dock used to be. When the Ship Canal opened in 1895 the land at New Barns was sold and the amount received was such that they could buy Castle Irwell, where they had been thirty years before and racing resumed in 1902. The first Irish Hospital Sweepstake took place in 1930 and the Manchester November Handicap. In 1941 the only classic run in Manchester was when the St Ledger moved there because of bombing in Doncaster. 1951 saw the very first evening race meeting at an English racecourse. The last meeting was on November 9th 1963. The Manchester November Handicap moved to Doncaster and is still run

1824

..... the FIRST horse-drawn bus service in the country ran between Pendleton and Manchester

c1825

..... Summer Hill, home of the Agnew family, leading fine art dealers. Eventually it became part of the old Pendleton High School

1827

..... on 2nd May a public meeting was called at the Town Hall to consider the problem of the lack of medical facilities in the area. The Salford and Pendleton Dispensary which opened thereafter eventually developed into larger premises and became known as Salford Royal Hospital

1828

..... the Queens Arms, Patricroft, was built and was thought to be the FIRST railway pub in the world. It was originally called the Patricroft Tavern, but the name was changed to the Queens Arms in 1851 when Queen Victoria got off the train there on her way to Worsley 

1830

..... Stephenson's invention of the railway engine enabled the construction of a railway from Manchester to Liverpool and in 1838 a new railway was opened from Bolton to Salford. In 1884 the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway constructed their Liverpool Express line

1831

..... on November 25th Jacob Chatterton, licensee of the Woolpack Inn, Pendleton, became the FIRST person to be buried in the new St Thomas's Churchyard, Pendleton

1832

..... on June 7th Salford became a parliamentary borough by the passing of the Reform Bill and was entitled to one Member of Parliament and on December 13th Joseph Brotherton was elected

1834

..... a Black Maria was used for the first time on July 26th to take prisoners to the New Bailey Prison

1837

..... the Cattle Market opened at Cross Lane on July 12th

1839

..... on October 28th George Bradshaw printed the FIRST Bradshaw railway timetable in Barclay Place, Regent Road

1842

..... the FIRST Manchester and Salford regatta was held on the river Irwell on September 12th

1844

..... Salford was acknowledged and treated as a port and bonding warehouses were established at Trinity House. In June the first cargo, consisting of wine and spirits, imported by William Gibb, was brought up the River Irwell in a flat called " The Express"

..... the Charter of Incorporation made Salford a municipal borough and William Lockett was appointed its FIRST Mayor

..... July 31st ..... the FIRST meeting of Salford VBorough council was held

..... on November 5th Salford received its Grant of Arms

1845

..... the Museums Act of 1845, under which any town with 10,000 inhabitants was allowed to erect a museum of science and art out of the rates, was the result of a meeting in 1844 of a number of public-spirited men, including the Member of Parliament, Joseph Brotherton, to discuss means of providing greater amenities for the continually growing population of the town.  The museum was established in the mansion at Lark Hill, supplying books, although this was not provided in the Act. The library was free

1846

..... on August 22nd Lark Hill ( later Peel Park) was the FIRST of three public parks established by subscription in Manchester and Salford

..... the new gas street lights in Broughton and Salford were switched on on August 3rd

1847

..... birth of the Vegetarian Society in Chapel Street

1848

.....  St John's on Chapel Street was the FIRST Roman Catholic Church in Salford and in 1851 became Salford Cathedral

1849

..... by a resolution of June 13th, the Salford Borough Council founded the FIRST unconditional free municipal library in the United Kingdom and was the FIRST town to levy a rate for library purposes. On July 21st, Her Majesty the Queen, became Patroness of the Salford Museum and Library and commanded that it should bear the designation of Royal Museum and Library. The Public Libraries Act of 1850 was framed almost entirely on the principles adopted for the establishment of the library in Salford which had been open for seven months prior to the passing of that Act. A special reading room was provided specially for the use of women

1850

..... on August 7th the first beam of electricity shone out from the roof of Buile Hill in an experiment by William Edwards Staite

..... September 17th ..... the first branch in Salford of the Order of the Sons of Temperance and known as the Beehive Division was formed in what was known as the Long Room in George Street

( from Salford 1914-20 by Roy Bullock)

1851

..... the Reverend William Turner was consecrated the FIRST Bishop of Salford by Cardinal Wiseman

1853

..... under the Act for the Extension of the Municipal Boundary of Salford to include Broughton and Pendleton, on 14th June Irlams O' Th' Height became part of the city

1856

..... Collier Street Baths, comprising of vapour and slipper baths and first and second class swimming baths was opened and on June 29th bands played in Salford parks for the FIRST time

1858

..... November 7th ..... Mass was said for the FIRST time in Pendleton in a school which had been built in Church Street

1865

..... the very first Sunday School party took place on 3rd January at St John's Schools, Irlams O' Th' Height

..... St Lukes with All Saints on Liverpool Street was built on land donated by Sir Robert Gore-Booth and was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott.  At the time the area was mostly farmland with some wealthy families living in some large houses.  The church was funded by local philanthropists and much of its work included provision for the poor. They paid for a district nurse, ran a savings bank and had a public library of over 200 books.  Free local papers were also supplied. In 1879 Emmeline Goulden married Robert Pankhurst there. In 2003 a group of five, led by Alan Gay, investigated the story of this church and held an exhibition showing its findings

1867

..... on September 28th gas lamps were erected along all public roads in Irlams O' Th' Height and were lit for the first time on this day

1868

..... on October 24th the Salford Chronicle was published for the first time

1870

..... January 1st ..... St James's Mission was separated from the Cathedral parish and the Rev G W Saffenreuter was appointed its first Rector. He built the Whit Lane Schools for the infants and in 1874 the school began to be used as a chapel on Sundays

..... on November 7th Greengate Library, Salford's FIRST Branch Library, was opened

1872

..... from December 19th to 21st the FIRST cattle show was held in Salford

1873

..... the Protector Lamp and Lighting Co Ltd was formed and produced the FIRST motor driven fire engine in England

1879

..... the first issue of the Salford City Reporter under the name of the Pendleton Reporter and Weaste Times was published on April 19th

1882

..... on August 18th the FIRST Peel Park flower show was held and was believed to have been the FIRST show of its kind to be held under municipal auspices

1884

..... the Salford Harriers club was formed

1885

..... Pendleton Baths opened as did Pendleton High School. The school began in a semi-detached house near Eccles Old Road with nine pupils. By the end of the year there were 40. A house next door was bought as the numbers increased and in 1908 the school moved to Gorsefields

..... on June 3rd Salford Town Council passed a resolution " No shouting on the streets especially on the Sabbath"

1889

..... on April 1st Salford was created a County Borough under the provisions of the Local Government Act of 1888 and on April 3rd the FIRST meeting of Salford Council as a County Borough Council was held. On November 4th the Salford Court of quarter Sessions was held for the FIRST time

1890

..... the Shop Assistant's Holiday Movement began in Salford on July 16th

1892

..... Regent Road Baths opened

1894

..... on January 1st, the “Big Ditch”, the Manchester Ship Canal, was first opened to traffic when the steam yacht Norseman belonging to Samuel Platt carried company directors and led a procession of 71 ships from Latchford to the terminal docks. On this first day, the Pioneer, a steamer owned by the Cooperative Wholesale Society unloaded a cargo of sugar 

1896

..... Salford Royal Technical college was opened by King George V and Queen Mary when they were the Duke and Duchess of York

1898

..... the Salford Palace Theatre was built and over a period of time such stars as Florrie Forde, Harry Lauder, Nellie Wallace and Wee Georgie Wood appeared there