Portal:Greater Manchester/Did you know/archive

Did you know...?

• ...that the Albert Medal was one of the awards given to Mark Addy for rescuing more than 50 people from the highly polluted River Irwell, Manchester, in the 19th Century? Featured on the Did you know? section on 29 August 2008
• ...that the Port of Runcorn in Cheshire, England, was an independent customs port for two separate periods before becoming part of the Port of Manchester in 1894? Featured on the Did you know? section on 26 August 2008.
• ...that a word square found in Mamucium (pictured), a Roman fort in Manchester, may be one of the earliest examples of Christianity in Britain? Featured on the Did you know? section on 24 July 2008.
• ...that Withington Community Hospital was, at its height, the largest teaching hospital in Europe? Featured on the Did you know? section on 22 July 2008.
• ...that the Daily Express Building (pictured), an Art Deco former printing press, is one of Manchester's only listed buildings constructed in the 1930s? Featured on the Did you know? section on 8 July 2008.
• ... that The Towers, a residence in Didsbury, Manchester originally built for the editor of the Manchester Guardian, is now a cotton research facility? Featured on the Did you know? section on 7 July 2008.
• ... that Cine City in Manchester, England, the third cinema to open in England in 1912 as "The Scala", has recently been demolished? Featured on the Did you know? section on 4 July 2008.
• ... that Castleshaw Roman fort in Greater Manchester was a Roman fort built in 79 AD replaced by a smaller fortlet before being abandoned in the 120s? Featured on the Did you know? section on 2 July 2008.
• ...that Platt Fields Park in Manchester, England, was used as a country park for over 400 years before being converted for public use in 1908–1910? Featured on the Did you know? section on 25 April 2008.
• ...that the village of Denshaw in Greater Manchester (pictured) achieved international notoriety when spoof information added to its Wikipedia entry was reported in national and international media? Featured on the Did you know? section on 22 April 2008.
• ...that broken remains of three medieval high crosses were found in 1874 during the construction of Barnes Hospital in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, but the location of only one is known today? Featured on the Did you know? section on 21 April 2008.
• ...that Sans Pareil (pictured), one of five locomotives to compete in the 1829 Rainhill Trials, was later used on the Bolton and Leigh Railway? Featured on the Did you know? section on 19 April 2008.
• ...that The Guardian newspaper was founded 189 years ago in Manchester, England as a direct response to the Peterloo Massacre? Featured on the Did you know? section on 10 April 2008.
• ...that Hulme Arch Bridge in Manchester (pictured) follows the design of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, and rejoins two halves of a road that was sundered in 1969? Featured on the Did you know? section on 5 April 2008.
• In 1806, Murrays' Mills in Ancoats, Manchester was the largest mill complex in the world? Featured on the Did you know? section on 29 March 2008.
• ...that the Upper Brook Street Chapel in Manchester, designed by Sir Charles Barry shortly before he designed the Palace of Westminster, is said to be the first neogothic Nonconformist chapel? Featured on the Did you know? section on 21 March 2008.
• Two of Manchester's oldest buildings in Shambles Square were physically moved twice – once in 1974 and again in 1999? Featured on the Did you know? section on 16 March 2008.
• A study by the University of Salford concluded that the high density of high-rise buildings in Salford has "a dramatic influence on the region's weather patterns", in particular by encouraging drizzle? Featured on the Did you know? section on 27 February 2008.
• Greater Manchester has nine castles, of which five are Scheduled Ancient Monuments. Featured on the Did you know? section on 24 February 2008.
• Manchester born, Mother Anne Lee (February 29, 1736 - September 8, 1784) was the leader of the band of Shakers; who emigrated from Manchester to Watervliet, New York due to persecution in 1774 and founded the Shaker movement in America.
• Bury Castle in Bury was razed to the ground in 1485, 16 years after it was built, because its owner supported the losing side in the Wars of the Roses? Featured on the Did you know? section on 10 January 2008.
• In 1841 Joseph Whitworth devised a standard for screw threads at his company in Openshaw that became the first nationally standardized system, British Standard Whitworth (BSW).
• John Dalton was the first person to describe colour vision deficiency in a paper to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, whilst working at the Manchester Academy, in 1794. Daltonism later became a common term for colour blindness.
• The astronomer William Crabtree of Broughton, Greater Manchester, was one of only two people known to have observed the first recorded transit of Venus in 1639. The other observer was his friend and correspondent Jeremiah Horrocks who was the only astronomer to have correctly predicted the event.
• Wythenshawe Aerodrome was Manchester's first purpose-built municipal airfield, but was closed after one year due to the completion of Barton Aerodrome? Featured on the Did you know? section on January 2, 2008.
• There are two separate churches dedicated to St Werburgh in the village of Warburton, Greater Manchester? Featured on the Did you know? section on December 27, 2007.
• Many of Manchester's Grade I listed buildings are Victorian, because of Manchester's growth during the Industrial Revolution? Featured on the Did you know? section on December 27, 2007.
• St Mary's Church in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England, a Grade II listed building, was built in the 16th century and houses a stone cross dating to the 11th century? Featured on the Did you know? section on December 21, 2007.