Manchester city centre | |
---|---|
Aerial view of Manchester city centre |
|
Manchester city centre shown within Greater Manchester | |
Population | 17,861 (2011) |
OS grid reference | SJ839980 |
• London | 163 mi (262 km) SE |
Metropolitan borough | |
Metropolitan county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | MANCHESTER |
Postcode district | M1 – M4 |
Dialling code | 0161 |
Police | Greater Manchester |
Fire | Greater Manchester |
Ambulance | North West |
EU Parliament | North West England |
UK Parliament | |
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England, within the boundaries of the River Irwell, Great Ancoats Street and Whitworth Street. The City Centre ward had a population of 17,861 at the 2011 census.
Manchester city centre evolved from the civilian vicus of the Roman fort of Mamucium, on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. This became the township of Manchester during the Middle Ages, and was the site of the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Manchester was granted city status in 1853, after the Industrial Revolution, from which the city centre emerged as the global centre of the cotton trade which encouraged its "splendidly imposing commercial architecture" during the Victorian era, such as the Royal Exchange, the Corn Exchange, the Free Trade Hall, and the Great Northern Warehouse. After the decline of the cotton trade and the Manchester Blitz, the city centre suffered economic decline during the mid-20th century, but the CIS Tower ranked as the tallest building in the UK when completed in 1962.