MANCHESTER, England, an episcopal and university city, inland port and Parliamen tary and county borough of Lancashire, 18' miles north of London and 31 miles east of Liverpool, on the lrwell, an affluent of the Mersey, since 1894 connected with the sea at Eastham, on the Mersey, by the Manchester Ship Canal, 35% miles long. It is one of the principal manufacturing cities of the world and the cotton trade centre of Great Britain. It covers over 21,645 acres. Railways and electric street tramways communicate with the sur rounding towns and villages of the most popu lous industrial region of England.
Manchester is built on a large plain, within easy distance of breezy hills and moorland, which are clearly visible from the outskirts of the city. The surface of the ground is composed of thick deposits of glacial drift—boulder clay, sands and gravels—be neath which are Triassic, Permian and Carbon iferous rocks. Rich coal-fields are found in the neighboring parts, some of which extend under a portion of the city.
Industries and Though Man chester is the chief seat of the cotton trade, it is no longer that of its manufacture, much of that industry being carried on in towns and villages beyond its borders. A considerable number, however, remain of cotton mills, print works, dyeing and bleaching concerns and fac tories concerned with other branches of textile manufacture. Engineering and machinery works are exceedingly numerous, as are the manufactories of electrical appliances. It is calculated that there are about 700 different industries carried on here, some of the chief among them, apart from those named above, be ing chemical, India rubber, paper and glass works. The membership of the Royal Ex change is over 7,000 and the Grocery Exchange about 3,000. There are also stock, corn, pro vision, coal and cotton-waste exchanges. The vegetable and fruit market serves for the whole of South Lancashire and part of Cheshre, while the fish market is second only to Billings gate. There are nearly a score of banks, with numerous branches. The business of the post office exceeds that of any other out of London Bridges and Railway The bridges are of no engineering importance, as the Irwell is here but a narrow river. The terminal railway stations are six in number. (1) London Road, 1842, rebuilt 1881: (2) Vic toria, 1844, since greatly enlarged; (3) Oxford Road; (4) Central, 1877, near which the Mid land Railway Company have erected a great hotel; (5) Exchange, 1884; (6) Deansgate, 1898, for the goods traffic of the Great North ern Railway. The oldest railway station in
the world is still to be seen in Liverpool Road, though not used for its original purpose. It was opened in 1830.
Buildings.— The principal public building is the town-hall, commenced in 1868 and com pleted in 1877, at a cost, including land, of up wards of a million pounds. It covers an area of 8,648 square yards. The clock-tower is 286 feet high and contains a peal of 21 bells. In the great hall is a series of frescoes by Ford Madox Brown, illustrating incidents in the history of Manchester. The old town-hall, erected in 1825, is now occupied as a Free Reference Li brary. It is a classical building, and another of the same style and period is the City Art Gallery, formerly known as the Royal Institii ion. The Royal Infirmary, which originated in 1752, is situated in one of the finest positions in the centre of the community, but has been removed to an exclusive new building on a sate on the outskirts. The Free Trade Hall (1856), built in the Italian style, will hold 5,000 people and has been the scene of many great political meetings and of the renowned con certs conducted by Sir Charles Halle and Dr. Hans Richter. In a similar style is the Royal Exchange (1868-74), one of the most spacious erections of its laind. The area of the great hall is 5,170 square yards. The Assize Courts by Alfred Waterhouse, the architect of the town-hall, were built in 1864, at a cost of f100, 000. Immediately to their rear is the county jail. The university buildings are also by Waterhouse. The John Rylands Library, by Basil Champneys, as perhaps the chief archi tectural gem of the city. Other examples of street architecture worthy of attention are the City Police Courts, the Corn Exchange, the In land Revenue Offices, the Post Office, new Fire Brigade Station, Reform and Conservative dubs, and many of the banks, insurance offices and warehouses. The Municipal School of Technology is one of the most striking examples anywhere of a well-equipped school in an im posing building.