NOVEMBER 5TH, 2009
By ADMIN

Manchester

Manchester Greater Manchester UK Hub

Approximate Population: 458,100

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted city status in 1853. It has a population of 458,100, and lies at the centre of the wider Greater Manchester Urban Area, which has a population of 2,240,230, the United Kingdom’s third largest conurbation. Manchester has the second most populous Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) in the UK and the fourteenth most populated in Europe.

The name Manchester originates from the Ancient Roman name Mamucium, the name of the Roman fort and settlement, generally thought to be a Latinisation of an original Celtic name (possibly meaning “breast-like hill” from mamm- = “breast”), plus Old English ceaster = “town”, which is derived from Latin castra = “camp”. An alternative theory suggests that the origin is British Celtic mamma = “mother”, where the “mother” was a river-goddess of the River Medlock which flows below the fort. Mam means “female breast” in Irish Gaelic and “mother” in Welsh. Manchester is also the 10th most common place name in the United States.

Manchester has recently been regarded by the international press, British public, and government ministers as being the second city of the United Kingdom. A 2007 poll by the BBC placed it ahead of Birmingham and Liverpool in the category of second city of England, but also ahead in the category of third city. Neither categories are officially sanctioned, and criteria for determining what ’second city’ means are ill-defined.

Manchester is not the second largest city in size or population, but it is argued that cultural and historical criteria are more important. The BBC reports that redevelopment of recent years has heightened claims that Manchester is the second city of the UK. This title however, which is unofficial in the UK, has traditionally been held by Birmingham since the early 20th century.