Why swinton called swinton?

Answer 1

Swinton is a town within the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England.[1] It stands on gently sloping ground on the southwest side of the River Irwell, and within the bounds of the orbital M60 motorway. It is 3.4 miles (5.5 km) west-northwest of Salford, and 4.2 miles (6.8 km) west-northwest of Manchester. Swinton and the adjoining town of Pendlebury together have a population of 41,347.[2]

Historically a part of Lancashire, for centuries Swinton was a small hamlet within the township of Worsley, parish of Eccles and hundred of Salfordshire.[3] This hamlet is thought to have centred around an ancient pig farm or market; the name Swinton is derived from the Old English "Swynton" meaning "swine town".[3] During the High Middle Ages Swinton was broadly held by the religious orders of the Knights Hospitaller and Whalley Abbey. Farming was the main industry of this rural area during the Middle Ages, with locals supplementing their incomes by hand-loom woollen weaving in the domestic system.[3]

Coal Measures underlie the area, and a series of collieries opened during the Industrial Revolution gave rise to Swinton as an important industrial area. Locally sourced coal provided the fuel for a variety of cotton spinning and brickmaking industries. Bricks from Swinton were used for the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater's ambitious industrial projects, including the Bridgewater Canal, which passes Swinton to the south. The adoption of the factory system facilitated a process of unplanned urbanisation in the area, and by the mid-19th century Swinton had emerged as an important mill town and coal mining district at a convergence of factories, brickworks and a newly constructed road and railway network.[4]

Following the Local Government Act 1894, Swinton was united with neighbouring Pendlebury to become an urban district of Lancashire. Swinton and Pendlebury received a charter of incorporation in 1934, giving it honorific borough status. In the same year, the United Kingdom's first purpose-built intercity highway-the major A580 road, which terminates at Swinton's southern boundary-was officially opened by King George V.[5] Swinton and Pendlebury became part of the City of Salford in 1974. As such, Swinton has continued to grow as the seat of Salford City Council and as a commuter town, supported by its transport network and close proximity to Manchester city centre.