1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Stalybridge
STALYBRIDGE, a municipal and parliamentary borough of Cheshire, England; the parliamentary borough extending into Lancashire. Pop. (1901), 27,673. It lies on the river Tame, in a hilly district, 6 m. E. of Manchester, and is served by the London & North-Western, Great Central, and Lancashire & Yorkshire railways. Immediately to the west lie the towns of Dukinfield, and across the river in Lancashire, Ashton-under-Lyne; while 2 m. south of Stalybridge is the town of Hyde. The whole district is thus very densely populated. Stalybridge is one of the oldest seats of the cotton manufacture in this locality, the first cotton mill having been erected in 1776, and the first steam engine in 1795. There are also machine works, nail works, paper mills, and iron and brass foundries. The development of the town is modern, as it was created a market town in 1828, incorporated in 1857, and created a parliamentary borough, returning one member, in 1867. It is under a mayor, 7 aldermen and 22 councillors. Area, 3130 acres.