Salford / United Kingdom
Salford is the main district within the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is directly west of Manchester city centre in a meander of the River Irwell, which forms part of its boundary with Manchester. The wider City of Salford local government district is administered from Swinton. The former County Borough of Salford, which included Broughton, Pendleton and Kersal, was granted city status in 1926. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886, and the City of Salford 233,933.Historically in Lancashire, Salford was the judicial seat of the ancient hundred of Salfordshire. It was granted a charter by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, in about 1230, making Salford a free borough of greater cultural and commercial importance than its neighbour Manchester, although since the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries that position has been reversed.Salford became a major cotton and silk spinning and weaving factory town in the 18th and 19th centuries and then an important inland port on the Manchester Ship Canal from 1894. Industries declined in the 20th century, causing economic depression, and Salford became a place of contrasts, with regenerated inner-city areas like Salford Quays next to some of the most socially deprived and violent areas in England.Salford is home to the University of Salford, and has seen several firsts, including the world's first free public library, and the first street to be lit by gas. Salford's MediaCityUK became the headquarters of CBBC and BBC Sport in 2011, joined by ITV Granada in 2013.