Page 4 | If you live in Greater Manchester but not the City of Manchester - do you see yourself as a Mancunian?

Londre · 2023-04-26T20:16:27+00:00

Was having a chat with a colleague who live in Wigan (which I believe is in Greater Manchester) but she doesn’t view herself as someone from Manchester. I live in the West Midlands county but I don’t view myself as a Brummie.

RedToothBrush · 27/04/2023 09:16

GroomedForSerfdom · 27/04/2023 05:56

Apparently a more modern distinction is -
Inside the m60 - manc. Outside the m60 - not.
Might work up Prestwich/Whitefield I guess

Yep I'd largely agree with that. See my point about urban connectivity.

RedToothBrush · 27/04/2023 09:20

goldfootball · 26/04/2023 23:25

@ConstanceContraire

I didn’t realise wilsmlow and Alderly Edge we’re SK postcodes too! That’s funny. I only mentioned the postcodes particularly because when we were in tiered lockdown I worked in an ambiguous zone and it was unclear if I could go the pub down the road. They were asking people their postcodes at one point so I thought it must be different! It also got quite funny at work because there was a lot of rubbing about people who weren’t *quite in Cheshire.

I can’t even remember what the boundaries were at this point but it was a bit of local drama.

I live on border areas. Lockdown boundaries were a fucking nightmare. I had to learn three sets of rules just to know which of my friends I could legally see when and which supermarket was 'ok' or not (there were police roadblocks!). Some of my neighbours were still working in areas which they weren't allowed to otherwise go to.

It was utter incoherent bullshit dreamt up in a planning department in London.

BashirWithTheGoodBeard · 27/04/2023 09:30

Indeed. It was no surprise that so many people treated the whole thing as a joke. As well as everything else wrong with that approach, it was farcical.

ohsixone · 27/04/2023 09:57

So interesting @RedToothBrush!

I technically live in Cheshire but am old enough to remember Madchester (also had an 061 telephone number before it became 0161) so consider myself a Mancunian. DH is from Salford, wouldn't use the "Salfordian" but would say "Salford" not Manchester if asked where he is from.

Also agree with the point about tram stops (apologies I can't see now who said that) the Metrolink seems to have divided Manchester into "zones" similar to London and reshaped peoples perceptions of boundaries somewhat.

My DC seem to use the formula that if someone says "I'm going into town" and "town" means Manchester City Centre, they're Mancunians

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 27/04/2023 10:18

Agree it's not as simple as saying if you're in (eg) Bury borough you're in Bury. Places like Middleton (Rochdale Borough), Failsworth (Oldham Borough) and Prestwich (Bury Borough) are towns distinct from Rochdale, Oldham and Bury. They are nearer Manchester city centre than their borough towns, have Manchester postal addresses, and don't have the (very lovely) Lancs accent common in the borough towns.

I live in an area bordering CoM (literally yards from the CoM sign) but avoid the controversy by being an incomer with a noticeably different regional accent, so no one ever asks if I'm Mancunian.

RedToothBrush · 27/04/2023 10:35

My DC seem to use the formula that if someone says "I'm going into town" and "town" means Manchester City Centre, they're Mancunians

I know people who use 'town' differently for multiple places depending on who they are talking to!

HundredMilesAnHour · 27/04/2023 13:00

RedToothBrush · 27/04/2023 00:06

She's a Pie Eater.
Wigan has its own cultural identity.
OP has caused great offence to her friend and should apologise profusely.

You need to be careful in Trafford about calling someone a Mancunian too. Some will smile, whilst others will glare at you and say "I'm from Cheshire don't you know" and still use Cheshire on their address instead of Trafford or Greater Manchester.

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Totally agree. Wiganers are their own unique species. 😂

HundredMilesAnHour · 27/04/2023 13:05

When I was growing up my accent was proper Lancashire, like Peter Kaye.

The challenge with this is that Peter Kay is from near Bolton and has a Bolton accent (I won't get into Lancastrian nitpicking about where exactly as our accents can subtly vary every few miles). But Bolton is now part of Greater Manchester. So does that mean his accent is now a 'Greater Manchester accent'? 😫😂

resipsa · 27/04/2023 13:25

Oh the lockdown dramas! Going from Bramhall to Poynton for lunch and hiding your face in case you were seen 🙄🤣

ConstanceContraire · 27/04/2023 15:08

RedToothBrush · 27/04/2023 09:15

The upcoming electoral boundary changes will fuck things up even more.

It means you could be in a different county to the one you vote in, the one your postal code is, your historical one, the one you were born in, the one that polices you and the local health authority you are under.

All without moving.

It's actually fucked up in terms of identity. So actually I think people belligerently imposing what they think others are on them is an act of rudeness and has no bearing on where people necessarily 'live their lives' especially in areas of significant overlap of various administration.

Cheshire effectively no long exists as a county with any power. It is purely an historical entity.
Cheshire Police covers parts of Runcorn which is part of Halton. Halton is part of the six boroughs of Liverpool City Region. Yet the metropolitan are of Merseyside is five counties not including Halton.
Warrington and Halton are part of the same hospital trust. Warrington is a unity authority and part of neither Chester and Cheshire West nor Cheshire East. Warrington has a WA postcode.
Altrincham and Knutsford also have WA post codes. Altrincham is in Trafford. Knutsford is in Cheshire East. One of the main postal distribution centres is in Altrincham and covers a wide area - including many parts not in the same county.
Tatton is about to be abolished. It was created from parts of Runcorn, Cheadle, Northwich and Knutsford. Its history owes a lot to the historical boundaries of the old Cheshire hundred 'Bucklow'. See the map. It dates back to 1260
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucklow_Hundred Bucklow Rural District (you know where you register births, deaths and marriages) existed from 1894 to 1974. It was the rural area to the around Knutsford. Being more rural this shaped it's development and actually this has a lot to do with the current character of these areas today despite them being in multiple different authorities for different things. Where is built up and developed owes a lot to this boundary today. Planning decisions and priorities made in the 1950, 60 and 70s remain very relevant (where roads and houses were plonked and create their own new boundaries and communities which still exist today).
Then let's talk about Ellesmere Port. Currently part of Chester and Cheshire West. It used to be its own county of Ellesmere Port and Neston. A relic of this is Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency which still exists. Neston used to be part of Wirral.
Warrington South Constituency broadly follows the border of the Mersey. This is where the old county boundary of Cheshire was. It is about to change. The character of Warrington South differs considerably to Warrington North. Warrington has one of the highest levels of inequality in the country - and that pretty much follows the old Cheshire border. People from Warrington North will still put Lancashire on their addresses, which the South will put Cheshire. It's not simply about snobbery as it happens both sides of the Mersey. Warrington North is more urbanised and centres around the town, whilst Warrington South is firmly suburban commuter belt with people more typical working greater distances from home (or since COVID working from home). People in Warrington South will often have closer ties with other areas rather than being tied to the town itself.

All of this is relevant to where you regard yourself from. And what your identity is.

Personally I think the idea of being Mancunian tends to link with how urban the area you live in is now - how close you live to a metrolink stop has more of a bearing than whether you are within the confines of Greater Manchester.

The towns to the north of Manchester tend to have particularly strong local identities whilst still forming part of Greater Manchester. This also ties with migration patterns: the south Manchester commuter belt has seen more of an influx of people from the south England and more people have left to go to university/ find jobs elsewhere, which has broken traditional senses of identity in a different way to the north where people have stayed for longer.

This is also why not everyone gets why these identities remain important to some. They don't share in that history and have perhaps moved about more either themselves or their parents have in recent years. And there are elements of socio-economic history and pride that remain important.

People who are dismissive of this, don't understand and are looking to remove things which are important to others. Things do change and we don't live in 1974 anymore but there are still things which continue to be important and have an impact on lives and there is a heritage contained in there too. Cheshire was a very rural area (much of it still is). If you don't have good public transport that has an impact on your day to day life and how you live it. For me a modern Mancunian identity relates to this concept of urban connectivity.

The whole thing fascinates me tbh.

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Well I could never keep up and certainly can't now!

I will add however it's always people pissed off that a 'former Cheshire' area is referred to as something else. Never the other way around. Not sure about Lancashire vs Cheshire.

Cheshire is a very affluent area...

x2boys · 27/04/2023 15:26

BluebellBlueballs · 26/04/2023 21:42

Is it not very insulting to Salfordians to call them mancunians, I thought they had a real complex about people calling Salford Manchester!

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Well.yes because Salford is a city on its own right ,I'm from Bury,but live in Bolton ,they are both part of Greater Manchester although historically they were part of Lancashire ,Manchester is my city.

eleanorwish · 27/04/2023 17:53

@HundredMilesAnHour to be fair I have lived down south for 30 years so maybe my ear isn't attuned to all the differences in accent anymore!

eleanorwish · 27/04/2023 17:54

We always said 'going to town' for Manchester, and 'going up Ashton' for our own town centre.

Clawdy · 27/04/2023 18:11

Yes, "going into town" always meant Manchester.

Bluebellbike · 27/04/2023 18:35

I was born in the "city" of Manchester and lived there for 21 years then moved to Stockport, where I lived for 36 years.
When living in Manchester I used to say going "to town" when going to the city centre. Living in Stockport I still considered myself as a Manc but said "going to Manchester" or "going to Stockport" when out and about. Going to "town" only seemed right when I actually lived in Manchester itself.
I now live in Bury and say "going to Manchester", " to Stockport" or "to Bury." I have always considered myself to be a Manc though. With regard to my address I used to write Stockport,Cheshire and now it's Bury, Lancashire.

emmathedilemma · 27/04/2023 18:41

Does having your sibling saved in your mobile under “our kid” make you Mancunian? #askingforafriend

OhOurBilly · 27/04/2023 18:45

My Mum ("mih Mam" 😂) is Salford born and bred, my Dad, Lancashire. We live in (what I consider to be posh) Salford now and i would say Salford, or rather, area specific, if someone local asked. Manchester to anyone not from here.

LauraAshleyDuvetCover · 27/04/2023 18:50

the south Manchester commuter belt has ... more people have left to go to university/ find jobs elsewhere

That's because a lot of us can't afford to move back!

WeAreTheHeroes · 27/04/2023 18:56

I'm from Salford but would say I'm a Mancunian. I know it's a separate city, etc but it has no centre so if you go into town, you go into Manchester.

TiredandLate · 27/04/2023 18:56

No, if someone asked where I live, in England I say "near Manchester", abroad I would say Manchester. I worked in the centre though and when I go into Manchester I consider myself a local and other people tourists 😂

WheresTheForum · 27/04/2023 19:02

BashirWithTheGoodBeard · 26/04/2023 21:50

Hmm, I think Bury is another one that depends. People living at the Prestwich end are more Manc defined than those out further north beyond Bury town centre.

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I was going to say the same thing. I’m from the other side of the Pennines but I’ve lots of friends in Prestwich and they all call themselves Mancs and would say they’re from Manchester. Those from the town of Bury, Tottington etc wouldn’t (imho).

Soontobe60 · 27/04/2023 19:07

My view is that if you see city centre Manchester as ‘Town’, then youre Mancunian.
People from Wigan see Wigan as ‘town’, so consider themselves as Wiganners.
I’m a Mancunian, was married to a Wiganner. My DD considers herself to be a hybrid of the two 😂

Soontobe60 · 27/04/2023 19:08

WheresTheForum · 27/04/2023 19:02

I was going to say the same thing. I’m from the other side of the Pennines but I’ve lots of friends in Prestwich and they all call themselves Mancs and would say they’re from Manchester. Those from the town of Bury, Tottington etc wouldn’t (imho).

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Wash your mouth out! Someone from Bury absolutely would consider themselves as Mancunians

WheresTheForum · 27/04/2023 19:09

Soontobe60 · 27/04/2023 19:08

Wash your mouth out! Someone from Bury absolutely would consider themselves as Mancunians

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Just read previous posters….that clearly isn’t the case! Some might do, others don’t.

RedToothBrush · 27/04/2023 19:16

LauraAshleyDuvetCover · 27/04/2023 18:50

the south Manchester commuter belt has ... more people have left to go to university/ find jobs elsewhere

That's because a lot of us can't afford to move back!

I know! Only people from SE can afford it now.