The Name Is Trafford And That Is Final

The headline in the Stretford and Urmston Journal of 14 February 1973[i] made the above declaration when the Secretary of State for the Environment, Geoffrey Rippon, confirmed ‘Trafford’ as the name of the new Metropolitan Borough for the area. Up to this point, it had been referred to simply as District 12G[ii] of the new Metropolitan County of Greater Manchester. The composition of the proposed new borough was almost identical to the proposal put forward initially by Stretford.[iii]  It would subsume the ten local districts of Altrincham, Bowdon, Carrington, Dunham Massey, Hale, Partington, Sale, Stretford, Urmston and Warburton and put an end to district councils.

It was quickly recognised that, “naming of the new borough will be a thorny subject”. Councillor C. Warbrick, Finance Committee Chairman of Streford Borough Council, was right on the mark when he made this prediction at a very early stage in the consultation process.[iv]  

The Department of Environment invited those local councils that were to be absorbed, to make suggestions for the name of the new borough. Heated debate dominated the local press, from the introduction of the reform, right up to the point when the Minister confirmed the name. However, the greatest resistance surfaced after the idea of calling the borough ‘Trafford’ was proposed. This came from the former councils that belonged to the historic county of Cheshire – Altrincham, Bowdon, Hale, and Sale.

What is in a name?

Councillor Warbrick of Stretford got the ball rolling by proposing the name ‘Ashburton’ which he had derived from taking the first letter (Altrincham, Stretford/Sale, Hale, Bowdon, Urmston) and part wording (Warburton) of some of the existing authorities that would form the new borough.[v]

An early, if perhaps unseemly suggestion, came from the Rev. James Bentley, a Stretford Rotary Club member, in the club’s magazine, the Catalyst. He suggested that an appropriate name might be ‘Porktown’ as the Stretford borough was once famous for its piggeries.[vi]

Also, early in the process, Urmston Council considered a suggestion that the name ‘Selchester’, put forward by an expert in heraldry, would be appropriate, as the first syllable would represent ‘South East Lancashire’.[vii] Urmston Council also had an alternative suggestion as to how the new borough should be organised. It wanted to split its urban district in two – the residential part to merge with Altrincham and Sale, and the industrial Trafford Park to join Stretford and Manchester.[viii] By December that year, the Urmston council put forward the name ‘Stamford’ for the new borough.[ix]  

In March 1972, Altrincham Finance Committee decided to “go it alone” and came up with the name ‘Watlingford’, as the Roman road of Watling Street ran through most of the new district, though there was some debate in the press as to whether the A56 was indeed Watling Street.[x]

Where did the suggestion to call the new district ‘Trafford’ come from?

As far as can be ascertained from contemporary sources, the idea to give the name ‘Trafford’ to the borough was first suggested by Sale representatives of the local Steering Committee.[xi] This proposal was reported by the Mayor of Stretford to the borough’s General Purposes Committee.[xii] A later article in January 1973, suggested that the proposal came from a Bowdon representative on the Steering Committee.[xiii]

By May 1972, the Steering Committee for the new Metropolitan Borough, had voted nineteen votes to five to choose “Trafford as the new name”, on the grounds that “everyone knows where Trafford is.” [xiv]

A call to arms came in a letter to the Editor of the Altrincham Guardian, in its edition of 23 November 1972 and written by a newcomer to the area. It stated: ‘I understand from one councillor in the area, that the name ‘Trafford’ is almost definite now and that unless strong and immediate protest is made it will be settled.’ [xv]  However, under the heading, ‘“Trafford” not the favourite’, it is evident that the Steering Committee who represented the towns in the area had accepted ‘Trafford’ as the name,[xvi] and it had already been recorded on minutes of meetings of the Shadow Management Team since October 1972.[xvii]

Local concerns about the proposed name, spurred the Altrincham Guardian to include, at what the paper recognised was a late date, a coupon for readers to suggest alternative names for the new Metropolitan District. These would be published in the newspaper and submitted to those concerned with sorting out this problem.[i]

Below is a selection from the two lists of potential new names suggested by readers and published in two issues of the Altrincham Guardian in December 1972.[ii]  

Bollindale, Bollingford,  Bollinheath, Bollinvale, Bollinwood; Bowdon Massey; Bowford; Bridgewater; Chesford; Dunham Park; Mercia; Mersboll; North Cestria; Stamford; Stamford Massey; Stamfordshire; Watlingford.

The names with the highest levels of support were Stamford, Stamford Massey and Watlingford, with Watlingford by far the most popular.

During December 1972, the Altrincham Guardian was overwhelmed with letters of objection to the name ‘Trafford’ and writers often associated this with no longer being a part of Cheshire. These were the response from the southern parts of the proposed metropolitan borough. No similar arguments were expressed in the Stretford and Urmston Journal, and a reference to the Steering Committee members stated: “It appeared that Urmston and Stretford representatives have had no such reaction [to the name Trafford] in their area”.’[iii]

The only letter of response in favour of the name ‘Trafford’ that was published in the Altrincham Guardian, came from a resident of Sale who put forward the point of view that: “The arguments advanced against the name ‘Trafford’, seem to be based first on snobbery – the desire to have a posh sounding name in one’s address – and secondly on a mistaken idea of the impression conveyed to the rest of the world by the name ‘Trafford’”. [iv]

By December 1972, all the other towns, except Hale which had not yet decided, had formally opted for the name ‘Trafford’. Hale Urban District Council eventually opted for ‘Watlingford’.[i]  Alderman George Harmer from Altrincham pointed out that a number of people were not happy with the name ‘Trafford’, as it suggested industry and the area was predominantly residential, with industry confined to parts of Altrincham, Stretford and Urmston. He reported that the most frequently suggested name was ‘Massey’, though ‘Stamford’ had been considered at one of the first meetings of the Steering Committee, but there was already a Lincolnshire town of that name. Double-barrelled name suggestions would not be considered by the Environment Secretary, so that ruled out suggestions such as ‘Trafford Massey’.[ii]

In the same month, it also became clear the Steering Committee was intending to stick to the name ‘Trafford’ for the new district, but the final decision would rest with the ‘shadow’ council for when it starts work in April 1973.[iii]  

Despite this, arguments rumbled on. Hale Urban District Council still favoured ‘Watlingford’ and intended to submit that name to the Department of the Environment.[iv] Although Sale Borough Council had been the first to put forward the name “Trafford”, it voted eighteen votes to eight to recommend the name ‘Crossford’ to the Minister for the Environment. It claimed that “Trafford”, ‘does not, in any shape or form, reflect the new borough. Crossford was the only part which joined the Cheshire part of the new district with the Lancashire section.’[v]

After consideration of the list of names suggested by Guardian readers, Altrincham Borough Council decided to write to the Department of the Environment asking for the proposed name of Trafford to be dropped and replaced with the name ‘Watlingford’, which was the name that was most favoured by Altrincham people, and had been voted for at the council meeting by a large majority.[vi]  One councillor at this stage favoured the name ‘Merlin’ because the area was bounded by the rivers Mersey and Bollin and it would perpetuate the name of the engine used in the war-time Spitfire. Another councillor thought the name too reminiscent of a famous magician! [vii]

Why was the name ‘Trafford’ finally chosen?

The name ‘Trafford’ was known throughout the UK and the rest of Europe for being the home of the Trafford Park industrial estate, one of the first and largest in the world, formed in 1896 and opened for business the following year. The Old Trafford Football ground, the home of Manchester United, was also a name known throughout the world. Old Trafford Cricket Ground, the home of Lancashire cricket, was also well known. Trafford was also a name that was associated with both Cheshire and Lancashire.[viii]

The name ‘Trafford’ has very strong historical associations and the family of Trafford probably predated the Norman Conquest, though there is no reference to the place name in the Domesday Book. A pedigree for the family can be traced back with confidence to the early part of the twelfth century.[ix]

There are several stories about the origins of the Trafford family which are probably clouded by the mists of time.  One version is that it was said to have been established by Ranulf who defeated the army of a Saxon leader, Wolvermote, near the crossing of the Irwell, in support of the King Cnut, king of Denmark, England and Norway. Ranulf was given land as a reward. It is considered that the de Trafford family was one of the few pre conquest families not to have lost their land to the invaders, on account of protection for the de Trafford family from Hamon de Massy, Baron of Dunham Massey.[x] The on-line encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, drawing on the Victoria County History of Lancashire, confidently states that, ‘He also took the name of the place, and became Ranulph, Lord of Tray-ford, later amended to Trafford. This begun the ancient family of Trafford.’[xi]^,[xii]

There are differences of opinion about this origin of the name ‘Trafford’. Ekwall in his ‘Place Names of Lancashire’ proposed that the names, ‘Trafford’ and ‘Stretford’, the old English Stret – a road, usually Roman in origin, and Ford – a river crossing, are of the same derivation. The ‘S’ of Stretford was dropped to distinguish the ancient manor of Trafford, which was situated some distance from the village of Stretford. The old manor is thought to have been constructed to the south of the Chester Road, somewhere between the gates of the former White City and Talbot Road.[xiii]^,[xiv] The later Trafford Hall and Park were constructed in the mid seventeenth century on land acquired by the family at Whittleswick. This theory is supported by Mills in a more recent book of the same name as that of Ekwall, where he cites the use as place names of ‘Straforde’ in 1212 and ‘Trafford’ c. 1200.[xv]

This historic name was a perfectly respectable choice of name for the newly formed borough. However, competition amongst the towns to be included in the new borough created strong differences of opinion about the name. Readers’ opinions expressed in the press show that this had some basis, perhaps, in rivalries between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. Another observation is that the name Trafford conjured up links to heavy industry, something which vocal readers of the new borough’s southern parts, didn’t identify or want to be associated with.

 However, in truth, it was more likely based on a form of snobbery about the industrial aspects of the north of the borough which, of course, was a major source of the wealth owned in the southern parts.

In February 1973, the matter was settled. Geoffrey Rippon, the Minister for the Environment, had considered all the proposals and objections and confirmed that the name of the new metropolitan district authority would be ‘Trafford’.[xvi]

Article researched and written by Trafford Local Studies volunteer Richard Nelson.

Sources

i Stretford and Urmston Journal, 14 Feb 1973, p.1.

ii District “12G” appears to have been renamed as District “12H” towards the end of the reorganisation process. See letter from Councillor C. Warbrick, Chairman of 12H Steering Group, Altrincham Guardian, 11 Jan 1973, p.4.

iii Stretford and Urmston Journal, 17 Feb 1971, p.1.

iv Stretford and Urmston Journal, 7 Apr 1971, p.1.

v Stretford and Urmston Journal 7 Apr 1971, p.1.

vi Stretford and Urmston Journal, 9 Jun 1971, p.1.

vii Stretford and Urmston Journal, 11 Aug 1971, p.3.

viii Stretford and Urmston Journal, 17 Feb 1971, p.1 and Stretford and Urmston Journal 7 Apr 1971, p.1.

ix Stretford and Urmston Journal, 22 Dec 1971, p.1.

x Letter from A. Bower of Bowdon to the Altrincham Guardian 8 Feb 1973, p.4; ‘Watlingford put forward in ‘mistaken belief’ Bowdon claim’. Altrincham Guardian, 1 Feb 1973, p.17.

xi Stretford and Urmston Journal, 1 Dec 1971, p.1.

xii Stretford and Urmston Journal, 8 Dec 1971, p.1.

xiii Altrincham Guardian, 11 Jan 1973, p.1.

xiv Sale Guardian, 18 May 1972, p.1.

xv Altrincham Guardian, 23 Nov 1972, p.4.

xvi Altrincham Guardian, 30 Nov 1972, p.20.

xvii Local Government Reorganisation, Trafford Local Studies, TRA/1/6/5.

xviii Altrincham Guardian, 30 Nov 1972, p.20.

xix Altrincham Guardian 14 Dec 1972, p.19 and 21 Dec 1972, p.9.

xx Altrincham Guardian, 21 Dec 1972, p.12.

xxi Altrincham Guardian, 11 Jan 1973, p.4.

xxii Altrincham Guardian, 21 Dec 1972, p.1.

xxiii Altrincham Guardian, 29 Mar 1972, p.1.

xxiv Altrincham Guardian, 21 Dec 1972, p.1.

xxvAltrincham Guardian, 21 Dec 1972, p.1.

xxvi Sale Guardian, 10 Jan 1973, p.1.

xxvii Altrincham Guardian, 4 Jan 1973, p.7 and Altrincham Guardian 4 Jan 1973, p.14.

xxviii Altrincham Guardian, 4 Jan 1973, p.7’

xxix E.g. Bridge, Mickle, and Wimbolds Trafford near to Chester.

xxx 'Townships: Stretford', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1911), pp. 329-335. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol4/pp329-335 [accessed 6 February 2024].

xxxi Nicholls, Robert. 1996. Trafford Park – The First Hundred Years, (Chichester: Phillimore) p.5.

xxxii https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Trafford_baronets [Accessed 6 Feb 2024].

xxxiii 'Townships: Stretford', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1911), pp. 329-335. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol4/pp329-335 [accessed 6 February 2024].

xxxiv Ekwall, Eilat. 1922. The Place Names of Lancashire, (Manchester: University of Manchester Press/Longmans), p.22. https://ia801208.us.archive.org/30/items/placenamesoflanc00ekwauoft/placenamesoflanc00ekwauoft.pdf, [Accessed 4 February 2024].

xxxv Cliff, Karen and Southern, Patricia. 2003. Images of England - Trafford Park, (Stroud: Tempus Publishing Limited) p.26.

xxxvi Mills, David. 1976. The Place Names of Lancashire, (London: Batsford)    p.142.

xxxvii Stretford and Urmston Journal, 14 Feb 1973, p.1.