Digital Hearing Aids Eccles – Greater Manchester Digital Hearing Aids

Digital Hearing Aids Eccles –  Greater Manchester Digital Hearing Aids

Literally just under 50 miles from Stoke on Trent, the home of Digital Hearing Aids and a mere 3.5 miles from the centre of Manchester is Eccles.  It’s part of the City of Salford and has a strange name!

How the name came about is uncertain but one popular thought is that is comes from the Latin Ecclesia meaning Christian church.  This of course dates back to the period when Britain was invaded by the Romans; the Anglo-Roman abbreviation of Ecclesia was Ecles or Eglys is thought to be the direct derivation.  Once the Anglo-Saxons arrived some place names stayed the same.  Ecles however had been used as part of several village names.  Eccles possibly derives from the original Ecles which is understood to have meant a building or site recognised as a church by the Anglo-Saxons.

Did you know?
Hearing loss can be caused by a number of conditions from earwax build-up to deterioration due to age.  We operate a service where a professional audiologist can measure the hearing loss in both ears with a simple test.  This helps to diagnose the reason and the amount of deterioration.

We can arrange for an audiologist to visit your home or make an appointment for you to visit us at our Midlands offices.  Both options are free of charge and need no commitment beyond the appointment from you.

So if you would like to arrange a visit or appointment or would just like to know more please get in touch on 01782 698090.

Eccles cakes
The first Eccles Cake was baked in Eccles in the late 18th Century.  It’s a combination of flaky pastry, butter, nutmeg, sugar, candied peel and currants.  The first person known to sell them was James Birch though there is no knowledge as to whether he actually invented the recipe.  His shop on the corner of Vicarage and St Marys Roads (now Church Street) was the first place to sell them.

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Eccles cakes are sometimes called squashed fly cakes because of the appearance of the currants.  As there is no protection of where these cakes can be produced you might find them anywhere in the world.

The church
With a name that represents church in earlier languages, it’s not surprising to find that the town grew up around the St Mary’s Church.  Of course this is also the case for many English towns and villages as the church was the centre of communities in days gone by.

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St Mary’s Church wasn’t built until 13th Century much later than Roman and Anglo-Saxon occupation.  In the 1960s English Heritage designated it to Grade II listing and it has since achieved Grade I standing.

The local economy
Agriculture was the early occupation and economy of the area, probably oats and barley.  There were some local cottage industries taking place during the medieval period.  These were likely to have included blacksmithing, thatching, butchering, basket weaving, skinning, tanning and weaving.

During the 18th Century the textile industry began to have an impact.  Many of Eccles’ folks worked at home as weavers with two Manchester Mills supplying the work.  Early in the following century the majority of the population of Eccles was employed in the textile trade mainly in cotton mills.  As the century progressed two silk mills opened in Eccles and one in nearby Patricroft.  Many of the mill workers were children under twelve.

At around the same time industrialist James Nasmyth visited the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and set up his own foundry here.  He invented the steam hammer which allowed him to produce locomotives here at a speed not known beforehand.  His Bridgewater Foundry stood close to the railway and the Bridgewater Canal.  It carried on production from this time until the 1940s.  The buildings that remain are a part of the Business Park which now occupies the site.  All that is left of the foundry is one of Nasmyth’s steam hammers.

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As with many other places, the arrival of the railway and the canals, both the Bridgewater and the Manchester Ship Canals, Eccles thrived.  More housing was built to accommodate workers for the factories.

At the end of the 19th Century the Barton Swing Aqueduct was built.  This carried the Bridgewater Canal over the Manchester Ship Canal.  Small narrow boats can use the aqueduct on the Bridgewater Canal whilst it can move out of the way to allow larger ships to pass on the Manchester Ship Canal.  It is considered a great feat of Victorian engineering and is Grade II listed.

Famous people from the area
As Eccles is part of the City of Salford some of the famous names are attributed to the larger city.

• However we do know that John Moores founder of the Littlewoods Business Empire including the retail branch of Littlewoods and the John Moores Football Pool was born here.  He gave up the chairmanship of the business in favour of his brother in 1960 so that he could become director of Everton Football Club.  He was knighted in 1970 and spent the last few years of his life in a wheelchair after prostrate troubles.  His estate following his death in 1993 was valued at more than £10 billion.  Liverpool Polytechnic took the name of Liverpool John Moores University when it was granted the status in his honour.

• Film director Mike Leigh known for his gritty script-less films and plays was brought up in the area.

• Actor Robert Powell best known for his film roles as John Hannay (The 39 Steps) and Jesus of Nazareth in the film of the same name and Mark Williams in the TV series Holby City comes from here.

• As does Russell Watson a Classical English tenor who found fame in popular music.

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• Manchester United player Ryan Griggs has lived in the area since he was six years old.

• The creator of Coronation Street Tony Warren hails from the area.

• Journalist and broadcaster Alistair Cooke most famous for his radio programme Letter from America was also from the area.

• Allan Clarke was the original singer with the 1960s pop group The Hollies.

• Graham Nash singer/songwriter with 1960s/70s band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young comes from the area.

• Suffragette Emmerline Pankhurst also hails from the area.  She founded of the Women’s Social and Political Union and was instrumental in winning the vote for women.

Current residents of Eccles ...
... lend me your ears.  In a manner of speaking that is.  If your hearing is failing you and you’d like to help to hear better, get in touch with us either via our online form or by calling us on 01782 698090.