A Journey Around Manchester Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tameside

England's hat trick hero of 1966, Sir Geoff Hurst was born in Ashton Under Lyne and lived in Denton until the age of eight when he moved to Chelmsford in Essex.
Simone Perrotta was also born in Ashton, where his parents ran a pub. He moved back to Italy at the age of six and won the World Cup in 2006.

Answer: Trafford

I have checked this several times as I was sure that it was in Salford but no, apparently it is in Trafford. The Manchester Ship Canal forms the boundary between the two boroughs of Trafford and Salford. The Lowry on the opposite bank of the canal is therefore in Salford.

Answer: The University of Manchester

Manchester is home to a world class university that has been at the cutting edge of innovation for over a hundred years and accounts for many of the world firsts that happened in the city. It was at the university that an atom was split for the first time and the first programmable computer was created.

It was ranked as the 26th best university worldwide by The Times in 2009. Manchester also hosted the first Trades Union Congress, was the place where Marx and Engels wrote much of "The Communist Manifesto", was one end of the world's first inter-city passenger railway and had the first telephones in Britain. Bob Dylan was famously called "Judas" after playing at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester - a reference to him going electric and betraying his folk roots.

A recording of the concert was officially released in 1998 called "The Royal Albert Hall Concert" (it had originally been circulated as a bootleg with this erroneous title).

Answer: True

A bit of a trick question. Salford is a city in its own right, it has been since 1926. It has its own cathedral and a separate university (I'm a past student myself). Salfordians can get quite irate at being called Mancunians so be warned!

Answer: Stockport

Why do people always think of the Mersey as only being in Liverpool? I suppose it is all that Merseybeat and "Ferry Across The Mersey" stuff from the 1960s. The River Mersey actually formed the boundary between the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria in Saxon times and between Cheshire and Lancashire more recently.

Another good question is which football (soccer) ground is nearest to the Mersey? Nearly everyone will say Anfield or Goodison Park in Liverpool but it is actually Edgeley Park in Stockport.

Answer: Rochdale

Those of you from outside Britain may be at a disadvantage on this one but the Coop is a national staple over here. They were originally local shops selling food and provisions, however, they are now a major bank, funeral directors and travel agents as well. They started out as the Rochdale Pioneers in 1844 and set the model for cooperative groups worldwide.

Answer: Bury

It is also home of Bury Market, the best place to get black puddings from! (It used to be famous as a place to buy tripe but this has diminished recently - those of you who don't know what tripe is count yourselves lucky).

Answer: Bolton

Before the invention of the spinning mule textiles were really a cottage industry. That all changed however with the introduction of mechanisation. Crompton's design was still being used to make fine threads right up to the 1980s.

Answer: Wigan

Back in the days when Wigan was still part of Lancashire, pre 1974, it was one of only four royal boroughs in the county. Famous for its rugby league team as well as being home to the World Pie Eating Championships. It features in the book "The Road To Wigan Pier" by George Orwell and has produced the band The Verve.

It also lays claim to George Formby and Kajagoogoo but least said about that the better.

Answer: Oldham

Oldham was Winston Churchill's first parliamentary seat when he stood as a Liberal in 1900 (he had not been successful a year earlier). Tubular bandages were invented in Oldham in 1961 and Oldham Hospital was the birthplace of the world's first test tube baby, Louise Brown in 1978.