Trafford
The title of this article is ambiguous. For other meanings, see Trafford (disambiguation).
Trafford has been a Metropolitan Borough in the Metropolitan County of Greater Manchester in England since 1974. The administrative centre is the town of Stretford. Other significant places in the Borough include Altrincham, Bowdon, Hale, Hale Barns, Old Trafford, Partington, Sale, Timperley and Urmston.
Trafford is home to Manchester United football club's Old Trafford Stadium and Lancashire County Cricket Club's Old Trafford Cricket Ground, also called Old Trafford. Trafford is also home to the Trafford Centre (the largest shopping centre in north-west England) and the Imperial War Museum North, an offshoot of the Imperial War Museum in London.
The reorganisation of boundaries and local authority powers led to the formation of the Metropolitan Borough in 1974. Areas of two counties were merged in the process. In Cheshire these were the Boroughs of Altrincham and Sale, the Urban Districts of Bowdon and Hale and part of the Rural District of Bucklow; in Lancashire these were the Borough of Stretford and the Urban District of Urmston.
In 1986 Trafford effectively became a Unitary Authority when central government dissolved the Greater Manchester overarching administration. Trafford remained part of Greater Manchester for ceremonial purposes, as well as for individual overarching functions such as police, fire and public transport.
