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Birch Moss covert
Birch Moss covert · Parrot of Doom, CC BY-SA 3.0
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St georges church carrington greater manchester · Parrot of Doom, CC BY-SA 3.0
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St martins ashton upon mersey · Parrot of Doom, CC BY-SA 3.0
Church of St Michael, Flixton, Greater Manchester
Church of St Michael, Flixton, Greater Manchester · Parrot of Doom, CC BY-SA 3.0
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St Werburgh, Warburton · David Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0
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St marys church partington greater manchester · Parrot of Doom, CC BY-SA 3.0

Irlam, United Kingdom

Irlam is a town of 19,442 people in England, United Kingdom.

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Population19,442 GeoNames
RegionEngland
Elevation72 ft 22 m
Time zoneEurope/London
Nearest airportManchester Airport (MAN) 9 mi
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Why visit Irlam

Townapedia lists 4 museums and landmarks, 21 parks and trails, 58 places to eat and 1 attraction in and around town.

Highlights include Warburton High Level Bridge, Birch Moss Covert Nature Reserve and Rixton Clay Pits.

About Irlam

Irlam is a suburb in the City of Salford, Manchester, England. In 2011, it had a population of 19,933. It lies on flat ground on the south side of the M62 motorway and the north bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, 6.7 miles (10.8 km) southwest of Salford, 7.6 miles (12.2 km) southwest of Manchester and 8.3 miles (13.4 km) northeast of Warrington. Irlam forms a continuous urban area with Cadishead to the southwest, and is divided from Flixton and the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford to the southeast by the Manchester Ship Canal.

From the Wikipedia article Irlam (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Photos of Irlam

Things to do1

Warburton High Level Bridge

Bridge · 2.8 mi

Bridge in Warburton, Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom

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Museums and landmarks4

Multisol

Monument and historic site · 0.5 mi

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Partington War Memorial

Monument and historic site · 1.5 mi

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War Memorial

Monument and historic site

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WWII Air Raid Shelter

Monument and historic site · 1.3 mi

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Parks, trails and playgrounds21

Birch Moss Covert Nature Reserve

Park · 2.7 mi

UK nature reserve

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Rixton Clay Pits

Park · 3.1 mi

Former clay extraction site in Rixton, England

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Brookheys Covert Nature Reserve

Park · 2.7 mi

UK nature reserve

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Cadishead and Little Woolden Moss

Park · 1.8 mi

Nature reserve in Greater Manchester, England

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Holcroft Moss

Park · 2.1 mi

Nature reserve in Cheshire

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Risley, Holcroft and Chat Moss National Nature Reserve

Park · 2.1 mi

Nature reserve in Cheshire and Greater Manchester, England

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Irlam Linear Park

Park · 0.4 mi

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SBI

Hiking and trails · 1.4 mi

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Vicarage Gardens

Park · 1.0 mi

Open in Google Maps · +44 161 775 2750

Adventure playground

Playground

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Jack Lane Nature Reserve

Hiking and trails · 0.9 mi

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9 more on the map.

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Restaurants and cafes58

One Twenty Two

Cafe · 1.4 mi

122 Woodsend Road, Manchester

Mo-Fr 08:00-16:00

Open in Google Maps · +44 161 747 0081

D'Grand Haveli

Restaurant · Indian · 0.8 mi

Liverpool Road

Open in Google Maps · +44 161 504 4999

Roosters Coffee Cabin

Cafe

Mo-Fr 09:00-16:00; Sa-Su 10:00-16:00

Open in Google Maps · +44 7547 707742

Dorvy's Diner

Cafe · Regional · 0.8 mi

"Early Morning to early Afternoon"

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Irlam Catholic Mens Club

Bar and pub · 0.5 mi

617-619 Liverpool Road, Salford

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The Boat House

Bar and pub · 0.5 mi

Ferry Road

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Mambo Ristorante Italiano

Restaurant · Italian · 0.4 mi

591-593 Liverpool Road, Salford

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Shamnah

Restaurant · Indian · 1.5 mi

Open in Google Maps · +44 161 747 8055

The Mothi Restaurant

Restaurant · Indian · 0.9 mi

40 Liverpool Road, Salford

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Cadishead Conservative Club

Bar and pub · 1.3 mi

Liverpool Road, Salford

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Cadishead Labour Club

Bar and pub · 1.3 mi

Fir Street, Salford

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46 more on the map.

History

Irlam is on the north bank of the River Irwell, from which it almost certainly takes its name, being known in the thirteenth century as Irwellham. Until the arrival of the Cheshire Lines Committee railway and the opening of Irlam railway station in 1873, Irlam remained a largely undeveloped village, on the southern edge of the peat bog known as Chat Moss.

From at least the beginning of the thirteenth century, Irlam was held by the Irlam family, whose seat was Irlam Hall. By 1688 Irlam Hall had become the home of Thomas Latham, who played an important part in bringing William of Orange to the throne of England in 1689.

Irlam Urban District was created in 1894, the same year that the Manchester Ship Canal opened. A pair of locks and a ship coaling berth were constructed here. The subsequent industrial development of Irlam owed much to the construction of the canal, which effectively rendered the River Irwell navigable to large ocean-going ships up to Manchester Docks. The Latham family's importance to the local area was acknowledged when their features were incorporated into the arms of Irlam's former urban district council.

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Council-owned housing passed to the City West Housing Trust. It was while renovating some of these properties that there was a large gas explosion at 7:00 am on 2 November 2010. Four houses were destroyed, 15 people were injured and 80 families were subsequently evacuated. There were no fatalities.

From the History section of Irlam on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

More about Irlam

Economy

Steel manufacture was a major source of employment in Irlam for a large part of the 20th century. The Partington Steel and Iron Company opened the first steelworks in Irlam in 1910. It subsequently became a part of the Lancashire Steel Corporation, and later British Steel Corporation. Rationalisation and the concentration of steel manufacture into fewer, larger sites, meant that by 1979, all steel production in Irlam had ceased. The former steelworks are now the site of Northbank Industrial Estate.

Kingsland Wine & Spirits, the UK's largest independent wine bottler, operates from a 35-acre (14 ha) site in Irlam, formerly a soapworks established in 1895. The company employs 300 people.

From the Wikipedia article Irlam, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Notable people from Irlam

Born in Irlam, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.

Churches and places of worship12

Shopping5

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Gas and EV charging4

Schools, colleges and libraries18

Healthcare5

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Map of Irlam

128 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.

Getting there and nearby towns

Manchester Airport (MAN) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 9 miles away.

Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.

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Page built November 10, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.