Stalybridge is a town in the Tameside in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 22,568. Historic counties of England a part of Cheshire, it is east of Manchester city centre and northwest of Glossop. With the construction of a cotton mill in 1776, Stalybridge became one of the first centres of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. The wealth created in the 19th century from the factory-based cotton industry transformed an area of scattered farms and homesteads into a self-confident town. Due to the decline of the cotton industry in the first quarter of the 20th century and the development of modern low density housing in the post-war period, the town is now semi-rural in character.
