Gorton - History

History

According to local folklore, Goreton derives its name "Gore Town" due to a battle between the Saxons and Danes nearby. This has been dismissed by historians as "popular fancy". The name Gorton means "dirty farmstead", perhaps taking its name from the Gore Brook, or dirty brook, which still runs through the township to-day. The brook may have acquired that name because of the dirty appearance of its water, perhaps caused by discolouration due to peat or iron deposits.

In medieval times the district was a township of the ancient parish of Manchester in the Salford Hundred of Lancashire.

Manchester City F.C. was founded as St. Mark's (West Gorton) in 1880. The club was formed with the aim of binding the local community and to combat a form of gang warfare called scuttling that existed during the 1870s. The rector's daughter, Anna Connell, is widely credited as the founder, however churchwarden William Beastow is believed to be the person who played the main part in creating sporting activities for the parish. In 1875 St.Mark's Cricket Club are known to have played and this evolved into the football club later in the decade. The first recorded football game was played in November 1880.

A Blackfoot Sioux chief named Charging Thunder came to Salford at age 26 as part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in 1903 . Like many Lakota tribesmen, Charging Thunder was an exceptional horseman and performed thrilling stunts in Buffalo Bill's show in front of huge crowds, on the site of what is now the Lowry in Salford Quays. But when the show rolled out of town, he remained in London. He married Josephine, an American horse trainer who had just given birth to their first child, Bessie and together they settled in Darwen, before moving to Gorton. His name was changed to George Edward Williams, after registering with the British immigration authorities to enable him to find work. He died on July 28, 1929 from pneumonia at age 52. Williams was buried in Gorton's cemetery.