Dukinfield

Dukinfield is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, on the south bank of the River Tame opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, east of Manchester. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 19,306. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, the town developed as a result of the Industrial Revolution when it became the site of coal mining and cotton manufacturing. The earliest evidence of human activity around Dukinfield comes from a collection of four flints from the late Neolithic/early Bronze Age. The artifacts were discovered on the site of Dukinfield Hall and have been taken as evidence of a prehistoric settlement on the site. There is no further evidence of activity in the area until the Roman period. A 3rd century bronze Roman coin, from the reign of Emperor Tetricus I was discovered in the town. Dukinfield means "Raven of the Field" and derives from the Old English duce and feld. Early records show the township was included in the fee of Dunham Massey. It was held by Matthew de Bramhall in about 1190 and after that by a family who took the name "De Dokenfeld". The family lived at the moated Dukinfield Old Hall, which originated from after the Norman conquest and was rebuilt in Tudor times, remaining the home of the Dukinfields till the 18th century, after which it became derelict. During the English Civil War, Colonel Robert Duckenfield of Dukinfield Hall was a noted commander in the New Model Army. The baronetcy, Dukinfield of Dukinfield, Cheshire was created in 1665 for Robert Dukinfield, son of Colonel Robert Dukinfield. The Dukinfields held the manor for five centuries until the widow of Sir William Dukinfield Daniel married the artist, John Astley, in 1767. In 1848 his descendant, colliery owner Francis Dukinfield Palmer Astley, was the lord of the manor. Dukinfield Lodge was built by the Astleys on a hill overlooking the River Tame. Industrialisation – particularly the cotton trade – helped shape the town, but its rapid development destroyed its former pasture and meadow land.