1.
A5 road (Great Britain)
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The A5 London Holyhead Trunk Road is a major road in England and Wales. It runs for about 181 miles from London, England to Holyhead, Wales, the Act of Union 1800, which unified Great Britain and Ireland, gave rise to a need to improve communication links between London and Dublin. This made it the first major civilian state-funded road building project in Britain since Roman times, responsibility for establishing the new route was awarded to the famous engineer, Thomas Telford. Through England, the road took over existing turnpike roads and mainly following the route of the Anglo-Saxon Wæcelinga Stræt. From Shrewsbury and through Wales, Telfords work was more extensive, in places he followed existing roads, but he also built new links, including the Menai Suspension Bridge to connect the mainland with Anglesey and the Stanley Embankment to Holy Island. Telfords road was complete with the opening of the Menai Suspension Bridge in 1826, the road was designed to allow stagecoaches and the Mail coach to carry post between London and Holyhead, and thence by mailboat to Ireland. Therefore, throughout its length the gradient never exceeds 1,17, the route through Wales retains many of the original features of Telfords road and has, since 1995, been recognised as a historic route worthy of preservation. An 18-month survey by CADW in 1998-2000 revealed that about 40% of the road and its ancillary features survives under the modern A5. The A5 number disappears near Edgware, but the Roman Road continues as the A5183 through Elstree, Radlett, St Albans and Redbourn, to junction 9 of the M1, from there, it passes through Dunstable, where it crosses and briefly multiplexes with the A505. North of Dunstable, the A5 passes through the village of Hockliffe before becoming a dual carriageway, on entering the Milton Keynes urban area, the road becomes a fully grade-separated dual carriageway and passes through Milton Keynes. This stretch was opened in 1980, replacing the route along Watling Street. From just north of Milton Keynes, the road resumes as a carriageway that continues through Towcester where it crosses the A43 dual carriageway just north of the town. The road accompanies the Grand Union Canal and the M1 motorway through the Watford Gap and it then bridges the M45 motorway and continues to Kilsby. As it passes close to Rugby, the road is diverted slightly around the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal, the next phase north-west-bound takes it under the M6 motorway and passing close to Lutterworth. Along this stretch, the road alternates between being a single and a dual carriageway. After meeting the M69 motorway at a roundabout, with the motorway passing above, after Hinckley, the road runs through the northern fringes of Nuneaton and then Tamworth. At Tamworth, the road follows a more recent dual carriageway bypass, from this point the road is a grade separated dual carriageway up until its junction with the A38 and M6 toll. After this junction it passes just to the south of Cannock and then enters Telford, at junction 7 the motorway ends and the A5 continues to Shrewsbury as dual carriageway, on its new alignment
2.
Summit
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A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a maximum in elevation. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak, and zenith are synonymous, the UIAA definition is that a summit is independent if it has a prominence of 30 metres or more, it is a mountain if it has a prominence of at least 300 metres. This can be summarised as follows, A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of a mountain top, Summit may also refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route. In many parts of the western United States, the term refers to the highest point along a road, highway. For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit while the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit, geoid Hill List of highest mountains Maxima and minima Nadir Summit accordance Peak finder
3.
Kinder Scout
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Kinder Scout is a moorland plateau and National Nature Reserve in the Dark Peak of the Derbyshire Peak District in England. Part of the moor, at 636 metres above sea level, is the highest point in the Peak District, the highest point in Derbyshire, and the highest point in the East Midlands. In excellent weather conditions the city of Manchester and the Greater Manchester conurbation can be seen, as well as Winter Hill near Bolton, to the north across the Snake Pass lie the high moors of Bleaklow and Black Hill, which are of similar elevation. The history and meaning of the name have been studied by Broderick, in chronostratigraphy, the British sub-stage of the Carboniferous period, the Kinderscoutian derives its name from Kinder Scout. Kinder Scout is accessible from the villages of Hayfield and Edale in the High Peak of Derbyshire and it is a popular hiking location and the Pennine Way crosses Kinder Scout and the moors to the north. Historically, the plateau was the target of the mass trespass in 1932, from the National Parks inception, a large area of the high moorland north of Edale was designated as Open Country. In 2003, the right to roam on uncultivated land was enshrined into law, Kinder Downfall is the tallest waterfall in the Peak District, with a 30-metre fall. It lies on the River Kinder, where it flows west over one of the cliffs on the plateau edge. The waterfall was known as Kinder Scut, and it is from this that the plateau derives its name. Although usually little more than a trickle in summer, in spate conditions it is impressive, in certain wind conditions, the water is blown back on itself, and the resulting cloud of spray can be seen from several miles away. Below the Downfall the River Kinder flows into Kinder Reservoir, in cold winters the waterfall freezes providing local mountaineers with an icy challenge that can be climbed with ice axes, ropes and crampons. Some of Kinders many gritstone cliffs were featured in the first rock-climbing guide to the Peak District, Some Gritstone Climbs, published in 1913, the Edale Cross lies immediately south of Kinder Scout, under Kinder Low and on the former Hayfield to Edale road. It marks the junction of the three wards of the Forest of Peak, Glossop and Longdendale, Hopedale and Campagna. The first cross on the site may have set up by the Abbots of Basingwerk Abbey to mark the southern boundary of their land. The date of the current cross is unknown, although a plaque beside it claims it to be mediaeval, at some point it fell down, and was re-erected in 1810, when the date and initials JG, WD, GH, JH and JS were carved into it. These stand for John Gee, William Drinkwater, George and Joseph Hadfield and John Shirt, the cross is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Mermaids Pool, a pool on Kinder Scout, is said to be inhabited by a mermaid who will grant immortality upon whoever sees her on Easter Eve. Pennines Rambling Kinder Scout Computer-generated summit panoramas, note, the panorama shown is not all visible from the summit
4.
Shropshire
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Shropshire Council was created in 2009, a unitary authority taking over from the previous county council and five district councils. The borough of Telford and Wrekin has been a unitary authority since 1998. The county has many towns, including Whitchurch in the north, Newport north-east of Telford. The Ironbridge Gorge area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covering Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale, there are other historic industrial sites in the county, such as at Shrewsbury, Broseley, Snailbeach and Highley, as well as the Shropshire Union Canal. The Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers about a quarter of the county, Shropshire is one of Englands most rural and sparsely populated counties, with a population density of 136/km2. The Wrekin is one of the most famous landmarks in the county, though the highest hills are the Clee Hills, Stiperstones. Wenlock Edge is another significant geographical and geological landmark, the River Severn, Great Britains longest river, runs through the county, exiting into Worcestershire via the Severn Valley. Shropshire is landlocked and with an area of 3,487 square kilometres is Englands largest inland county, the county flower is the round-leaved sundew. The area was part of the lands of the Cornovii. This was a tribal Celtic iron age kingdom and their capital in pre-Roman times was probably a hill fort on the Wrekin. Ptolemys 2nd century Geography names one of their towns as being Viroconium Cornoviorum, after the Roman occupation of Britain ended in the 5th century, the Shropshire area was in the eastern part of the Welsh Kingdom of Powys, known in Welsh poetry as the Paradise of Powys. It was annexed to the Angle kingdom of Mercia by King Offa in the 8th century, in subsequent centuries, the area suffered repeated Danish invasion, and fortresses were built at Bridgnorth and Chirbury. Many defensive castles were built at this time across the county to defend against the Welsh and enable effective control of the region, including Ludlow Castle, the western frontier with Wales was not finally determined until the 14th century. Also in this period, a number of foundations were formed, the county largely falling at this time under the Diocese of Hereford. The county contains a number of historically significant towns, including Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, additionally, the area around Coalbrookdale in the county is seen as highly significant, as it is regarded as one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution. The village of Edgmond, near Newport, is the location of the lowest recorded temperature in England, the origin of the name Shropshire is the Old English Scrobbesbyrigscīr, which means Shrewsburyshire. The name may, therefore, be derived indirectly from a name such as Scrope. Salop is an old name for Shropshire, historically used as a form for post or telegrams
5.
Mountain range
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A mountain range is a geographic area containing numerous geologically related mountains. A mountain system or system of ranges, sometimes is used to combine several geological features that are geographically related. Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys, individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earths land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt. The Andes is 7,000 kilometres long and is considered the worlds longest mountain system. The Alpide belt includes Indonesia and southeast Asia, through the Himalaya, the belt also includes other European and Asian mountain ranges. The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, mountain ranges outside of these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera, the Urals, the Appalachians, the Scandinavian Mountains, the Altai Mountains and the Hijaz Mountains. If the definition of a range is stretched to include underwater mountains. The mountain systems of the earth are characterized by a tree structure, the sub-range relationship is often expressed as a parent-child relationship. For example, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge Mountains are sub-ranges of the Appalachian Mountains, equivalently, the Appalachians are the parent of the White Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains, and the White Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are children of the Appalachians. The position of mountains influences climate, such as rain or snow, when air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools producing orographic precipitation. As the air descends on the side, it warms again and is drier. Often, a shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to forces which work to tear them down. Erosion is at work while the mountains are being uplifted and long after until the mountains are reduced to low hills, rivers are traditionally believed to be the principle erosive factor on mountain ranges, with their ability of bedrock incision and sediment transport. The rugged topography of a range is the product of erosion. The basins adjacent to a mountain range are filled with sediments which are buried and turned into sedimentary rock. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example and this mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift
6.
Ordnance Survey
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Ordnance Survey is a non-ministerial government department which acts as the national mapping agency for Great Britain and is one of the worlds largest producers of maps. Since 1 April 2015 it has operated as Ordnance Survey Ltd, the Ordnance Survey Board remain accountable to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. It is also a member of the Public Data Group, the agencys name indicates its original military purpose, mapping Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rebellion in 1745. There was also a general and nationwide need in light of the potential threat of invasion during the Napoleonic Wars. Ordnance Survey mapping is usually classified as either large-scale or small-scale, the Surveys large-scale mapping comprises maps at six inches to the mile or more and was available as sheets until the 1980s, when it was digitised. Small-scale mapping comprises maps at less than six inches to the mile, such as the one inch to the mile leisure maps. These are still available in sheet form. Ordnance Survey maps remain in copyright for fifty years after their publication, some of the Copyright Libraries hold complete or near-complete collections of pre-digital OS mapping. The origins of the Ordnance Survey lie in the aftermath of the last Jacobite rising which was defeated by forces loyal to the government at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In 1747, Lieutenant-colonel David Watson proposed the compilation of a map of the Highlands to facilitate the subjugation of clans, in response, King George II charged Watson with making a military survey of the Highlands under the command of the Duke of Cumberland. Among Watsons assistants were William Roy, Paul Sandby and John Manson, the survey was produced at a scale of 1 inch to 1000 yards and included the Duke of Cumberlands Map now held in the British Library. This work was the point of the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain. Roys technical skills and leadership set the standard for which Ordnance Survey became known. Work was begun in earnest in 1790 under Roys supervision, when the Board of Ordnance began a military survey starting with the south coast of England. A set of stamps, featuring maps of the Kentish village of Hamstreet, was issued in 1991 to mark the bicentenary. In 1801, the first one-inch-to-the-mile map was published, detailing the county of Kent, during the next twenty years, roughly a third of England and Wales was mapped at the same scale under the direction of William Mudge, as other military matters took precedence. It took until 1823 to re-establish a relationship with the French survey made by Roy in 1787, by 1810, one inch to the mile maps of most of the south of England were completed, but were withdrawn from sale between 1811 and 1816 because of security fears. It was gruelling work, major Thomas Colby, later the longest serving director general of Ordnance Survey, in 1824, Colby and most of his staff moved to Ireland to work on a six-inches-to-the-mile valuation survey
7.
Telford
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Telford /ˈtɛlfərd/ is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about 13 miles east of Shrewsbury, and 30 miles north west of Birmingham. With an estimated population of 170,300 in 2010 and around 155,000 in Telford itself, Telford is the largest town in Shropshire and it is named after civil engineer Thomas Telford, who engineered many road and rail projects in Shropshire. The town was put together in the 1960s and 1970s as a new town on previously industrial and agricultural land and smaller towns. Like other planned towns of the era, Telford was created from the merger of other, smaller settlements, most notably the towns of Wellington, Oakengates, many of the New Towns newer inhabitants were originally from Birmingham or Wolverhampton. Telford Shopping Centre, a shopping mall, was constructed at the new towns geographical centre. The M54 motorway was completed in 1983, improving the road links with the West Midlands conurbation. On Telfords southern boundaries is the Ironbridge Gorge, a scenic tourist destination, the town advertises itself as The Birthplace of Industry, due to it having Coalbrookdale and other places in the Ironbridge Gorge area, within its boundary. These areas are internationally recognised as being important to the Industrial Revolution, early settlement in the area was thought to be on the land that sloped up from the Weald Moors towards the line along which the Roman Watling Street was built. Farmland surrounded three large estates in the 10th century, namely Wellington, Wrockwardine and Lilleshall, from the 13th century there was urban development in Wellington and Madeley, where Wenlock Priory founded a new town. Six monastic houses, founded in the 11th and 12th centuries, had interests in the areas economic growth. They collectively acquired almost half of the area, and profited from coal and ironstone mines, the New Town was first designated on 16 January 1963 as Dawley New Town, covering 9,100 acres of Dawley, Wenlock, Oakengates, Wellington Rural District and Shifnal Rural District. Development started, guided by the Dawley New Town Development Corporation, initial planning and design concepts for Dawley New Town were produced by the Birmingham-based John Madin Design Group. The Minister proposed an extension of 12,000 acres in 1968, which saw objections and this Order also renamed the new town Telford, after the Scottish-born civil engineer Thomas Telford who, in 1787, became Surveyor of Public Works for Shropshire. Other suggested names at the time were Dawelloak and Wrekin Forest City, Telford was now 25 years old and was firmly established as one of the most important towns in the region. In 1983, after fierce opposition and three public enquiries, the M54 motorway was completed, connecting the town to the M6, other major roads are the A5, A518 and A442, which is commonly known as the Eastern Primary or EP, and is officially branded Queensway. Many of the new residents were originally from the West Midlands conurbation. The vast majority of the council house tenants in Telford were rehoused from inner city Birmingham. g, the new towns residents who arrived in the 1960s and 1970s earned the unwanted nickname overspill from people living in the existing towns and villages. The reason for expansion is that the original centre was only ever a shopping place with no real heart
8.
M54 motorway
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The M54 is a 23-mile east-west motorway in the English counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. It is also referred to as the Telford Motorway, after the roads primary westbound destination, the motorway cost £65 million to construct, and is two-lane dual carriageway for the majority of its length, with sections of three-lane. The M54 spur connects the M6 motorway near Essington, Staffordshire with the A5 trunk road at Wellington, the motorway forms part of the strategic route to North Wales, roughly following the path of the Roman Watling Street and the A5 north-westwards, towards the port of Holyhead. It is the motorway in Shropshire, and forms a vital part of the countys road network. The motorway handles an AADT of between 50,300 and 41,800 vehicles, the initial plan for a motorway following the M54s present route was therefore designed to alleviate the roads which handled the commercial traffic to the port of Holyhead, destined for Ireland. The predicted demand was that of 75,000 vehicles per day by 1990, two corridors were identified for a possible new motorway route, and a third option to possibly upgrade existing roads. The route could have followed the A5 Corridor to the M6 South of Gailey, at junction 12, or a new corridor could have established to the M6, north-east of Featherstone. Additionally, it was proposed that the existing A5 could be upgraded to dual carriageway grade separated standards together with improvements to the A41. The first section of the M54 was opened in 1975, then named the A5 Wellington bypass, the Wellington bypass was constructed by contractor M. J. Gleeson Ltd, from 1973 to 1975. The aesthetic and constructional design of the bridges was also heavily criticised, over the next 15 years, almost all of the original carriageway had to be replaced with asphalt. Contract 1 was given to A Monk & Co. who utilised a slip-form paver to construct the concrete section, contract 2 was awarded to R M Douglas Construction Ltd. The two-year contract was completed in only 18 months, due to the dry weather allowed the earthworks to be completed ahead of schedule. Contract 3 was taken by Alfred McAlpine & Son Ltd. and was constructed almost identically to contract 1, contract 4 was the largest contract, and was awarded to Tarmac Construction. This section took the longest to complete, and faced opposition from Staffordshire County Council who wanted disruption at the junction with the M6 to remain minimal, the Forge junction at Telford Town Centre was awarded relatively late, to the company Norwest Holst. The Forge to Cluddley section, from junction 5 to junction 7, the Hilton Park to Forge section, from the M6 to junction 5, opened in November 1983. The motorway cost 65 million pounds to build, which adjusted for inflation would come to approximately 150 million 2006 GBP. To help alleviate opposition to the intrusive motorway design, the 60 feet wide carriageway was built to pass below the natural landscape, where possible. Man-made hills were constructed which, along with the planting of 250,000 new trees, helped to camouflage the motorway from view and this aesthetic improvement project took two and a half years to complete and employed over 100 people. 3%
9.
Shropshire Hills AONB
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The Shropshire Hills area, in the English county of Shropshire, is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is located in the south of the county, extending to its border with Wales, designated in 1958, the area encompasses 802 square kilometres of land primarily in south-west Shropshire, taking its name from the upland region of the Shropshire Hills. The A49 road and Welsh Marches Railway Line bisect the area north-south, passing through or near Shrewsbury, Church Stretton, Craven Arms and Ludlow. The Shropshire Hills, located in the Welsh Marches, are relatively high and this gives Shropshire the 13th tallest hill per county in England. Titterstone Clee Hill, part of the Clee Hills, is nearly as high as Brown Clee, at 533 metres, the Stiperstones are the second highest, at 536 metres, and are notable for their tors of quartzite, particularly notable are Devils Chair and Shepherds Rock. More accessible hills are the Long Mynd, which covers an area of 5,436 acres and it includes Carding Mill Valley, a popular recreational area which was developed as a honeypot to draw tourists away from the more sensitive/protected areas of the Mynd. The Wrekin, located in the far northeastern panhandle of the AONB, is a popular hill with a well-used trail. Located near Wellington, its close to the major population centres of Shropshire. Ercall Hill, a geological site, is located just to the north of The Wrekin. Another prominent hill is Corndon Hill, whose summit is in Wales, the largest town in the AONB is Church Stretton, with a population of about 3,000. The only other town within the boundaries of the AONB is Clun, with fewer than 1,000 people, Ludlow, the largest town in South Shropshire, lies just south of the AONB. The Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership is based at Craven Arms, just outside the development restriction boundaries, bishops Castle is a small town of about 1,500 people, located near the Welsh border to the west. Bucknell is a village in the south. Knighton is across the River Teme in Wales, but its station is within the Shropshire Hills AONB, the AONB falls largely within the Shropshire Council area. Its northeasternmost extremity, in the vicinity of the prominent Wrekin hill, is located in the borough of Telford & Wrekin, Ludlow Castle in Ludlow was constructed in the 11th Century as the border stronghold of one of the Marcher Lords, Roger de Lacy. Offas Dyke, a linear earthwork, also runs through the area. Clun Castle is located near Clun
10.
Staffordshire
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Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands of England. It adjoins Cheshire to the north west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south east, West Midlands and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The largest city in Staffordshire is Stoke-on-Trent, which is administered separately from the rest of the county as an independent unitary authority, Lichfield also has city status, although this is a considerably smaller cathedral city. Major towns include Stafford, Burton upon Trent, Cannock, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Leek, smaller towns include Stone, Uttoxeter, and Rugeley, and large villages Eccleshall, Wombourne, Kinver, Penkridge, Tutbury and Stretton. Cannock Chase AONB is within the county as well as parts of the National Forest, Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Bromwich, and Smethwick were historic Staffordshire towns until local government reorganisation created the West Midlands county in 1974. Historically, Staffordshire was divided into the five hundreds of Cuttlestone, Offlow, Pirehill, Seisdon, the historic boundaries of Staffordshire cover much of what is now the metropolitan county of West Midlands. The Act also saw the towns of Tamworth and Burton upon Trent united entirely in Staffordshire, in 1553 Queen Mary made Lichfield a county separate from the rest of Staffordshire. Handsworth and Perry Barr became part of the county borough of Birmingham in the early 20th century, Burton, in the east of the county, became a county borough in 1901, and was followed by Smethwick, another town in the Black Country in 1907. In 1910 the six towns of the Staffordshire Potteries, including Hanley, a major reorganisation in the Black Country in 1966, under the recommendation of the Local Government Commission for England led to the creation of an area of contiguous county boroughs. Meanwhile, the county borough of Dudley, historically a part of Worcestershire, expanded. County boroughs were abolished, with Stoke becoming a district in Staffordshire. On 1 April 1997, under a recommendation of the Banham Commission, in July 2009 the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found in Britain was discovered in a field near Lichfield. The artefacts, known as The Staffordshire Hoard have tentatively dated to the 7th or 8th centuries. Some nationally and internationally known companies have their base in Staffordshire. They include the Britannia Building Society which is based in Leek, JCB is based in Rocester near Uttoxeter and bet365 based in Stoke-on-Trent. The theme park Alton Towers is in the Staffordshire Moorlands and several of the worlds largest pottery manufacturers are based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire has a completely comprehensive system with eight independent schools. Most secondary schools are from 11–16 or 18, but two in Staffordshire Moorlands and South Staffordshire are from 13–18, there are two universities in the county, Keele University in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire University, which has campuses in Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury. The modern county of Staffordshire currently has three football clubs – Stoke City and Port Vale, both from Stoke-on-Trent, and Burton Albion, who play in Burton upon Trent. They were among the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888, in 1972, the club finally won a major trophy when they lifted the Football League Cup, but after relegation from the First Division in 1985 they would not experience top flight football for 23 years
11.
Black Country
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The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands in England, West of Birmingham, including Dudley, Walsall and Sandwell. In the Industrial Revolution, it one of the most industrialised parts of Britain with coal mines, coking, iron foundries. The 14-mile road between Wolverhampton and Birmingham was described as one town in 1785. The first trace of The Black Country as an expression dates from the 1840s, the name is believed to come from the soot from the heavy industries that covered the area, although the 30-foot-thick coal seam close to the surface is another possible origin. The borders of the Black Country can be defined by using the cultural and industrial characteristics of the area. Areas around the canals which had mines extracting mineral resources and heavy industry refining these are included in this definition, cultural parameters include unique foods and dialect. The Black Country Society defines the Black Countrys borders as the area on the thirty foot coal seam and this definition includes West Bromwich and Oldbury, which had many deep pits, and Smethwick. The thick coal that underlies Smethwick wasnt mined until the 1870s, Sandwell Park Collierys pit was located in Smethwick and had thick coal as shown in written accounts from 1878 and coal was also heavily mined in Hamstead further east. Smethwick and Dudley Port were described as a thousand swarming hives of metallurgical industries by Samuel Griffiths in 1872, warley is also included, despite lacking industry and canals, as housing for industrial workers in Smethwick and Oldbury was built there. Another geological definition, the seam outcrop definition, only areas where the coal seam is shallow. Some coal mining areas to the east and west of the geologically defined Black Country are therefore excluded by this definition because the coal here is too deep down, the seam outcrop definition excludes areas in North Worcestershire and South Staffordshire. This is the basis for much of the controversy over definitions and he describes going into the black country of Staffordshire - Wolverhampton, Bilston and Tipton. He introduces the area as that region of mines and forges, commonly called the Black Country. The phrase was used again, though as a rather than a proper noun. An alternative theory for the meaning of the name is proposed as having been caused by the darkening of the soil due to the outcropping coal. In 1642 at the start of the Civil War, Charles I failed to capture the two arsenals of Portsmouth and Hull, which although in cities loyal to Parliament were located in counties loyal to him. As he had failed to capture the arsenals, Charles did not possess any supply of swords, pikes, guns, or shot, all these the Black Country could, from Stourbridge came shot, from Dudley cannon. Numerous small forges which then existed on every brook in the north of Worcestershire turned out successive supplies of sword blades and his method was employed on the Kings behalf
12.
Beetham Tower, Manchester
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Beetham Tower is a landmark 47-storey mixed-use skyscraper in Manchester, England. Completed in 2006, it is named after its developers, the Beetham Organisation, the development occupies a sliver of land at the top of Deansgate, hence its elongated plan and was proposed in July 2003 with construction starting a year later. At a height of 554 feet, it is the tallest building in the United Kingdom outside London and it has been described by the Financial Times as the UK’s only proper skyscraper outside London. A blade structure on the side of the building acts as a façade overrun accentuating its slim form. The skyscraper is visible from ten English counties on a clear day, the top-floor penthouse offers views of Greater Manchester, the Cheshire Plain, the Pennines, the Peak District and Snowdonia. The tower is known for emitting a loud unintentional hum or howl in windy weather, the hum has been recorded as a B below middle C and can be heard over large parts of the locality. Architectural response to the skyscraper is polarised and interpretations vary, others feel its dramatic appearance and peculiarity is reflective of Manchester and that the Beetham Tower symbolises Manchesters reinvention as a post-industrial city. Nevertheless, it has received praise and was awarded the best tall building in the world in 2007 by the Council for Tall Buildings, the site was next to a redundant section of railway viaduct. With the support of English Heritage and the recommendation of the planning department, planning permission was granted in October 2003. The skyscraper was part of Manchesters regeneration, and by the end of 2003 before construction had started,206 of its 219 flats and 4 of its 16 penthouses had been pre-sold. The skyscraper was built much of the United Kingdom was experiencing an economic boom. Ground and foundation works commenced at the beginning of 2004 and construction started in April 2004, by August 2004, work on its twin concrete cores had started and the structure was rising at a steady rate. One of the cores reached 410 feet at the end of July 2005, the tower was topped-out on 26 April 2006. Local wind conditions dictated its height had to be reduced by about 6.6 feet from the planned 561 feet, the hotel opened on 9 October 2006, and the first apartment residents moved in during 2007. The skyscraper cost £150 million to construct, the building is located on a narrow site on Deansgate at the junction with Great Bridgewater Street and Liverpool Road. Its tall rectangular form maximises the available space, on the 23rd storey a cantilever projects by 13 feet increasing its floor space and giving the tower definition. On the roof is a glass overrun, described as a blade by the architect. The ten-metre blade accentuates the flat south façade, contrasting with the north façade, piling foundations are typically preferred for skyscrapers, however Manchesters sandstone substrata meant a raft foundation
