Sale

The name Sale is said to derive from the Anglo-Saxon 'sealh' which means willow and the township is considered to be possibly of Anglo-Saxon origin, although few relics have been found. Human occupation was first mentioned in documents of the 12th century and the early landowners were the Masseys, who owned half of the manor of Sale, and then from the 18th century, the Leghs of High Legh, who inherited the Massey lands. The other half of the manor of Sale was owned by the Booths of Dunham Massey and then passed on to the Stamfords. Up to the mid 19th century, the majority of people in Sale were farmers or market gardeners. The construction of the Bridgewater Canal and a century later, the arrival of the railway, meant the population, and the building of new houses, increased rapidly. Many farms were sold and the land built on as Sale became a popular residence for Manchester business men. For many centuries, Sale existed alongside Ashton on Mersey, but in 1930 the two Urban District councils merged and in 1935 Sale was accorded Borough status becoming the Municipal Borough of Sale. Images TL9823 and TL0609 available on Trafford Lifetimes