The area of Sale and Sale Moor, which in the early nineteenth century comprised mainly farmland and small villages, is today a heavily populated part of the Greater Manchester conurbation. This fascinating history traces the rapid development of the area in words and pictures, documenting the suburban growth and the creation of transport networks that accompanied Manchester's population boom in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

Over 200 photographs and illustrations taken from the collection at Trafford Local Studies Centre show how life has changed for these communities over the years, and will no doubt provoke nostalgia in older residents of Sale, as well as providing a valuable historical record of the period covered. A chapter on private lives and public celebrations introduces us to the famous and not-so-famous people that have inhabited Sale over the years, from the renowned physcican James Prescott Joule to Hannah Beswick, a local woman who was so afraid of being buried alive that she was not buried for 100 years after her death!

Elsewhere, many fine views of local landmarks - some that still remain, some that are long gone - ensure that this compilation will delight all those who know Sale and Sale Moor.