In the sixteenth century, Dukinfield was one of the larger towns that now make up Tameside.  This continued into the nineteenth century, when Dukinfield was central to the agricultural industies for Manchester and Stockport, and iron ore was in demand.  Coal also played an important part in the developement of the town, from as early as the seventeenth century and well into the eighteenth. It was in 1899 that the town was granted a Charter of Incorporation, which made it a Borough. In 1974 it became part of Tameside Metropolitan Borough.

Town name

The origins of the name of the town are much debated. There is a theory that Dukinfield comes from Dokensveldt, meaning ravens field.

Dukinfield in the 1800s

When the Stalybridge Charter included part of Dukinfield in 1857, there was a fire station, and a police station was built the following year on Pickford Lane. In 1864 the public cemetery now known as Ashton and Dukinfield cemetery was introduced. The gas works off Charles Street were built in 1854, subsequently becoming Dukinfield's own in 1884 and then being sold to the UK Gas Corporation in 1936 before being nationalised after the Second World War.

Dukinfield in the early 1900s

In 1854 on the day Dukinfield park opened, the toll booth at Alma Bridge was burnt and taken to the fish pond on Chapel Hill. The tramway was constructed in 1902 in the reign of King Edward VII, but it wasn't until 1904 that trams stopped in Dukinfield. The first motor bus was in operation in 1925. The crown Post Office was built in 1903, opposite the Town Hall. It moved to a smaller building in the 1970's but the bricked up post box is still visible, in the wall.

Library

In 1833 Dukinfield Library was created. Members paid 1d a week but it was closed after the war and there had been only a thousand books. Rachel Hague, the daughter of the headmaster at Furnace Hill school, apparently donated them. The library moved to her home on Wig Street in 1837 and she continued as librarian until her death in 1870. The present building is built on land given by Francis Dukinfield Palmer Astley and was paid for by public subscription. In 1875 it was enlarged and renamed The Dukinfield Village Library.

Cinemas

The first cinema in Dukinfield was built in 1910. It was called the Electric Palace and then later the Palladium. It was situated on the corner of Crescent Road and Hope Street. The Princess on King Street was closed in the late 1950's when it became a bingo hall. The Oxford at the bottom of Foundry Street became a night club in the 1960's.

Houses and buildings

Most of the old houses date from the 1880's and 1890's but the block of houses from 8 to 18 West Street next to Old Chapel date from 1854 and the Astley Villas, opposite the Chapel House pub on Astley street were built in 1856.

After the Second World War, building commenced on Yew Tree Lane and up the hill. In the 1960's central Dukinfield began to resemble a large housing estate rather than a town. The baths were opened in 1964, titled the William Andrew Baths. The gas and electric showrooms closed in the 1970's.

Dukinfield today

Today, the town of Dukinfield is quite small.  The fall of the cotton industries led to the decline of employment and subsequently, people.  However, what remains is a town with it's own identity.  There is a beautiful tiered park  with a large play area, well kept flower beds and bowling green.  The Town Hall, as is the case with other buildings of it's kind, now serves a different purpose than the one for which it was built, but it is very ornate and a masterpiece of craftsmanship. It also houses the local Registry Office.  Situated at the top of Chapel Hill, looking down over the industrial parks of Dukinfield is Old Chapel, the largest Unitarian Church in Tameside , with the huge arched stained glass window being the most striking part of the building.

There are numerous sports available in Dukinfield, as with any other town, there is a swimming baths and sauna suite and a golf course for members, also Stalybridge Cricket Club has it's ground in Dukinfield. Dukinfield is a town whose purpose has been altered throughout history, but that has been able to adapt to modern trends.