Altrincham
Altrincham, colloquially Alty, is a town and one of the main urban areas in Trafford, and has been in Greater Manchester since 1974. It was designated as a market town in 1290.
Altrincham was ranked by Rightmove as the happiest place to live in the north-west in 2026, coming sixth place nationally.[1]
Town centre
Altrincham has a large town centre featuring a precinct, an interchange, a town square, and surrounding streets and amenities.
Stamford New Road is the principal road running through Altrincham town centre. Where the road runs parallel to Altrincham Interchange, a clock tower from 1880 stands on the forecourt. The Altrincham Totem stands in the middle of the road's crossing, near to the clock tower.
Market
Altrincham is famously a market town, and its market originates all the way back in 1290. It was named as the UK's best local market
in 2015.[2]
History
Altrincham was granted a charter in June 1290 by Hamon de Massey V, who was the Lord of the Manor. It established that Altrincham was a free borough
(self-governing township).[3]
The Local Government Act (1972) created the borough of Trafford on 1st April 1974, and due to the boundary changes Altrincham went from being in the county of Cheshire to being in Trafford in the newly created county of Greater Manchester.
Sports
Ice hockey
Altrincham is well-known for its ice hockey, and both the Altrincham Aces and Manchester Metros are based at Planet Ice Altrincham. The professional Manchester Storm team were also based at Planet Ice Altrincham until they moved back to the AO Arena in 2026.
Sources
- Where is the happiest place to live?, Rightmove website, accessed 26th July 2026. ↩
- Altrincham Market marks 10 years since major award win, Messenger news website, 28th December 2025, accessed 26th July 2026. ↩
- A replica of Altrincham’s 1290 Charter is now on display – here’s what it actually says, Altrincham Today website, 9th March 2017, accessed 16th April 2026. ↩