- published: 28 Nov 2014
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Coordinates: 53°31′26″N 2°23′57″W / 53.5239°N 2.3991°W / 53.5239; -2.3991
Walkden is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is 6 miles (9.7 km) west-northwest of Salford, and 7 miles (11.3 km) west-northwest of Manchester.
Historically a part of the township of Worsley in Lancashire, Walkden was a centre for coal mining and textile manufacture.
According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, Walkden had a total resident population of 38,685.
The name Walkden or Walkeden derives from the Old English denu, a valley, belonging to a man possibly called Wealca (literally meaning 'the fuller', an Old English personal name. It has been in existence since at least the 13th century. The name was recorded in documents dating to 1246.
A Roman road crossed the area roughly on the line of the present A6 road through Walkden and Little Hulton. In 1313 in a dispute involving land, a jury decided that Walkden was too small to be considered a hamlet or a town but was "only a place in Farnworth". In the 15th century Walkden appears to have covered a wider area than at present, spreading into Farnworth and Little Hulton. In 1765 'Walkden Moor' was the subject of a parliamentary Enclosure Act. The Duke of Bridgewater was the biggest landowner in 1786, owning over half the land.