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Irlam
Irlam shown within Greater Manchester
Population	18,504 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	SJ721949
Metropolitan borough	City of Salford
Metropolitan county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MANCHESTER
Postcode district	M44
Dialling code	0161
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Eccles
European Parliament	North West England
List of places: UK • England • Greater Manchester

Coordinates: 53°27′N 2°25′W / 53.45, -2.42

Irlam is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, along with its neighbouring settlement of Cadishead, Irlam forms the most westerly part of the borough.

Irlam is situated on the north bank of the River Irwell, from which it almost certainly takes its name, being known in the 13th century as Irwellham.^[1] Until around the time of the arrival of the railway, in 1830, Irlam remained a largely undeveloped village, on the edge of the peat bog known as Chat Moss.^[2]

From at least the beginning of the 13th century, Irlam was held by the de Irlam family, whose seat was Irlam Hall. By 1688 Irlam Hall had become the home of Thomas Latham, who played an important part in bringing William of Orange to the throne of England in 1689.^[3]

Irlam Urban District was created in 1894, the same year that the Manchester Ship Canal opened. The subsequent industrial development of Irlam owed much to the construction of the canal, which effectively rendered the River Irwell navigable to large ships. The Latham family's importance to the local area was acknowledged when their features were incorporated into the arms of Irlam's former urban district council.^[2]

Steel manufacture was a very significant source of employment in Irlam for a large part of the 20th century. The Partington Steel and Iron Company opened the first steelworks in Irlam, in 1910. It subsequently became a part of the Lancashire Steel Corporation, and later British Steel. Rationalisation and the concentration of steel manufacture into fewer, larger sites, meant that by 1979, all steel production in Irlam had ceased.^[4] The former steelworks are now the site of the Northbank Industrial Estate.

In 1975, Tesco opened the UK's first hypermarket in Irlam. There are parts of the district that need some renovation although most are now modern.

Irlam is home to an amateur football club, Irlam F.C., which plays its football in the Premier Division of the Manchester Football League and has its ground in Silver Street. There are also two junior football teams in the area, Irlam Vale F.C., and Irlam Rangers F.C. Irlam cricket club plays in the Lancashire County League, and Irlam Hornets rugby league team has just been reformed.