The township has been variously recorded as Penelton in 1199, Pennelton in 1212, Penilton in 1236, Penhulton in 1331, Penulton in 1356 and Pendleton from about 1600.[1]
Until 1780, Pendleton was rural, a group of cottages around a village green with a maypole. The Industrial Revolution brought about rapid expansion in the population and large cotton mills and premises for dyeing, printing, and bleaching were built providing employment. Pendleton Colliery was developed from the early 19th century.[2]
Violence and looting occurred in Pendleton during the 2011 riots.[3] In 2012, Salford City Council announced a £430million regeneration scheme for the area.[4]
In 1844 the neighbouring township of Salford was incorporated as a borough. However owing to opposition from Pendleton rate payers who felt that their interests would be over-ruled by Salford, it was not until 1853 that Pendleton and neighbouring Broughton who had also refused to merge with Salford became incorporated into an enlarged Borough of Salford. This was owing to increasing concerns to improve the sanitary conditions of the two townships which would have otherwise resulted in the creation of Local Boards of Health.[6] In 1866 Pendleton became a separate civil parish.[7] Pendleton together with Broughton became part of the County Borough of Salford from its inception in 1889, thus for the purposes of local government being independent from the jurisdictions of the newly formed Lancashire County Council. On 1 April 1919 the parish was abolished and merged with Salford.[8] In 1911 the parish had a population of 78,783.[9] In 1974 became part of the much enlarged metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester.
The area gives its name to the geological feature known as the Pendleton Fault, one of four large faults running under the Manchester area. The faults are geologically active, and cause earthquake tremors that have been recorded for centuries, most recently in August 2007, when Manchester experienced six minor earthquakes.[15]
Clarendon Park is within the bounds of Pendleton.[3] The largest public park is Buile Hill Park which lies on high ground adjacent to Eccles Old Road.
Peter Hook of the bands Joy Division and New Order grew up in the area. He infamously stated "All my friends moved to Ellor Street, which was all high-rise 70's flats and a new shopping precinct all built out of concrete. It was rotten, horrible; like a concrete wasteland. And that was when it opened."
^Farrer, William; Brownbill, J, eds. (1907), "Pendleton", A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4, British History Online, pp. 392–396, retrieved 17 February 2011
^ abcLewis, Samuel (1848), "Pendleton", A Topographical Dictionary of England, British History Online, pp. 545–549, retrieved 17 February 2011
^Pevsner, N. (1969) Lancashire, vol. 1. Penguin Books
^Kelly, Laura (21 June 2010). "Christopher Eccleston". The Big Issue. Archived from the original on 27 October 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
^Brown, Ivor; Brodie, Marc (rev.) (2004), "Agate, James Evershed (1877–1947)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, retrieved 27 February 2010
^Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 255. ISBN1-899468-67-6.
Mullineux, F. (1973), "Coal Mining in Lancashire", in Smith, J. H. (ed.), The Great Human Exploit: Historic Industries of the North-West, Phillimore & Co, ISBN0-85033-108-0