Salford, city, in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, northwestern England, on the Irwell River, adjoining Manchester on the west. Salford is a textile center with diverse manufactures that include rubber products and electric equipment. The city is linked to the Irish Sea by the Manchester Ship Canal (opened 1894) and contains part of the Manchester docks. In the city are the 14th-century half-timbered Ordsall Hall and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Saint John (1848). Salford is the seat of the University of Salford (1896). The city received a charter in 1230. Its growth dates from the late 1700s, when it became a cotton-spinning center. Population (1996 estimate) 229,179.
