901       

901
In this year died Alfred the Great, to whom has been traditionally assigned the division of the lands into hundreds as areas of local government and defence. The name of Salfordshire was given to South-East Lancashire, and it is reasonably conjectured that Manchester had suffered so greatly from the ravages of the Danes as to be in a ruinous condition, and therefore of less importance at that time than its neighbour, Salford.(7)