Eccles, Greater Manchester along the route of the track linking those two cities. Eccles cakes, first produced and sold in the town in 1796, are now exported across the world. The derivation of the name is uncertain, but several ideas have been proposed. One is that the "Eccles" place-name is derived from the Romano-British "Ecles" or "Eglys", itself derived from the Ancient Greek "Ecclesia". Following the arrival in AD 613 of the invading Anglo-Saxons at Lancashire, many existing British place-names, especially rivers and hills (the River Irwell for example), survived intact. The root "Ecles", found in several village names, is an exception to
John Eccles (composer) his most famous songs, such as "I burn, I burn" were composed for actress-singer Anne Bracegirdle to perform. Recognizing Eccles’s ability to write for her needs, Mrs Bracegirdle, undoubtedly under his tutelage, thereafter sang only his music. Eccles also wrote an all-sung English opera "Semele" with text by Congreve, but it was not staged until the 20th century. Congreve's libretto would later serve as the basis for George Frideric Handel's "Semele" (1744). For much of the later part of his life, Eccles lived in Kingston upon Thames and wrote additional incidental music (though not as frequently as he had for