Stockport has been named the second 'most quintessential' market town in England, by an independent holiday company.

The ranking was produced by Independent Cottages, and considered factors such as the town's age, and the number of independent businesses.

Stockport was second only to Bridport (Dorset) in the ranking.

The full judging criteria for ranking the country's market towns were as follows:

• The age of the market town: This helped the researchers judge "the extent of their history and deep-rooted heritage".
• The main market's Google reviews: To ascertain how popular the main market was with the public.
• The number of independent businesses: To illustrate how developed each town's local high streets are.
• The number of museums: To judge how well the history of the local area is displayed.
• The number of listed buildings: To showcase the historic architecture of the towns.

The 'most quintessential' market town ranking considered factors such as the number of historic buildings (Image - Nub News)

On the aforementioned metrics, Stockport scored as follows: 4.5 stars for the rating of Market Hall; almost 4,000 independent businesses; four local museums; and 403 listed buildings.

The dating is more ambiguous - Independent Cottages cites 1170 which refers to the first recorded mention of 'Stokeport'. However, the likes of Romiley and Cheadle were recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book almost 100 years prior.

In any case, an Independent Cottages spokesperson explained the ranking criteria, saying: "We analysed publicly available data on several important factors that we felt were most relevant to market towns in England to find those that offer the most, deeming them the most 'quintessential'."

Using this system, some of the other local towns which placed highly in the list were Bolton at number 10, and Bury at number 21.

Stockport also has rural areas, such as this stretch of the River Mersey near Cheadle (Image - Nub News)

The Independent Cottages spokesperson added: "At the very heart of the country's rural beauty is its market towns.

"These 'quintessentially English' settlements embody community spirit, rich heritage, and age-long traditions."

You can browse the top 64 'most quintessential' market towns in England here.

Independent Cottages is a company which manages holiday cottages across the UK.

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