Oldham

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For people named Oldham see Oldham (surname).
For the larger local government district, see Metropolitan Borough of Oldham.
Oldham
Image:dot4gb.svg
Statistics
Population: 103,544 (2001 Census)
Ordnance Survey
OS grid reference: SD922053
Administration
Metropolitan Borough: Oldham
Metropolitan county: Greater Manchester
Region: North West England
Constituent country: England
Sovereign state: United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county: Greater Manchester
Historic county: Lancashire
Services
Police force: Greater Manchester Police
Fire and rescue: Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
Ambulance: North West
Post office and telephone
Post town: OLDHAM
Postal district: OL1-OL2, OL4, OL8-OL9
Dialling code: 0161
Politics
UK Parliament: Oldham East and Saddleworth, Oldham West and Royton
European Parliament: North West England

Oldham is a large town in the north-west of England. Located high in the Pennine hills, it is the largest and most central settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham of Greater Manchester.

Historically part of Lancashire, Oldham rose to prominence during the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture. Oldham was a boom-town of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the first ever industrialised towns. At its zenith, it was the single most productive cotton spinning mill town in the world.[1][2]

Contents

[edit] Geography and administration

The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, highlighting Oldham in red.
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The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, highlighting Oldham in red.

Oldham is located high in the south-west of the Pennine mountain range, 7 miles (11.3 km) north-east of the city of Manchester, in the north-west of England. It lies along the very edge of the historic Lancashire border, with Yorkshire close to the east.

Oldham was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1849. When Lancashire County Council was created in 1889, Oldham became a county borough and was exempt from county council administration. The county borough was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 and since 1974, Oldham has formed part of Greater Manchester, and has been the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham.

The boundaries of two parliamentary constituencies divide Oldham: Oldham East and Saddleworth, and Oldham West and Royton (which includes the town centre), which are represented by Labour Members of Parliament Phil Woolas and Michael Meacher respectively.

As a historic township, Oldham once formed part of the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham, in the Hundred of Salford.

Oldham town centre, as seen in January 2004. The "Civic Centre" tower features in the centre of the photograph. The Pennine hills can be seen in the background.
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Oldham town centre, as seen in January 2004. The "Civic Centre" tower features in the centre of the photograph. The Pennine hills can be seen in the background.

[edit] History

[edit] Early history

[edit] Etymology

Oldham (pronounced [ōl'dəm]) is a derivative of Aldehulme, and is possibly from the Old English "ald" and the Old Scandinavian "holmi" and meaning "old promontory or outcrop", possibly describing the town's hilltop defensive position.[3]

Altholm (recorded in about 1226–8) may also mean "promontory near a slope or cliff", combining the Celtic "alt", meaning "slope or cliff" with the Old Scandinavian for an "island, promontory, raised ground in marsh, river-meadow".[4]

[edit] Origins

The town is believed to date from 865 AD when Danish invaders established a settlement in the locality with the name Aldehulme.[5] In 1215 much of the lands of Oldham were given to the Knights of St John of Jerusalem by Roger de Montbegon. The first known recorded use of the name "Oldham" was during the 11th century and it is to this point in history that Oldham can be traced.[6]

For centuries, Oldham was an area of insignificant chapelries and moorland for a small community of local farmers. During medieval times, Oldham was a modest centre of woollen cloth production, largely due to vast areas of open moorland, which were highly suitable for grazing sheep.

Oldham had long been on one of the major routes from Lancashire to Yorkshire, as it lies on an ancient Roman road which linked the historic cities of Manchester and York across the Pennine hills. Although this road deteriorated to little more than a muddy dirt track, by the middle of the 18th century it was to assume a growing importance for the transportation of goods in the wake of new industrial, technological and cultural changes which were gathering pace in the area.

[edit] Industrial Revolution

Oldham owes much of its history to the Industrial Revolution; particularly 18th and 19th century cotton spinning, and much (but by no means all) of the architecture of the town remains Victorian. Contrariwise, it has been asserted that, "if ever the Industrial Revolution placed a town firmly and squarely on the map of the world, that town is Oldham."[7]

In 1770, the Oldham area was a mere scattering of small and insignificant settlements spread across the moorland and rough tracks which linked Manchester with the West Riding of Yorkshire. The area, located some 700 feet above sea level on the west side of the Pennine mountain range, had no major river or visible natural resources and was isolated from the market centre of Liverpool. The area had poor geographic attributes compared with other local rivals for the engineers and businessmen of the time, and so Oldham played no role in the initial period of the Industrial Revolution.

However, within thirty years, the moorland cottage industry settlements based on manual labour were replaced by sprawling factories and industries. Oldham's population increased from 12,000 in 1801 to over 100,000 by the end of the 19th Century. Advances in technology and textile manufacture, the availability of cheap land and relatively abundant coal, support of excellent transportation links between Manchester, Lancashire and Yorkshire, a damp climate (which lent itself to breakage-free cotton spinning), and some of the world's greatest machine-makers, meant that Oldham rapidly became a thriving, prosperous industrious town.

By 1850 Oldham was confirmed as a pulsating boom-town, supplying cotton products throughout the world with an output and profitability unmatched by anywhere else. The speed of its growth is highly significant. Oldham, with little pre-industrial history to speak of, was in effect, born a factory town.

[edit] Cotton spinning

With the implementation of mechanised spinning of raw cotton into workable yarn and thread, rural Oldham was removed forever; from a series of small-time woollen-cloth producing cottages, to a booming industrial metropolis, processing more raw cotton, and spinning more yarn than any other single centre of the textile industry.

The notion of the "Mill town" and mass production, was introduced to Oldham in the late 1770s. Using nearby prosperous Manchester as an example, Oldhamers were attracted by the chance of regular employment and unparalled success and purpose. Oldham's first mill was Lees Hall, built about 1778 by William Clegg. Within twelve months, eleven other mills had joined Clegg's original. Newly invented Steam engines and Spinning Jennys and Spinning mules were quickly installed.

As world demand for cotton grew, so Oldham's share of mills and spindleage increased. By 1890, Oldham's share of Britain's spindleage had risen to 11.4 million out of 87.7 million - some 13% of the entire world's cotton production. At the peak of the town's cotton industry, over 360 mills operated night and day.[8] By the end of the 19th century, as a result of a mill building booms during 1860s-1870s, Oldham was confirmed as the most productive cotton-spinning town in the world, overtaking Manchester and Bolton.[9] Oldham dominated the world's cotton spinning industry at the end of the 19th Century.

Oldham was hit hard by the Lancashire cotton famine of 1861–1865 however. Without supplies of raw cotton from America, thousands of Oldham's workers became redundant. The then Oldham council took measures to ensure workers were employed and kept paid. Alexandra Park was conceptualised and commissioned to be created as a green space in the Glodwick district, just south of the town centre, and was created by local cotton-mill workers during this time.

Whilst the cotton famine passed, following the events of the two world wars, and increased foreign competition, there was a (terminal) depression in the British cotton industry. Economically, Oldham was very much dependent on this single industry, and manufacture, affluence and employment opportunities steadily declined in the town during the first half of the 20th century. The last cotton to be spun in Oldham was in the mid-1990s, and the now redundant mills (many now split into small, rented industrial units) still mark the Oldham skyline today.

[edit] Coal mining

While it would be a truism to say that cotton created modern Oldham, it would be a mistake to think this was the town's only industry. Oldham lies on the eastern edge of the South Lancashire coalfield, and began to produce its own coal in the 19th century. The mines were largely to the south-west of the town around the districts of Hollinwood and Werneth and provided enough coal to accelerate Oldham's rapid development at the centre of the cotton boom. The amount of coal in the field was somewhat overestimated, however, and production began to decline even before that of the local spinning industry. Today, the only visible remnants of the mines are some disused shafts and tunnels.

[edit] Engineering

Oldham led in the field of engineering. On the back of the Industrial Revolution, the town developed an extensive engineering industry, strongly linked to the local cotton industry. The Platt Brothers originated in nearby Dobcross village, Saddleworth, but moved to Oldham. They were pioneers of cotton spinning, inventing several innovations which enabled mass-production of cotton yarn.

Platt brothers became the largest textile machine-makers in the world, employing over 15,000 people, twice the size of their nearest rivals, "Dobson & Barlow" in Bolton and "Asa Lees" on Greenacres Moor, Oldham. They were keen investors in the local area and at one time, were supporting some 42% of the population. The centre of the company lay at the New Hartford Works in Werneth, a massive complex of buildings and internal railways on a site overlooking Manchester. The railway station which served this site later formed the basis of Oldham Werneth railway station, which together with the main building exists to this day.

Although textile engineering declined with the industry, leading to the demise of Platts in 1982, other engineering firms existed, notably electrical and later electronical engineers Ferranti in 1896. Ferranti went into receivership in 1993, but some of its former works continue in other hands, notably the original Hollinwood site now operated by Siemens.

[edit] Historic events

Several Oldhamers were caught up in the chaos that was the Peterloo Massacre which occurred in nearby Manchester, in 1819. A plaque in-memoriam to the losses and injuries inflicted during the massacre can be found at the base of the "Civic Centre" tower.

Oldham lays claim to being the birthplace of the chip shop (though possibly not in the sense it is understood today of 'fish-and-chip shop' - the combination is thought to have been first offered by Joseph Malin at his premises in London circa 1860), from which the fast food industry's origins may be traced. The chip shop in question was on the site of what is now the Tommyfield indoor market.[citation needed]

Oldham was, for a short time, home to some prisoners of war from Germany during the Second World War. There was a prisoners of war camp in the area.[10]

Oldham is the place of birth of the Tubular bandage (a specialised type of medical aid/support), and Yates's Wine Lodge, a popular chain of public houses in the United Kingdom. Ironically, due to high competition, Yates do not currently have a public house located in Oldham.

[edit] Political history

Oldham was where Winston Churchill began his political career. Although taking two attempts to succeed, in the 1900 general election Churchill was elected as the member of Parliament for the Oldham constituency. He held the constituency for the Conservative Party until the 1906 general election.

[edit] Recent history

Following the demise of the cotton industry, Oldham's level of affluence dropped markedly. From 1963 to 1965, the town was overshadowed by the terrible Moors Murders whose victims were buried on nearby Saddleworth Moor. Oldham was the birthplace of the world's first baby to be born by in vitro fertilization- Louise Brown in 1978.

[edit] Immigration

Due to Oldham's industrial might, the town had always attracted migrant workers, including those from wider-England, Scotland, Ireland and parts of Poland and Ukraine. Following the events of the two World Wars, and increased foreign competition, Oldham suffered from a major economic depression in the cotton industry. There was a severe shortage of unskilled employees who could work in the mills and keep manufacture alive.

During the 1950s and 60s, in an attempt to fill the shortfall of workers and revitalise local industries, members of the wider Commonwealth of Nations were encouraged to migrate to Oldham and other British towns. Many came from the Caribbean and Indian subcontinent and settled throughout the Oldham borough. Today, Oldham still has large communities with heritage from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and parts of the Caribbean.

[edit] Riots

In May 2001, Oldham became the centre of national and international media attention. Following several high profile race-related conflicts, and long-term underlying racial tensions, major race riots broke out in the town. Occurring with particular intensity in the Glodwick area of the town, the Oldham Riots were the worst racially-motivated riots in the United Kingdom for fifteen years prior, briefly eclipsing the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland in the media.[11]

At least 20 people were injured in the riots, including fifteen officers, and 37 people were arrested.[12] Similar riots took place by communities in English northern towns over the following days and weeks. The 2001 riots prompted a number of governmental and independent inquiries, including the The Ritchie Report and Oldham Beyond, which collectively agreed on a number of community relations improvements and considerable regeneration schemes for the town.

[edit] Demography

According to Census data from 2001, Oldham had a population of 103,544, including sizable communities of Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage.

[edit] Landmarks

Oldham Parish Church
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Oldham Parish Church

[edit] Oldham Parish Church

The "Oldham Parish Church of St. Mary with St. Peter", in its present form, dates from 1830 and was designed in the Gothic Revival Style by Richard Lane, a Manchester born Architect. It was linked with St. Mary's Church in Prestwich and together the sites were principal churches of the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham.

A church building had existed on the site since 1280 A.D. During this time, a small chapel stood on the site to serve the local historic townships of Oldham, Chadderton, Royton and Crompton. This was later replaced by an Early English Gothic Church in the 15th century. With the coming of the Industrial Revolution, the population of Oldham increased at a dramatic rate, (from under 2,000 in 1714, to over 32,000 by 1831). The rapid growth of the local populations warranted that the building be rebuilt in to the structure which stands today. The cost of building was GBP 30,000, one third of which was spent on the crypt structure. Alternative designs by Sir Charles Barry, the designer of the Houses of Parliament, although now regarded by some as superior, were rejected.[13] The Church, of the Anglican denomination, is in active use for worship.

Oldham War Memorial
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Oldham War Memorial

[edit] Oldham War Memorial

Erected as a permanent memorial to the men of Oldham who were killed in World War I, the Oldham War Memorial consists of a granite base surmounted by a bronze sculpture depicting five soldiers making their way along the trenches in order to go into battle. The main standing figure, having climbed out of the trenches, was shown calling on his comrades to advance. The base serves to house books containing the roll of honour of the 1st, 10th and 24th Battalions, Manchester Regiment. The pedestal has two bronze doors at either side.[14]

Commissioned in 1919 by the Oldham War Memorial Committee, the Oldham War Memorial was conceptualised and fabricated by Albert Toft, and unveiled by General Sir Ian Hamilton on April 28, 1923, before a crowd estimated at over 10,000.

The inscriptions on the memorial read:

  • Over doors: "MORS JANUA VITAE, 1914-1918" (death is the gate of life)
  • Opposite side: "TO GOD BE THE PRAISE"
Oldham Civic Centre
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Oldham Civic Centre

[edit] Civic Centre

Whilst not a landmark in the classical sense, the "Civic Centre" tower is the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham's centre of local governance. The fifteen storey white-brick building has housed the vast majority of the local government's offices since its completion in 1977. Standing at the summit of the town, the tower stands over 200 feet high and was built at a cost of GBP6,800,000.[15]

The Civic Centre can be seen from as far away as Salford, Trafford, Wythenshawe and even Winter Hill in Lancashire, and offers panoramic views across the city of Manchester and the Cheshire plain.

[edit] Town Hall

Oldham Town Hall (also known as the Old Town Hall) is a neo-classical town hall built in 1841. It was from the Oldham Town Hall steps that Sir Winston Churchill made his inaugural acceptance speech when he was first elected as a Conservative MP in 1900. A Blue plaque features on the exterior of the hall, which serves to commemorate the event.

Once the administrative and historic centre of the town, the structure has been derelict for many years, but has regularly been earmarked for redevelopment as part of a number of proposed regeneration projects,[16] including The Heart of Oldham.

[edit] Present day

An image of Maple Mill, a former cotton mill in Hathershaw. It is over 100 years old and the largest surviving cotton mill in the North of England. It last operated in the textile industry when owned by Courtaulds Spinning in the 1990s, but is now used for warehousing. This kind of structure remains a common sight throughout Oldham.
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An image of Maple Mill, a former cotton mill in Hathershaw. It is over 100 years old and the largest surviving cotton mill in the North of England. It last operated in the textile industry when owned by Courtaulds Spinning in the 1990s, but is now used for warehousing. This kind of structure remains a common sight throughout Oldham.

Although Oldham has now lost all of its cotton manufacturing, the town still bears the marks, at least architecturally, of the legacy of its industrial past. A large percentage of the properties in the area are Victorian terraces, built as dwellings for the masses of cotton mill workers of the times. The skyline is still marked by a number of surviving large red brick mills.

Today, largely due to migration to the town during the mid-20th century, ethnic minority populations number around 26,000, including sizeable Pakistani (13,754/6.3%), Bangladeshi (9,817/4.5%) and Indian (1,562/0.7%) communities.[17]

[edit] Nightlife

Oldham town centre has a vibrant nightlife, offering some forty pubs, bars and nightclubs. Many of the venues are focused around the Yorkshire Street area of the town centre. The nightlife of Oldham in recent years has been criticised for its level of binge-drinking and violence, and has led to the introduction of hands-on policing and medical care for the area.[18]

[edit] Theatre

The town has a lively theatrical culture, and is possibly the most vibrant in the Greater Manchester area outside of the city of Manchester. It is home to the Oldham Coliseum Theatre, the Grange Arts Centre and the Oldham Theatre Workshop.

[edit] Art

Oldham is now home to a newly built state-of-the-art art gallery, Gallery Oldham, which was completed in February 2002 as the first phase of the Oldham Cultural Quarter to the south of the town centre. Later phases of the development saw the construction of an extended Oldham Library, a lifelong learning centre and there are plans to include a performing arts centre.

Oldham Market Hall
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Oldham Market Hall

[edit] Shopping and retail

Oldham is a major centre of retail for the wider metropolitan borough and of Greater Manchester. In addition to numberous independent shops and traders, Oldham includes the following major shopping malls:

  • The Spindles - a modern shopping centre with over forty retailers, banks, building societies and catering outlets. The centre houses one of Europe's largest stained glass roofs, created by local artist Brian Clarke, which depicts the life and times of one of Oldham's famous sons, Sir William Walton.
  • Oldham Town Square -
  • Tommyfield Market - a spacious modern indoor market hall.

[edit] Sport

The town is home to a number of sports teams including Oldham Athletic Football Club and Oldham Roughyeds Rugby League Club. In addition the town is host to several league cricket teams with a number of semi-professional league clubs including Oldham CC, and Werneth CC in the Central Lancashire League.

[edit] Education

This is a list of schools and colleges in Oldham town; for schools and colleges in the rest of the borough, see Metropolitan Borough of Oldham.

There are also two colleges of further education in Oldham. These are:

Oldham has one centre of higher education:

[edit] Transport

Mumps Bridge, Oldham
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Mumps Bridge, Oldham

Oldham is about 4 miles from the major M62 motorway, but is linked to it by the M60 and A627(M). Central Oldham once had five railway stations but now has three, Oldham Werneth, Oldham Mumps and Derker. It is planned to link the town to the Manchester Metrolink tram network, but plans are currently in abeyance due to government concerns to meet the escalating costs of the required engineering work.

Oldham has a newly built central bus station with frequent services to other parts of Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire.

[edit] Famous people

Oldham has had many famous residents, both of national and international acclaim. Some of the people listed below may be from the wider Oldham area, including its satellite towns.

[edit] Actors

[edit] Musicians

[edit] Sportsmen

[edit] Others

[edit] Twin Towns

Oldham is twinned with three European towns:

[edit] References and notes

  1. ^ Gurr & Hunt (1998). The Cotton Mills of Oldham, Oldham Education & Leisure. Pg 4. ISBN 0-902809-46-6
  2. ^ NW Cotton Towns Learning Journey www.spinningtheweb.org.uk. URL accessed October 27, 2006.
  3. ^ The Town & Borough of Oldham, www.manchester2002-uk.com, November 26, 2005, URL accessed June 20, 2006
  4. ^ "Oldham" A Dictionary of British Place-Names. A. D. Mills. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Oxford University. URL accessed June 28, 2006.
  5. ^ The Town & Borough of Oldham, www.manchester2002-uk.com, November 26, 2005, URL accessed June 20, 2006.
  6. ^ Oldham Heritage, www.visitoldham.co.uk, URL accessed June 20, 2006.
  7. ^ Frangopulo, N.J, (1977), Tradition in Action: The Historical Evolution of the Greater Manchester County, EP Publishing, Wakefield, p.154.
  8. ^ Visit Oldham - The History of Oldham, www.visitoldham.co.uk. URL accessed June 28, 2006
  9. ^ Spinning The Web - Oldham. URL accessed June 28, 2006
  10. ^ Photographs from the book, personal website of David J. Carter. URL accessed October 24, 2006.
  11. ^ "The Ritchie Report" Oldhamir.org.uk, December 11, 2001, URL accessed June 13, 2006
  12. ^ "Reasons Behind The Ethnic Riots in Oldham", Islam Online, June 13, 2001, URL accessed June 19, 2006
  13. ^ Oldham Parish Church - History, oldhamparishchurch.org, March 21, 2005. URL accessed June 25, 2006
  14. ^ Oldham War Memorial Public Monument and Sculpture Association - URL accessed June 28, 2006
  15. ^ The Town & Borough of Oldham - Contemporary Oldham, www.manchester2002-uk.com, September 10, 2003, URL accessed June 26, 2006
  16. ^ Town Centre Redevelopment Oldham.gov.uk. URL accessed October 1, 2006.
  17. ^ Population Statistics for Oldham (See page 3). URL accessed June 28, 2006
  18. ^ Field hospital for binge drinkers, www.paramedic.org.uk, February 2005. URL accessed June 28, 2006
  19. ^ The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame retrieved Sept 18, 2006.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 53°32′N 2°07′W

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