Royton
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| Royton | ||
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| Statistics | ||
| Population: | 20,961 (2001 census) | |
| Ordnance Survey | ||
| OS grid reference: | SD919078 | |
| 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: | OL2 | |
| Dialling code: | 0161 | |
| Politics | ||
| UK Parliament: | Oldham West and Royton | |
| European Parliament: | North West England | |
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Royton is a small town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England.[1][2] Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire, it is situated between the larger towns of Oldham and Rochdale and is bounded by Chadderton to the south and Shaw and Crompton to the north.
Royton has the distinction of being the world's first town where a cotton mill was built; at Thorp in 1764.[3][4][5] It was also the town where Britain's last mill Elk hailed as the most modern in the world was built in 1926, but demolished in 1999.[6]
Today Royton is a predominently residential town.
Contents |
[edit] Geography and administration
From 1918 to 1950, Royton formed its own Royton Parliamentary constituency.
Royton has formed part of the Oldham West and Royton parliamentary constituency and since 1997, is represented in the House of Commons by Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Michael Meacher. Royton has two of the twenty wards of the wider Oldham Borough: Royton North and Royton South.
[edit] History
Once a thriving cotton spinning region with its own town hall and shopping centre, Royton has suffered something of a loss of identity since the demise of the cotton industry.[citation needed] Nevertheless, it is believed by many to be one of the more desirable areas around Oldham,[citation needed] the eastern parts of the area in particular having some attractive housing, framed by green belt countryside. Royton is conveniently placed for the M62 motorway and, in Tandle Hill Park, has one of the area's finest country parks.
[edit] Landmarks
Royton's library was donated by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 and is still a fine building and excellent resource.
Adjacent to the library and undoubtedly the focus of Royton is the town hall, with its fine clock tower, topped by a copper cupola. The tower has an unusual feature in that the clock on the North facing is noticeably smaller than the other three. The story goes that it was built this way to stop the citizens of neighbouring Shaw and Crompton enjoying Royton's civic time-piece, and to encourage them to build one of their own.[citation needed]
Royton boasts a swimming pool, an amateur cricket club, which plays in the Central Lancashire League, and Oldham Athletic Football Club's ground lies partly within Royton. Boundary Park lies at the meeting point of Royton and Chadderton, hence the name. The local athletics club is Royton Harriers.
[edit] Politics
Royton has formed part of the Oldham West and Royton parliamentary constituency and since 1997 is represented in the House of Commons by Labour MP Michael Meacher. Royton has two of the twenty wards of the wider Oldham Borough; Royton North and Royton South.
Since the riot of 2001 in Oldham, the far-right British National Party received some support in the two wards of Royton North and Royton South.
In the 2005 general election, the constituency of Oldham West and Royton was held by the Labour candidate, Michael Meacher MP, who received almost 50% of all votes. The Conservatives came second with 21.3% followed by the Liberal Democrats (20%), the British National Party (6.9%) and the United Kingdom Independence Party with 2.6%.[7]
[edit] Education
Royton has two secondary schools; Our Lady's R.C. High School and Royton and Crompton School. Royton also has several primary schools. Including Thorp Primary School, situated on Thorp Estate.
[edit] Notable Residents
Local celebrities from the Royton area include glamour model Michelle Marsh.
[edit] References
- ^ "Official British Place Name Archives - Royton", Greater Manchester County Records Office - URL accessed October 28, 2006.
- ^ Greater Manchester Ward and Borough map, Boundary Commission for England, July 2006. URL accessed October 27, 2006.
- ^ Oldham's Economic Profile - Innovation and Technology, www.oldham.gov.uk. URL accessed October 27, 2006.
- ^ NW Cotton Towns Learning Journey www.spinningtheweb.org.uk. URL accessed October 27, 2006.
- ^ Royton, www.oldhamadvertiser.co.uk. June 20, 2005. URL accessed October 27, 2006.
- ^ Royton and Crompton, www.rochdaleobserver.co.uk. URL accessed October 27, 2006.
- ^ Oldham Parliamentary Elections 2005, Oldham Council. URL accessed December 7, 2006.
