Delph
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Delph is a village in the Saddleworth parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England.[1][2] With a population of around 2,000,[citation needed] Delph is approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) northeast of Oldham, and largely consists of a variety of stone-built cottages nestled in a valley of the Pennine hills.
The centre of the village has barely changed from the 19th century, when a number of small textile mills provided employment for the local community.
The etymology of Delph is derived from the Old English word 'Delf', meaning a quarry and refers to the bakestone quarries which lay at the lower end of the Castleshaw Valley just north of the village.[citation needed]
Bakestones were quarried as tiles up to three quarters of an inch thick and used to bake oatcakes and muffins. The industry was in existence well before 1330 and only died out in 1930.[citation needed]
The village is home to the most popular of the Saddleworth Whit Friday brass band contests,[citation needed] with in the region of seventy-five bands from across the country marching down the main street at five minute intervals on the evening of the contest which often continues into the early hours.
The main street running through the centre of Delph was used in some of the external shots of the 2001 feature film The Parole Officer, starring Steve Coogan, Om Puri and Jenny Agutter. Delph was also used in the filming of the Whit Friday scene in the 1996 film Brassed Off.
[edit] References
- ^ "Official British Place Name Archives - Saddleworth", Greater Manchester County Records Office - URL accessed September 29, 2006.
- ^ Greater Manchester Ward and Borough map, Boundary Commission for England, July 2006. URL accessed October 27, 2006.
[edit] External links
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