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Shaw and Crompton is a town and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England.^[1] It is ten miles (16 km) to the northeast of the City of Manchester, and two miles (3.2 km) north of Oldham.

Historically part of Lancashire, Shaw and Crompton rose to prominence during the Industrial Revolution as a major centre of 19th century cotton-spinning and textile manufacture, and at its zenith, according to the national press, had more millionaires per capita than any other town in the world.^[2][3]

Today, Shaw and Crompton is a predominantly residential town of mixed affluence, with a population of 21,721.^[4] The legacy of its industrial past can be seen in its surviving six cotton mills, all of which are home to large distribution companies such as the Littlewoods Shaw National Distribution Centre, which is a major employer in the area.

[edit] Geography and administration

The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, highlighting Shaw and Crompton in red.

Shaw and Crompton lies at the very edge of the historic Lancashire border, with Yorkshire and the Pennine hills close to the east. The larger towns of Rochdale and Oldham lie to the west and south respectively.

The River Beal runs through parts of the town.

[edit] Civic history

From 1894 to 1974, Shaw and Crompton formed its own local government district; "Crompton Urban District", and lay within the administrative county of Lancashire.^[5]

With the coming of local government reforms in 1974, the town's independent Urban District status was abolished, and Shaw and Crompton has since formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, of Greater Manchester.^[6]

Since 1987, Shaw and Crompton has had civil parish status, and its own parish council, giving it some limited local government autonomy from that of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, particularly for the granting of planning permission. The parish council elects fourteen Councillors including three local Councillors and acts as a consultee in planning processes which affect the area.

Shaw and Crompton forms part of the Oldham East and Saddleworth parliamentary constituency, which is represented in the House of Commons by Labour Member of Parliament Phil Woolas.

Shaw and Crompton Parish Emblem. This is found on the parish border markers, as well as some street furniture.

[edit] Divisions and suburbs

Shaw was originally a sub-district of Crompton, and in 1835 was noted as a chapelry in the township of Crompton, and the site to a small chapel.^[7] The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica describes Shaw as a populous village within the Crompton district.^[8] However due to the urbanisation of the area, and the establishment of a post office in the Shaw settlement,^[9] the two areas and names merged to form the present day name of "Shaw and Crompton". Currently, the area of Shaw and Crompton is commonly referred to as Shaw by local communities (and increasingly in some maps and literature); this is in contrast to former times when the area was broadly known as Crompton. This contrast can be seen on the markings of prominent historical structures, which only bear the name "Crompton".

Shaw and Crompton contains two separate political wards, appropriately named "Shaw" and "Crompton" (to the east and west respectively), and a number of residential suburbs. The most well known suburbs are High Crompton, Rushcroft, Buckstones, Clough, Jubilee, Shaw Side and Wrens Nest. Lesser known suburb names include Cowlishaw, Low Crompton, Nook, Goats, Wood End and Shore Edge.

View of Shaw and Crompton from Dog Hill, Buckstones Road with the areas of Cowlishaw, High Crompton and Ruscroft in the distance and Clough, East Crompton and Buckstones itself in the foreground. The former cotton mills belonging to Fulfilment Logistics and Littlewoods Shop Direct Group respectively, can be seen in the foreground.

[edit] History

[edit] Etymology

The name Shaw is Anglo-Saxon in origin, coming from the word "sceaga" meaning wood. The name Crompton is also Anglo-Saxon derived, and is from the words "crom"/"crumb" meaning crooked, and "ton", the Anglo-Saxon for hamlet or village.^[10]

It was stated by a notable local historian that, "this name aptly describes the appearance of the place, with its uneven surface, its numerous mounds and hills , as thought it had been crumpled up to form these ridges."^[11]

[edit] Early history

The first evidence of man in the area comes from Iron Age artefacts discovered on Crompton Moor by local archeologists. After this, a Roman road was built through the area leading from a Roman fort in neighbouring Saddleworth. The path of the road still exists and crosses Buckstones Road on the way to Grains Bar.^[12]

After the Saxon invasions, the Saxons spread west across the country, forcing the early Celtic inhabitants out of their lands. In around 620 A.D. The Saxon King of Northumbria sent an army across the Pennines into Mercia. As they marched they founded a string of hamlets ending in '-ton'- Royton, Ashton, Clayton, etc. Crompton was one of these, and so dates back to the early 7th century.^[10]

Whilst in 1076, following the Norman Conquest, the area was given to Roger de Pictaventis (maternal nephew to William the Conqueror), the first known recorded use of the name for the township of Crompton was part of legal documentation from the early 13th century, when Gilbert de Notton was granted the estate from descendants of the Norman conquest.^[13]

Some decades after this, the De La Legh family (again, descendants of the Norman conquest forces), acquired the land as theirs and later, principal landowner Hugh De La Legh saw it fit to change his family name to "de Crompton" (of Crompton), the town which he and his family both owned and resided in.

Until the Industrial Revolution, Crompton was a township made up of scattered woods, farmsteads, moorland, and swamp for a small community of local families and until 1894 was within the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham, in the Hundred of Salford.^[14]

The manufacture of wool in the area can be traced back as far as 1474, and to ensure that trade was kept buoyant, a quaint law existed from 1675 to 1814 which helped encourage Shaw and Crompton's wool production. It required that everyone was to be buried in woollen garments.^[15] However, as technologies and demands developed, the manufacture of cotton in Crompton became more important than wool, and by 1792 the woollen industry had died out, replaced by the notion of the cotton mill.^[16]

[edit] Crompton family

The Crompton family have a well documented history. Crompton first appears as a family name when the De La Legh family (settlers from the Norman conquest) changed their name to indicate the Anglo-Saxon township they had obtained and settled in during the 13th century. In turn the Crompton family name can be traced back to the time of Magna Carta to the Assize Roll for 1245.^[17]

The family were prosperous landowners of the area, and collectively had private ownership of the majority of Shaw and Crompton's land from their initial medieval acquisition, right through to the early 20th century.

The Crompton family owned a large manor by the name of Crompton Hall, on the site of Crompton Fold (more commonly known now as Buckstones). Crompton Hall first appears in historical records as early as 1442 and was owned by Thomas de Crompton and his family.

The original 'medieval' Crompton Hall was demolished c.1848. A second Crompton Hall, set in its own prominent forested grounds, was erected by the family (whom at this point were influential and affluent investors in the local cotton industry), but following the dissipation and eventual death of the last remaining family members, the site was sold off and the manor was demolished in 1950 to make way for an exclusive development of bungalows.

Some of the original forested grounds of Crompton Hall can still be found in the Buckstones area today, and is a small but popular public woods. The legacy of the Cromptons is still apparent today in the area with Crompton House Church of England High School still bearing the Crompton family name (rather than the address it occupies).

A map of Shaw and Crompton from 1851. Although this map demonstrates how rural the area was at this time, there is evidence of cotton mills and heavy industry. Many features, such as place names and roads exist to this day.

[edit] Industrial Revolution and cotton

Shaw and Crompton owes much of its history to the Industrial Revolution, particularly with 19th century cotton spinning, which provided the area with rapid expansion, prosperity and economic growth - so much so, that by 1913, Shaw and Crompton had one-sixth of the spindles of the wider Oldham district, and in part due to the high-productivity and financial prudence of local townsfolk, had more millionaires per capita than any other town in the world.^[18] From 1919 through 1921 Shaw and Crompton was, the wealthiest town in the world, and was home to more Rolls Royce cars than any other place in the world.

The damp climate of Shaw and Crompton provided ideal conditions with which cotton spinning could be performed without the cotton drying and breaking. Newly established 19th century technologies and mechanisation optimised cotton-spinning for mass production for the global market. In combination with Oldham, the area was responsible for 13% of the world's cotton production.^[19]

The global demand for cotton goods from the Oldham area allowed expansion both industrially and residentially. In 1801 the township had a population of 3,482, but by 1911, Shaw and Crompton had a considerable population of 14,750. The number of cotton mills in the small township peaked at a staggering thirty six mills in 1920.^[20] However, events following the First World War and new competition from abroad led to a severe depression in the British cotton industry and thus production in the area declined to an eventual halt. The final cotton to be spun in Shaw and Crompton was in 1989 in Lilac and Park mills.^[21]

Dawn Mill, (built 1901), is typical of Shaw and Crompton's red brick cotton mills. The structure was demolished in Autumn 2006.

[edit] Mills

Main article: List of Shaw and Crompton Mills

History has documented no less than forty eight separate textile mills gracing the Shaw and Crompton skyline over the last three centuries. Today, only six of them still exist with four of those having survived for over a century; the oldest being the Duke Mill remaining firm on its foundation stone since 1883. Below is a table outlining all of the documented mills seen in Shaw and Crompton since the mid-18th century.^[22]

Two cottage mills are also known to have existed, named Holebottom and Millcroft. Little is known about them except that Holebottom was built in the mid 17th century but wasn't demolished until around 300 years later.

[edit] Demographics

According to census data, in 2001 Shaw and Crompton had a population of 21,721. Around 3 % of Shaw and Crompton's population is from a Black and Minority Ethnic background (which includes a small but long established community of Bangladeshi heritage), the rest being of White background.^[23] Below is a table outlining population growth of the area since 1901, though it was recorded that the area had a population of 7,032 in c.1871.^[24]

[edit] Landmarks

Despite its comparative small size with nearby towns, Shaw and Crompton boasts some important local landmarks, including a magnificent War memorial.

[edit] Crompton War Memorials

[edit] First and Second World Wars

Crompton War Memorial.

The main Crompton War Memorial, located on High Street, consists of a Scottish granite plinth surmounted by a large bronze statue flanked by two Rolls of Honour containing the 346 names of those from Shaw and Crompton who fought and died in World War I. Panels listing the Roll of Honour from World War II were added and unveiled on November 12, 1950 by Councillor H. M. Turner.

Commissioned by the Crompton War Memorial Committee, the statue was conceptualised in 1919 by Richard Reginald Goulden, and unveiled on April 29, 1923 by General Sir Ian Hamilton. The original cost for the memorial alone was GBP£ 4,000, but the total cost, including site and layout, was about GBP£ 6,067.^[25]

The inscription on the memorial reads:

The symbolic memorial depicts a group in which the central figure is a man defending the future generations, represented by young children, against foreign aggression, represented by a beast.

The memorial is also a time capsual. Inside it is a lead casket containing, in addition to the usual coins and a copy of the local newspaper, three cops of spun cotton and a length of cloth manufactured within the local area.

[edit] South African War

A second, smaller war memorial is located in the park in-between Crompton Way and Westway close to the library. It's dedicated to soldiers who fought in the Second Boer War. It consists of a plaque built into a stone wall which is located in-between two large bushes.

Its inscription reads:

It then lists eight names, four of which were "killed in action", two that "died of wounds" and two that "died of disease".

Pingot Quarry, a local beauty spot featuring an un-named waterfall, at very edge of the town.

[edit] Pingot Quarry

Shaw and Crompton is the only area of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham to have a waterfall. The un-named waterfall (provisionally called Crompton Waterfall) cascades off Crompton Moor into the now unused Pingot Quarry. It is a source of the River Beal, a tributary to the River Roch.

Although Pingot Quarry is now a local beauty spot, it was, as its name suggests, a busy quarry.

[edit] Big Lamp

The "Big Lamp" was originally a six-sided gas powered public street lamp, standing 6 metres (20 ft) high at the original cross-road junction of Manchester Road, Oldham Road, High Street and Church Road.

The "Big Lamp" as seen in 2006. Crompton Moor can be seen in the background.

The original version was pulled down June 17, 1925 when electric lighting was introduced. Its absence was so evident that the adjacent public house, known as The Kings Arms, was itself renamed The Big Lamp.

Eventually during the 1990s, after redevelopment of the junction to a large roundabout to accommodate the new Crompton Way bypass, a new scaled-down replica of the original Big Lamp was erected in the centre of the roundabout. The new Big Lamp is electrically powered and stands at a height of approximately 2 metres. Once the new lamp appeared, The Big Lamp public house reverted back to its original name. Today the 'Big Lamp' term is still in regular use, even the roundabout itself is referred to as "The Big Lamp Roundabout".

Gas was used to power the majority of Shaw and Crompton's street lamps until the mid 1950s.^[10]

[edit] Present day

Alfred Street is an archtypal Victorian terraced Shaw and Crompton street. Much (but by no means all) of the area's property has remained as such since the 19th century, indicating the area's history as a Mill town. Note the Pennine terrain of the locality, and the mills in the valley behind.

Although Shaw and Crompton has lost 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 six surviving large red brick mills. These are the two Lily Mills, Newby Mill, Duke Mill, Lilac Mill and Briar Mill.

Shaw and Crompton has become a popular residential area of relative prosperity and a variety of housing types to suit families, couples, individuals and proffessionals.^[26][27] The Buckstones and Rushcroft areas contain modern housing estates with these names. These are amongst the most affluent suburbs of the town and were built as part of an agreement made during the 1950s between the then Crompton Urban District and Oldham County Borough councils to alleviate Oldham's chronic quality-housing shortages.^[28]

[edit] Industry and commerce

Supported by its convenient position between Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Lancashire and West Yorkshire, coupled with the town's good public transport and motorway links, and a supply of large, disused mill properties have made Shaw and Crompton a base for distribution companies.^[29]

Littlewoods Shaw National Distribution Centre: A major employer of the local and wider communties.

Shaw and Crompton is home to Littlewoods Shop Direct Group's Shaw National Distribution Centre, which is a major employer of the local and wider communities. The company occupies three former cotton mills and state-of-the-art purpose-built storage and sortation facilities on a twenty acre complex within the town. The site, as of 2007, is set to become the retail company's only packing and distribution centre for non-bulk items,^[30] employing nearly one thousand staff; strengthening Littlewoods Shop Direct's position as the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham's largest private employer.^[31]

In addition to Littlewoods Shop Direct, children's toy distributors Toy Options, and bakers Warburtons have distribution centres within the town.

Warburtons has had one of its eleven major bakeries in Shaw and Crompton since 1965. The "Pennine" bakery produces around 500,000 loaves a week and distributes them to major multiples and independent retailers throughout Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Derbyshire. Located on Glebe Street, it employs around 200 staff and produces a wide range of Warburtons bread products.^[32] Until the 1990s, Shaw and Crompton was the home to Osram, the international lightbulb manufacturer, which occupied Duke Mill, and was a significant employer in the area. Production has moved away from the United Kingdom, however.

[edit] Education

Almost every suburb of Shaw and Crompton is supported by a school of some kind, including some with religious denominations. All of the schools in the area perform either on or above the national average for test results. Crompton House, whilst being a secondary school for 11-16 year olds, also has an inbuilt sixth form college of further education.

East Crompton, St. James Church. Established 1847, this is one of Shaw and Crompton's parish churches, in the Diocese of Manchester.

[edit] Religion

Shaw and Crompton has three Anglican Ecclesiastic parishes (although other denominations exist in the area), named Shaw, High Crompton and East Crompton. Shaw and Crompton boasts churches of a selection of typical denominations, primarily Church of England. The buildings vary from 19th century to late 20th century, although the architects of most of the 19th century churches typically adopted an Early English Period style making them look even older than they already are. The following is a table of existing churches in Shaw and Crompton (although others have existed but since been demolished) and their founding years.

Most of the above churches participate in Shaw's annual Whit' Walks event, when congregations, choirs and brass bands parade through the streets from their respective churches to a car park opposite Shaw Market for one massive inter-church service.

[edit] Communal facilities

Crompton Pool, near the town centre is public swimming pool built in 1899 under the supervision of Crompton Urban District Council.

Shaw and Crompton has many communal areas and public facilities including public parks, sporting establishments, playing fields and public houses.

Crompton Library, is a purpose built library and is home to over 36,000 items including books, CDs and DVDs that can be borrowed by anyone who lives in the Oldham borough.^[34] It has communal Internet facilities. The library was built in the early 1990s after the original 1907 building, which exists now as a apartments on Beal Lane, became too small.

There are two main public parks in Shaw and Crompton. Dunwood Park lies alongside the Oldham Loop Railway Line and has a children's play area, bowling green and over a mile of wooded pathways. High Crompton Park is in High Crompton and is home to a tennis court, bowling green, children's play area and gardens.

Shaw and Crompton has large areas of land reserved for sporting and communal events, these are located off George Street, Edward Road and Rushcroft Road respectively.

Shaw Market, located on Westway, is open to market retailers and customers every Thursday. At other times most of the market area becomes a public car park. The market area has been occasionally used for fun fairs and other events.

Shaw and Crompton town also includes a number of public sporting establishments. Crompton Pool is a 1899 built public swimming pool on Farrow Street in the town centre and Crompton Cricket Club, is located on Glebe Street within the town.

[edit] Transport

Shaw and Crompton has had a Rail transport line and station since 1863, then it was used mostly for haulage. Today Shaw and Crompton railway station is frequented by passenger trains running between Rochdale and Manchester. After being initially rejected, plans to turn the line into part of the Manchester Metrolink were accepted by the government on July 6, 2006. Work will commence in 2008.^[35] The conversion will likely result in the decommissioning of the conventional heavy rail service on this line.

Shaw and Crompton has had public bus services since 1935. Major bus companies Stagecoach Group and First Group both hold routes that either go through major roads of Shaw and Crompton from Manchester or Rochdale or terminate in one of its suburbs (Rushcroft, Wrens Nest or Buckstones). There is also a 'Shaw Circular' route run by a small local company which serves the smaller roads of Shaw and Crompton. Bus routes in the area are co-ordinated by GMPTE.

[edit] Future developments

Demolition of 105 year old Dawn mill began in July 2006

As well as the confirmed extension of the Manchester Metrolink service through the existing railway route,^[35] Shaw and Crompton is the site of a number of proposed redevelopment schemes including plans to build a 35,000 ft² ASDA supermarket on the previous site of Dawn mill. The plans, which were put to a public vote in 2005, include 316 parking spaces, improved bus facilities on Eastway, pedestrian routes linked to Market Street, junction improvements to nearby streets and the relocation of a local tyre fitting company.^[36]

Shaw and Crompton town centre is the centre of controversy due to the successful application to convert a local venue into a lapdancing club, despite its close proximity to a primary school, nursery and an Oldham Youth club. Although proposals caused concern amongst local residents, no immediate residents complained nor the police nor the local council’s child protection unit provided representations during the formal application period.^[37] However, a legally watertight argument from the applicant, as well as assurances about security arrangements, were enough to secure licencing for the venue.^[38] The club has yet to officially open.

[edit] Filmography

Title image of 'The Fred Dibnah Story', showing Fred himself scaling Briar chimney infront of a backdrop of Shaw and Crompton centre. Circa 1978.

Shaw and Crompton has featured on a number of British television programmes and films:

• The film The Parole Officer features a scene filmed with main star Steve Coogan in a car driving along a road in Shaw, namely Grains Road. The scene is filmed near the junction of Grains Road and Buckstones Road at Dog Hill and the Shaw and Crompton skyline can be clearly seen in the background.
• The first series of the BBC's Common As Muck featured a lot of scenes filmed in the local area. Locations on Market Street, High Street, Rochdale Road and Westway were used including the Cricketers pub, Shaw Meat Centre (now Shaw Farm Produce) and Healds (now Tesco).
• Bolton celebrity steeplejack Fred Dibnah visited the cotton mills of the area as part of the BBC documentary The Fred Dibnah Story.^[39] The film included Fred's unique approach to the demolition of the Briar and Cape chimneys.

[edit] Notable residents

Shaw and Crompton is the home of Oldham-born actress Shobna Gulati, former Oldham Athletic player and manager Andy Ritchie, and is the home town of Kevin O'Toole, a founding member of dance act N-Trance. Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball also live locally, Ball himself owns farm property that overlooks the area.

Although a native of Rochdale, television and movie actress Anna Friel was a pupil at Crompton House Church of England High School, which lies in the area.^[40][41]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Crompton articles at Gen UKI
• Crompton: from the Normans to the Tudors A comprehensive historical reference site.
• Shaw and Crompton Community Pages "Putting unity into the Community"
• Shaw Cam Website featuring picture gallery, discussion boards, and live video feed of Shaw and Crompton
• Shaw Life Message board with picture galleries and articles contributed by local residents.
• SunsetOnTheDawn Website documenting the demolition of 105 year old Dawn Mill, including live video feed, and picture gallery.