Saddleworth

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham formed by a collection of villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills, in North West England. Historically part of Yorkshire, it is today part of Greater Manchester.^[1][2]

Saddleworth is situated directly east of the large town of Oldham, eleven miles (17.6 km) east-northeast of the City of Manchester, though is itself broadly rural. According to the 2001 census, Saddleworth, which makes up around half of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in terms of area, had a population of 24,351,^[3] making it one of the larger civil parishes in the United Kingdom.

Saddleworth was for centuries, a centre of woollen cloth production. Its character and appearance has changed little since the 19th century, and strong cultural links with Yorkshire remain amongst some sections of its communities.^[4]

[edit] Geography and administration

Saddleworth makes up around 52 % (29.4 square miles (76.1 km²)) of the entire Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in terms of area, and remains largely rural.

Bounded directly to the west by Oldham, Lees and Shaw and Crompton, Saddleworth is twelve miles (19.3 km) southwest of Huddersfield.

[edit] Civic history

Although on the western side of the Pennine watershed, Saddleworth, or Quick as it was once known, has lain within the historic county boundaries of Yorkshire since the middle ages. From a very ancient time, the area formed part of the Agbrigg Wapentake, in the "Land of the King in Eurvicsire" (Yorkshire).^[5]

For a time, during the 17th century, Saddleworth constituted a chapelry in the ancient parish of Rochdale in Salfordshire, which was otherwise entirely in the ancient county of Lancashire.^[1]

In 1866 it became a civil parish in its own right and in 1889 became part of the administrative county of the West Riding of Yorkshire. In 1894 the parish's boundaries were altered somewhat, with the parts in Quickmere Middle Division (Springhead), Mossley and Uppermill becoming Urban Districts. The residue became a single-parish rural district.

In 1900 the boundaries were changed again with the inclusion of Uppermill, and the single-parish rural district being instead replaced by the "Saddleworth Urban District".^[6] In 1937 it incorporated Springhead Urban District.^[6]

Under the Local Government Act 1972, the West Riding of Yorkshire was abolished^[7] and Saddleworth was incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester.^[1]

Unlike neighbouring Shaw and Crompton, Saddleworth is a Successor parish, and thus was automatically granted civil parish status in 1974 when its urban district status was abolished.

[edit] Parliamentary representation

Saddleworth forms part of the Oldham East and Saddleworth parliamentary constituency, of which the Member of Parliament is Phil Woolas.

It is split into two electoral wards; Saddleworth East and Saddleworth West. Saddleworth East being the larger of the two.

[edit] History

[edit] Early history

The first documentary evidence of Saddleworth appears in the Doomsday Book in which it is referred to as "Quick", spelt "Thoac"; where it is described as "Land of the King in Eurvicsire (Yorkshire), Agbrigg Wapentake."^[5]

The history of the region clearly dates further back than the Doomsday book however. Place names derived from Celtic and Anglian dialects, along with the discovery of flint arrowheads and gold Viking rings all point to a much earlier Saddleworth, possibly as old as the Stone Age. Furthermore, there is a Roman road running through the area and a Roman Camp at Castleshaw.

[edit] Industrial Saddleworth

Saddleworth Viaduct was build originally to ease the transporting of goods during the Industrial Revolution, as was the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, which passes under it.

The steep slopes of the Saddleworth area and the acidic soils of the region have never been particularly conducive to intensive farming; meaning that long before the Victorian era, Saddleworth already had a long established, albeit domestic, textile tradition. Small, basic mills had been existent in Saddleworth before the industrial revolution, but these were increasingly replaced by larger more intensive establishments. So much so that by the end of Queen Victoria's reign, mechanized textile production had become a vital part of the local economy.

The boom in industry that had occurred in Saddleworth during the Industrial Revolution called for greater transport links. The Huddersfield Narrow Canal was begun in 1794 at the height of 'Canal Mania', connecting Huddersfield to Stalybridge via Saddleworth and completed seventeen years later in 1811; when the Standedge Canal Tunnel at Diggle was finally opened. The decline of canals and the rise of steam powered locomotives left the canal falling behind the competition, and so it was decided that a railway tunnel would be built parallel to the canal, which was completed in 1848. The rise in traffic demanded a second tunnel be built, completed in 1871. Both of these were single line tunnels and eventually superseded by the 1894 tunnel, a double line tunnel, which is the only one of the three still regularly carrying passengers.

Unlike the rest of the Oldham Metropolitan Borough, where the architecture was generally constructed from Accrington redbrick, Saddleworth's textiles mills and supporting infrastructure was made from stone.^[8]

[edit] Identity

Since the local government reforms of 1974, some people of Saddleworth have been uneasy about their primary geographic reference frame, with parts of the local community feel aggrieved at Saddleworth forming part of Greater Manchester. Saddleworth, where the local architecture of stone cottages is markedly Yorksharian, is the only part of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham to come from the historic county boundaries of Yorkshire, the rest being from Lancashire. It is also the only part of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester to lie within these borders. Greater Manchester is a based on the conurbation of towns surrounding the city of Manchester. However, Saddleworth is highly rural and is at the far reaches, if even part of, the Greater Manchester conurbation.

The Saddleworth White Rose Society organise events every Yorkshire Day (1 August) to promote their contention that Saddleworth remains part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The Prince of Wales referred to Saddleworth's continuing Yorkshire status when he visited the area in 2001 saying "The fact that Saddleworth is still part of the historic West Riding is extremely important".^[9]

In 2004, public meetings were held to discuss the feasibility of splitting Saddleworth from the Borough of Oldham. Some residents at the time said they would prefer to become part of the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire or a new South Pennine authority, connecting rural towns and villages on both sides of the border. Even though such a move could involve merging with the neighbouring Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, Oldham councillors maintained the split was not feasible as Saddleworth does not have sufficient hospital provision, civic buildings, transport, schooling nor other infrastructure in its own right. Councillor Ken Hulme arranged a meeting for the matter to be discussed. One councillor remarked "They [Saddleworth] want a bigger slice of the pie than the rest of the borough. The people of the rest of Oldham are not going to subsidise Saddleworth, and Saddleworth can't go it alone. It couldn't afford to provide the services it needs."^[10]

[edit] Villages

The backwoods of Delph

Saddleworth contains a collection of villages and hamlets, including:

• Austerlands
• Castleshaw
• Delph
• Denshaw
• Diggle
• Dobcross
• Friezland
• Grasscroft
• Greenfield
• Grotton
• Heights
• Lydgate
• Scouthead
• Springhead
• Uppermill

[edit] Culture

[edit] Whit Friday

Saddleworth Beer Walk in Delph, 2006

Saddleworth has a large number of annual customs and traditions, many of which are held during Whitsuntide. On Whit Friday morning, congregations from the churches of all of the Saddleworth villages hold their Walk of Witness and congregate in Uppermill to take part in a religious service. Later in the evening, the Whit Friday brass band contests take place. The band contests originated in Saddleworth and the nearby towns of Mossley and Stalybridge and are still centered on the local area. Bands from around the country travel to the area annually to compete. Due to the huge popularity of the event, Whit Friday band contests are now held in others of Saddleworth's surrounding towns.

[edit] Beer Walk

On the following Saturday, the Saddleworth Beer Walk is held. This is a fundraising event where participants walk around Saddleworth in fancy dress, stopping off at many of Saddleworth's pubs along the way for half a pint of beer or lager. Spectators are encouraged to give money to the participants for charity. It is organised by the Saddleworth branch of the Round Table.

[edit] Rushcart

Each year, on the second Saturday and Sunday after August 12th (the old Saddleworth "Wakes Week"), the Saddleworth Rushcart takes place. In 1975 a team of local lads formed the Saddleworth Morris Men and the first modern Rushcart was built for the first festival. This has now become the largest Festival of Morris Dancing in the whole of the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Notable residents

Dobcross is the birthplace to inventors, the Platt Brothers, who were pioneers of the mechanisation of textile manufacture.

Progressive rock band Barclay James Harvest come from Saddleworth.

Saddleworth’s craggy moorland provided the cliffs that springboard careers for internationally renown Alpinist/Climbers Kevin Thaw of Uppermill and Paul Braithwaite, Denshaw. Paul & son Tom currently compete and rank in International Mountain Biking events.

[edit] Note

The Moors Murderers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady buried their victims on Saddleworth Moor. The body of Keith Bennett, the killers' third victim, has never been found.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Anon. A select gazetteer of local government areas, Greater Manchester County. Greater Manchester County Records Office. Retrieved on April 5, 2007.
2. ^ Greater Manchester Ward and Borough map. Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved on April 5, 2007.
3. ^ United Kingdom Census 2001. Saddleworth CP (Parish). neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved on April 5, 2007.
4. ^ Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (2002). Borough Profile: Oldham]. Retrieved on April 5, 2007.
5. ^ ^{a b} (1994) The Saddleworth Story, 5th, 10. 
6. ^ ^{a b} A Vision of Britain through Time. Saddleworth UD. Retrieved on April 5, 2007.
7. ^ A Vision of Britain through time. West Riding. Retrieved on April 5, 2007.
8. ^ Saddleworth Villages, visitoldham.co.uk. URL accessed March 26, 2007.
9. ^ David McKie: Elsewhere,The Guardian 23 September 2004
10. ^ Who's for the Republic of Saddleworth?, Oldham Advertiser, December 15, 2004. URL accessed October 27, 2006.

[edit] External links

• Saddleworth White Rose Society
• Saddleworth Online
• Saddleworth.org.uk
• Virtual Saddleworth
• Saddleworth Historical Society
• Saddleworth Museum