Tandle Hill

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The Royton War Memorial at Tandle Hill

Tandle Hill Country Park is a country park in the town of Royton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It consists of approximately 110 acres, a combination of beech woodland and open grassland. The park contains a countryside centre (opened in 1994), picnic areas, children’s play area and numerous trails and paths into the surrounding area. It is a popular route for walkers in the region. Two countryside rangers are based at the countryside centre. In fine weather conditions, it offers views of Manchester and even the Welsh mountains.

1 History of the Park
2 War Memorial
3 Trivia
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History of the Park

Initially, Tandle Hill Park was part of the Thornham Estate and a private game reserve. It was sold in 1861 and came into the ownership of Joseph Milne, whose wife later sold the park to Norris Bradbury, a Royton councillor. Bradbury gifted the park to the people of Royton in 1919 as a peace offering at the end of the First World War. A granite marker stands near the Oozewood entrance to the park, and its inscription reads:

‘Tandle Hill Park and Woods. These grounds are the gift of Norris Bradbury Esq J.P. of Tynwald Mount, Shaw Road Royton as a thank offering for peace after the Great European War 1914-1919. 6th September 1919.”

Tandle Hill was formally designated as a Country Park on 1 July 1971.

[edit] War Memorial

The war memorial commemorating the men of Royton who died during the First World War stands at the highest point in the park, and was unveiled on 22 October 1921 by the Earl of Derby. Originally the memorial, which is constructed from Portland stone, bore plaques listing the fallen and a bronze statue. The original plaques were stolen in 1969, and replacements were later installed in the grounds of St Paul’s Church, Royton.

[edit] Trivia

Tandle Hill is mentioned in one of the Alan Partridge shows for BBC Radio 4.^[1] Alan recalls ascending the hill during a cross-country run. Partridge's creator Steve Coogan grew up in Middleton, though Alan himself was supposedly from Norwich.