Mills Hill

Old Cock Inn, Middleton, close to Mills Hill

Mills Hill
Mills Hill  Mills Hill shown within Greater Manchester
OS grid reference	SD 88847 06031
Metropolitan borough	Oldham and Rochdale,
Metropolitan county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	OLDHAM and MANCHESTER
Postcode district	OL1, OL9 and M24
Dialling code	0161
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Oldham West and Royton and Heywood and Middleton
List of places UK England Greater Manchester

Coordinates: 53°33′03″N 2°10′11″W / 53.550788°N 2.1698011°W / 53.550788; -2.1698011

Mills Hill Railway Bridge

The Rose Of Lancaster, first licensed in 1803

Terraced houses on Mills Hill Road

Rochdale Canal at Middleton Road, Mills Hill

Mills Hill is an industrial and residential area that lies on the common border of Middleton and Chadderton in Greater Manchester.

It lies 1.3 miles east of Middleton town centre and 1.4 miles to the west of central Chadderton. It is contiguous with Middleton Junction, Moorclose, Firwood Park and Chadderton Park.

Mills Hill railway station is located in this area.

History

Until the mid 1800s the area surrounding Mills Hill was mainly farmland with very few dwellings,now dissected by the Rochdale Canal which opened in 1804 and the railway which opened in 1839. The Middleton to Oldham turnpike road was constructed and passed though Mills Hill around 1810. The Rose of Lancaster public house on Haigh Lane opened at the new canal during this period. An inn sign was first recorded in 1803.^[1][2][3]

At this time the western part of Mills Hill lay in the township of Tonge, a township that was abolished and incorporated into the Municipal Borough of Middleton in 1894. Mills Hill was recorded as being the highest point of that township at 360 ft above sea level.^[4]

The municipal boundary runs between the canal and the railway line, and because of this, Mills Hill is on the outskirts of both Middleton and Chadderton. There are no strong allegiances to either town and this gave rise, particularly in the days before public road transport, to a strong sense of community independence.^[5]

There had long been a cottage industry of handloom weaving in these parts. The damp climate due to the proximity of the Pennine hills is ideal for spinning and weaving as it gives strength and stability to the thread.

There was a fulling mill called Walk Mill by the canal – fulling was a finishing process for the woollen cloth. Silk weaving flourished in the area too. Walk Mill was also the site of one of the areas oldest public houses, the Duke of Bridgewater, first licensed in 1842. The pub closed on 5 April 1956.^{[6] [7][8]}

Mills Hill Baptist Church and Sunday School was founded in 1845, the current church building being on Mills Hill Road.^[9] The church initially used a room formerly a barn behind Mills Hill House for worship and Sunday School work. A new building was erected on land next to Mills Hill House in 1849.

Chadderton School Board took over the running of the school in 1894, leasing the building from the Trustees of the Church, and a new school building was opened in 1902. The Infant Department was separated from the Mixed Department in June 1905, and the Infants and Mixed Departments were amalgamated on 1 December 1922.

The Day School was closed in 1939 and the children transferred to Mills Hills Primary school on Baytree Avenue.^[10]

The cotton boom in the mid 19th century saw a substantial mill district grow in the area of Mills Hill Road and the Rochdale Canal. The Boundary Mill, built in 1860, stood at right angles to the road where the Waterford Dairy (ex Co-op) now stands (it was demolished in the early 1930s). Next to the Boundary Mill site is the Malta built in 1905, which ceased production in 1963 and now stands empty.

The Laurel Mill further down, was built in 1905, and ceased production two years after Courtaulds bought it in 1964. During the war it was annexed by A. V. Roe for aircraft parts manufacture. The Baytree Mill, next to it, was a fine spinning mill until 1959. These two mills with their massive floor areas were used for other trades, storage and distribution until quite recently.^[11][12]

In 1933 there were exchanges of land in the Mills Hill area between the Chadderton Urban District and the Municipal Borough of Middleton. To the north of Mills Hill 78 acres to the west of the railway and north of the River Irk, including Scowcroft Farm, was transferred into Middleton. A smaller area consisting of 9 acres between Mills Hill Road and the Rochdale Canal was transferred to Chadderton.^[13][14]

The current railway bridge at Mills Hill dates from 1934, replacing an older bridge dating to 1839. The new bridge allowed for double deck trams and buses to operate from Middleton to Chadderton for the first time.^[15]

Transport

First Greater Manchester provide the following bus services-

58 to Middleton and to Rochdale via Chadderton, Oldham, Heyside, Shaw and Milnrow.

59 to Manchester city centre via Middleton and Cheetham Hill and to Rushcroft via Chadderton, Oldham, Heyside and Shaw.

12- Circular service to Middleton via Moorclose and Boarshaw.

412 to Middleton and to Oldham via Royton.

Manchester Community Transport operates service 419 to Middleton and to Ashton-under-Lyne via Chadderton, Werneth and Bardsley.^[16]

Mills Hill railway station offers train services to Manchester and beyond and to Leeds.

References

External links

Mills Hill Baptist Church - http://www.millshillbaptistchurch.org/index.html

Genuki.org: Mills Hill Baptist Church - http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Chadderton/MillsHillRdBaptist.shtml

Mills Hill Primary School - http://www.millshill.oldham.sch.uk/home/Neighbouringlocalities.BoarshawStakeHillChaddertonFoldTongeChaddertonParkWest MillsHill EastMoorcloseMiddletonJunctionFirwoodPark