Audenshaw
Encyclopedia
Audenshaw is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside
Tameside
The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and spans the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge. Its western...

, in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is located on the east side of the River Tame
River Tame, Greater Manchester
The River Tame flows through Greater Manchester, England.-Source:The Tame rises on Denshaw Moor in Greater Manchester, close to the border with West Yorkshire but within the historic West Riding of Yorkshire.-Course:...

, along the course of both the M60 motorway
M60 motorway
The M60 motorway, or Manchester Orbital, is an orbital motorway circling Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It passes through all Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolton...

 and the Ashton Canal
Ashton Canal
The Ashton Canal is a canal built in Greater Manchester in North West England.-Route:The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie St. Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for through 18 locks, passing through Ancoats, Holt Town, Bradford-with-Beswick, Clayton, Openshaw, Droylsden,...

, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) southwest of Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...

 and 4.9 miles (7.9 km) east of the city of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

. As at the United Kingdom Census 2001
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

, Audenshaw had a population of 13,000.

The name Audenshaw is a corruption of its earlier name Aldwinshagh which derives from Aldwin, a Saxon
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

 personal name, combined with the Old English suffix shagh meaning woodland. Nico Ditch
Nico Ditch
Nico Ditch is a six mile long linear earthwork running between Ashton-under-Lyne and Stretford in Greater Manchester, England. It may have been dug as a defensive fortification, but more likely it was intended to be a boundary marker...

, an early-medieval
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...

 linear earthwork possibly built as a defensive barrier against Vikings, runs through the area. During the Middle Ages, Audenshaw was a division of the township
Township (England)
In England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...

 of Ashton
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...

, in the county of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. Audenshaw's urbanisation and expansion largely coincided with developments in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution
Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution
The industrial revolution changed the nature of work and society. Opinion varies as to the exact date, but it is estimated that the First Industrial Revolution took place between 1750 and 1850, and the second phase or Second Industrial Revolution between 1860 and 1900. The three key drivers in...

 and the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

. In the 1870s, many of Audenshaw's inhabitants were employed in hat-making, cotton-spinning, calico-printing, and silk-weaving. In 1894 this area became Audenshaw Urban District and in the poor law union
Poor Law Union
A Poor Law Union was a unit used for local government in the United Kingdom from the 19th century. The administration of the Poor Law was the responsibility of parishes, which varied wildly in their size, populations, financial resources, rateable values and requirements...

 of Ashton-under-Lyne. In 1974 it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside.

History

The name Audenshaw is a corruption of its earlier name Aldwinshagh which derives from Aldwin, a Saxon
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

 personal name, combined with the Old English suffix shagh meaning woodland.

Nico Ditch
Nico Ditch
Nico Ditch is a six mile long linear earthwork running between Ashton-under-Lyne and Stretford in Greater Manchester, England. It may have been dug as a defensive fortification, but more likely it was intended to be a boundary marker...

, a medieval linear earthwork
Earthworks (engineering)
Earthworks are engineering works created through the moving or processing of quantities of soil or unformed rock.- Civil engineering use :Typical earthworks include roads, railway beds, causeways, dams, levees, canals, and berms...

, runs through the area. Stretching 6 miles (9.7 km) from Ashton Moss in the east to just east of Stretford
Stretford
Stretford is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Lying on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, it is to the southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Salford and northeast of Altrincham...

 in the west, the origin of the ditch is unclear. According to legend, it was completed in a single night by the inhabitants of Manchester, as a protection against Viking invaders in 869–870, and that it was the site of a bloody battle between Saxons and Danes and that Gorton
Gorton
Gorton is an area of the city of Manchester, in North West England. It is located to the southeast of Manchester city centre. Neighbouring areas include Longsight and Levenshulme....

 and Reddish
Reddish
Reddish is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of Stockport and southeast of Manchester...

 got their name from the battle, "Gore Town" and"Red-Ditch". Despite the legend, the U-shape of the ditch – as opposed to the usual V-shape of military earthworks – and the absence of an associated bank indicates that Nico Ditch was probably a boundary marker. Although it is thought to be earlier, the earliest documented reference to Nico Ditch is in a charter detailing the granting of land in Audenshaw to the monks of the Kersal Cell. In the document, dating from 1190 to 1212, the ditch is referred to as "Mykelldiche", and a magnum fossatum, Latin for "large ditch".

In 1877, part of the original village of Audenshaw was demolished to make way for the three Audenshaw Reservoirs
Audenshaw Reservoirs
The Audenshaw Reservoirs were constructed between 1877 and 1882 by Manchester Corporation. They are located in the townships of Audenshaw and Denton, Greater Manchester, in northern England. Their construction was overseen by John Frederick Bateman. Part of the original village of Audenshaw was...

. Also destroyed to allow the construction of the reservoirs was a section of Nico Ditch.

Governance

During the Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...

 Audenshaw is supposed to have been a
thanage
Thanage
A thanage was an area of land held by a thegn in Anglo-Saxon England.Thanage can also denote the rank held by such a thegn....

 held by Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

, but following the Norman conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...

 fell within the historic county boundaries
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...

 of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, and noted as a division of Ashton
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...

, an ancient township
Township (England)
In England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...

 and parish within the hundred of Salford
Salford (hundred)
The hundred of Salford was an ancient division of the historic county of Lancashire, in Northern England. It was sometimes known as Salfordshire, the name alluding to its judicial centre being the township of Salford...

. The division of Audenshaw spanned the village of Audenshaw, and the outlying settlements of Danehead, Hooleyhill, Littlemoss, North-street, Walkmill, Waterhouses and Woodhouses. This arrangement persisted until the creation of Audenshaw's first local authority, a local board of health
Local board of health
Local Boards or Local Boards of Health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate slaughterhouses and ensure the proper supply of water to their...

 in 1870. Audenshaw Local Board of Health was a regulatory body responsible for standards of hygiene and sanitation in the locality. Under the Local Government Act 1894
Local Government Act 1894
The Local Government Act 1894 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888...

, the area of the local board became the Audenshaw Urban District, a local government district in the Ashton-under-Lyne Poor Law Union
Poor Law Union
A Poor Law Union was a unit used for local government in the United Kingdom from the 19th century. The administration of the Poor Law was the responsibility of parishes, which varied wildly in their size, populations, financial resources, rateable values and requirements...

 and administrative county
Administrative counties of England
Administrative counties were a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888 as the areas for which county councils were elected. Some large counties were divided into several administrative...

 of Lancashire. Under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

, the Audenshaw Urban District was abolished, and Milnrow has, since 1 April 1974, formed an unparished area
Unparished area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish. Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparished. Many towns and some cities in otherwise rural districts are also unparished areas and therefore no longer have a town council or city...

 of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, within the Metropolitan county
Metropolitan county
The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million...

 of Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

.

Audenshaw is represented in Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 by the Denton and Reddish constituency. Since its creation in 1983, the constituency has been held by the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

, and the current Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 is Andrew Gwynne
Andrew Gwynne
Andrew John Gwynne is a British Labour Party politician and has been the Member of Parliament for Denton and Reddish since 2005, replacing the retiring Andrew Bennett.-Early life:...

 who gained 57.4% of the vote at the United Kingdom general election, 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....

.

Geography

At 53°28′27.5"N 2°6′44"W (53.4743°, −2.1122°), 160 miles (257 km) north-northwest of central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...

 and 5 miles (8 km) east of Manchester, Audenshaw stands at the head of the Dane valley. Guide Bridge
Guide Bridge
Guide Bridge is an area of Audenshaw, in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, Guide Bridge formed as a village built around an eponymous bridge over the Ashton Canal and lies west of the town of Ashton-under-Lyne.-History:Industries...

 is an area of Audenshaw
Audenshaw
Audenshaw is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is located on the east side of the River Tame, along the course of both the M60 motorway and the Ashton Canal, southwest of Ashton-under-Lyne and east of the city of Manchester...

.

Demography

Audenshaw compared
2001 UK census Audenshaw Tameside England
Total population 12,790 213,043 49,138,831
White 96.5% 91.2% 91%
Asian 1.6% 5.6% 4.6%
Black 0.3% 1.2% 2.3%

According to the Office for National Statistics
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...

, at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

, Audenshaw had a population of 12,790. The 2001 population density was 10860 PD/sqmi, with a 100 to 93.2 female-to-male ratio. Of those over 16 years old, 28.4% were single (never married), 43.3% married, and 8.8% divorced. Audenshaw's 5,260 households included 29.0% one-person, 38.5% married couples living together, 8.8% were co-habiting
Cohabitation
Cohabitation usually refers to an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married...

 couples, and 11.4% single parents with their children. Of those aged 16–74, 33.4% had no academic qualifications
National Qualifications Framework
The National Qualifications Framework is a credit transfer system developed for qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....

, similar to the Tameside average (35.2%), but above that of England (28.9%).

In 1951 the breakdown of social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...

 in Audenshaw was recorded as 22.7% middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....

 and 19.3% working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...

. By 1971, this had changed to 23.4 middle class and 17.2% working class. The rest of the population was made up of clerical workers and skilled manual workers.

As of the 2001 UK census, 80.28% of Audenshaw's residents reported themselves as being Christian, 1.1% Muslim, 0.6% Hindu, 0.3% Buddhist, and 0.1% Sikh. The census recorded 11.0% as having no religion, 0.2% had an alternative religion and 6.7% did not state their religion.

Population change

Population growth
Population growth
Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....

 in Audenshaw since 1801
Year 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1939 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
Population 2,275 2,772 3,781 4,891 5,374 5,427 6,327 7,024 7,308 7,958 7,216 7,977 7,876 8,461 12,015 12,661 12,122 11,901 10,771 13,173 12,790
Source:A Vision of Britain through Time

Economy

Audenshaw compared
2001 UK Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

Audenshaw Tameside England
Population of working age 9,151 152,313 35,532,091
Full time employment 45.9% 43.5% 40.8%
Part time employment 11.9% 11.5% 11.8%
Self employed 6.8% 6.5% 8.3%
Unemployed 2.8% 3.3% 3.3%
Retired 13.5% 13.3% 13.5%

Prior to the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

, the main occupation in Audenshaw was that of farming. The earliest recorded agriculture in the Tameside area was in Audenshaw in the period 1190–1212. As was the case in neighbouring Denton
Denton, Greater Manchester
Denton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is five miles to the east of Manchester city centre, and has a population of 26,866....

, in the 19th century most of Audenshaw's residents were occupied in the hatting industry, the manufacture of cotton and silk, and calico printing.

According to the 2001 UK census, the industry of employment Audenshaw's residents aged 16–74 was 20.3% manufacturing, 18.7% retail and wholesale, 10.1% property and business services, 9.0% health and social work, 8.2% construction, 6.8% transport and communications, 6.3% education, 6.2% public administration, 5.2% finance, 3.8% hotels and restaurants, 0.9% energy and water supply, 0.4% agriculture, 0.1% mining, and 4.0% other. Compared with national figures, the town had a relatively high percentage of residents working in manufacturing (14.8% in England).

The census recorded the economic activity of residents aged 16–74, 2.2% students were with jobs, 3.0% students without jobs, 4.7% looking after home or family, 6.5% permanently sick or disabled, and 2.7% economically inactive for other reasons.

Landmarks

There are nine Grade II listed buildings in Audenshaw, although no Grade I or II*. These include two lodges which were originally a single barn, a trough and pillar, and St Stephen's Church. The church was constructed in 1846, at a cost of £2,900 (£ as of ) and provided space for a congregation of 750. Ryecroft Hall, a Grade II listed building, was donated to the people of Audenshaw by the local Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

, Austin Hopkinson
Austin Hopkinson
Austin Hopkinson JP was a British industrialist and Member of Parliament for constituencies in present-day Greater Manchester who was notable for rejecting membership of political parties and sitting as an Independent member. He represented Mossley from 1918 to 1929 and 1931 to 1945...

 in 1921.

The war memorial at the entrance to Audenshaw Cemetery is also a Grade II listed building and commemorates the 140 men from Audenshaw who lost their lives in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Standing 15 feet (4.6 m), it features a bronze statue of a soldier standing on top of a square column. There are slabs of black granite on the fours sides of the column with the names of the deceased. Unveiled in 1920 before a 10,000 strong crowd, it cost £1,300 (£ as of ).

Education

There are two nursery school
Nursery school
A nursery school is a school for children between the ages of one and five years, staffed by suitably qualified and other professionals who encourage and supervise educational play rather than simply providing childcare...

s, five primary schools, and one secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

 in Audenshaw. Opened in 1932 as Audenshaw Grammar School for Boys, Audenshaw School
Audenshaw School
Audenshaw School is a male-only secondary school in Audenshaw, Greater Manchester, England, established in 1932 as Audenshaw Grammar School. An adjoining co-educational sixth form college was opened in 1997, the same year the school was granted foundation school status...

 is now the only secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

 in the town. In 2008, the school was the most successful in the borough in terms of proportion of pupils attaining five or more A*–C grades at General Certificate of Secondary Education
General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...

 (GCSE) including maths and English (64% in Audenshaw School compared with the average of 41.8% for Tameside and 47.6% for England) and most points per pupil at A-level
GCE Advanced Level
The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...

. It is a specialist technology college
Technology College
Technology College is a term used in the United Kingdom for a secondary specialist school that focuses on design and technology, mathematics and science. These were the first type of specialist schools, beginning in 1994. In 2008 there were 598 Technology Colleges in England, of which 12 also...

. Until 1964, secondary education was also provided by Poplar Street School which was built in 1914, although its primary school still exists.

See also


External links

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