Rochdale icon is a large
market townMarket town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
in
Greater ManchesterGreater 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. It lies amongst the foothills of the
PenninesThe Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
on the
River RochThe River Roch is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tributary of the River Irwell that gives Rochdale its name.-Course:...
, 5.3 miles (8.5 km) north-northwest of
OldhamOldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, and 9.8 miles (15.8 km) north-northeast of the city of
ManchesterManchester 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...
. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the
Metropolitan Borough of RochdaleThe Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...
, population 206,500. Rochdale is the largest settlement and administrative centre, with a total population of 95,796.
HistoricallyThe 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...
a part of
LancashireLancashire 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...
, Rochdale's
recorded historyRecorded history is the period in history of the world after prehistory. It has been written down using language, or recorded using other means of communication. It starts around the 4th millennium BC, with the invention of writing.-Historical accounts:...
begins with an entry in the
Domesday BookDomesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 under
Recedham Manor. The
ancient parish of RochdaleRochdale was an ecclesiastical parish of early-medieval origin in northern England, administered from the Church of St Chad, Rochdale. At its zenith, it occupied of land amongst the South Pennines, and straddled the historic county boundary between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire...
was a division of the
hundred of SalfordThe 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...
and one of the largest ecclesiastical parishes in England comprising several
townshipsIn England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...
. By 1251, Rochdale had become important enough to have been granted a
Royal charterA royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
. Subsequently, Rochdale flourished into a centre of
northern EnglandNorthern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
's woollen trade, and by the early 18th century was described as being "remarkable for many wealthy merchants".
Rochdale rose to prominence during the 19th century as a major
mill townA mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories .- United Kingdom:...
and centre for
textile manufacture during the Industrial RevolutionThe 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...
. It was a
boomtownA boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons,...
of the
Industrial RevolutionThe 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...
, and amongst the first ever
industrialisedIndustrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...
towns. The
Rochdale CanalThe Rochdale Canal is a navigable "broad" canal in northern England, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. The "Rochdale" in its name refers to the town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, through which the canal passes....
—one of the major navigable broad
canals of the United KingdomThe canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
—was a highway of commerce during this time used for the haulage of cotton, wool, coal to and from the area. The socioeconomic change brought by the success of Rochdale's textile industry in the 19th century led to its rise to
borough statusMunicipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
and it remained a dominant settlement in its region. However, during the 20th century Rochdale's spinning capacity declined towards an eventual halt.
Rochdale today is a predominantly residential town.
Rochdale Town HallRochdale Town Hall is a Victorian-era municipal building in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It is "widely recognised as being one of the finest municipal buildings in the country", and is rated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building...
—a
Grade I listed building-See also:*Architecture of Manchester*Conservation in the United Kingdom*Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester*List of tallest buildings in Manchester*Scheduled Monuments in Greater Manchester-Bibliography:...
—dates from 1871 and is one of the United Kingdom's finest examples of
VictorianThe 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...
Gothic revival architecture. Rochdale is the birthplace of the Co-operative Movement. The Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society, founded in 1844, was the first modern cooperative; the
Rochdale PrinciplesThe Rochdale Principles are a set of ideals for the operation of cooperatives. They were first set out by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in Rochdale, England, in 1844, and have formed the basis for the principles on which co-operatives around the world operate to this day. The...
are a set of ideals for cooperatives.
Toponymy
Rochdale seems to be named from its position on the
River RochThe River Roch is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tributary of the River Irwell that gives Rochdale its name.-Course:...
but is recorded as
Recedham in the
Domesday BookDomesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
. The name is derived from from Old English
reced meaming "hall", and
ham, a "homestead". Over time, the name changed to
Rachedale and eventually
Rochdale. The river's name is a
back-formationIn etymology, back-formation is the process of creating a new lexeme, usually by removing actual or supposed affixes. The resulting neologism is called a back-formation, a term coined by James Murray in 1889...
from the Old English name, its name is ˈ, with a long
o. Rochdale however, is pronounced /ˈrɒtʃdeɪl/, with a short
o.
Early history
A
Roman roadThe Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
, leading from Mamucium (
ManchesterManchester 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...
) to (
EboracumEboracum was a fort and city in Roman Britain. The settlement evolved into York, located in North Yorkshire, England.-Etymology:The first known recorded mention of Eboracum by name is dated circa 95-104 AD and is an address containing the Latin form of the settlement's name, "Eburaci", on a wooden...
)
YorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, crossed the moors at
Blackstone EdgeBlackstone Edge is a gritstone escarpment at 1,549 feet above sea level in an area of moorland on the Greater Manchester–West Yorkshire county boundary, England....
.
During the time of the
DanelawThe Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...
, Rochdale was subjected to incursions by the Danes on the Saxons. The castle that
CastletonCastleton is an area of Rochdale and an electoral ward of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It is south-southwest of Rochdale town centre and north-northwest of the city of Manchester....
is named after, and of which no trace remains, was one of twelve Saxon forts possibly destroyed in frequent conflicts that occurred between the Saxons and Danes during the 10th and 11th centuries.
Rochdale appears in the
Domesday BookDomesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as
Recedham. At the time of the
Norman ConquestThe 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...
the manor was held by a Saxon thegn, Gamel. Before 1212
Henry IIHenry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
granted the manor to Roger
de Lacyde Lacy is the surname of an old Norman noble family originating from Lassy . The first records are about Hugh de Lacy . Descendent of Hugh de Lacy left Normandy and travelled to England along with William the Conqueror. Walter and Ilbert de Lacy fought in the battle of Hastings...
whose family retained it until it passed to the Dukes of Lancaster by marriage and then by 1399 to
the CrownThe Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
.
John ByronJohn Byron, 1st Baron Byron was an English Royalist and supporter of Charles I during the English Civil War.-Life:...
bought the manor in 1638 and it was sold by the poet, Lord Byron, in 1823, to the Deardens, who hold the title. Rochdale had no manor house but the "Orchard" built in 1702 and acquired in 1745 by Simon Dearden was the home of the lords of the manor after 1823. It was described as "a red-brick building of no architectural distinction, on the north side of the river opposite the town hall" and sometimes referred to as the Manor House. It was demolished in 1922.
In medieval times, Rochdale was a
market townMarket town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
, and weekly markets were held from 1250 when Edmund de Lacy obtained a grant for a market and an annual fair. The market was held outside the parish church where there was an "Orator's Corner".
Industrial Revolution
The manufacture of woollen cloth particularly
baizeBaize is a coarse woollen cloth, sometimes called felt in American English based on a similarity in appearance.-Usage:...
,
kerseysKersey is a kind of coarse woollen cloth.It derives its name from the village of Kersey, Suffolk, having presumably originated in that region. However the cloth was made in many places. By 1475, the West Riding of Yorkshire including Calderdale was also a major producer. Kersey was a lighter...
and
flannelFlannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fibre. Flannel may be brushed to create extra softness or remain unbrushed. The brushing process is a mechanical process...
s were important from the reign of
Henry VIIIHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. At this time the industry was rooted in the domestic system but towards the end of the 18th century mills powered by water were built. Water power was replaced by steam power in the 19th century and coal mines, mostly drift mines, were opened where coal from the lower
coal measuresThe Coal Measures is a lithostratigraphical term for the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. It represents the remains of fluvio-deltaic sediment, and consists mainly of clastic rocks interstratified with the beds of coal...
outcropped around the town. The Deardens who were lords of the manor were among the local coal owners. By the mid 1800s the woollen trade was declining and the cotton trade which took advantage of technological developments in spinning and weaving growing in importance. Rochdale became one of the world's most productive
cotton spinningSpinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...
towns when rose to prominence during the 19th century as a major
mill townA mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories .- United Kingdom:...
and centre for
textile manufacture during the Industrial RevolutionThe 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...
. It was a
boomtownA boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons,...
of the
Industrial RevolutionThe 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...
, and amongst the first ever
industrialisedIndustrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...
towns. By the end of the 19th century there were woollen mills,
silkSilk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
manufacturers,
bleachBleach refers to a number of chemicals that remove color, whiten, or disinfect, often via oxidation. Common chemical bleaches include household chlorine bleach , lye, oxygen bleach , and bleaching powder...
ers and
dyeA dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
rs but cotton spinning and weaving were the dominant industries in Rochdale. The socioeconomic change brought by the success of Rochdale's textile industry in the 19th century led to its rise to
borough statusMunicipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
and it remained a dominant settlement in its region. However, during the 20th century Rochdale's spinning capacity declined towards an eventual halt.
The
Rochdale PioneersThe Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, founded in 1844, was an early consumer co-operative, and the first to pay a patronage dividend, forming the basis for the modern co-operative movement....
opened the first
Cooperative shopThe Co-operative Group Ltd. is a United Kingdom consumer cooperative with a diverse range of business interests. It is co-operatively run and owned by its members. It is the largest organisation of this type in the world, with over 5.5 million members, who all have a say in how the business is...
in Toad Lane in 1844. The reformer and
Member of ParliamentA 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,...
,
John BrightJohn Bright , Quaker, was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. He was one of the greatest orators of his generation, and a strong critic of British foreign policy...
(1811–1889), was born in Rochdale and gained a reputation as a leader of political dissent and supporter of the
Anti-Corn Law LeagueThe Corn Laws were trade barriers designed to protect cereal producers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The barriers were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
.
Civic history
Lying within the
historic county boundariesThe 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
LancashireLancashire 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...
since the early 12th centuryThe History of Lancashire begins with its establishment as a county of England in 1182, making it one of the youngest of the historic counties of England.-Early history:In the Domesday Book, some of its lands had been treated as part of Yorkshire...
, Rochdale was recorded in 1066 as held by Gamel, one of the twenty-one
thegnThe term thegn , from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves...
s of the
Hundred of SalfordshireThe 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 ancient ecclesiastical
parish of RochdaleRochdale was an ecclesiastical parish of early-medieval origin in northern England, administered from the Church of St Chad, Rochdale. At its zenith, it occupied of land amongst the South Pennines, and straddled the historic county boundary between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire...
was divided in to four townships:
ButterworthButterworth was a township occupying the southeastern part of the parish of Rochdale, in the hundred of Salford, Lancashire, England. It encompassed of land by the South Pennines which spanned the settlements of Belfield, Bleaked-gate-cum-Roughbank, Butterworth Hall, Clegg, Firgrove, Haughs,...
,
CastletonCastleton is an area of Rochdale and an electoral ward of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It is south-southwest of Rochdale town centre and north-northwest of the city of Manchester....
,
HundersfieldHundersfield was a manor, parish and, from 1746, township, within the parish of Rochdale, in the hundred of Salford, England. It straddled the historic county boundary between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire...
and
SpotlandSpotland is a district of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Spodden, and is the home of Spotland Stadium.Historically a part of Lancashire, Spotland was formerly its own township within the ancient parish of Rochdale....
. Hundersfield was later divided into four townships: Blatchinworth,
CalderbrookCalderbrook is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England.It was originally a township within the ancient parish of Rochdale....
,
WardleworthWardleworth was a township at the geographic centre of the Parish of Rochdale, in Salford hundred, Lancashire, England. The principal estate of this township was Buckley...
and Wuerdle and Wardle. Excluding the large
chapelryA chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England, and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church...
of
SaddleworthSaddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills: Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle and others...
, which lay entirely in
YorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, the parish of Rochdale had an area of 65.4 square miles (169.4 km²).
In 1825 commissioners for the social and economic improvement of the town were established. The town became part of a
parliamentary boroughParliamentary boroughs are a type of administrative division, usually covering urban areas, that are entitled to representation in a Parliament...
in 1832. Under the terms of the
Poor Law Amendment Act 1834The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, sometimes abbreviated to PLAA, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Lord Melbourne that reformed the country's poverty relief system . It was an Amendment Act that completely replaced earlier legislation based on the...
Rochdale became the head of Rochdale
Poor Law UnionA 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...
which was established on 15 February 1837 despite considerable local opposition. In 1856 Rochdale was incorporated as a
municipal boroughMunicipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
, giving it
borough status in the United KingdomBorough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
and after 1858 it obtained the powers of the improvement commissioners. In 1872 the remaining area of Wardleworth township and parts of Castleton, Wuerdle and Wardle, Spotland and Butterworth townships were added to the borough.
When the
administrative countyAdministrative 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 was created by the
Local Government Act 1888The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales...
, Rochdale was elevated to become the
County Borough of RochdaleRochdale was, from 1856 to 1974, a local government district coterminate with the town of Rochdale in the northwest of England.-Municipal borough:...
and was effectively a unitary authority area exempt from the administration of
Lancashire County CouncilLancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It currently consists of 84 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, who won control of the council in the local council elections in June 2009, ending 28 years of...
. In 1900 most of Castleton Urban District was added to the borough; this
urban districtIn the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
included parts of Castleton, Hopwood and
ThornhamThornham is the name of a suburban area and ecclesiastical parish overlapping the towns of Middleton, Royton and Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England...
townships. In 1933 parts of Norden Urban District and Birtle with Bamford civil parish were added to the borough. Under the
Local Government Act 1972The 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 town's autonomous
county boroughCounty borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
status was abolished. The municipal boroughs of
MiddletonMiddleton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Irk, south-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester...
and
HeywoodHeywood is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Roch and is east of Bury, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north of the city of Manchester. The town of Middleton lies to the south, whilst to the north is the...
and Littleborough,
MilnrowMilnrow is a suburban town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines, and forms a continuous urban area with Rochdale...
and Wardle urban districts are now part of the
Metropolitan Borough of RochdaleThe Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...
, one of the ten metropolitan boroughs in
Greater ManchesterGreater 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...
.
Since 1953, Rochdale has been
twinnedTwin Town is a 1997 revenge comedy film made and set in South West Wales. It was directed by Kevin Allen and had a working title of Hot Dog; a hot dog van features in a number of scenes in the film. It stars real-life brothers Rhys Ifans and Llŷr Ifans and also features Dougray Scott...
with
BielefeldBielefeld is an independent city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 323,000, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold...
in Germany and since 1956 with
TourcoingTourcoing is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Nord.Tourcoing is situated near the cities of Lille and Roubaix and the Belgian border.-Main sights:...
in France, as well as
SahiwalSahiwal is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative centre of Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. Sahiwal is approximately 180 km from the major city Lahore and is the city between Lahore and Multan...
in Pakistan since 1988.
Parliamentary representation
The
Rochdale constituencyRochdale is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
was created by the
Reform Act of 1832The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
. The constituency was held for two decades during the 20th century by
Cyril SmithSir Cyril Smith, MBE, was a British politician who served as Liberal and Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the constituency of Rochdale from 1972 until his retirement in 1992.-Early life:...
, first of the
Liberal PartyThe Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
and then of the
Liberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
. Following the 2010 General Election, the town is represented by
Simon DanczukSimon Christopher Danczuk is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Rochdale since 2010.-Early life and career:...
MP, a member of the Labour Party.
Geography
At 53°36′50"N 2°9′40"W (53.6136, -2.161), and 169 miles (272 km) north-northwest of
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Rochdale stands about 150 feet (46 m) above
sea levelMean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, 9.8 miles (15.8 km) north-northeast of
Manchester city centreManchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...
, in the
valleyIn geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
of the
River RochThe River Roch is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tributary of the River Irwell that gives Rochdale its name.-Course:...
.
Blackstone EdgeBlackstone Edge is a gritstone escarpment at 1,549 feet above sea level in an area of moorland on the Greater Manchester–West Yorkshire county boundary, England....
,
Saddleworth MoorSaddleworth Moor is an area of the South Pennines in northern England. It is a sparsely populated moorland and millstone grit divided between the metropolitan boroughs of Oldham and Kirklees, in Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire respectively....
and the
South PenninesSouth Pennines is a region of moorland and hill country in northern England lying towards the southern end of the Pennines. It is bounded to the west by the Forest of Rossendale and the Yorkshire Dales to the north...
are close to the east, whilst on all other sides, Rochdale is bound by smaller towns, including
WhitworthWhitworth is a town and civil parish within the Borough of Rossendale in Lancashire, England. It is set amongst the foothills of the Pennines, between the towns of Bacup, to the north, and Rochdale, to the south. It has a population of 7,263....
, Littleborough,
MilnrowMilnrow is a suburban town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines, and forms a continuous urban area with Rochdale...
,
RoytonRoyton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies by the source of the River Irk, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines, north-northwest of Oldham, south-southeast of Rochdale and northeast of the city of Manchester.Historically a...
,
HeywoodHeywood is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Roch and is east of Bury, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north of the city of Manchester. The town of Middleton lies to the south, whilst to the north is the...
and
Shaw and CromptonShaw and Crompton is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines, north of Oldham, southeast of Rochdale, and to the northeast of the city of Manchester...
, with little or no
green spaceOpen space reserve, open space preserve, and open space reservation, are planning and conservation ethics terms used to describe areas of protected or conserved land or water on which development is indefinitely set aside...
between them. Rochdale experiences a
temperateIn geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
maritime climateAn oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
, like much of the
British IslesThe British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, with relatively cool summers and mild winters. There is regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year.
Rochdale's
built environmentThe term built environment refers to the human-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter and buildings to neighborhoods and cities that can often include their supporting infrastructure, such as water supply or energy networks.The built...
consists of a mixture of infrastructure, housing types and commercial buildings from a number of periods. Rochdale's housing stock is mixed, but has a significant amount of stone or red-brick
terraced houseIn architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
s from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Rochdale's Town HallRochdale Town Hall is a Victorian-era municipal building in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It is "widely recognised as being one of the finest municipal buildings in the country", and is rated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building...
, seven large
tower blockA tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...
s and a number of former
cotton millA cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
s mark the town's skyline. The
urban structureUrban structure is the arrangement of land use in urban areas. Sociologists, economists, and geographers have developed several models, explaining where different types of people and businesses tend to exist within the urban setting. Three models are described in this article...
of Rochdale is regular when compared to most
towns in England, its form restricted in places by its hilly upland terrain. Much of Rochdale's built environment is centred around a
central business districtA central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
in the
town centreThe town centre is the term used to refer to the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town.Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus stations...
, which is the local centre of commerce.
There is a mixture of high-density urban areas,
suburbThe word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s, semi-rural and
ruralRural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
locations in Rochdale, but overwhelmingly the
land useLand use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. It has also been defined as "the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake in a certain land cover...
in the town is urban. For purposes of the
Office for National StatisticsThe 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 :...
, it forms the fifth largest settlement of the
Greater Manchester Urban AreaThe Greater Manchester Urban Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics consisting of the large conurbation that encompasses the city of Manchester and the continuous metropolitan area that spreads outwards from it, forming much of Greater Manchester in North West England...
, the
United Kingdom's third largest conurbation. The
M62 motorwayThe M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...
passes to the south and southwest of Rochdale. Two heavy rail lines enter Rochdale from the east, joining at
Rochdale railway stationRochdale railway station serves the town of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. The Manchester and Leeds Railway opened a station serving the town in the 19th century...
before continuing southwards to the city of Manchester.
Demography
As of the
2001 UK censusA 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....
, Rochdale had a population of 95,796. The 2001 population density was 11186 PD/sqmi, with a 100 to 94.4 female-to-male ratio. Of those over 16 years old, 28.2% were single (never married), 44.0% married, and 8.8% divorced. Rochdale's 37,730 households included 30.4% one-person, 36.6% married couples living together, 8.4% were
co-habitingCohabitation 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 11.1% single parents with their children. Of those aged 16–74, 37.1% had no
academic qualificationsThe National Qualifications Framework is a credit transfer system developed for qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
, similar to the figure for all of Rochdale, but higher than that of 28.9% in all of England.• Retrieved on 17 August 2008. Rochdale has the highest number of
Jobseeker's AllowanceJobseeker's Allowance is a United Kingdom benefit, colloquially known as the dole . It is a form of unemployment benefit paid by the government to people who are unemployed and seeking work. It is part of the social security benefits system and is intended to cover living expenses while the...
claimants in Greater Manchester, with 6.1 per cent of its adult population claiming the benefit in early 2010.
| Rochdale compared |
| 2001 UK census |
Rochdale |
Rochdale MBThe Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...
• |
England |
| Total population |
95,796 |
205,357 |
49,138,831 |
| White |
78.7% |
88.6% |
91% |
| Asian |
19.9% |
9.8% |
4.6% |
| Black |
0.3% |
0.3% |
2.3% |
| Christian |
62.7% |
72.1% |
71.7% |
| Muslim |
19.1% |
9.4% |
3.1% |
| No religion |
10.4% |
10.8% |
14.6% |
Landmarks
Rochdale Town HallRochdale Town Hall is a Victorian-era municipal building in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It is "widely recognised as being one of the finest municipal buildings in the country", and is rated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building...
is a
Victorian-eraThe 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...
municipal building "widely recognised as being one of the finest municipal buildings in the country". The
Grade I listed building-See also:*Architecture of Manchester*Conservation in the United Kingdom*Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester*List of tallest buildings in Manchester*Scheduled Monuments in Greater Manchester-Bibliography:...
is the ceremonial headquarters of
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough CouncilThe Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...
and houses local government departments, including the borough's
civil registration officeCivil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events of its citizens and residents. The resulting repository or database is called civil register or registry, or population registry. The primary purpose of civil registration is to create legal documents that are used to...
. Built in the
Gothic Revival styleThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
it was inaugurated on 27 September 1871. The architect,
William Henry CrosslandWilliam Henry Crossland was a nineteenth century architect and a pupil of George Gilbert Scott.-Principal works:Crossland's three most important commissions were:...
, won a competition held in 1864. The town hall had a 240 feet (73 m)
clock towerA clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
topped by a wooden spire with a gilded statue of
Saint George and the DragonThe episode of Saint George and the Dragon appended to the hagiography of Saint George was Eastern in origin, brought back with the Crusaders and retold with the courtly appurtenances belonging to the genre of Romance...
which were destroyed by fire on 10 April 1883. A new 191 feet (58 m) stone clock tower and spire in the style of
Manchester Town HallManchester Town Hall is a Victorian-era, Neo-gothic municipal building in Manchester, England. The building functions as the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses a number of local government departments....
was designed by
Alfred WaterhouseAlfred Waterhouse was a British architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. He is perhaps best known for his design for the Natural History Museum in London, and Manchester Town Hall, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the...
, and erected in 1888. Art critic
Nikolaus PevsnerSir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
described the building as possessing a "rare picturesque beauty". Its
stained glassThe term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows, some designed by
William MorrisWilliam Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
, are credited as "the finest modern examples of their kind". The building came to the attention of
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
who was said to have admired it so much that he wished to ship the building, brick-by-brick, to
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
had the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
been defeated in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The war memorial bearing four sculpted and painted flags, is opposite the town hall. It commemorates those who died in conflicts since the First World War (1914–1918). The monument and surrounding gardens were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Transport
Public transportPublic transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
in Rochdale is co-ordinated by the Transport for Greater Manchester who own the bus station and coordinate transport services in the area.
Road
The earliest routes around Rochdale were tracks and
packhorse.A packhorse or pack horse refers generally to an equid such as a horse, mule, donkey or pony used for carrying goods on their backs, usually carried in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of wheeled vehicles. ...
routes and a paved track over Blackstone Edge into
YorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
that had Roman origins. As trade increased the Blacksone Edge
turnpikeTurnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
road was built in 1735.
The
M62 motorwayThe M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...
to the south of the town is accessed via the A627(M), which starts at Sandbrook Park in Rochdale and runs to Elk Mill in Royton, Oldham. The A627(M) provides drivers a quick access to the M62 and to Oldham.
Rochdale Canal
The idea for the
Rochdale CanalThe Rochdale Canal is a navigable "broad" canal in northern England, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. The "Rochdale" in its name refers to the town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, through which the canal passes....
emerged in 1776, when
James BrindleyJames Brindley was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century.-Early life:...
was commissioned to survey possible routes between
Sowerby BridgeSowerby Bridge is a market town that lies within the Upper Calder Valley in the district of Calderdale in the county of West Yorkshire, in northern England.-Geography:Sowerby Bridge is situated on the edge of Halifax, about three miles from its centre...
and Manchester. However it was not until 4 April 1794 that an Act of Parliament was obtained. The broad canal which linked the
Bridgewater CanalThe Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...
in Manchester with the
Aire and Calder NavigationThe Aire and Calder Navigation is a river and canal system of the River Aire and the River Calder in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. The first improvements to the rivers above Knottingley were completed in 1704 when the Aire was made navigable to Leeds and the Calder to...
at Sowerby Bridge became a major artery of commerce between Lancashire and Yorkshire for cotton, wool, coal, limestone, timber, and salt. The canal is fed from
Hollingworth LakeHollingworth Lake is a reservoir in the Hollingworth area of Littleborough — part of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. Also known as the Weaver's Seaport, Hollingworth Lake was originally built as the main water source for the Rochdale Canal, but forms part of...
. The canal fell into disuse and re-opened in 2003 after years of neglect, including its division by a motorway.
Rail and Metrolink
Demand from the cross-Pennine trade to support local
cottonCotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
,
woolWool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
and
silkSilk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
industries led to the building of the
Manchester and Leeds RailwayThe Manchester and Leeds Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting Manchester with Leeds via the North Midland Railway which it joined at Normanton....
which opened in 1839 from Manchester to Littleborough, and from
NormantonNormanton is the name of several places:In England:*Normanton, Derbyshire*Normanton, Leicestershire*Normanton, Lincolnshire*Normanton, Nottinghamshire*Normanton, Rutland*Normanton, West Yorkshire**Normanton...
to
Hebden BridgeHebden Bridge is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and lies 8 miles west of Halifax and 14 miles north east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the River Hebden .A 2004 profile of...
in 1840. The linking section opened on completion of the
Summit TunnelThe Summit Tunnel in England is one of the oldest railway tunnels in the world: it was built between 1838 and 1841 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway beneath the Pennines...
in 1841.
Rochdale railway stationRochdale railway station serves the town of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. The Manchester and Leeds Railway opened a station serving the town in the 19th century...
is about a mile south of the town centre. Trains run to Manchester Victoria,
HalifaxHalifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
,
BradfordBradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
and
LeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and to Manchester Victoria via the
Oldham LoopThe Oldham Loop Line was a local railway route in Greater Manchester, England, used by trains that ran from Manchester Victoria station to Rochdale railway station...
. Services on the Oldham Loop ceased in October 2009 for conversion to an extension of the
Manchester MetrolinkMetrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
tram system. It was deferred in 2004 on grounds of cost but in July 2006 plans were approved for the extension from Manchester Victoria as far as Rochdale Station and is expected to be complete in 2012. Approval for extension into Rochdale town centre, via Drake Street and terminating opposite Rochdale bus station was dependent on the rejected Transport Innovation Fund.
Bus
Until 1969 the borough's bus service was provided by the municipal operator "Rochdale Corporation Transport" which was merged into the SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive.
Rochdale Bus StationRochdale bus station is a bus station located in the town of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. It is run by Transport for Greater Manchester....
is located next to the Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre. There are plans to relocate it to link with the Metrolink to provide a transport interchange.
There are frequent bus services from Rochdale, operated by
First ManchesterFirst Manchester is one of the bus companies serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
, to Manchester, Middleton, Royton, Chadderton, Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bury and Bolton. There are cross-county services into Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
Rossendale TransportRossendale Transport is a bus operator running within the Borough of Rossendale and into surrounding areas, including Rochdale, Bury, Manchester, Burnley, Accrington, Blackburn and Todmorden...
operates to Rawtenstall and Accrington.
First Calderdale & HuddersfieldFirst Calderdale & Huddersfield is one of the bus companies serving the area of West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
operates to Burnley and Halifax, both via Todmorden. The service to Halifax via Ripponden is now (2011) operated by
CentrebusCentrebus Holdings is a bus company in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. It is a partnership between Arriva and Centrebus, created in May 2008 to purchase both K-Line Travel and Stagecoach Yorkshire's Huddersfield operations.-Stagecoach:...
.
Education
Hopwood Hall College is a
further educationFurther education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
college with a campus in Rochdale. It offers vocational courses for school leavers, and courses for adult learners and some
higher educationHigher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
.
Rochdale Sixth Form CollegeRochdale Sixth Form College is a sixth form college opened in September 2010 under the Building Schools for the Future program. The sixth form college campus is situated next to Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, forming a further education quarter in the town...
opened in September 2010, and is the primary provider of A Level courses in Rochdale and the wider
Metropolitan BoroughThe Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...
. Most secondary schools in the area do not offer
sixth formIn the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
courses to students.
Religion
St Chad's Church was the mother church of the ancient ecclesiastical parish and was founded before 1170 possibly on a Saxon site. Much of the current building is the result of late
Victorian restorationVictorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
. A local legend relates that the site was chosen by spirits and fairies as on several occasions stone for the church building was moved from near the river to the hill on which St. Chad's stands. The church is accessed from the town below by a flight of 124 steps. The town
stocksStocks are devices used in the medieval and colonial American times as a form of physical punishment involving public humiliation. The stocks partially immobilized its victims and they were often exposed in a public place such as the site of a market to the scorn of those who passed by...
(no longer in use) are in the churchyard.
Public services
Home OfficeThe Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
policing in Rochdale is provided by the
Greater Manchester PoliceGreater Manchester Police is the police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England...
and the Rochdale Division has headquarters at Town Meadow adjacent to the Magistrate's Court.
Statutory emergency fire and rescue serviceThe fire services in the United Kingdom operate under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales...
is provided by the
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue ServiceGreater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England.Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service covers an area of approximately...
, which has a fire station in Rochdale centre.
Emergency healthcare is provided by
Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS TrustPennine Care NHS Trust is a NHS Trust established in April 2002 and became the 100th trust to be awarded Foundation status in July 2008.The Trust provides community and mental health services in Bury, Oldham and the Rochdale borough, as well as mental health services in Stockport and Tameside and...
(renamed as Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust in December 2010). The trust operates four hospitals in the North Manchester area, including the Rochdale Infirmary for the
NHSThe National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
. Patient transport is provided by the
North West Ambulance ServiceThe North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust was formed on 1 July 2006 as part of Health Minister Lord Warner's plans to reduce the number of NHS ambulance service trusts operating in the United Kingdom....
. Rochdale Infirmary is the only hospital serving the town since the closure of Birch Hill Hospital which occupied the former Rochdale Union
WorkhouseIn England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
at Dearnley in 2007. New facilities were established at Rochdale Infirmary as part of the town's healthcare restructure.
Primary CareAn NHS primary care trust is a type of NHS trust, part of the National Health Service in England. PCTs commission primary, community and secondary care from providers. Until 31 may2011 they also provided community services directly. Collectively PCT are responsible for spending around 80% of the...
services in Rochdale are provided by the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale NHS Primary Care Trust. In 2006 it was announced that Accident & Emergency facilities at Rochdale Infirmary would be removed as of 2011, leaving Oldham and Bury as the closest departments serving Rochdale. Confirmation that the unit would close was met with protest locally, including a march through the town centre.
Waste managementWaste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
is co-ordinated by the local authority via the
Greater Manchester Waste Disposal AuthorityThe Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority is a waste disposal authority created under the Local Government Act 1985 to carry out the waste management functions and duties of the Greater Manchester County Council after its abolition in 1986....
.
Rochdale's
Distribution Network OperatorDistribution network operators are companies licensed to distribute electricity in Great Britain by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets....
for electricity is
United UtilitiesUnited Utilities Group PLC is the UK's largest listed water business. The Group owns and manages the regulated water and waste water network in the north west England, through it subsidiary United Utilities Water PLC , which is responsible for the vast majority of the group's assets and...
; there are no
power stationA power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
s in the town, but
Scout Moor Wind FarmScout Moor Wind Farm is the largest onshore wind farm in England. The wind farm, which was built for Peel Wind Power Ltd, produces electricity from 26 Nordex N80 wind turbines. It has a total nameplate capacity of 65 MW of electricity, providing 154,000 MW·h per year; enough to serve...
which has 26 turbines was built on the high moors between
RawtenstallRawtenstall is a town at the centre of the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire, England. It is the seat for the Borough of Rossendale, in which it is located. The town lies 18 miles north of Manchester, 22 miles east of the county town of Preston and 45 miles south east of Lancaster...
and Rochdale. The
wind farmA wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
generates 65MW of electricity. United Utilities also manage Rochdale's
drinkingDrinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
and waste water. Water supplies are sourced from several reservoirs, including
WatergroveWatergrove Reservoir is a reservoir close to Wardle in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, within Greater Manchester, England.Rochdale Corporation chose Watergrove as a suitable site to build a large reservoir largely to a prolonged drought in the 1930s, resulting in water regularly being bought...
,
Blackstone EdgeBlackstone Edge Reservoir is a reservoir in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It is close to Blackstone Edge and the border with Calderdale, West Yorkshire....
and
PiethornePiethorne Reservoir is the largest of several reservoirs in the Piethorne Valley above Milnrow, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in 1866....
in Rochdale's outlying moorland.
Sports
Rochdale has two professional sports teams,
Rochdale A.F.C.Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...
(football) and
Rochdale HornetsRochdale Hornets RLFC is an English professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. They currently play in Championship One...
(Rugby League), both play home games at the
Spotland StadiumSpotland Stadium is a sports venue located at Willbutts Lane in the Spotland area of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. It is currently home to Rochdale AFC and Rochdale Hornets RLFC...
. Rochdale AFC were founded in 1907 and joined the Football League in 1921 when the new
Football League Third DivisionThe Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
(north) was created. The club has never played above the third tier of the English league divisional structure, and before its promotion at the end of the 2009/10 season (their first promotion since 1969), had played continuously in the Football League's lowest division since 1974. However, the club reached the
Football League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
final in 1962, and lost to
Norwich CityNorwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
.
Rochdale HornetsRochdale Hornets RLFC is an English professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. They currently play in Championship One...
is one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, making it one of the world's first rugby league teams.
The town is also home to non-league football team, Rochdale Town. Rochdale R.U.F.C. play in
BamfordBamford is a suburban area within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England.Together with neighbouring Birtle, it formed the civil parish of Birtle-with-Bamford . It was in Middleton ecclesiastical parish and in Bury poor law Union...
. There are two adult amateur football leagues: the Rochdale Online Alliance League and the Rochdale and District Sunday Football League.
Golf courses around the town include Rochdale Golf Club and Marland Golf Club at Springfield Park. The town also has a number of cricket clubs, most of which play in the Central Lancashire League. Rochdale Sub-Aqua Club was formed in 1959 and remains active.
SpeedwayMotorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
racing was staged at the
Athletic GroundsThe Athletic Grounds is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is the county ground and administrative headquarters of Armagh GAA and is used for both gaelic football and hurling. Following sponsorship from the Morgan Group the stadium is known as the Morgan Athletic...
in the pioneer days of 1928–1930 and returned for a short spell at the start of the 1970s. The 1970s venture provided a home for the British League Division Two
Belle Vue AcesThe Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway team from Manchester in the north west of England.-Brief history:Racing first took place in 1928 at the Belle Vue greyhound stadium in Kirkmanshulme Lane before moving the following year to a specially built stadium nearby on Hyde Road. The club raced there...
juniors and the team was known as
Rochdale HornetsThe Rochdale Hornets were a British speedway team from Rochdale in the north west of England. They were founded in 1928 and competed in the inuaugural season of British Speedway in 1929 but closed in 1930...
.
Peter CollinsPeter Spencer Collins MBE is a former Speedway rider who spent his whole career with the Belle Vue Aces, the team he supported as a child...
, who went on to win the 1976 World Championship and other honours, was the most famous Hornets rider.
Notable people
The 19th-century Lancashire
dialectThe term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
poet
Edwin WaughEdwin Waugh , poet, son of a shoemaker, was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, and, after a little schooling, apprenticed to a printer, Thomas Holden, at the age of 12...
(1817–1890) was born and raised in the town. Rochdale also has a proud liberal political heritage, as shown by such people as
John BrightJohn Bright , Quaker, was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League. He was one of the greatest orators of his generation, and a strong critic of British foreign policy...
,
Samuel BamfordSamuel Bamford , was an English radical and writer, who was born in Middleton, Lancashire.-Biography:...
, Rev. Joseph Cooke and perhaps the town's most colourful personality Cyril Smith.
Among Rochdale's residents have been several musicians, including singers
Gracie FieldsDame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
,
Lisa StansfieldLisa Stansfield is an English singer and songwriter.-Early years:Stansfield was born to Marion and Keith Stansfield in Heywood, Lancashire, in England, where she attended Redbrook School, Rochdale. Her first television appearance was on a talent programme in the Granada TV area in 1982...
(born in
HeywoodHeywood is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Roch and is east of Bury, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north of the city of Manchester. The town of Middleton lies to the south, whilst to the north is the...
) and
Barb JungrBarb Jungr is an English singer-songwriter, composer and writer, of Czech and German parentage. She is perhaps best known as a chansonnière, or singer of chansons—in the sense of classic, lyric-driven French songs; in the broader sense of European songs in the cabaret style; and in the even...
, and bands
AutechreAutechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both natives of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are one of the most prominent acts signed to Warp Records, a label known for its pioneering electronic music and through which all Autechre albums...
,
TractorTractor is a band founded in Rochdale, Lancashire, England by guitarist/vocalist Jim Milne and drummer Steve Clayton in 1971. Both had been members of a beat group, The Way We Live since 1966. They are notable both for their appreciation by John Peel and Julian Cope, but also for their longevity...
,
The ChameleonsThe Chameleons were an English post-punk band that formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, England in 1981. They consisted of singer and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarist Reg Smithies, guitarist Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever...
,
The Mock TurtlesThe Mock Turtles are a Manchester based indie rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1985, who enjoyed some success in the early 1990s...
and
The Cassandra ComplexThe Cassandra Complex are an electronic rock group formed by Rodney Orpheus and Paul Dillon in 1980 in Leeds, England, later expanding to a trio with the addition of Andy Booth.-History:...
.
Good CharlotteGood Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 1998, the band's constant members have been lead vocalist Joel Madden, lead guitarist and back-up vocalist Benji Madden, bass guitarist Paul Thomas and rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin...
drummer
Dean ButterworthDean "Deano" Butterworth is a professional drummer. He played for popular singer Morrissey and was announced as the official drummer for the band Good Charlotte in March 2005 after they parted with their previous drummer, Chris Wilson in 2005...
also hails from Rochdale. Broadcasters
John PeelJohn Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
,
Mark ChapmanMark Chapman may refer to:* Mark David Chapman, murderer of John Lennon* Mark Lindsay Chapman, British-born TV and film actor* Mark Chapman , sports journalist and presenter* Mark Chapman , Hong Kong-born cricketer...
,
LizLiz Kershaw is a UK radio broadcaster.-Early career:The elder sister of fellow broadcaster and world music exponent Andy Kershaw, she began her career as a pop journalist for the Yorkshire Post before joining Leeds station Radio Aire, where her brother also worked for a time.While in Leeds, she...
and
Andy KershawAndy Kershaw is a British broadcaster, known for his interest in world music.His shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, spoken word performance from the likes of Ivor Cutler, and other music from around the world.- Early Life :Kershaw and his sister, fellow broadcaster Liz...
also have links with the town, Peel having lived there for a period of time and the latter three having been born there. Actors
Colin BakerColin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to...
,
Anna FrielAnna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...
, Stuart Crowther and
Bill OddieWilliam "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies....
were either born in Rochdale or spent time living there.
Don EstelleDon Estelle was a British actor and singer.Born Donald Edwards in Crumpsall, Manchester, he was brought up in a house on Russell Street, Crumpsall. During World War II, at the age of eight, he was evacuated to Darwen, Lancashire, twenty miles away from his home town, to escape the German bombing...
, who was born and raised in
CrumpsallCrumpsall is a suburban area and electoral ward of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is about north of Manchester city centre...
, lived for much of his life in Rochdale and was buried there in August 2003. The bestselling poet John Siddique was brought up in Rochdale and has referred to the town in several poems. World Series of poker winner
Jake CodyJake Cody is a professional poker player from Rochdale, England, United Kingdom.He burst on to the European tournament scene in 2010 with major wins at the European Poker Tour event in Deauville in January where he won €857,000 and the main event of the World Poker Tour London in August where he...
also grew up in Rochdale.
The footballer
Earl BarrettEarl Delisser Barrett is an English former footballer who played in the Football League and Premier League for Manchester City, Chester City, Oldham Athletic, Aston Villa, Everton, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday. He played mainly at right back though could also adapt to a central...
, who played for clubs including Oldham Athletic,
Aston VillaAston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
,
EvertonEverton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
and
Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
between 1985 and 2000, was born at Rochdale in April 1967 to
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n immigrant parents.
Other notable residents include businessman and philanthropist Sir Peter Ogden,
Nicholas BlincoeNicholas Blincoe is an English author, critic and screenwriter. He is the author of six novels, Acid Casuals , Jello Salad , Manchester Slingback , The Dope Priest , White Mice , Burning Paris...
, a novelist,
George Gordon ByronBaron Byron, of Rochdale in the County Palatine of Lancaster, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1643, by letters patent, for Sir John Byron, a Cavalier general and former Member of Parliament...
, Lord Byron of Rochdale,
Monica CoghlanMonica Coghlan was the British prostitute at the centre of a scandal that involved English Conservative politician Jeffrey Archer in 1987. Although he won a libel case against the Daily Star newspaper, which had alleged that he had sex with her, it was later established, in legal proceeding in...
, a prostitute caught up in the Lord Archer scandal,
Stefan KiszkoLesley Susan Molseed was an eleven-year old girl from Turf Hill, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, who was murdered on Rishworth Moor in West Yorkshire....
, a local man convicted wrongly of sexual assault, and Gillian Duffy, the pensioner described as a 'bigoted woman' by outgoing Prime Minister
Gordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
during the 2010 Election campaign.
Rochdale is known among Beatles fans as the venue for an 1843
Pablo FanquePablo Fanque was the first black circus proprietor in Britain. His circus, in which he himself was a performer, was the most popular circus in Victorian Britain for 30 years, a period that is regarded as the golden age of the circus...
's Circus Royal performance, a poster for which inspired
John LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
to write the song
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is a song from the 1967 album by The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was composed by John Lennon...
off the album
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club BandSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...
.
Television
The
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV school drama
Waterloo RoadWaterloo Road is an award-winning British television drama series, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the series focuses on the lives of the school's teacher and students, and confronts social...
is set in Rochdale and was filmed at Hilltop Primary School in Kirkholt which closed in July 2005. Most of the out-of-school scenes in the series are filmed around Rochdale, and many of the pupils homes seen on television are council houses in the Kirkholt area which were mostly built in the early postwar years.
External links
- www.rochdale.gov.uk Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council website.
- www.pennineland.co.uk Development Arm of Rochdale Development Agency (RDA) Uniting Private & Public Sector to support the Regeneration of Rochdale Borough
- www.statsandmaps.co.uk Stats and Maps is the Rochdale Borough statistics and maps website. It is a shared evidence based that provides quick and easy on-line access to data, information, and intelligence about the borough of Rochdale, and aims to meet the needs of the local community, LSP partners, and the general public