OLDHAM

'Oldham' is a large town within Greater Manchester, in North West England.^[1] Rising amongst the Pennine hills, northeast of the city of Manchester, it is the largest and most populous settlement within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham.
Historically a part of Lancashire, Oldham rose to prominence during the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture. Oldham was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the first ever industrialised towns. At its zenith, it was the single most productive cotton spinning mill town in the world.^[2][3]
Since the mid 20th century, Oldham has lost all of its traditional textile industry, but is marked architecturally by several surviving large cotton mills, and other buildings and infrastructure linked to the sector. A centre for further education and the performing arts, Oldham today is a predominantly residential town, with a total population of 103,544.^[4]

Contents

History

Toponymy

Early history

Industrial Revolution

Cotton spinning

Coal mining

Engineering

Historic events

Political history

Recent history

Immigration

Riots

Governance

Civic history

Parliamentary representation

Geography

Demography

Landmarks

Oldham Parish Church

Oldham War Memorial

Civic Centre

Town Hall

Transport

Sports

Education

Present day

Nightlife

Theatre

Art

Shopping and retail

Notable People

See also

References

External links

History

Toponymy

Oldham (pronounced ) is a derivative of ''Aldehulme'', and is possibly from the Old English "ald" and the Old Scandinavian "holmi" and meaning "old promontory or outcrop", possibly describing the town's hilltop defensive position.^[5]
''Altholm'' (recorded in about 1226–8) may also mean "promontory near a slope or cliff", combining the Celtic "alt", meaning "slope or cliff" with the Old Scandinavian for an "island, promontory, raised ground in marsh, river-meadow".^[6]

Early history

The town is believed to date from 865 AD when Danish invaders established a settlement in the locality with the name Aldehulme.^[7] In 1215 much of the lands of Oldham were given to the Knights of St John of Jerusalem by Roger de Montbegon. The first known recorded use of the name "Oldham" was during the 11th century and it is to this point in history that Oldham can be traced.^[8]
For centuries, Oldham was an area of insignificant chapelries and moorland for a small community of local farmers. During medieval times, Oldham was a modest centre of woollen cloth production, largely due to vast areas of open moorland, which were highly suitable for grazing sheep.
Oldham had long been on one of the major routes from Lancashire to Yorkshire, as it lies on an ancient Roman road which linked the historic cities of Manchester and York across the Pennine hills. Although this road deteriorated to little more than a muddy dirt track, by the middle of the 18th century it was to assume a growing importance for the transportation of goods in the wake of new industrial, technological and cultural changes which were gathering pace in the area.

Industrial Revolution

Oldham owes much of its history to the Industrial Revolution; particularly 18th and 19th century cotton spinning, and much (but by no means all) of the architecture of the town remains Victorian. Contrariwise, it has been asserted that, "if ever the Industrial Revolution placed a town firmly and squarely on the map of the world, that town is Oldham."^[9]
In 1770, the Oldham area was a mere scattering of small and insignificant settlements spread across the moorland and rough tracks which linked Manchester with the West Riding of Yorkshire. The area, located some 700 feet above sea level on the west side of the Pennines, had no major river or visible natural resources and was isolated from the market centre of Liverpool. The area had poor geographic attributes compared with other local rivals for the engineers and businessmen of the time, and so Oldham played no role in the initial period of the Industrial Revolution.
However, within thirty years, the moorland cottage industry settlements based on manual labour were replaced by sprawling factories and industries. Oldham's population increased from 12,000 in 1801 to over 100,000 by the end of the 19th century. Advances in technology and textile manufacture, the availability of cheap land and relatively abundant coal, support of excellent transportation links between Manchester, Lancashire and Yorkshire, a damp climate (which lent itself to breakage-free cotton spinning), and some of the world's greatest machine-makers, meant that Oldham rapidly became a thriving, prosperous industrious town.
By 1850 Oldham was confirmed as a pulsating boom-town, supplying cotton products throughout the world with an output and profitability unmatched by anywhere else. The speed of its growth is highly significant. Oldham, with little pre-industrial history to speak of, was in effect, born a factory town.

Cotton spinning

With the introduction of mechanised spinning of raw cotton into workable yarn and thread, rural Oldham changed from a series of small-time woollen-cloth producing cottages into a booming industrial metropolis, processing more raw cotton, and spinning more yarn than any other single centre of the textile industry.
The notion of the "mill town" and mass production, was introduced to Oldham in the late 1770s.^[10] Using nearby prosperous Manchester as an example, Oldhamers were attracted by the chance of regular employment and unparalleled success and purpose. Oldham's first mill was Lees Hall, built about 1778 by William Clegg. Within twelve months, eleven other mills had joined Clegg's original. Newly invented steam engines Spinning Jennys and Spinning Mules were quickly installed.
As world demand for cotton grew, so Oldham's share of mills and spindleage increased. By 1890, Oldham's share of Britain's spindleage had risen to 11.4 million out of 87.7 million - some 13% of the entire world's cotton production. By 1838 Oldham had over 213 cotton factories; even more than other leading cotton towns such as Manchester (182), Rochdale (117) and Bury (114). At the peak of the town's cotton industry, over 360 mills operated night and day.^[11] By the end of the 19th century, as a result of a mill building booms during 1860s-1870s, Oldham was confirmed as the most productive cotton-spinning town in the world, overtaking Manchester and Bolton.^[12] Oldham dominated the world's cotton spinning industry at the end of the 19th century.
Oldham was hit hard by the Lancashire cotton famine of 1861–1865 however. Without supplies of raw cotton from America, thousands of Oldham's workers became redundant. The then Oldham council took measures to ensure workers were employed and kept paid. Alexandra Park was conceptualised and commissioned to be created as a green space in the Glodwick district, just south of the town centre, and was created by local cotton mill workers during this time.
Whilst the cotton famine passed, following the events of the two world wars, and increased foreign competition, there was a (terminal) depression in the British cotton industry. Economically, Oldham was very much dependent on this single industry, and manufacture, affluence and employment opportunities steadily declined in the town during the first half of the 20th century. The last cotton to be spun in Oldham was in the mid 1990s, and the now redundant mills (many now split into small, rented industrial units) still mark the Oldham skyline today.

Coal mining

While it would be a truism to say that cotton created modern Oldham, it would be a mistake to think this was the town's only industry. Oldham lies on the eastern edge of the South Lancashire coalfield, and began to produce its own coal in the 19th century. The mines were largely to the south-west of the town around the districts of Hollinwood and Werneth and provided enough coal to accelerate Oldham's rapid development at the centre of the cotton boom. The amount of coal in the field was somewhat overestimated, however, and production began to decline even before that of the local spinning industry. Today, the only visible remnants of the mines are some disused shafts and tunnels.

Engineering

Oldham led in the field of engineering. On the back of the Industrial Revolution, the town developed an extensive engineering industry, strongly linked to the local cotton industry. The Platt Brothers originated in nearby Dobcross village, Saddleworth, but moved to Oldham. They were pioneers of cotton spinning, inventing several innovations which enabled mass-production of cotton yarn.
Platt Brothers became the largest textile machine makers in the world, employing over 15,000 people, twice the size of their nearest rivals, "Dobson & Barlow" in Bolton and "Asa Lees" on Greenacres Moor, Oldham. They were keen investors in the local area and at one time, were supporting some 42% of the population. The centre of the company lay at the New Hartford Works in Werneth, a massive complex of buildings and internal railways on a site overlooking Manchester. The railway station which served this site later formed the basis of Oldham Werneth railway station, which together with the main building exists to this day.
Although textile engineering declined with the industry, leading to the demise of Platts in 1982, other engineering firms existed, notably electrical and later electronical engineers Ferranti in 1896. Ferranti went into receivership in 1993, but some of its former works continue in other hands, notably the original Hollinwood site now operated by Siemens.

Historic events

A blue plaque claiming the first chip shop in Britain, in Oldham

Several Oldhamers were caught up in the chaos that was the Peterloo Massacre which occurred in nearby Manchester, in 1819. A plaque in-memoriam to the losses and injuries inflicted during the massacre can be found near the Rochdale Road entrance to the ''"Civic Centre"''.
Oldham lays claim to being the birthplace of the chip shop (though possibly not in the sense it is understood today of ''fish'-and-chip shop' - the combination is thought to have been first offered by Joseph Malin at his premises in London circa 1860), from which the fast food industry's origins may be traced. The chip shop in question was on the site of what is now the Tommyfield indoor market.
Oldham was, for a short time, home to some prisoners of war from Germany during the Second World War. There was a Prisoner of War camp at Glen Mill in Wellyhole Street.^[13][14]
Oldham is the place of birth of the tubular bandage (a specialised type of medical aid/support), and Yates's Wine Lodge, a popular chain of public houses in the United Kingdom. Yates however did not have a public house located in Oldham for a number of years before returning to a new location on Yorkshire Street. The old location of Yates in Oldham was further up the road on High Street.

Political history

Oldham was where Winston Churchill began his political career. Although taking two attempts to succeed, in the 1900 general election Churchill was elected as the member of Parliament for the Oldham constituency. He held the constituency for the Conservative Party until the 1906 general election.

Recent history

Following the demise of the cotton industry, Oldham's level of affluence dropped markedly. From 1963 to 1965, the town was overshadowed by the terrible Moors Murders whose victims were buried on nearby Saddleworth Moor. Oldham was the birthplace of the world's first baby to be born by ''in vitro'' fertilization- Louise Brown in 1978.

Immigration

Due to Oldham's industrial might, the town had always attracted migrant workers, including those from wider-England, Scotland, Ireland and parts of Poland and Ukraine. Following the events of the two World Wars, and increased foreign competition, Oldham suffered from a major economic depression in the cotton industry. There was a severe shortage of unskilled employees who could work in the mills and keep manufacture alive.
During the 1950s and 1960s, in an attempt to fill the shortfall of workers and revitalise local industries, members of the wider Commonwealth of Nations were encouraged to migrate to Oldham and other British towns. Many came from the Caribbean and Indian subcontinent and settled throughout the Oldham borough. Today, Oldham still has large communities with heritage from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and parts of the Caribbean.

Riots

Main articles: Oldham Riots

In May 2001, Oldham became the centre of national and international media attention. Following several high profile race-related conflicts, and long-term underlying racial tensions, major race riots broke out in the town. Occurring with particular intensity in the Glodwick area of the town, the Oldham Riots were the worst racially-motivated riots in the United Kingdom for fifteen years prior, briefly eclipsing the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland in the media.^[15]
At least 20 people were injured in the riots, including fifteen officers, and 37 people were arrested.^[16] Similar riots took place by communities in English northern towns over the following days and weeks. The 2001 riots prompted a number of governmental and independent inquiries, including the The Ritchie Report and Oldham Beyond, which collectively agreed on a number of community relations improvements and considerable regeneration schemes for the town.

Governance

Civic history

As a historic township, Oldham once formed part of the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham, in the Hundred of Salford.
Oldham was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1849, giving it Borough status.
Oldham Above Town and Oldham Below Town were, from 1851 until c.1881, statistical units used for the gathering and organising of civil registration information, and output of census information. They were sub-districts of Oldham.
When the administrative county of Lancashire was created in 1889, Oldham became part of the County Borough of Oldham and was exempt from the administration of the Lancashire county council. The county borough was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 and since 1974, Oldham has formed part of Greater Manchester, and has been the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham.

Parliamentary representation

The boundaries of two parliamentary constituencies divide Oldham: Oldham East and Saddleworth, and Oldham West and Royton (which includes the town centre), which are represented by Labour Members of Parliament Phil Woolas and Michael Meacher respectively.
Oldham previously formed its own individual Parliamentary borough, and thus its own Oldham parliamentary constituency.

Geography

The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, highlighting Oldham in red.

Oldham rises high in the south Pennines, northeast of Manchester City Centre, in North West England. The town stands on an elevation between the rivers Irk and Medlock, near the source of the former and near the west bank of the upper part of the latter. Oldham, for centuries, lay along part of the very edge of the historic county boundaries of Lancashire, with the parish of Saddleworth directly adjacent to the east.
Localities and suburbs within Oldham include Abbeyhills, Alt, Clarksfield, Coldhurst, Coppice, Derker, Fitton Hill, Garden Suburb, Glodwick, Hathershaw, Hollinwood, Moorside, Limeside, Sholver, Waterhead, Werneth, and Westwood.
Since 1961, Oldham has been twinned with Kranj in Slovenia.^[17]

Demography

According to census data from 2001, Oldham had a population of 103,544, making it the 55th most populous settlement within England.
Oldham is second only to Blackburn in terms of its percentage of residents of South Asian heritage. At the time of the 2001 census, nearly one in eight of its residents were from this ethnic group. People of Pakistani heritage form just over half of all South Asian residents.^[18]
The conjoining areas of Westwood and Coldhurst, have the highest concentration of Bangladeshis outside London, forming 61% of the local population.^[18] It totals 4.9% of the population of the whole of Oldham, however.^[20]
Below is a table outlining the population change of the town since 1901, which demonstrates a trend of general decline in population total during the 20th century:

Year	1901	1911	1921	1931	1939	1951	1961	1971	2001
Population	137,246	147,483	144,983	140,314	120,511	121,266	115,346	105,922	103,544
''Source: Vision of Britain''

Landmarks

Oldham Parish Church

Oldham Parish Church

The "Oldham Parish Church of St. Mary with St. Peter", in its present form, dates from 1830 and was designed in the Gothic Revival Style by Richard Lane, a Manchester born Architect. It was linked with St. Mary's Church in Prestwich and together the sites were principal churches of the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham.
A church building had existed on the site since 1280 A.D. During this time, a small chapel stood on the site to serve the local historic townships of Oldham, Chadderton, Royton and Crompton. This was later replaced by an Early English Gothic Church in the 15th century. With the coming of the Industrial Revolution, the population of Oldham increased at a dramatic rate, (from under 2,000 in 1714, to over 32,000 by 1831). The rapid growth of the local populations warranted that the building be rebuilt in to the structure which stands today. The cost of building was GBP 30,000, one third of which was spent on the crypt structure. Alternative designs by Sir Charles Barry, the designer of the Houses of Parliament, although now regarded by some as superior, were rejected.^[21] The Church, of the Anglican denomination, is in active use for worship.

Oldham War Memorial

Oldham War Memorial

Erected as a permanent memorial to the men of Oldham who were killed in World War I, the Oldham War Memorial consists of a granite base surmounted by a bronze sculpture depicting five soldiers making their way along the trenches in order to go into battle. The main standing figure, having climbed out of the trenches, is shown calling on his comrades to advance. The base serves to house books containing the roll of honour of the 1st, 10th and 24th Battalions, Manchester Regiment. The pedestal has two bronze doors at either side.^[22]
Commissioned in 1919 by the Oldham War Memorial Committee, the Oldham War Memorial was conceptualised and fabricated by Albert Toft, and unveiled by General Sir Ian Hamilton on April 28, 1923, before a crowd estimated at over 10,000.
The inscriptions on the memorial read:

★ Over doors: ''"MORS JANUA VITAE, 1914-1918"'' (death is the gate of life)

★ Opposite side: ''"TO GOD BE THE PRAISE"''

Oldham Civic Centre

Civic Centre

The Civic Centre tower is the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham's centre of local governance. The fifteen storey white-brick building has housed the vast majority of the local government's offices since its completion in 1977. Standing at the summit of the town, the tower stands over 200 feet high and was built at a cost of GBP6,800,000.^[23]
The Civic Centre can be seen from as far away as Salford, Trafford, Wythenshawe and even Winter Hill in Lancashire, and offers panoramic views across the city of Manchester and the Cheshire plain.

Town Hall

Oldham Town Hall (also known as the Old Town Hall) is a neo-classical town hall built in 1841. It was from the Oldham Town Hall steps that Sir Winston Churchill made his inaugural acceptance speech when he was first elected as a Conservative MP in 1900. A Blue Plaque features on the exterior of the hall, which serves to commemorate the event.
Once the administrative and historic centre of the town, the structure has been derelict for many years, but has regularly been earmarked for redevelopment as part of a number of proposed regeneration projects,^[24] including The Heart of Oldham.

Transport

Mumps Bridge, Oldham

Oldham is about 4 miles from the major M62 motorway, but is linked to it by the M60 and A627(M).
Central Oldham once had six railway stations but now has four, Oldham Werneth, Oldham Mumps, Derker and Hollinwood. It is planned to link the town to the Manchester Metrolink tram network, but plans are currently in abeyance due to government concerns to meet the escalating costs of the required engineering work.
Oldham has a bus station with frequent bus services to Manchester, Rochdale, Ashton-under-Lyne and Middleton with other services to various areas in Oldham plus Stalybridge and Hyde and across the Pennines to Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. The bus station is also used by National Express coaches.

Sports

The town is home to a number of sports teams including Oldham Athletic Association Football Club, Oldham Town Football Club and Oldham Roughyeds Rugby League Football Club. In addition the town is host to several league cricket teams with a number of semi-professional league clubs including Oldham CC, and Werneth CC in the Central Lancashire League.

Education

:''This is a list of schools and colleges in Oldham town; for schools and colleges in the rest of the borough, see Metropolitan Borough of Oldham.''

★ Blue Coat School

★ Breeze Hill School

★ Counthill School

★ Grange School

★ Hulme Grammar School

★ Kaskenmoor School

★ North Chadderton School

★ Royton and Crompton School

★ South Chadderton School

★ St Augustine of Canterbury R.C. High School

★ The Hathershaw College
There are also two colleges of further education in Oldham. These are:

★ Oldham Sixth Form College [1]

★ The Oldham College
Oldham has one centre of higher education:

★ University Centre Oldham

Present day

Although Oldham has now lost all of its cotton manufacturing, the town still bears the marks, at least architecturally, of the legacy of its industrial past. A large percentage of the properties in the area are Victorian terraces, built as dwellings for the masses of cotton mill workers of the times. The skyline is still marked by a number of surviving large red brick mills.
Today, largely due to migration to the town during the mid-20th century, ethnic minority populations number around 26,000, including sizeable Pakistani (13,754/6.3%), Bangladeshi (9,817/4.5%) and Indian (1,562/0.7%) communities.^[25]

Nightlife

Oldham town centre has a vibrant nightlife, offering some forty pubs, bars and nightclubs. Many of the venues are focused around the Yorkshire Street area of the town centre. The nightlife of Oldham in recent years has been criticised for its level of binge-drinking and violence, and has led to the introduction of hands-on policing and medical care for the area.^[26]

Theatre

The town has a lively theatrical culture, and is possibly the most vibrant in the Greater Manchester area outside of the city of Manchester. It is home to the Oldham Coliseum Theatre, the Grange Arts Centre and the Oldham Theatre Workshop.

Art

Oldham is now home to a newly built state-of-the-art art gallery, Gallery Oldham, which was completed in February 2002 as the first phase of the Oldham Cultural Quarter to the south of the town centre. Later phases of the development saw the construction of an extended Oldham Library, a lifelong learning centre and there are plans to include a performing arts centre.

Oldham Market Hall

Shopping and retail

Oldham is a major centre of retail for the wider metropolitan borough and of Greater Manchester. In addition to numerous independent shops and traders, Oldham includes the following major shopping malls:

★ The Spindles - a modern shopping centre with over forty retailers, banks, building societies and catering outlets. The centre houses one of Europe's largest stained glass roofs, created by local artist Brian Clarke, which depicts the life and times of one of Oldham's famous sons, Sir William Walton. Shops include Argos, Debenhams and Next. H&M will open in The Spindles in 2008.

★ Oldham Town Square - the other main shopping centre in the centre of Oldham. Town Square is older than the Spindles and was established for a number of years before the Spindles was built. Town Square Shopping Centre includes Boots, HMV and WH Smith. The Spindles and Town Square are located next to each other with access between the two to form one big shopping centre.

★ Tommyfield Market - a spacious modern indoor market hall.
Other shops in Oldham are located on the high street, including Primark and Woolworths.

Notable People

Oldham has had many famous residents, both of national and international acclaim. Some of the people listed below may be from the wider Oldham area, including its satellite towns.

Muscians

Actors

★ Barclay James Harvest, 1970s-80s rock band. ★ Carl Cox, Dance music DJ and producer. ★ Chris Curtis, formerly drummer with The Searchers. ★ Dame Eva Turner, Opera singer. ★ Gary Mounfield, of Stone Roses and Primal Scream fame. ★ Inspiral Carpets, Madchester indie band. ★ Mark Owen, of 1990s/2000s boyband, Take That. ★ Jim Dobson, of rock band Pure Reason Revolution. ★ N-Trance, Dance music producers. ★ Puressence, indie rock band. ★ Sir William Walton, celebrated composer.

★ Alex Carter, currently playing Jamie Hope in Emmerdale ★ Anne Kirkbride, currently playing Deirdre in Coronation Street ★ Barbara Knox, currently playing Rita Sullivan in Coronation Street ★ Christopher Biggins, TV and pantomime actor ★ Helen Fraser, TV and film actress ★ Jack Wild, film actor who died in 2006 ★ Judith Barker, actress who played Janet Reid in Coronation Street between 1969 and 1977. ★ Kate Ashfield, film actress who played Liz in Shaun of the Dead ★ Kelvin Fletcher, currently playing Andy Sugden in Emmerdale ★ Leslie Schofield, who played Jeff Healy in Eastenders and acted in the first Star Wars film ★ Ralf Little, star of The Royle Family and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps ★ Ricky Whittle, current playing Calvin Valentine in Hollyoaks ★ Robert Sloman, actor who died in 2005 ★ Sally Ann Matthews, who played Jenny Bradley in Coronation Street between 1986 and 1989, briefly returning in 1993, and Sandra Briggs in Emmerdale between 2005 and 2006 ★ Sarah Lancashire, who played Raquel in Coronation Street between 1991 and 1996, and starred in Where The Heart Is and Clocking Off ★ Shobna Gulati, who played Sunita in Coronation Street between 2001 and 2006 ★ Suranne Jones, who played Karen McDonald in Coronation Street between 2000 and 2004 ★ Warren Clarke, who plays Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel in Dalziel and Pascoe

Sportsmen

Others

★ Adam Fogerty, former Halifax, St Helens and Warrington Wolves rugby league player, and also a professional boxer. ★ Barrie McDermott, ex-rugby league player, now a pundit for Sky Sports. ★ David May, former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United footballer. ★ David Platt, former England national football team captain who played for Aston Villa and Sampdoria amongst other clubs, now a pundit for Sky Sports. ★ Des Foy, rugby league player who played for Widnes Vikings and Oldham Roughyeds amongst other clubs. ★ Iestyn Harris, former Welsh international rugby league player now playing for Bradford Bulls. ★ Keith Andrew, former England cricket player. ★ Kevin Sinfield, Leeds Rhinos rugby league player. ★ Matthew Maynard, England cricket player. ★ Mike Atherton, former England cricket captain, now a commentator for Sky Sports. ★ Mike Ford, former rugby league player and now a successful rugby union coach. ★ Paul Sculthorpe, current St Helens and former Great Britain rugby league player. ★ Richard Edghill, footballer who played for Manchester City and Queen's Park Rangers. ★ Walter Winterbottom, former England national football team manager.

★ Australian TV show host Tony Barber. ★ Comedians Bernard Cribbins, Eric Sykes, Bill Waddington and Albert John Walker. ★ Comedy double act Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball. ★ Super model Karen Elson ★ Glamour model Michelle Marsh. ★ Professor Ian Kershaw, a historian and author of biographies of Adolf Hitler. ★ Albert Pierrepoint, the famous 20th century public executioner, ran a public house in Manchester Road, Hollinwood, Oldham named ''"Help The Poor Struggler".'' ★ Laurence Chaderton, scholar, and one of the translators of the King James Version of the Bible. ★ TV Presenter Phillip Schofield. ★ The world's first test tube baby, Louise Joy Brown, was born at the Royal Oldham Hospital on July 25, 1978. ★ Vance Miller, controversial entrepreneur and director of Maple Industries. ★ John Lees Entrepreneur and founder of Beaver Co PLC. ★ Visual artist, Brian Clarke

See also

★ Oldham Evening Chronicle

References

1. A select gazetteer of local government areas, Greater Manchester County Anon
2. Gurr & Hunt (1998). ''The Cotton Mills of Oldham'', Oldham Education & Leisure. Pg 4. ISBN 0-902809-46-6
3. NW Cotton Towns Learning Journey www.spinningtheweb.org.uk. URL accessed October 27, 2006.
4. Key Statistics for urban areas in England and Wales, England & Wales 2001 Census. URL accessed February 19, 2007.
5. The Town & Borough of Oldham, www.manchester2002-uk.com, November 26, 2005, URL accessed June 20, 2006
6. "Oldham" ''A Dictionary of British Place-Names''. A. D. Mills. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Oxford University. URL accessed June 28, 2006.
7. The Town & Borough of Oldham, www.manchester2002-uk.com, November 26, 2005, URL accessed June 20, 2006.
8. Oldham Heritage, www.visitoldham.co.uk, URL accessed June 20, 2006.
9. Frangopulo, N.J, (1977), ''Tradition in Action: The Historical Evolution of the Greater Manchester County'', EP Publishing, Wakefield, p.154.
10. Oldham Spartacus Educational
11. Visit Oldham - The History of Oldham, www.visitoldham.co.uk. URL accessed June 28, 2006
12. Spinning The Web - Oldham. URL accessed June 28, 2006
13. Photographs from the book, personal website of David J. Carter. URL accessed October 24, 2006.
14. PRISONER OF WAR CAMPS (1939 – 1948), Project Report by ROGER JC THOMAS, English Heritage 2003.
15. "The Ritchie Report" Oldhamir.org.uk, December 11, 2001, URL accessed June 13, 2006
16. "Reasons Behind The Ethnic Riots in Oldham", Islam Online, June 13, 2001, URL accessed June 19, 2006
17. Tourist Information in Oldham
18. Ethnicity profiles: North West England: Oldham, www.cre.gov.uk. URL accessed March 28, 2007.
19. Ethnicity profiles: North West England: Oldham, www.cre.gov.uk. URL accessed March 28, 2007.
20. Bangladeshi Diaspora in the UK, Dr. D Garbin, University of Surrey, June 17 2005. URL accessed January 5, 2007.
21. Oldham Parish Church - History, oldhamparishchurch.org, March 21, 2005. URL accessed June 25, 2006
22. Oldham War Memorial Public Monument and Sculpture Association - URL accessed June 28, 2006
23. The Town & Borough of Oldham - Contemporary Oldham, www.manchester2002-uk.com, September 10, 2003, URL accessed June 26, 2006
24. Town Centre Redevelopment Oldham.gov.uk. URL accessed October 1, 2006.
25. Population Statistics for Oldham (See page 3). URL accessed June 28, 2006
26. Field hospital for binge drinkers, www.paramedic.org.uk, February 2005. URL accessed June 28, 2006

External links

★ Oldham Website operated by the local council.

★ Oldham, GENUKI article, including genealogical data and historic descriptions.

★ Oldham Advertiser Oldham Advertiser newspaper website

★ Oldham Evening Chronicle Local newspaper website.

★ Oldham Coliseum Theatre

★ Oldham Carnival official website.

★ Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm Oldham's Community Radio Station.