Place:Saddleworth, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

Watchers
NameSaddleworth
Alt namesAusterlandssource: hamlet in parish
Delphsource: hamlet in parish
Denshawsource: hamlet in parish
Dobcrosssource: hamlet in parish
Friarmeresource: old church in Delph
Friezlandsource: hamlet in parish
Greenfieldsource: hamlet in parish
Lydgatesource: hamlet in parish
Scoutheadsource: hamlet in parish
Springheadsource: hamlet in parish
Uppermillsource: hamlet in parish
Upper Millsource: Family History Library Catalog
TypeTownship, Parish, Urban district
Coordinates53.55°N 2°W
Located inWest Riding of Yorkshire, England     ( - 1974)
Also located inYorkshire, England    
Greater Manchester, England     (1974 - )
See alsoAgbrigg and Morley Wapentake, West Riding of Yorkshire, Englandwapentake (hundred) in which it was located until end of 19th century
Rochdale, Lancashire, Englandancient parish in which it was a township
Oldham (metropolitan borough), Greater Manchester, Englandmetropolitan borough of which it has been a part since 1974
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Saddleworth has been, since 1974, a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets along the west side of the Pennine hills: Austerlands, Delph, Denshaw, Dobcross, Greenfield, Grotton, Lydgate, Scouthead, Springhead, and Uppermill (all redirected here).

Saddleworth, which lies east of the large town of Oldham and east-northeast of the city of Manchester, is broadly rural, and has a scattered population of 24,351, making it one of the larger civil parishes in the United Kingdom. Prior to becoming merged into Oldham (metropolitan borough) in Greater Manchester in 1974, Saddleworth was located in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

For centuries Saddleworth was a centre of home-produced woollen cloth. The cloth reached the markets through an agent who would supply the raw wool and pay for the woven cloth produced. During the 18th and 19th centuries Saddleworth became a centre for cotton spinning and weaving, so much so that by the end of Queen Victoria's reign, mechanized textile production had become a vital part of the local economy. The boom in industry called for greater transport links, including the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and several railways.

Following the Great Depression of the 1920s and '30s Saddleworth's textile sector declined. Much of Saddleworth's architecture and infrastructure dates from its textile processing days however, notably the Saddleworth Viaduct and several cottages and terraces.

Ecclesiastically, Saddleworth was part of the ancient parish of Rochdale in Lancashire and was therefore long talked of as "the part of Yorkshire where Lancastrians lived". The former Saddleworth Urban District was the only part of the West Riding to have been amalgamated into the new county of Greater Manchester in 1974. However, strong cultural links with Yorkshire remain amongst its communities. There are several brass bands in the parish.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Saddleworth. This is a very extensive article covering the history of Saddleworth from many angles.

Delph

Delph (redirected here) is a village within Saddleworth civil parish. It lies amongst the Pennines on the River Tame below the village of Denshaw, east-northeast of Oldham, and north-northwest of Uppermill. It is the location of St. Thomas's Church, Friarmere, a redundant Anglican church standing on a hillside overlooking the village. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church was built in 1765 to serve a growing local population who otherwise had to go to church in Rochdale or Saddleworth. A bellcote was added to the exterior in the 19th century, and fittings were added to the interior during the same century. Many of these fittings were removed to the new parish church in Delph when the old church was closed. The old church was declared redundant on 16 April 1970, and was vested in the Trust on 24 May 1972.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Friarmere.

Dobcross

Dobcross (redirected here) is a village within Saddleworth civil parish. It is in a valley in the South Pennines, along the course of the River Tame and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, east-northeast of Oldham and west-southwest of Huddersfield.

For centuries, Dobcross was a hamlet, sustained by domestic flannel and woollen cloth production. Many of the original 17th and 18th century barns and weavers' cottages survive today as listed buildings.

Together with neighbouring Delph, Dobcross is, geographically, "considered as the centre of Saddleworth", although is not its largest village centre by some margin. Industrial tycoon Henry Platt was born in Dobcross in 1770.

Research Tips

  • GENUKI on Saddleworth. The GENUKI page gives numerous references to local bodies providing genealogical assistance.
  • The FamilySearch wiki on the ecclesiastical parish of Rochdale provides a list of useful resources for the local area.
  • A Vision of Britain through Time on Saddleworth.
  • A Vision of Britain through Time provides links to maps of the West Riding, produced by the United Kingdom Ordnance Survey, illustrating the boundaries between the civil parishes and the rural districts at various dates. The location of individual settlements within the parishes is also shown. These maps all expand to a very large scale.
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Saddleworth. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.