Bardsley is a

suburban area A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

, in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, England. It lies on undulating land by the

River Medlock The River Medlock is a river in Greater Manchester, England, which rises near Oldham and flows south and west for to join the River Irwell in Manchester city centre. Sources Rising in the hills that surround Strinesdale just to the east of O ...

, on Oldham's southern boundary with

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

in the

Metropolitan Borough of Tameside The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. It is named after the River Tame, which flows through the borough, and includes the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Du ...

History

The place name itself is derived from the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

''"Beornraëd"'' plus the Anglo-Saxon word ''"leah"'' which means wood clearing, therefore meaning "a woodland clearing of a man called Beornraëd".

Governance

Lying within the historic county boundaries of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

from a very early time, Bardsley anciently formed a hamlet within the township and parish of

. Following the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

, Bardsley constituted a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

within the

Limehurst Rural District Limehurst was, from 1894 to 1954, a rural district in the administrative county of Lancashire, England. History Ashton-under-Lyne Rural Sanitary District was created in 1872 and included parishes in both Cheshire and Lancashire.F A Youngs Jr. ...

and

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...

. Limehurst was included in the Ashton-under-Lyne Poor Law Union. In 1951, owing to urbanisation, part of Bardsley was incorporated into the neighbouring

County Borough of Oldham Oldham was, from 1849 to 1974, a local government district in the northwest of England coterminous with the town of Oldham. History Improvement Commissioners Oldham was anciently a township in the large ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-O ...

and in 1954, Limehurst Rural District was abolished with the rest of the parish of Bardsley joining the County Borough of Oldham.https://web.archive.org/web/20110718144414/http://www.gmcro.co.uk/Guides/Gazeteer/gazzb.htm Greater Manchester County Record Office Retrieved 9 July 2013 Following the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, the County Borough of Oldham was abolished and Bardsley became part of the newly formed

Metropolitan Borough of Oldham The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Oldham, The borough had a population of 237,628 making it the seventh-largest district by population ...

Transport

Three bus services serve Bardsley with all three terminating at Ashton-under-Lyne.

First Greater Manchester First Greater ManchesterCompanies House extract company no 28186 ...

's frequent 409 service runs to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

via Oldham and

Royton Royton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 21,284 in 2011. Close to the source of the River Irk, near undulating land at the foothills of the South Pennines, it is northwest of Old ...

. Another First service, the 419, runs to Middleton via

Hathershaw Hathershaw (or, archaically, Hathershaw Moor) is an urban area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It occupies a hillside to the immediate south of Oldham town centre, and is bordered by the districts of Coppice and Fitton Hill to, respect ...

Chadderton Chadderton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk and Rochdale Canal. It is located in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Oldham, south of Rochdale and north-east of Manchester. Hi ...

and

Mills Hill Mills Hill is an industrial and residential area that lies on the common border of Middleton and Chadderton in Greater Manchester, England. It lies 1.3 miles east of Middleton town centre and 1.4 miles to the west of central Chadderton. It ...

Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...

's 396 service runs to

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial Re ...

via Fitton Hill, Hollinwood and

Failsworth Failsworth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and south-west of Oldham. The orbital M60 motorway skirts it to the east. The population at the 2011 census was 2 ...

. The nearest railway station is

which provides links to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

and

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

External links

Historic boundaries of Bardsley civil parish: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10332655/boundary

References

{{Geographic Location , title = Neighbouring localities. , Northwest =

Garden Suburb The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, and ...

, North =

, Northeast =

Fitton Hill Fitton Hill is a large housing estate in the town of Oldham in Greater Manchester, contiguous with Hathershaw and Bardsley. Lying 2 miles south of Oldham town centre, the Fitton Hill estate was built during the 1950s and 1960s on previously u ...

, West =

Limeside Limeside is a large housing estate in Oldham, Lancashire, England, 2 miles south of the town centre in the Hollinwood, Lancashire , Hollinwood ward, contiguous with Failsworth, Hollins, Oldham, Hollins and Garden Suburb, Oldham, Garden Suburb. Da ...

, Centre =Bardsley , East =

Park Bridge Park Bridge is an area of Ashton-under-Lyne, in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is situated in the Medlock Valley, by Ashton-under-Lyne's border with Oldham. Park Bridge anciently lay within medieval ma ...

, Southwest =

Daisy Nook Daisy Nook is a country park in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, England, which runs through the Medlock Valley. History The name Daisy Nook came from a book by Benjamin Brierley titled 'A day out' or 'A Summer Ramble'. Brierley asked his friend ...

, South = Limehurst , Southeast =

Areas of Oldham