Delph (

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''(ge)delf'' a quarry) is a village in the civil parish of

Saddleworth Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets as well as suburbs of Oldham on the west side of the Pennine hills. Areas include Austerlands, Delph, ...

in the

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 ...

, 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.

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

within the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, it lies amongst the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

on the River Tame below the village of

Denshaw Denshaw is a village in the civil parish of Saddleworth in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies by the source of the River Tame, high amongst the Pennines above the village of Delph, northeast of Oldham, ...

, east-northeast of

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 ...

, and north-northwest of

Uppermill Uppermill is a village in the civil parish of Saddleworth in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Tame in a valley amongst the South Pennines with ...

. The centre of the village has barely changed from the 19th century when a number of small textile mills provided employment for the local community. There is a significant first century AD Roman fort at Castleshaw. The village is home to one of the Saddleworth

Whit Friday Whit may refer to: * Whit or Whitsun, another name for the holy day of Pentecost * Whit (given name) * Whit (novel), by Iain Banks * WHIT, a radio station licensed to Madison, Wisconsin, United States, which holds the call sign WHIT beginning 2009 ...

brass band contests, with in the region of seventy-five bands from across the UK and beyond marching down the main street at five-minute intervals on the evening of the contest which often continues into the early hours. In the village of Dobcross a Henry Livings memorial prize is open to bands who play on any of the morning's walks on Whit Friday. It is also home to the Millgate Arts Centre, the home of the Saddleworth Players. This group puts on six plays a year, as well as hosting a number of other events throughout the year. The main street running through the centre of Delph was used in some of the external shots of the 2001 feature film ''

The Parole Officer ''The Parole Officer'' is a 2001 British comedy film, directed by John Duigan. The film follows a diverse group of former criminals as they assist their probation officer in proving his innocence after a murder accusation. Plot Simon Garden ...

'', starring

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...

Om Puri Om Prakash Puri (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Bengali, Kannada,English, Punjabi and one Telugu film, as well as independent and art films and also starred ...

and

Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in ''East of Sudan'', '' Star!'', and two adaptations of ''The Railway Children''—the BBC's 1968 television serial ...

. Delph was also used in the filming of the

scene in the 1996 film ''

Brassed Off ''Brassed Off'' is a 1996 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor. The film is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of ...

''. Delph is mentioned in the song "This One's For Now" by the band

Half Man Half Biscuit Half Man Half Biscuit are an English rock band, formed in 1984 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil Cr ...

on their 2014 album ''

Urge for Offal ''Urge for Offal'' is the thirteenth album by UK Wirral-based rock band Half Man Half Biscuit, released 20 October 2014 on Probe Plus Records. The album reached #68 on the UK album chart. Nigel Blackwell of Half Man Half Biscuit has discussed ...

''. The legendary landmark above Delph ' St Thomas Church at The Heights' was featured in the blockbuster movie "

A Monster Calls ''A Monster Calls'' is a low fantasy novel written for young adults by Patrick Ness (from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd) illustrated by Jim Kay and published by Walker in 2011. Set in present-day England, it features a boy who struggles ...

" starring

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on ''The I ...

Delph railway station Delph railway station served the village of Delph, Oldham, in what is now Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, between 1851 and 1955. History The station was opened on 1 September 1851 as the terminus of the London and North Western Railway bra ...

was opened in 1851 as part of the London and North Western Railway route from Oldham to Delph. The station closed in May 1955, when the

Delph Donkey The Delph Donkey was a line of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in northern England which opened in 1849 to connect Oldham, Greenfield and Delph to the main Huddersfield to Manchester line. Route Both the Saddleworth villages of Del ...

passenger train service to Delph via Greenfield was withdrawn. The

A62 road A6, A 6 or A-6 can refer to: Arts and entertainment *A6, a mutated flu virus in the short story "Night Surf" by Stephen King *A-6, a renamed version of the US Security Group in the 1997 comic book movie ''Spawn'' Electronics and software * A6 rec ...

runs just south of the village and was previously the main thoroughfare from Manchester and Oldham into Huddersfield and Leeds, although now sees comparatively lower traffic levels upon the opening of the M62 around 5 miles north of Delph. Local buses run to Oldham and

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 ...

Notable people

Albert Mallalieu Albert Edward Mallalieu (13 January 1904 – March 1991) was an English cricketer. Mallalieu was a right-handed batsman. He was born in Delph, Saddleworth, Yorkshire. Malalieu his first-class debut for Wales against Scotland in 1924. He ...

(1904–1991), English cricketer

References

External links

www.delph.org.uk
{{authority control Villages in Greater Manchester Towns and villages of the Peak District Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Saddleworth

Notable people

See also

References

External links