Rochdale ( ) is a large town 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, at the foothills of the

South Pennines The South Pennines is a region of moorland and hill country in northern England lying towards the southern end of the Pennines. In the west it includes the Rossendale Valley and the West Pennine Moors. It is bounded by the Greater Manchester co ...

in the dale on the River Roch, northwest 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 northeast of

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 ...

. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, which had a population of 211,699 in the 2011 census. Located within the historic boundaries of the county 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 ...

. Rochdale's

recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world hist ...

begins with an entry in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 under "Recedham Manor". The ancient parish of Rochdale was a division of the

hundred of Salford The Salford Hundred (also known as Salfordshire) was one of the subdivisions of the historic county of Lancashire, in Northern England (see:Hundred (county division). Its name alludes to its judicial centre being the township of Salford (the s ...

and one of the largest ecclesiastical parishes in England, comprising several townships. By 1251, Rochdale had become important enough to have been granted a

Royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

. Rochdale flourished into a centre of

northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

's woollen trade, and by the early 18th century was described as being "remarkable for many wealthy merchants". Rochdale rose to prominence in the 19th century as a

mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe Italy * ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...

and centre for

textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution Textile manufacture during the British Industrial Revolution was centred in south Lancashire and the towns on both sides of the Pennines in the United Kingdom. The main drivers of the Industrial Revolution were textile manufacturing, iron foundi ...

. It was a

boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...

of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, and amongst the first

industrialised Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econom ...

towns. The

Rochdale Canal The Rochdale Canal is in Northern England, between Manchester and Sowerby Bridge, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. Its name refers to the town of Rochdale through which it passes. The Rochdale is a broad canal beca ...

—one of the major navigable broad canals of the United Kingdom—was a highway of commerce during this time used for the haulage of cotton, wool and coal to and from the area. The

socioeconomic Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...

change brought by the success of Rochdale's textile industry in the 19th century led to its rise to

borough status Borough status 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. In Scotland, s ...

and it remained a dominant settlement in its region. However, during the 20th century Rochdale's spinning capacity declined towards an eventual halt. Rochdale is the birthplace of the modern Co-operative Movement, to which more than one billion people worldwide belonged in 2012. The Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society was founded in 1844 by 28 local residents as a response to the high cost and frequent adulteration of basic foodstuffs by shopkeepers at the time. The Pioneers were notable for combining the notion of the patronage dividend alongside investing trading surplus for member benefit, especially in education. The

Rochdale Principles The Rochdale Principles are a set of ideals for the operation of cooperatives. They were first set out in 1844 by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in Rochdale, England and have formed the basis for the principles on which co-operativ ...

, the set of ideals which underpinned the society, are still used, in updated form, by the

International Co-operative Alliance The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) is a non-governmental co-operative federation or, more precisely, a co-operative union representing co-operatives and the co-operative movement worldwide. It was founded in 1895 to unite, represent an ...

. The Rochdale Pioneers shop was the precursor to The Co-operative Group, the largest consumer co-operative in the world.

Rochdale Town Hall Rochdale 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 recorded in the National Heritage List for Engla ...

—a Grade I listed building—dates from 1871 and is one of the United Kingdom's finest examples of

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

architecture.

History

Etymology

The town is recorded as ''Recedham'' in the

and ''Rachetham'' in 1193. Variations of ''Rechedham'' continue into the thirteenth century when the first element's termination is dropped as ''Rachedam'' became ''Racheham''. This change was soon followed with the suffix ''-ham'' (homestead) changing to ''-dale'' (wide valley). ''Rachdale'' is recorded as a name for the town in 1242, but may have been used earlier as a name for the valley, Hundred and Parish.Mills, A.D.: ''A Dictionary of English Place Names'', 2nd Edition, page 289, s.n. Rochdale. Oxford University Press, 1998 The Doomsday Book's rendering of the name led

Eilert Ekwall Bror Oscar Eilert Ekwall (born 8 January 1877 in Vallsjö (now in Sävsjö, Jönköpings län), Sweden, died 23 November 1964 in Lund, Skåne län, Sweden), known as Eilert Ekwall, was Professor of English at Sweden's Lund University from 1909 to ...

to suggest a derivation from ''reced'', an obscure

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 ...

element meaning "hall". This etymology is described as "highly problematic" and not accepted, as the word ''reced'' is only used in poetic contexts and the etymology would be unique in Anglo Saxon England. This etymology would also require the name of the River Roch to be a

back-formation In etymology, back-formation is the process or result of creating a new word via inflection, typically by removing or substituting actual or supposed affixes from a lexical item, in a way that expands the number of lexemes associated with the c ...

from the name of the town, with more robust etymologies all stating that the Anglo-Saxon settlement borrowed a pre-existing Brittonic name for the river. The early forms of ''Rachet-ham'' and ''Reched-ham'' may record a compound ''ro-ced'' or ''ro-cet''. The first element is either from the common intensive prefix ''rö-'' ( Modern Welsh ''rhy-'', Cornish re-) meaning "great" and found in other river names such as the Ribble and the

Rother Rother may refer to: General *Rother (surname) (also sometimes spelled Röther) *Rother District, a local government district in East Sussex, England *Rother FM, an independent local radio station for Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England *Rother Kup ...

or ''rag-'', ( Modern Welsh ''ar-'') meaning "opposite" or "adjacent to". The second element would then almost certainly be ''cę:d'' or ''cet'', ( Modern Welsh ''coed'') meaning "wood". This would give the town's name a meaning of "Homestead on the river of the great wood" or "Homestead on the river opposite the wood". Another etymology focused on the early forms similarities to ''

Rheged Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ''Hen Ogledd'' ("Old North"), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and ba ...

'', the Cumbric-speaking kingdom in North West England during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. Although this etymology is used to support the theory that this part of Lancashire may have been the centre of a separate kingdom known in Medieval Welsh literature as "South Rheged" or "Argoed" (opposite the wood), it remains unproven as the kingdom's boundaries have not been identified. A further suggestion is that the name "rheged" simply means "area" in the Cumbric language (related to ''Regio'' in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and ''Region'' in Modern English) and that the kingdom of Rheged and the river Roch merely shared a common Celtic name. Although the name of the river is still pronounced (with a long vowel sound), Rochdale is pronounced (with a shorter ''o'' sound).

Early history

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

, leading from Mamucium (

) to Eboracum (

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

), crossed the moors at

Blackstone Edge Blackstone Edge ( ) is a gritstone escarpment at 472 m (1,549 feet) above sea level in the Pennine hills surrounded by moorland on the boundary between Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire in England. History Crossing the escarpment is Bl ...

. During the time of the Danelaw, Rochdale was subjected to incursions by the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

on the

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

. The castle that Castleton 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. At the time of the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

the manor was held by a Saxon thegn, Gamel. Rochdale appears in the

of 1086 as ''Recedham'' and was described as laying within the hundred of Salford and the county of Cheshire. At that time, Rochdale was under the lordship of

Roger the Poitevin Roger the Poitevin (Roger de Poitou) was born in Normandy in the mid-1060s and died before 1140. He was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat, possessing large holdings in both England and through his marriage in France. He was the third son of Roger of Mon ...

. Before 1212 Henry II granted the manor to Roger de Lacy whose family retained it as part of the Honour of Clitheroe until it passed to the Dukes of Lancaster by marriage and then by 1399 to

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

John Byron Vice-Admiral John Byron (8 November 1723 – 1 April 1786) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer. He earned the nickname "Foul-Weather Jack" in the press because of his frequent encounters with bad weather at sea. As a midshipman, he sa ...

bought the manor in 1638 and it was sold by the poet,

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

, 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 In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

times, Rochdale was a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

, 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 baize, kerseys and flannels, was important from the reign of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. 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 measures In lithostratigraphy, the coal measures are the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. In the United Kingdom, the Coal Measures Group consists of the Upper Coal Measures Formation, the Middle Coal Measures Formation and the Lower 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 spinning towns when rose to prominence during the 19th century as a major

and centre for

. It was a

of the

, and amongst the first ever

towns. By the end of the 19th century there were woollen mills,

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

manufacturers,

bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...

ers and

dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...

rs but cotton spinning and weaving were the dominant industries in Rochdale. The

change brought by the success of Rochdale's textile industry in the 19th century led to its rise to

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 Pioneers opened the first Cooperative shop in Toad Lane in 1844. The reformer and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, John Bright (1811–1889), was born in Rochdale and gained a reputation as a leader of political dissent and supporter of the Anti-Corn Law League. The Baron Street drill hall opened in around 1865.

Post-industrial

The first seven series of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

school drama '' Waterloo Road'' were set in Rochdale between 2006 and 2012, and filmed on location at the former Hilltop Primary School in Kirkholt, which closed on 31 August 2005. Most of the out-of-school scenes in the series were filmed around Rochdale, and many of the pupils' homes seen on television were council houses in the Kirkholt area which were mostly built in the early postwar years. It was announced by the BBC and

Shed Media Warner Bros. Television Studios UK (formerly Shed Media Group and later Warner Bros. Television Productions UK) is a British creator and distributor of television content. The Group produces long-running television brands in drama, factual, doc ...

that filming on the series in Rochdale was to end in late 2011, with production moving to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

from early 2012. The final scenes to be shot at the Hilltop Primary site were filmed in November 2011. In April 2012, filming on the eighth series began on location at the new Waterloo Road set, the former

Greenock Academy The Greenock Academy was a mixed non-denominational school in the west end of Greenock, Scotland, founded in 1855, originally independent, later a grammar school with a primary department, and finally a Comprehensive school only for ages eleven t ...

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

, Scotland. The

Rochdale child sex abuse ring The Rochdale child sex abuse ring involved underage teenage girls in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Nine men were convicted of sex trafficking and other offences including rape, trafficking girls for sex and conspiracy to engage in sexual ...

consisted of the organised child sexual abuse that occurred from 2003 until 2009 and the failure of local authorities to act on reports of the abuse until 2014. Attempts by Rochdale Crisis Intervention Team co-ordinator for the NHS,

Sara Rowbotham Sara Rowbotham is a local councillor, community leader and former health worker in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, notable for helping to expose the child sex abuse ring there. She has served as Deputy leader of Rochdale Borough Council since 2018, ...

to alert police and authorities to "patterns of sexual abuse" were ignored. Between 2003 and 2014, Sara Rowbothan, made more than 180 attempts to alert police and social services but was told the witnesses were not reliable. In the 2019 Multiple deprivation index, an area of central Rochdale was ranked as the most deprived area in Greater Manchester and the 31st most deprived area in England.

Governance

Lying within the historic county boundaries of

since the early 12th century, Rochdale was recorded in 1066 as held by Gamel, one of the twenty-one thegns of the Hundred of Salfordshire. The ancient ecclesiastical parish of Rochdale was divided into four townships:

Butterworth Butterworth may refer to: Places * Butterworth (ancient township), a former township centred on Milnrow, in the then Parish of Rochdale, England, United Kingdom * Butterworth, Eastern Cape, now also known as Gcuwa, a town located in South Africa ...

, Castleton,

Hundersfield Hundersfield ( ; also more anciently known as Honersfield and Honnersfield) 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 Lan ...

and

Spotland Spotland ( ) is a district of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. The Rochdale ward name is Spotland and Falinge. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 10,805. It lies on the River Spodden, and is the home of Spotland Stadium ...

. Hundersfield was later divided into four townships: Blatchinworth,

Calderbrook Calderbrook ( ) is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It was originally part of the township of ''Blatchinworth and Calderbrook'' within the ancient parish of Rochdale, becoming a separate ci ...

, Wardleworth and Wuerdle and Wardle. Excluding the large

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...

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, ...

, which lay entirely in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, the parish of Rochdale had an area of . In 1825 commissioners for the social and economic improvement of the town were established. The town became part of a

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

in 1832. As there were no existing township boundaries, the commissioners and later the parliamentary constituency were deemed to cover a circular area extending three-quarters of a mile from the old market-place. Under the terms of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Rochdale became the head of Rochdale Poor Law Union which was established on 15 February 1837 despite considerable local opposition. In 1856 Rochdale was incorporated as a

municipal borough Municipal 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. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

, giving it borough status in the United Kingdom 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 county of Lancashire was created by the Local Government Act 1888, Rochdale was elevated to become the

County Borough of Rochdale Rochdale was, from 1856 to 1974, a local government district coterminate with the town of Rochdale in the northwest of England. Municipal borough In January 1856 the inhabitant householders of the Parliamentary Borough of Rochdale, Lancashire ...

and was, in modern terms, a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

area exempt from the administration of

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...

. In 1900 most of Castleton

Urban District Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

was added to the borough; this

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

included parts of Castleton, Hopwood and Thornham townships. In 1933 parts of Norden Urban District and Birtle with Bamford civil parish were added to the borough. Under 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 town's autonomous

county borough County 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, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...

status was abolished. The municipal boroughs of Middleton and Heywood and Littleborough,

Milnrow Milnrow 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. It is east of Rochdale to ...

and Wardle urban districts are now part of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, one of the ten metropolitan boroughs in

. Since 1953, Rochdale has been twinned with Bielefeld in Germany and since 1956 with

Tourcoing Tourcoing (; nl, Toerkonje ; vls, Terkoeje; pcd, Tourco) is a city in northern France on the Belgian border. It is designated municipally as a Communes of France, commune within the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), ...

in France, as well as

Sahiwal Sahiwal (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ur, ), formerly known as Montgomery, is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 21st largest city of Pakistan by population and the administrative capital of both ...

in Pakistan since 1988 and

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

in Ukraine since 1992. Sahiwal council has received many gifts like fire brigade trucks, ambulances and grants for hospitals from the people of Rochdale.

Parliamentary representation

The Rochdale constituency was created by the Reform Act of 1832. The constituency was held for two decades during the 20th century by

Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a prominent British politician who after his death was revealed to have been a prolific serial sex offender against children. A member of the Liberal Party, he was Member of ...

, first of the Liberal Party and then of the Liberal Democrats. Following the 2010 General Election, the town was represented by

Simon Danczuk Simon Christopher Danczuk (; born 24 October 1966) is a British author and former Member of Parliament (MP) who represented the constituency of Rochdale between 2010 and 2017. He has co-written two books, ''Smile for the Camera: The Double Life ...

MP, who was elected as a Labour MP but was subsequently suspended and under investigation by the Labour Party.

Tony Lloyd Sir Anthony Joseph Lloyd (born 25 February 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who has discontinuously served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1983, currently as the MP for Rochdale since 2017. He was MP for Stretford from 1983 to 1 ...

is the current MP for Rochdale constituency following the snap general election held on 8 June 2017.

Geography

Rochdale stands about above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

, north-northeast of Manchester city centre, in the

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

of the River Roch.

Saddleworth Moor Saddleworth Moor is a moorland in North West England. Reaching more than above sea level, it is in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park. It is crossed by the A635 road and the Pennine Way passes to its eastern side. Geography ...

and the

are close to the east, whilst on all other sides, Rochdale is bound by smaller towns, including Whitworth, Littleborough,

, Royton, Heywood and Shaw and Crompton, with little or no green space between them. Rochdale's

built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...

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 house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

s from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rochdale's Town Hall, seven large

tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently ...

s (locally nicknamed 'The Seven Sisters') and a number of former cotton mills mark the town's skyline. The urban structure 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 district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

in the town centre, which is the local centre of commerce. There is a mixture of high-density urban areas,

suburb 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 ...

s, semi-rural and

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

locations in Rochdale, but overwhelmingly the

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long h ...

in the town is urban. For purposes of the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for th ...

, it forms the fifth largest settlement of the

Greater Manchester Urban Area The Greater Manchester Built-up Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), consisting of the large conurbation that encompasses the urban element of the city of Manchester and the metropolitan area that forms ...

, the United Kingdom's third largest conurbation. The M62 motorway passes to the south and southwest of Rochdale. Two

heavy rail Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid accelerati ...

lines enter Rochdale from the east, joining at Rochdale railway station before continuing southwards to the city of Manchester.

Divisions and suburbs

* Ashworth * Balderstone * Bamford * Belfield *

Buckley Buckley may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Buckley's, a Canadian pharmaceutical corporation * Buckley Aircraft, an American aircraft manufacturer * Buckley Broadcasting, an American broadcasting company * Buckley School (California), ...

* Buersil * Burnedge * Caldershaw * Castleton * Cronkeyshaw * Cutgate * Deeplish * Falinge * Fieldhouse * Firgrove * Foxholes * Halfacre * Hamer * Healey * Hurstead * Kingsway * Kirkholt * Lowerfold * Lowerplace * Marland * Meanwood * Newbold * Nook Farm *

Norden Norden is a Scandinavian and German word, directly translated as "the North". It may refer to: Places England * Norden, Basingstoke, a ward of Basingstoke and Deane * Norden, Dorset, a hamlet near Corfe Castle * Norden, Greater Manchester, a vil ...

* Oakenrod * Oulder Hill * Passmonds * Prickshaw * Rooley Moor * Shawclough * Smallbridge *

Smithy Bridge Smithy Bridge is a suburb of Littleborough in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Hollingworth Lake Country Park is close by. It also has a link to the Rochdale Canal and has its own railway station. It was once a ...

* Sparth Bottom *

* Sudden * Syke * Thornham * Turf Hill * Wardleworth

Climate

Rochdale experiences a

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

maritime climate, like much of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, with relatively cool summers and mild winters. There is regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year.

Demography

At the

2001 UK census A 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. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...

, Rochdale had a population of 95,796. The 2001 population density was , 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-habiting couples, and 11.1% single parents with their children. Of those aged 16–74, 37.1% had no academic qualifications, similar to the figure for all of Rochdale, but higher than that of 28.9% in all of England. Retrieved on 17 August 2008.
• Retrieved on 17 August 2008. Rochdale has the highest number of Jobseeker's Allowance claimants in Greater Manchester, with 6.1 per cent of its adult population claiming the benefit in early 2010. In 2011, Rochdale had a population of 107,926 which makes it about the same size as Salford and

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

. The population increased from 95,796 in 2001. Rochdale is one of four townships in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale along with Middleton, Heywood and Pennine (a township which includes Littleborough and Wardle). Rochdale is considered an Urban Subdivision by the local borough council. In 2011, 34.8% of Rochdale's population were non white British, compared with 21.4% for the surrounding borough. Rochdale town also has almost double the percentage of Asians compared with the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, which had a population of 211,699 in 2011. This means the town takes up almost 55% of the borough's population.

Landmarks

is a

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

"widely recognised as being one of the finest municipal buildings in the country". The Grade I listed building is the ceremonial headquarters of

Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council Rochdale Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of ten in Greater Manchester and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England ...

and houses local government departments, including the borough's civil registration office. Built in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

it was inaugurated on 27 September 1871. The architect,

William Henry Crossland William Henry Crossland (Yorkshire, 1835 – London, 14 November 1908), known professionally as W.H. Crossland, was a 19th-century English architect and a pupil of George Gilbert Scott. His architectural works included the design of three building ...

, won a competition held in 1864. The town hall had a

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

topped by a wooden spire with a gilded statue of

Saint George and the Dragon In a legend, Saint Georgea soldier venerated in Christianitydefeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a human tr ...

which were destroyed by fire on 10 April 1883. A new stone clock tower and spire in the style of

Manchester Town Hall Manchester Town Hall is a Victorian, Neo-gothic municipal building in Manchester, England. It is the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses a number of local government departments. The building faces Albert Square to th ...

was designed by

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known f ...

, and erected in 1888. Art critic

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

described the building as possessing a "rare picturesque beauty". Its

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows, some designed by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

, are credited as "the finest modern examples of their kind". The building came to the attention of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

who was said to have admired it so much that he wished to ship the building, brick-by-brick, to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

had the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

been defeated in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Rochdale Cenotaph Rochdale Cenotaph is a First World War memorial on the Esplanade in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, in the north west of England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it is one of seven memorials in England based on his Cenotaph in London and one of hi ...

, a 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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–1918). The monument and surrounding gardens were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Another vast feature in Rochdale is the

Kingsway Business Park Kingsway Business Park is a business park in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. JD Sports and Wincanton for ASDA have warehouses on the site. Kingsway Village, a part of the business park, is a planned housing ...

for which planning permission for its construction began in 2009. It covers an area of 420 acres (0.67 sq miles or 1.7 sq km). One of the most well known landmarks within the business park is the

JD Sports JD Sports Fashion plc, more commonly known as JD Sports or JD, is a British sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Pentlan ...

Warehouse Distribution Centre, which was opened in 2012 and contains a facility of 1.4 million sq ft that employs over 1,000 people.

Transport

Public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

in Rochdale is co-ordinated by

Transport for Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. TfGM is responsible for investments in improving transport services and facilities. ...

who owns the bus station and coordinates transport services in the area.

Road

The earliest routes around Rochdale were tracks and

packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

routes and a paved track over Blackstone Edge into

that had Roman origins. As trade increased the Blackstone Edge

turnpike Turnpike often refers to: * A type of gate, another word for a turnstile * In the United States, a toll road Turnpike may also refer to: Roads United Kingdom * A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...

road was built in 1735. The M62 motorway 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

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 ...

. The A627(M) provides drivers a quick access to the M62 and to Oldham.

Rochdale Canal

The idea for the

emerged in 1776, when

James Brindley James Brindley (1716 – 27 September 1772) 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 Born i ...

was commissioned to survey possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester. However it was not until 4 April 1794 that an Act of Parliament was obtained. The broad canal which linked the

Bridgewater Canal The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, Greater Manchester, 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. It was ...

in Manchester with the Aire and Calder Navigation 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 Lake. The canal fell into disuse but was restored 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

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

and

industries led to the building of the Manchester and Leeds Railway which opened in 1839 from Manchester to Littleborough, and from Normanton to Hebden Bridge in 1840. The linking section opened on completion of the

Summit Tunnel Summit Tunnel in England is one of the world's oldest railway tunnels. It was constructed between 1838 and 1841 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway Company to provide a direct line between Leeds and Manchester. When built, Summit Tunnel was the ...

in 1841. Rochdale railway station is about a mile south of the town centre. Trains run to Manchester Victoria, Halifax,

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

and

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. A new service to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

and

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

commenced in 2015. The service to Manchester Victoria on the

Oldham Loop line The Oldham Loop Line was a local railway route in Greater Manchester, England, used by trains that ran from Manchester Victoria to Rochdale via Oldham Mumps. Services on the line at the time of its closure were operated by Northern Rail. The l ...

ended in October 2009, in preparation for conversion of the line to an extension of the Metrolink light rail system, renamed as the Oldham and Rochdale Line. 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 railway station, and opened on 28 February 2013. The extension to Rochdale town centre, via Drake Street and terminating opposite

Rochdale Interchange Rochdale Interchange is a transport hub located in the town of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England, run by Transport for Greater Manchester. It was opened in November 2013, integrating a new bus station with Rochdale Town Centre tram stop ...

opened on 31 March 2014.

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's old bus station closed in November 2013 and was demolished in April 2014 along with the

multi-storey car park A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...

and municipal offices (known locally as 'The Black Box'), to make way for the new Town Centre East retail and leisure development. The replacement

is located next to the council office building Number One Riverside and is linked with

Rochdale Town Centre tram stop Rochdale Town Centre is a tram stop and the terminus on the Oldham and Rochdale Line (ORL) of Greater Manchester's light-rail Manchester Metrolink, Metrolink system. It was constructed as part of Phase 3b of the system's expansion, and is locat ...

. There are frequent bus services from Rochdale, operated by

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

, to Middleton, Royton, Chadderton, Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bury and Bolton. Frequent services to Manchester city centre are provided by

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

's 17 overground service. There are cross-county services into Lancashire and West Yorkshire, provided by Rosso, who operates to Rawtenstall and Accrington, First West Yorkshire, which operates to Burnley and Halifax, both via Todmorden, while the service to Halifax via Ripponden is operated by Yorkshire Tiger.

Education

Hopwood Hall College is a

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...

college with a campus in Rochdale. It offers vocational courses for school leavers, and courses for adult learners and some

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

Rochdale Sixth Form College Rochdale Sixth Form College is a Sixth Form College opened in September 2010. The Sixth Form College campus is situated next to Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, forming an educational quarter in the town. Rochdale i ...

opened in September 2010, and is the primary provider of

A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

courses in Rochdale and the wider

Metropolitan Borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan ...

. Most secondary schools in the area do not offer

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

courses to students any more.

Religion

St Chad Chad of Mercia (died 2 March 672) was a prominent 7th-century Anglo-Saxon Catholic monk who became abbot of several monasteries, Bishop of the Northumbrians and subsequently Bishop of the Mercians and Lindsey People. He was later canonised ...

's Church is a grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It was the mother church of ancient parish of Rochdale and was founded before 1170, possibly on an

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- ...

site. Much of the current building is the result of late

Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was 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. It was not the same proce ...

. 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

stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...

(no longer in use) are in the churchyard. St Chad's Church is a medieval foundation; however this is not apparent from its outside aspect. The arcades (13th century) have some round and some octagonal piers and variations in ornamentation while the tower arch is of the 14th century. In the 1850s there was a restoration by Joseph Clarke; a rebuilding and lengthening of the chancel which included arcades with narrow bays was the work of

J. S. Crowther Joseph Stretch Crowther (1820 – March 1893) (usually known as J. S. Crowther) was an English architect who practised in Manchester. His buildings are mainly located in Manchester, Cheshire and Cumbria. Life and career Crowther studied ...

in 1883-85. In the 1850s the north aisle was rebuilt; in the 1870s the south aisle was rebuilt and the height of the tower increased by the addition of a large and ornate bell-stage. In the Dearden chapel is a monument to John Dearden, rector in the 14th century; in this chapel are also a number of brasses to members of the Dearden family which are however forgeries made for James Dearden c. 1847. The monument to Jacob Dearden (died 1825) is by R. W. Sievier. The most notable monument is the signed work of William Coleburne of London; it commemorates James Holte of Castleton (d. 1712) and Dorothea his wife (d. 1718) and is made of grey and white marble, St John the Baptist Catholic Church was built in 1927 in Byzantine Revival style and is a Grade II* listed building.

Marland Grange Marland Grange in Marland, Rochdale, Lancashire (Greater Manchester from 1974), was a monastic grange founded before 1212. It was a dependency of the Cistercian Stanlow or Stanlaw Abbey in Cheshire, founded in 1178,; gives an alternative date r ...

was a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

grange of

Stanlow Stanlow Refinery is an oil refinery owned by Essar Energy in Ellesmere Port, North West England. Until 2011 it was owned by Shell UK. The refinery is situated on the south bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, which is used to transport seaborne ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, then of Whalley. The grange was founded before 1212. Rochdale is also home to 21 mosques of various denominations. Rochdale Central Masjid

dara Dara is a given name used for both males and females, with more than one origin. Dara is found in the Bible's Old Testament Books of Chronicles. Dara �רעwas a descendant of Judah (son of Jacob). (The Bible. 1 Chronicles 2:6). Dara (also known ...

is the largest of Rochdale's mosques.

Public services

Home Office policing in Rochdale is provided by Greater Manchester Police and the Rochdale Division has headquarters at Town Meadow adjacent to the

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cour ...

. Statutory emergency fire and rescue service is provided by the

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) is the statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England. It is part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. GMFRS covers an area of ...

, which has fire stations in Rochdale, Littleborough and Heywood. Emergency healthcare is provided by Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. The Trust operates four hospitals in the North Manchester area, including the Rochdale Infirmary for the NHS. Patient transport is provided by the

North West Ambulance Service The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) is the ambulance service for North West England. It is one of ten ambulance trusts providing England with Emergency medical services, and is part of the National Health Service, receiving direct ...

. Rochdale Infirmary is the only hospital serving the town since the closure of Birch Hill Hospital which occupied the former Rochdale Union

Workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

at Dearnley in 2007. New facilities were established at Rochdale Infirmary as part of the town's healthcare restructure. Primary care 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 by 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 management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...

is co-ordinated by the

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

via the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority. Rochdale's distribution network operator for electricity was United Utilities until 2010, when its electricity subsidiary was sold to Electricity North West. There are no

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

s in the town, but

Scout Moor Wind Farm Scout Moor Wind Farm is the second 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 ele ...

which has 26 turbines was built on the high moors between Rawtenstall and Rochdale. The

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...

generates 65 MW of electricity. United Utilities manage Rochdale's

drinking Drinking is the act of ingesting water or other liquids into the body through the mouth, proboscis, or elsewhere. Humans drink by swallowing, completed by peristalsis in the esophagus. The physiological processes of drinking vary widely among o ...

and waste water. Water supplies are sourced from several reservoirs, including Watergrove,

, Greenbooth and Piethorne in Rochdale's outlying moorland.

Sport

Rochdale has two professional sports teams:

Rochdale A.F.C. Rochdale Association Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Rochdale, Lancashire, England. The team currently compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Dale', they ha ...

(

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

) and

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the Championship, the second tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs ...

(

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

); both play home games at the

Spotland Stadium Spotland Stadium, known as the Crown Oil Arena for sponsorship reasons, in the Spotland area of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, is home to Rochdale A.F.C. and Rochdale Hornets R.F.L.C. and has a capacity of 10,249. History Spotland was origina ...

. Rochdale AFC were founded in 1907 and joined the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

in 1921, when the new

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

(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 Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

Final in 1962 and lost to Norwich City.

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 was previously home to defunct non-league football club, Rochdale Town, but still hosts National Conference League amateur rugby league club

Rochdale Mayfield Rochdale Mayfield are an amateur rugby league football club from Castleton, Rochdale, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the top division of the National Conference League. The club also operates academy teams who are known coll ...

. Rochdale R.U.F.C. who play in Bamford. 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 Course, at Springfield Park. The town also has a number of cricket clubs, most of which play in the Pennine Cricket League (PCL). Rochdale Sub-Aqua Club was formed in 1959 and remains active.

Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

racing was staged at the

Athletic Grounds The Athletic Grounds ( ga, Páirc Lúthchleasaíochta) is a GAA 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. Uses The stadium i ...

in 1928–30 and returned at the start of the 1970s when it provided a home for the British League Division Two Belle Vue Aces juniors and

. Peter Collins, who won the 1976 World Championship was a Hornets rider. Stuart Smith and Doug Cronshaw competed in BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars between 1965 and 1984.

International relations

Twin towns - sister cities

Barisal Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Dist ...

Barisal Division Barishal Division is one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Located in the south-central part of the country, it has an area of , and a population of 8,325,666 at the 2011 Census. It is the least populous Division within the ent ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

* Bielefeld,

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a wikt:Appendix:Glossary#relational, relational adjective—in Englis ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost Regions of France, region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its Prefectu ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Notable people

The 19th century saw several notable characters. Lancashire

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

poet Edwin Waugh (1817–1890) was born and brought up in the town, as was Roger Fenton, noted as one of the first war photographers. The aristocrat and poet

George Gordon Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

was Lord Byron of Rochdale. Rochdale has a proud liberal political heritage, as shown by such people as John Bright, one of the first Quakers to sit in the House of Commons; Samuel Bamford, the radical and writer; and

Rev. Joseph Cooke Rev. Joseph Cooke (1775–1811), a Free Christian, was expelled by the Wesleyan Methodists on doctrinal grounds and became the inspiration behind the Methodist Unitarian movement formed under the leadership of another former Wesleyan, Joseph A ...

, the inspiration behind the Methodist Unitarian movement. In the 20th century, another prominent (if now controversial) political personality was

. Among Rochdale's residents have been several musicians, including singers

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

(born in Heywood) and

Barb Jungr Barb Jungr (born 9 May 1954) is an English singer, songwriter and theatre writer, who has recorded versions of songs by Bob Dylan, Sting, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen. Career Barb Jungr was born in Rochdale, Lancashire ...

and bands Kaliphz also known as Kaleef, Autechre,

Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

, The Way We Live, the Chameleons,

the Mock Turtles The Mock Turtles are an English indie rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 1985, who enjoyed some success in the early 1990s. Their most famous song " Can You Dig It?", which was released in the UK in 1991, charted at numb ...

and The Cassandra Complex (band), the Cassandra Complex. Good Charlotte drummer Dean Butterworth also hails from Rochdale. Broadcasters John Peel, Mark Chapman (broadcaster), Mark Chapman, Liz Kershaw, Liz and Andy Kershaw also have links with the town, Peel having lived there for a period of time and the latter three having been born there. Actors Anna Friel and Bill Oddie were born in Rochdale. Don Estelle, who was born and brought up in Crumpsall, lived for much of his life in Rochdale and was buried there in August 2003. Sajid Javid, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer was born in Rochdale to British Pakistani parents. Dr Fayyaz Afzal OBE. Lived in Rochdale, attended Heybrook Primary School, Wardle High School and then Hopwood Hall College. To go onto university and then follow his legal career as Barrister and now sitting as a Circuit Judge. Dr Afzal is blind and became the first Asian practicing Barrister and now District Judge. For voluntary services to the disabled in the legal profession he was awarded an OBE in 2007, followed by a CBE in 2021 and an Honorary Doctorate from Staffordshire University. Dr Fayyaz Afzal also became the first blind District Judge in the UK and was sworn in on 17 February 2017. Other notable residents include businessman and philanthropist Sir Peter Ogden, Businessman and Author Benjamin Howarth, novelist Nicholas Blincoe, Monica Coghlan, a prostitute caught up in the Jeffrey Archer scandal, and the banker Paul Flowers (banker), Rev. Paul Flowers. Poet John Siddique was brought up in Rochdale and has referred to the town in several poems. Novelist Anna Jacobs was born in Rochdale. World Series of poker winner Jake Cody grew up in Rochdale. Elite British climber Ben Thornton was brought up in Rochdale. The footballer Earl Barrett was born there in April 1967 to Jamaican immigrant parents. Great Britain Olympian Craig Dawson, represented hometown club Rochdale F.C., Rochdale and Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers at

References

Notes

Bibliography

* *Roethe, Johanna and Williams, Mike (2019), ''Central Rochdale, Greater Manchester: Historic area assessment'' (Historic England Research Report Series no. 56–2019
available online

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 {{Authority control Rochdale, Towns in Greater Manchester Unparished areas in Greater Manchester Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale