The Saddleworth White Rose Society is a
political advocacy group
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
dedicated to the promotion of the
historic county of
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 ...
as the primary geographic reference frame for
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, ...
, 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 ...
amalgamated into 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 ...
and
metropolitan county
The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, with populations between 1 and 3 million. They were created in 1974 and are each di ...
of
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 ...
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 group, associated with the more general
Yorkshire Ridings Society
The Yorkshire Ridings Society is a group affiliated to the Association of British Counties calling for the wider recognition of the historic borders of Yorkshire, and its traditional subdivisions, the North, East and West Ridings.
History
The ...
, aims to gain wider recognition for the use of the historic county system over the modern county system. It promotes their contention that Saddleworth remains in Yorkshire, as it asserts that the historic counties were never abolished and exist alongside the new metropolitan counties, via the publication of its newsletter and the organisation of various events.
Saddleworth is the only part of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham or Greater Manchester that formed part of the
former administrative county of
Yorkshire, West Riding, the rest formerly being part 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 ...
or an independent
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 ...
.
The Society is affiliated to the
Association of British Counties
The Association of British Counties (ABC) is a non-party-political society formed in 1989 by television personality Russell Grant to promote the historic counties of the United Kingdom. It argues that the historic counties are an important part ...
and has expressed support for the
CountyWatch
CountyWatch is a direct action group in the United Kingdom that was set up in 2004 to remove what they consider to be wrongly placed county boundary signs – i.e. signs that do not mark the historic or ancient county boundaries of England and Wa ...
direct action group.
See also
*
Friends of Real Lancashire
Friends of Real Lancashire (FORL) is an apolitical pressure group affiliated to the Association of British Counties calling for the wider recognition of the historic boundaries of Lancashire in England. Its chairman is Philip Walsh.
Backgroun ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Saddleworth White Rose Society
Clubs and societies in Greater Manchester
Saddleworth
Political advocacy groups in England
Yorkshire culture