Springhead is a suburban area 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.

Description

Situated near the eastern edge 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 ...

, Springhead is contiguous with the village of Lees, and with the

Austerlands Austerlands is a suburban area of Saddleworth, a civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It occupies a hillside amongst the Pennines, between the villages of Lees and Scouthead. It is traversed by ...

Scouthead Scouthead is a village in the civil parish of Saddleworth in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It is traversed by the A62 road, and occupies a hillside amongst the Pennines. Historically a part of the West ...

and

Grotton Grotton is an residential area in Saddleworth, a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. Located along the A669 road, it forms a continuous urban area with Austerlands and Springhead, which in turn ...

areas of Saddleworth. It was named after Springhead House, an historical dwelling which had a freshwater spring in its grounds. Springhead once was an

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 ...

in 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 ...

. The main hub is the Post Office. There is also a community centre. Springhead Infant and Nursery School and Knowsley Junior School serve the area. The football club (Springhead A.F.C.) play in the

Manchester Football League The Manchester Football League is a football league in England, affiliated with Manchester FA, covering a 30-mile radius from Manchester Town Hall. It was formed in 1893, although play ceased between 1912 and 1920. Currently it consists of fiv ...

, and the cricket club, Springhead CCC, in the Greater Manchester Cricket League. In March 2022, a petition was submitted to the parish council to construct 158 homes on the former Springhead Quarry, now a protected site for conservation. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Springhead and the neighbouring village of

Grasscroft Grasscroft is a village in the civil parish of Saddleworth in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The village has two notable residents - former Manchester ...

had some of the highest infection rates in Greater Manchester.

Transport

Springhead's bus services are operated by

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

, M Travel (Manchester) and

Stagecoach Manchester Stagecoach ManchesterCompanies House extract company no 2818654

. The

Grotton and Springhead railway station Grotton and Springhead railway station served the villages of Grotton and Springhead from 1856 until 1955. History The London and North Western Railway opened a branch from to Oldham on 5 July 1856. ''Grotton'' was one of two intermediate sta ...

- nicknamed 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 ...

' due to the previous route of the passenger service ending at

Delph Delph (Old English ''(ge)delf'' a quarry) is a village in the civil parish of Saddleworth in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies amongst the Pennines on ...

- once served the village. Passenger service was withdrawn in 1955, and the line closed in 1963. The track has been lifted since and replaced with a bridle path which follows alongside a large length of the original railway.

Culture

In the Higher Springhead area, there is a longstanding tradition of the mayor leading the town's brass band contest on

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 ...

, wearing a ceremonial clog iron suspended on a lavatory chain and adorned with barrel-shaped dog tags engraved with the names of previous mayors. The tradition dates back to the late 1940s in the village of

Notable people

Judith Barker Judith Barker (born 22 June 1943) is an English actress, best known for her role in '' Coronation Street'' as the upwardly mobile homewrecker Janet Reid, which she played between 1969 and 1977. She has been married to Kenneth Alan Taylor since ...

(born 1943), television actress * Herman Hilton (1894–1947), rugby league footballer *

Annie Kenney Ann "Annie" Kenney (13 September 1879 – 9 July 1953) was an English working-class suffragette and socialist feminist who became a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union. She co-founded its first branch in London with Minnie ...

(1879–1953), English working-class

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

* Thomas Steele (1891–1978), recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

Description

Transport

Culture

Notable people

References

See also