Waterhead (or
archaically
In language, an archaism (from the grc, ἀρχαϊκός, ''archaïkós'', 'old-fashioned, antiquated', ultimately , ''archaîos'', 'from the beginning, ancient') is a word, a sense of a word, or a style of speech or writing that belongs to a hi ...
, Waterhead Mill), is an area 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 an
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
of the
Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Oldham, The borough had a population of 237,628 making it the seventh-largest district by population ...
, in
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
, England.
Historically
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
in
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 ...
, an upland area in the
Pennines
The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...
, the ward of Waterhead has population of 12,876,
decreasing to 12,029 at the 2011 Census.
Waterhead once formed an
ecclesiastical parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish priest ...
in
Prestwich-cum-Oldham
Prestwich-cum-Oldham (also known as Prestwich with Oldham) was an ancient ecclesiastical parish of the hundred of Salford, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire, England. With the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Prestwich as ...
, in the
Salfordshire hundred of Lancashire.
Waterhead also formed a significant part of the
Oldham Above Town
Oldham Above Town was, from 1851 until 1905, a statistical unit used for the gathering and organising of civil registration information, and output of census information. It was a sub-district of the larger registration district of Oldham, in the ...
registration district.
Waterhead was the site of considerable industry and commerce, including
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
and
cotton spinning.
Following a building boom associated with 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 ...
, Waterhead became a densely populated
industrial district
Industrial district concept was initially used by Alfred Marshall to describe some aspects of the industrial organisation of nations. Industrial district (ID) is a place where workers and firms, specialised in a main industry and auxiliary indu ...
dominated by
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Althou ...
s. In 2005, Waterhead was described as still "dominated by early 20th century mills".
[.] Cairo Mill was used by the
Ferranti
Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
The firm was known ...
company for many years.
Waterhead is next to parts of
Greenacres Greenacres can refer to:
*Greenacres, California, a town in the Central Valley (United States)
*Harold Lloyd Estate, 'Greenacres', the legendary 1920s Harold Lloyd Estate in Beverly Hills, California (United States)
*Greenacres, Florida, town in th ...
, Salem, Moorside and
Lees, and
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 ...
and
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 Ridi ...
from the west side 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, ...
. The main
A62 road A6, A 6 or A-6 can refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*A6, a mutated flu virus in the short story "Night Surf" by Stephen King
*A-6, a renamed version of the US Security Group in the 1997 comic book movie ''Spawn''
Electronics and software
* A6 rec ...
from Oldham to
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
passes through the locality.
Waterhead is the terminus for
's 81, 81A and 82 services to
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
via Oldham. The area is served by First's 350 service between Oldham and
Ashton, First's 410 and 411 east Oldham circular services and Checkmate's 418 service between Austerlands and
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 ...
.
Notable people
The Rev. Charles E. Shaw was a botanist (renowned for finding plants on rubbish dumps) and also a Church of England clergyman. After serving in various other parishes he became vicar of Waterhead in 1957; he remained vicar until 1994 and is commemorated by a memorial window in the church. A song about him called "The' Parson o' Waterhead" was written about him by Harvey Kershaw of Rochdale.
[Kershaw, Mary & Harvey (1976) ''Lancashire Sings Again! songs & poems in the Lancashire dialect''. Topic Records 12TS302]
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 ...
captain
Kevin Sinfield
Kevin Sinfield (born 12 September 1980) is the defence coach for the England national rugby union team. He is a former professional rugby league footballer, captain and director of rugby for the Leeds Rhinos. Sinfield also represented England ...
played his amateur rugby for Waterhead ARLFC.
References
Bibliography
*
{{Areas of Oldham
Areas of Oldham