This is a list of people from Rochdale, in Greater Manchester. The

demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

of Rochdale is Rochdalian, however, this list may include people from Heywood, Littleborough, Middleton,

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, all from the wider Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. This list is arranged alphabetically by surname: __NOTOC__

B

* Colin Baker – actor known for playing

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

on television * Samuel Bamford – radical and writer; born in Middleton * Lizzy Bardsley – gained fame from appearing on Channel 4's '' Wife Swap'' in 2003 * Les Barton – English professional footballer *

Stuart Bithell Stuart Bithell (born 28 August 1986 in Rochdale) is a British sailor and Olympic champion. He competed with Luke Patience in the 470 class at the 2012 Summer Olympics where he won a silver medal and in the 2020 Summer Olympics where he won a g ...

– Olympic Silver Medallist – Men's 470 sailing at the London 2012 summer Olympics and Olympic Gold Medalist - Men's 49er sailing at the Tokyo 2020 summer Olympics * Christine Bottomley – actress known for her roles on '' Early Doors'', ''

Heartbeat A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart. Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to: Computing *Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system *Heartbeat, clus ...

'' and as Shoo Coggan on BBC drama, '' Hope Springs'' * Steve Brackenridge – football player * John Bright – radical; Liberal statesman associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League

C

Robert Chadwick Robert John Montague Chadwick (16 October 1879 – 11 March 1939), sometimes known as Monty Chadwick, was a New Zealand sportsman. He played first-class cricket for Otago and Hawke's Bay. Chadwick was born at Dunedin in 1879. He worked as ...

– American politician; Pennsylvania State Representative for Delaware County from 1881 to 1888 * Steve Clayton – Rochdale-born author and drummer in Tractor; co-founder with Chris Hewitt and Jim Milne of Tractor Sound Studios, marked in Heywood by a blue plaque; his albums under the name Tractor and his book under the name Stephen Clayton received critical acclaim * Brian Clegg – science writer; born in Rochdale *

John Collier John Collier may refer to: Arts and entertainment *John Collier (caricaturist) (1708–1786), English caricaturist and satirical poet *John Payne Collier (1789–1883), English Shakespearian critic and forger *John Collier (painter) (1850–1934), ...

– Urmston-born 18th-century caricaturist and satirical poet; brought up and spent all his adult life in

Jake Cody Jake Cody (born 4 July 1988) is a professional poker player from Rochdale, England, United Kingdom. He entered the European tournament scene in 2010 with major wins at the European Poker Tour event in Deauville in January where he won €857,00 ...

– professional poker player, winner of the triple crown *

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

– Middleton-born and brought up comedian * Jack Crabtree – contemporary artist; born in Rochdale *

Lisa Cross Lisa Cross (born 4 April 1978) is a professional British female bodybuilder. Early life and education Lisa was born in Rochdale in 1978. She had eating problems that began while studying for her GCSEs. Around the age of 15 she became anorexic. ...

– IFBB professional bodybuilder

D

* Craig Dawson – professional footballer, Rochdale, West Bromwich Albion,

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

, Watford and

England U21 The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team. This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...

E

Kelvin Earl Kelvin "Kel" W. Earl (born 2 September 1951) is an English former professional rugby league player. He played in the 1970s at club level for the Rochdale Hornets (two spells), St Helens R.F.C., St Helens, Bradford Bulls, Bradford Northern and S ...

– Littleborough born rugby league footballer of the 1970s. He played at club level for Rochdale Hornets (two spells), St. Helens, Bradford Northern, and Swinton *

G. H. Elliott George Henry Elliott (3 November 1882 – 19 November 1962) was a British music hall singer and dancer. Known as "The Chocolate Coloured Coon", he performed with a painted brown face and dressed entirely in white: white top hat, white tail-coat w ...

– music hall singer and recording star *

Don Estelle Don Estelle (22 May 1933 – 2 August 2003) was an English actor and singer, best known as Gunner "Lofty" Sugden in ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum''. Early life Born Ronald Edwards in Crumpsall, Manchester (historically part of Lancashire), he wa ...

– Crumpsall-born actor and singer who lived for much of his life in Rochdale

F

* Roger Fenton – Heywood-born pioneering

war photographer ''War Photographer'' is a documentary by Christian Frei about the photographer James Nachtwey. As well as telling the story of an iconic man in the field of war photography, the film addresses the broader scope of ideas common to all those inv ...

; his work on the Crimean War is particularly acclaimed; a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

marks his former home *

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 ...

– real name Grace Stansfield; actress, singer and comedian *

Darrell Fitton Darrell Earnest Fitton is an English electronic musician from Rochdale, England. Most of his work is recorded under the monikers Bola and Jello, released primarily on Skam Records. Fitton has also contributed to electronic acts D-Breeze, Brahm ...

– electronic musician from Rochdale, England. Most of his work is recorded under recording monikers Bola and Jello, * Paul Flowers – banker, also known as the Crystal Methodist; councillor in the town in 1988–92 * Anna Friel – stage and screen actress

G

Alfred Henry Gill Alfred Henry Gill (3 December 1856 – 27 August 1914) was an English Labour Member of Parliament for Bolton. He was born in Rochdale, the son of John and Mary (née Stott) Gill, and educated at St. Mary's Elementary School, Balderstone. He st ...

(1856–1914) – MP for Bolton, 1906–1914. In first group of 29 Labour MPs to enter Parliament. * Julie Goodyear – television actress and personality, best known for her portrayal of

Bet Lynch Bet Lynch (also Gilroy) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Julie Goodyear, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on Monday 25 May 1966. Appearing over 25 years, ...

in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

H

Trevor Hoyle Trevor Hoyle (born 25 February 1940 in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom) is an English science fiction author. In the late 1970s he gained recognition for his "Q" series, featuring Christian Queghan, a scientific investigator possess ...

– novelist, radio dramatist, broadcaster whose literary work is set in the northwest

J

Anna Jacobs Anna Jacobs (born 1941 in Rochdale, Lancashire) is an English novelist. She graduated from the University of Leeds in 1962, before emigrating to Australia in 1973. She has written more than 80 novels, the majority of which are historical sagas ( ...

– novelist *

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 ...

– singer, songwriter and musician * Sajid Javid – Politician and former Home Secretary for the Conservative Government

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Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth, 1st Baronet Sir James Phillips Kay-Shuttleworth, 1st Baronet (20 July 1804 – 26 May 1877, born James Kay) of Gawthorpe Hall, Lancashire, was a British politician and educationist. He founded a further-education college that would eventually become Plymo ...

– politician and educationalist *

Andy Kershaw Andrew J. G. Kershaw (born 9 November 1959) is a broadcaster and disc jockey, predominantly on radio, and known for his interest in world music. Kershaw's shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, African music, spoken word pe ...

– BBC music broadcaster * Liz Kershaw – BBC music broadcaster * Walter Kershaw – artist * Heather Knight - cricketer

L

Donald Love Donald Alistair Love (born 2 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Morecambe. He began his professional career with Manchester United, but made just two senior appearances, and after a loan spell with Wi ...

– professional footballer * Jessica Lord - actress

M

Bob Mason Robert Thomas Mason (born April 22, 1961) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his career he played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, Quebec Nordiques, and Vancouver C ...

– actor * Joseph Massey – cricketer *

Dwight McNeil Dwight James Matthew McNeil (born 22 November 1999) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger for club Everton F.C., Everton. Early life and club career Dwight James Matt ...

– footballer, first teenager to score a Premier League goal for Burnley F.C. *

Vance Miller Vance Miller (born 1965) is an entrepreneur from Rochdale, Lancashire, in England. Miller, whose business practices have attracted controversy, has been referred to in the media as "The Kitchen Gangster" after being featured the 2004 BBC series ...

– controversial entrepreneur from Rochdale *

Jim Milne Tractor is an English rock band founded in Rochdale, Lancashire by guitarist/vocalist Jim Milne and drummer Steve Clayton in 1971. Both had been members of a beat group, The Way We Live, since 1966. They are notable both for their appreciation ...

– lead guitarist and vocalist in Tractor and co founder of Tractor Sound Studios – see John Peel blue plaque in Heywood *

John Milne John Milne (30 December 1850 – 31 July 1913) was a British geologist and mining engineer who worked on a horizontal seismograph. Biography Milne was born in Liverpool, England, the only child of John Milne of Milnrow, and at first raised in ...

– Liverpool-born, Milnrow-brought up professor, geologist and mining engineer who invented a pioneering

seismograph A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The output ...

(known as the Milne-Shaw seismograph) to detect and measure earthquakes

O

* Bill Oddie – naturalist, comedian, musician and actor

R

* Francis Robert Raines – former Anglican vicar of Milnrow; antiquary; edited 23 volumes for the Chetham Society publications *

Alec Roth Alec Roth (1948) is an English composer. He is best known for his collaboration with Vikram Seth to produce the opera ''Arion and the Dolphin'' in 1994 based on the myth of Arion. Roth studied music from 1976 as a mature student at Durham Unive ...

– composer

S

* Joseph A. Sladen, recipient of the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War, born in Rochdale *Joseph Smith (born 1849) – steeplejack known as "the Best Steeplejack in the World"; born in Coventry * Cyril Smith (1928-2010) - Member of Parliament * Lisa Stansfield – Grammy Award-nominated and BRIT Award-winning R&B and soul singer; brought up in Heywood

W

Keira Walsh Keira Fae Walsh (born 8 April 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga F club FC Barcelona Femení, Barcelona and the England women's national football team, England women's national team. She is considered ...

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See also

References

Notes

Bibliography