Thornham is a

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 ...

an area straddling Middleton,

Royton Royton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 21,284 in 2011. Close to the source of the River Irk, near undulating land at the foothills of the South Pennines, it is northwest of Old ...

and

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

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. The area crosses the border 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 ...

and the

Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, The borough covers other outlying towns and villages with a population of 206,500 at the ...

and is divided at a constituency and

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 ...

level.

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 ...

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 ...

, Thornham was once a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

within the parish of Middleton, encompassing the outlying

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

of Slattocks, Stake Hill, Buersill Head and

Tandle Hill Tandle Hill Country Park is a country park in Royton, Greater Manchester, England. It consists of approximately , a combination of beech woodland and open grassland. The park contains a countryside centre (opened in 1994), picnic areas, chil ...

, before being divided between Middleton, Royton, and Rochdale by the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

. Part of this area was known as Gravel Hole, because of large

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

pits, and is still referred to as such on some maps.

Governance

Lying within the historic county boundaries of

since the early 12th century, Thornham was a

in the ecclesiastical parish of Middleton and Oldham poor law union. In 1879, part of the township was included in the area of the commissioners for the improvement of Middleton and Tonge townships, and in 1886 became part of the

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 ...

of Middleton. In 1879, other parts of the township were included in the

and Castleton-by-Rochdale

local boards of health Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

. In 1894 the township was dissolved and its area divided between Middleton,

Royton Urban District Royton was a local government district from 1863 to 1974 in Lancashire, England, which covered the modern-day town of Royton, and its suburbs and districts. It covered a significant area to the north-west of the County Borough of Oldham, and for ...

and Castleton-by-Rochdale Urban District, with the latter district divided between 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

Municipal Borough of Heywood The Municipal Borough of Heywood was, from 1881 to 1974, a local government district in the Administrative counties of England, administrative county of Lancashire, England, with municipal borough, borough status and coterminate with the town of ...

in 1900.

Transport

The intersection of the M62 and the

A627(M) The A627(M) is a motorway that runs between Chadderton and Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. It is long and connects these two towns to the M62. It opened in 1972. Route Heading north, the road starts as a two-lane dual carriageway on ...

is known as Thornham Interchange.

Education

Thornham is served by "Thornham St. James Cof E Primary School" (which lies within the border of Royton and is thus administered by Oldham L.E.A) and "St John's CE Primary Thornham" (which lies within Rochdale), and thus administered by Rochdale L.E.A.St John's CE Primary Thornham – Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
For secondary education,

St Cuthbert's RC High School St Cuthbert's Roman Catholic High School is a coeducational secondary school located in the Thornham area of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. History St Cuthbert's was founded as Bishop Henshaw School in 1968 and was Rochdale's first ...

is also located in the Rochdale part of the area.

Notable people

Sir Harry Platt, 1st Baronet Sir Harry Platt, 1st Baronet, FRCS, KStJ (7 October 1886 – 20 December 1986) was an English orthopaedic surgeon, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (1954–1957). He was a founder of the British Orthopaedic Association, of ...

orthopaedic surgeon Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

References

Areas of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham {{GreaterManchester-geo-stub