Middleton is a town in the

Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. Its largest town is Rochdale and the wider borough covers other outlying towns and villages, including Heywood, Greater Manchester, Heywood, Littleb ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, England, on the

River Irk The River Irk is a river in the historic county of Lancashire in North West England that flows through the northern part of Greater Manchester. It rises to the east of Royton and runs west past Chadderton, Middleton and Blackley before mer ...

. It is southwest of

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

and northeast of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. Middleton had a population of 42,972 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the northern edge of

, with

Blackley Blackley is a suburban area of Manchester, in the county of Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is approximately north of Manchester city centre, on the River Irk. History The hamlet of Blackley was mentioned in the Do ...

to the south and Moston to the south east.

History

Historically History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

part of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Middleton's name comes from it being the centre of several circumjacent settlements. It was 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 pries ...

of the hundred of Salford, ruled by aristocratic families. The Church of St Leonard is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The Flodden Window in the church's sanctuary is thought to be the oldest war memorial in the United Kingdom, memorialising the archers of Middleton who fought at the

Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton or Brainston Moor was fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland and resulted in an English victory ...

in 1513. In 1770, Middleton was a village of twenty houses, but in the 18th and 19th centuries it grew into a thriving and populous seat of textile manufacture and it was granted borough status in 1886. Langley in the north of the town was one of

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been re ...

's overspill

council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

s, whilst

Alkrington Alkrington Garden Village is a suburban area of Middleton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Alkrington lies on the northern edge of the city of Manchester with the suburb of Blackley directly to the south. ...

in the south is a suburban area. In 616, Æthelfrith of Bernicia, an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

King, crossed the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...

with an army and passed through

to defeat the

Brythons The Britons ( *''Pritanī'', , ), also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were the Celtic people who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age until the High Middle Ages, at which point they diverged into the Welsh, ...

in the Battle of Chester. A wave of Anglian colonists followed this military conquest and their settlements are identified by the "

ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

" Old English suffix to local place names.

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 Ol ...

, Crompton, Moston, Clayton, Ashton,

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. The ...

and Middleton are a number of settlements northeast of Manchester suggested to have been founded as part of this colonisation. It is therefore thought that Middleton as a settlement dates from the 7th century. Although unmentioned in the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

'' of 1086, Middleton is said to be "of great antiquity"; a community at Middleton is thought to have evolved outwards from a church that existed considerably earlier than the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

. The name Middleton first appears in 1194, and derives from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''middel-tūn'', meaning middle farm or settlement,Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (N.D.), p. 29. probably a reference to its central position between

and

. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Middleton was a centre of domestic flannel and woollen cloth production. The development of Middleton as a centre of commerce occurred during the 17th and 18th centuries as a result of the effect of the Industrial Revolution. Additional to this, Lord Suffield obtained a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

from

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

in 1791 to hold a weekly market and three annual summer fairs in Middleton. Suffield built a market house, warehouses and

shambles Shambles is an obsolete term for an open-air slaughterhouse and meat market. Shambles or The Shambles may also refer to: *The Shambles, a historic street in York, England *The Shambles, Malton, a historic street in North Yorkshire, England *Shamb ...

in the town at his own expense. Industrial scale textile manufacture was introduced to Middleton as a result of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

. Middleton became a centre for

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

production in the 18th century, which developed into a cotton spinning industry by the mid-19th century and which continued through to the mid-20th century. This transition gave rise to Middleton as a

mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more List of types of mill#Manufacturing facilities, mills or factories, often cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe ...

. The town's local newspaper, the ''Middleton Guardian'' has a history going back to

Victorian times In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

. copies can be found in the local library of every publication since 1908. JW Lees houses its brewery at Middleton Junction. The brewery owns several pubs in the

area. The town was linked to the national rail network until 1964 when Middleton and Middleton Junction railway stations closed to passengers.

Mills Hill Mills Hill is an industrial and residential area that lies on the common border of Middleton, Greater Manchester, Middleton and Chadderton in Greater Manchester, England. It lies 1.3 miles east of Middleton town centre and 1.4 miles to the ...

and Moston are now the nearest stations.

Governance

Lying within the historic county boundaries of

from the early 12th century, Middleton was once an ecclesiastical parish of the hundred of Salford, and in Oldham

poor law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

union. In 1861 commissioners were established for the improvement of Middleton and Tonge townships or civil parishes. In 1878, the township of

and parts of the townships of Hopwood and Thornham were added to the area of the commissioners. It was in 1886 this territory was incorporated as a borough, giving it

Borough status in the United Kingdom Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotlan ...

. Following 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 leve ...

parts of Great Heaton and Little Heaton townships were added to the newly created Municipal Borough of Middleton, a local government district in the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...

of Lancashire. In 1933 there were exchanges of territory between the borough of Middleton, the

City of Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and Chadderton Urban District. In the same year, parts of Unsworth were amalgamated with Middleton, whilst part of it was moved to Royton Urban District. It was proposed in the

Redcliffe-Maud Report The Redcliffe-Maud Report (Cmnd.4040) was a 1969 command paper report from the Royal Commission on Local Government in England, under the chairmanship of Lord Redcliffe-Maud. The commission was formed in 1966 to examine the structure of local go ...

that Middleton become part of a new

Metropolitan Borough of Oldham The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. It is named after its largest town, Oldham. The borough had a population of in , making it the sixth-largest district by population in Greater Manch ...

, however, following 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 Municipal Borough of Middleton was abolished and its territory became part of the

within the

metropolitan county Metropolitan counties are a Subdivisions of England, subdivision of England which were originally used for Local government in England, local government. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyn ...

. The council was based at Parkfield House. The Middleton parliamentary constituency was created by the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

. It was abolished in 1918 when Middleton became part of the Middleton and Prestwich constituency. Today Middleton forms part of the Heywood and Middleton parliamentary constituency, and the Blackley and Middleton South parliamentary constituency, represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

Elsie Blundell Elsie-Jane Blundell (née Wraighte; born August 1990) is a British Labour politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Heywood and Middleton North since 2024. Early life and education Blundell is from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, Engl ...

, &

Graham Stringer Graham Eric Stringer (born 17 February 1950) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour politician who has served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Blackley and Middleton South since the 2024 United Kingdom general e ...

respectively, both of the Labour Party.

Geography

At (53.5547, −2.1887), Middleton stands on undulated land immediately north of

; the towns of

and

are close to the east. The town of

lies to the north-northeast. The towns name is derived from Middle-town, from its situation midway between Manchester and Rochdale. It is situated on an ancient road between those places. Middleton town centre is around above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. Middleton experiences a

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring ...

, like much of the British Isles, with relatively cool summers and mild winters. There is regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year. Middleton is watered by two confluent streams which have their rise in the immediate district. Much of Middleton's

built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...

is characterised by its 19th-century red-brick

terraced house A terrace, terraced house ( UK), or townhouse ( US) is a type of medium-density housing which first started in 16th century Europe with a row of joined houses sharing side walls. In the United States and Canada these are sometimes known as row ...

s, the infrastructure that was built to support these and the town's former

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses 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. Although some were driven ...

s, although from the middle of the 20th century the town saw the growth of its outlying residential areas of Langley, Hollin and Boarshaw which is predominately ex-local authority housing. The skyline is marked by St. Leonard's Church. The

urban structure Urban structure is the arrangement of land use in urban areas, in other words, how the land use of a city is set out. Urban planners, economists, and geographers have developed several models that explain where different types of people and busine ...

of Middleton is regular in comparison to most

towns in England This is a list of towns in England. Historically, towns were any settlement with a charter, including market towns and ancient boroughs. The process of incorporation was reformed in 1835 and many more places received borough charters, whilst other ...

. Residential dwellings and streets are located around the

town centre A town centre is the commerce, commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train ...

. There is a mixture of high-density

urban areas An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

s, and semi-rural locations in Middleton, but overwhelmingly the

land use Land use is an umbrella term to describe what happens on a parcel of land. It concerns the benefits derived from using the land, and also the land management actions that humans carry out there. The following categories are used for land use: fo ...

in the town is urban. The territory of Middleton is contiguous with other urban areas on its southern and eastern sides, and for purposes of the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...

, forms part of the Greater Manchester Urban Area, the United Kingdom's third largest conurbation. The

M60 motorway The M60 motorway, Manchester Ring Motorway or Manchester Outer Ring Road is an orbital motorway in North West England. Built over a 40-year period, it passes through all of Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolt ...

passes to the south of Middleton; the M62 passes to the north. A

heavy rail Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid acceleratio ...

line enters Middleton from Moston and Chadderton to the south, and passes to the east of Middleton's town centre before continuing on northwards to Rochdale. Varyingly agreed divisions and suburbs of Middleton include

, Bowlee, Boarshaw, Cheapside, Greengate, Hebers, Hollin, Hopwood, Jumbo, Langley, Moorclose,

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

, Stake Hill, Middleton Junction, Thornham and Tonge.

is an area shared between Middleton and Chadderton.

Economy

Industrial

polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...

thermoplastics A thermoplastic, or thermosoftening plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains as ...

and nonwovens producer The Vita Group have a registered office in Middleton.

Kitbag Kitbag Ltd. is an English sports retailer. The company was purchased by Fanatics, Inc. from Findel PLC in February 2016 for £11.5M, previously the company was purchased by Findel PLC in October 2006 from European Home Retail plc. Stores Ki ...

operate a distribution centre from Greengate in Middleton. Bluebird Bus and Coach is a travel company based in Middleton. Bus company JP Travel has been based in Middleton since 1974. Robert McBride, a household and personal care product manufacturers, is also based in the town.

Landmarks

Several of Middleton's buildings were designed by

Edgar Wood Edgar Wood (17 May 1860 – 12 October 1935) was a British architect, artist, and draftsman who practised from Manchester at the turn of the 20th century and gained a considerable reputation in the United Kingdom. He was regarded as a proponen ...

, a local-born influential

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

of his day. Several in Middleton are landmarks and are notable. Middleton has recently benefited from redevelopments which have seen the construction of a new sports, leisure and civic centre, 'Middleton Arena'. A large new Tesco supermarket was opened in the town centre in 2013. In the early 1970s, The Arndale Property Trust cleared land adjacent to Middleton Gardens to build an 'American-style' modern shopping precinct. The Middleton Arndale Centre commenced trading in 1971, although it was officially opened by the Duchess of Kent in March 1972.

St. Leonard's Church

The Parish Church of St Leonard was completed in 1524, incorporating two stone arches made of stonework from an earlier Norman church. A wooden

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

church is believed to have occupied the site long before the Norman church was built, in about 1100. The present church was built by Sir Richard Assheton, in celebration of the knighthood granted to him by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

for his part in the

, the largest battle ever fought between England and Scotland. The Flodden Window, in the sanctuary, is thought to be the oldest

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

in the UK. It memorialises on it the names of the Middleton

archers Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

who fought at Flodden Field in 1513. The church also has one of the finest collections of

monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved church monument, sepulchral memorial once found through Western Europe, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional church monument, monuments and effigy, effigies carve ...

es in the area, including the only brass in the UK of an

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

officer in full armour, Major-General Sir Ralph Assheton. The church was designated a

in 1957. Middleton Archaeological Society (MAS) have been investigating Clarke Brow, a public field next to St Leonard's Square, and carried out its first dig there in August and September 2013. An account of the Society's research can be found on their website

Tonge Hall

Tonge Hall is a grade II* listed Tudor structure badly damaged by an arson attack in 2007. Rochdale Council are now (2012) in the process of buying the property from the owner for a nominal sum with a view to restoration. The North West Building Preservation Trust, a registered charity, is likely to take over its long term maintenance. Middleton Archaeological Society (MAS) has been undertaking research into Tonge and Tonge Hall. The first of these investigations took place in August 2012 and work is ongoing. The MAS website has more information including photographs of the dig at As of 2019, the building still stands derelict, surrounded by supporting scaffolding. No work has been undertaken on restoration since the arson attack.

Alkrington Hall

Alkrington Hall was built in 1736 and was the seat of the Lever family. Its dominant position on a wooded hillside, looks out over the Irk Valley towards Middleton. Some of the original parkland around the hall has now been developed into high end housing, while the rest is a Local Nature Reserve, Alkrington Wood

Old Boar's Head Inn

Situated below the parish church, on Long Street, this was originally a

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of t ...

on the road between

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

and

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. It is said to date from at least 1632 and parts of it date back to the 1500s.

Warwick Mill

This building is situated on Oldham Road, opposite the Middleton office of the Greater Manchester Police. Warwick Mill was a cotton mill built in 1907, with 5 machine floors within. It is a Grade II listed building and currently sits derelict, although plans have been made to convert the building several times, none of which have been carried out.

Lodge Mill

Lodge Mill is reputedly Middleton's oldest surviving mill. Situated opposite to the old substation, the building dates back to 1839, and was a silk and cotton mill. A fire on December 30th, 2021 damaged the back mill. Damage was also caused to the front mill when, during demolition of the back mill, the back of the engine house for the front mill was accidentally demolished. The front mill is currently occupied by a local ice cream parlour.

Sport

Middleton is host to many local sports clubs, including Middleton Cricket Club who are currently playing in the

Lancashire League (cricket) The Lancashire League is a competitive league of local cricket clubs drawn from the small to middle-sized mill towns, mainly but not exclusively, of East Lancashire. Its real importance is probably due to its history of employing professional pl ...

. Four golf clubs are within easy reach of the town centre: North Manchester Golf Glub, The Manchester Golf Club (at Slattocks), Heaton Park Golf Club and Blackley Golf Club. In January 2009, Middleton saw the opening of a new £13 million sports and leisure venue in the town centre. Th
Middleton Arena
is a joint venture by Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and supermarket chain

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

. The facility has replaced the old Middleton Civic Centre and Middleton Leisure Centre, allowing the site formerly occupied by these buildings to be cleared for further development into a supermarket. Said development resulted in the opening of a large Tesco Extra supermarket on July 6th, 2013. Middleton is also home to Rochdale Triathlon Club. Weekly coached swimming sessions are currently held at Middleton Arena, Tuesday 7-8pm and Thursday 9-10pm. The Hopwood Hall College offers a gym to both its students and members of the general public.

Transport

In 2005, the new Middleton bus station was opened to replace the old one, next to the Middleton Arndale shopping centre. The station, with 13 stands, cost £4.5 million and replaced the previous station which dated to the 1970s. The majority of services in Middleton are operated by

Stagecoach Manchester Stagecoach ManchesterCompanies House extract company no 2818654

and serve destinations including Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and

Tameside Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, named after the River Tame, Greater Manchester, River Tame, which flows through it, and includes the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Greater Manchester, Denton, D ...

. As it is in Greater Manchester, Middleton is serviced by the new (as of 2024) Bee Network initiative, provided and run by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). Bus services include the 17 between Rochdale and Manchester, the 18 between Langley and Manchester, the 59 between Oldham and Manchester, the 125 between Middleton and Heywood, and the 163 between Bury and Manchester. Middleton is located close to junction 19 of the

M62 motorway The M62 is a west–east Pennines, trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Kingston upon Hull, Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; of the route Concurrency (road), is shared with the M60 motorway, ...

and, at Rhodes, junction 21 of the

. Mills Hill railway station is on the eastern boundary of town, one mile east of the town centre, with direct services to Rochdale, Manchester Victoria, Bolton, Wigan and Leeds. It opened in 1838 and closed in 1842, it was later re-opened in 1985 and remains in use. Middleton railway station, near the town centre, was the terminus of a short branch line, which closed to passengers in 1964. A car chase scene of the 2001 British-made Samuel L. Jackson film

The 51st State ''The 51st State'' (also known as ''Formula 51'') is a 2001 action comedy film directed by Ronny Yu, written by Stel Pavlou, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Ricky Tomlinson, Sean Pertwee, Rhys Ifans, Step ...

was filmed on a stretch of the M60 motorway, which runs alongside Rhodes and through Alkrington, just outside the centre of the town. In May 2021 the

Mayor of Greater Manchester The mayor of Greater Manchester is the directly elected metro mayor, mayor of Greater Manchester, responsible for strategic governance in the region that includes health, transport, housing, strategic planning, waste management, policing, the G ...

asked that

Transport for Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is a local government body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. It is an executive arm of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), ...

bring forward a

business case A business case captures the reasoning for initiating a project or task. Many projects, but not all, are initiated by using a business case. It is often presented in a well-structured written document, but may also come in the form of a short ver ...

for extending the Metrolink tram system to Middleton, as part of a wider regeneration scheme.

Education

Almost every part of Middleton is served by a school of some kind, some with religious affiliations. According to the

Office for Standards in Education The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

, schools within the town perform at mixed levels. Primary schools include St. Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School, Alkrington Primary School, St. Michael’s CofE Primary School, St. Thomas-More’s Roman Catholic Primary School, Bowlee Park Community Primary School and Middleton Parish School. Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School, formerly Cardinal Langley Grammar School, is one of the local secondary schools in the area, others being Middleton Technology School, the Edgar Wood Academy and St. Anne's Academy. Further education is provided by the Sixth Form at Cardinal Langley, as well as the Middleton campus of Hopwood Hall College. What is presently said campus was, from 1946 to 1989, a De La Salle Catholic College of

Higher Education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

affiliated to the

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. A ...

. Founded as a teacher training college, the chapel, designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, was the architectural prototype for the

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, officially known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King and locally nicknamed "Paddy's Wigwam", is the cathedral, seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdi ...

. The chapel still exists on the campus, known as the Milnrow building, but its spire is no longer topped with a cross. Hopwood Hall College benefits from its extensive grounds and leisure facilities which were developed over many years by the De La Salle College.

Notable people

"Moonraker" is a

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

sometimes given to people from the town (and other places; see

Moonrakers Moonrakers is the colloquial name for people from Wiltshire, a Counties of England, county in the West Country of England. Legend This name refers to a folk story set in the time when smuggling was a significant industry in rural England, with ...

). Middleton has been the birthplace and home to notable people, of national and international acclaim. Amongst the most notable persons of historic significance from the town include Thomas Langley (born in Middleton in 1363) who served as

Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...

, Cardinal of the Catholic Church, Lord Chancellor of England, and as England's first ''de facto'' Foreign Secretary. Samuel Bamford was a

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

writer and politician. He led the Middleton contingent to the meeting at St Peter's Fields in August 1819, pressing for parliamentary reform, which ended in the

Peterloo Massacre The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on Monday 16 August 1819. Eighteen people died and 400–700 were injured when the cavalry of the Yeomen charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who ...

. Joel Halliwell (1881 – 1958) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross in World War I. Lee Rigby, British soldier and victim of the 2013 Woolwich attack, was from Middleton.

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English-Irish actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. His accolades include four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...

, John Richmond, Clint Boon of

Inspiral Carpets Inspiral Carpets are an English rock band, part of the late-1980s/early-1990s Madchester movement. Formed in Oldham in 1983, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist ...

, Maartin Allcock of

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...

and Jethro Tull, Brendan and Martin Coogan all attended the local Cardinal Langley Grammar School, later known as Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School.

Bernard Manning Bernard John Manning (13 August 1930 – 18 June 2007) was an English comedian and nightclub owner. He gained a high profile on British television during the 1970s, appearing on shows such as '' The Comedians'' and '' The Wheeltappers and Shun ...

(1930–2007), Manchester-born ( Ancoats) comedian, lived in

. Gold selling music producer Louis Gibzen attended Middleton Technology School; Radio 1Xtra's DJ Semtex is also from the town. All four members of the indie-rock group

The Courteeners Courteeners are an English band formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 2006 by Liam Fray (lead guitar/vocals), Michael Campbell (drums/backing vocals), Daniel "Conan" Moores (rhythm guitar) and Mark Cuppello ...

are also from the area, including frontman Liam Fray.

The Chameleons The Chameleons are an English rock band formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of bassist and vocalist Mark Burgess (now known as Vox), guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer Jo ...

, a

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band, was formed in the area, and was described by the ''Middleton Guardian'' as "Middleton's most famous export".

Sally Dynevor Sally Jane Dynevor (née Whittaker; born 30 May 1963) is an English actress, she is best known for her role as Sally Metcalfe in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', which she has played since 1986. In 2022, Dynevor competed in the fourt ...

, an actress in the Manchester-based soap opera

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

is from Middleton. Notable sportsmen connected with Middleton include

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

football player Tommy Booth,

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. They compete in the Premier League, t ...

(and former

England national football team The England national football team have represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by the Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Eng ...

) Paul Scholes (

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

-born) and locally born Mark Allott, the

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

midfielder, both educated at St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, and later Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School. Frank (Typhoon) Tyson, test cricketer from the late 1950s, attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar school. Norma Ball, wife of Sir Bobby Charlton, attended Queen Elizabeth's grammar school; she married Bobby at St Gabriel's church in Middleton. Fashion designer John Richmond and Olympic silver medalist Keri-Anne Payne also attended Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School. Pacifist Fred Haslam (1897-1979) was born in Middleton.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* *

External links

www.link4life.org
A brief history of Middleton.

Middleton Archaeological Society covering Middleton's heritage.
www.middletontowncentre.co.uk
a guide to Middleton Town Centre with event and regeneration news.

Historical and genealogical information relating to Middleton.
www.statsandmaps.co.uk
Stats and Maps is the Rochdale Borough statistics and maps website. It is a shared evidence based that provides quick and easy on-line access to data, information, and intelligence about the borough of Rochdale, and aims to meet the needs of the local community, LSP partners, and the general public.

{{Authority control Middleton, Greater Manchester, Towns in Greater Manchester Areas of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Unparished areas in Greater Manchester Former civil parishes in Greater Manchester