Wardle (; pop. 7,092) is a village near Littleborough within 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 ...

, in

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. It lies amongst the foothills of the

South Pennines The South Pennines is a region of moorland and hill country in northern England lying towards the southern end of the Pennines. In the west it includes the Rossendale Valley and the West Pennine Moors. It is bounded by the Greater Manchester co ...

, east-southeast of Whitworth, north-northwest 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 north-northeast of 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 ...

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 ...

a 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 ...

, Wardle and its surroundings have provided archaeological evidence of

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

activity in the area. The name Wardle is said to be derived from "Ward Hill", implying "fortified place". Brown Wardle Hill overlooks the village from the north, its name being derived from the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

word ''bron'' meaning "round". 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 ...

Wardle was a small centre of

domestic Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes cal ...

flannel Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of varying fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, ...

and

woollen Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...

cloth production, and many of the original

weavers' cottage A weavers' cottage was (and to an extent still is) a type of house used by Weaver (occupation), weavers for cloth production in the putting-out system sometimes known as the domestic system. Weavers' cottages were common in Great Britain, often ...

s survive today as

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 ...

s. Wardle, the most northerly settlement in Greater Manchester,Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (N.D.), p. 33. encompasses small parts of Smallbridge and Dearnley — urban areas contiguous with Rochdale — but "retains a rural character". Watergrove Reservoir, which is situated on the northern outskirts of Wardle, is the largest of a series of reservoirs in the Borough of Rochdale, with a storage capacity of 720 million gallons. Wardle comprises 17th- and 18th-century stone churches, farmhouses and cottages by the hills. The village square is preserved as a place of historic interest.

Governance

Lying within the historic county boundaries of

since the early 12th century, Wardle was anciently linked with Wuerdle, and lay within the

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of Hundersfield and parish of Rochdale. Wuerdle and Wardle would later split from Hundersfield to form a township of itself, still within the parish of Rochdale and in the

hundred of Salford The Salford Hundred (also known as Salfordshire) was one of the subdivisions (a hundred) of the historic county of Lancashire in Northern England. Its name alludes to its judicial centre being the township of Salford (the suffix ''-shire'' mea ...

. Wardle's first

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

was a

Local board of health A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority 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, regulat ...

established in 1874; Wuerdle and Wardle Local Board of Health was a regulatory body responsible for standards of hygiene and sanitation in the township. In 1879 part of the neighbouring township of Butterworth was included in the area of the Local Board. Under 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 ...

, the area of the local board broadly became the Wardle Urban District, a local government district in the Rochdale

Poor Law Union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...

and

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. Part of the Milnrow Urban District was added to it in the same year. Under 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 Wardle Urban District was abolished, and Wardle has, since 1 April 1974, formed an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...

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 ...

Geography

At (53.6478°, -2.1323°), and north-northwest of London, Wardle lies at the foothills of 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 ...

, at the northeastern fringe of the Greater Manchester Urban Area, the United Kingdom's third largest conurbation. Wardle is the most northerly settlement in Greater Manchester. Wardle is south of the Watergrove Reservoir and west of Littleborough.

Education

The village is home to St James Primary School and a secondary school, Wardle Academy.

References

Notes

External links

Wardle and Smallbridge History Group
Home page of the local history group

Bibliography

* * {{Authority control Villages in Greater Manchester Unparished areas in Greater Manchester Former civil parishes in Greater Manchester Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale