Information AboutOldham |
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| oldham | |
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| towns in greater manchesteroldham | |
| 865 establishments | |
| towns in greater manchester | |
| towns in greater manchester | |
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Oldham is a large , including a large Asian population, with vibrant Bangladeshi , Indian and Pakistani communities. The town of Oldham together with several surrounding districts forms the Metropolitan Borough Of Oldham , a Metropolitan Borough in the Metropolitan County of Greater Manchester. The entire metropolitan borough has a population of 218,300 . Traditionally part of Lancashire , the town rose to prominence in the 19th Century as a Mill Town . More recently, however, Oldham received unwelcome publicity in May 2001 owing to inter-racial conflicts. The town's Latin motto is '' Sapere Aude '' - "Dare to be wise" which belonged to bishop Hugh Oldham . A perched owl dominates Oldham's coat of arms, and is a symbol of the town. Oldham is twinned with three towns;- Geesthacht , in Germany ; Kranj , in Slovenia ; and Landsberg Am Lech , Germany . HISTORY Foundations and development Oldham's history originates in the 11th century, but the Industrial Revolution (and cotton in particular) laid the foundations for the town's prosperity and growth. The town's proximity to the Mancunian transport links, its damp climate - which lent itself to generally breakage-free pulling and spinning of cotton - and the immediate availability of fuel by virtue of its location on the south-east corner of the Lancashire coal field - all contributed to the rapid growth of the Oldham cotton industry. By the end of the 19th century Oldham had become the most productive cotton-spinning town in the world. At the peak of the town's cotton industry, over 360 mills operated night and day, with over 10% of the world's cotton spinning taking place in a single town; the last cotton mill closed in the mid-1990s, and redundant mills (many now split into small, rented industrial units) now comprise a feature of the town's landscape. The town also led in the engineering industry - principally in production of cotton-manufacturing machinery, with Platt Brothers exporting equipment throughout the then British Empire and Buckley and Taylor manufacturing prime movers in the form of stationary steam engines. Oldham was incorporated as a Municipal Borough in 1849 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 . Recent history In 1900, Winston Churchill was elected Oldham member of Parliament. He held the constituency for the Conservatives until 1904. Oldham is the birthplace of the chip shop, from which the fast food industry's origins can be traced. The first chip shop was on the site of what is now the Tommyfield indoor market. From 1963 to 1965 , the town was overshadowed by the terrible Moors Murders whose victims were buried on nearby Saddleworth Moor . The town was overshadowed once again in May 2001 by the Oldham Riots . Much of the violence occurred in the Glodwick district of Oldham and is said to have stemmed from long term underlying interracial tensions. News and pictures were broadcast both nationally and internationally, and similar riots took place by communities in English northern towns over the following days. Just weeks after the riots, the then Deputy-Mayor of Oldham, Riaz Ahmad, became a victim when someone threw a petrol bomb at his house, setting it on fire. Mr. Ahmad, his wife and four children were in the house sleeping at the time, but all escaped without any injuries {Link without Title} . Mr. Ahmad went on to become the first Asian Mayor of the town in 2002. The 2001 riots prompted a number of governmental and independent inquiries ( The Ritchie Report being one of those) which collectively agreed on a number of community relations improvements and considerable regeneration schemes for the town. CULTURE Culturally Oldham is quite varied, being home to sizeable Pakistani (13,754/6.3%), Bangladeshi (9,817/4.5%) and Indian (1,562/0.7%) communities. Ethnic minority populations number around 26,000. Population Statistics for Oldham (See page 3) (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader ) Nightlife Oldham has a vibrant night life, particularly on a Friday and Saturday night, with several Nightclubs around the Yorkshire Street area in the town centre. Until recently, however, Yorkshire Street had the dubious distinction of being 'the second most violent street in Europe'. This was not due to any kind of rioting and the street still has relatively high levels of violence which are suppressed by a heavy police presence. It also now has a 'battlefield hospital' type triage centre. Theatre The town has a lively theatrical culture,and is possibly the most vibrant in the Greater Manchester area outside of the city of Manchester .It is home to the Oldham Coliseum Theatre ,the Grange Arts Centre and the Oldham Theatre Workshop . The Arts Oldham is now home to a newly built state-of-the-art art gallery, Gallery Oldham , which was completed in February 2002 as the first phase of the Oldham Cultural Quarter to the south of the town centre. Later phases of the development saw the construction of an extended Oldham Library , a lifelong learning centre and there are plans to include a performing arts centre. Musicians and Groups Artists/bands to emanate from Oldham include Barclay James Harvest , Gary Mounfield (of Stone Roses and Primal Scream fame), Inspiral Carpets , Mark Owen (of Take That ), N-Trance and Puressence as well as celebrated composer Sir William Walton . FAMOUS PEOPLE Past
Present
SPORT The town is home to a number of sports teams including Oldham Athletic Football Club and Oldham Roughyeds Rugby League Club. In addition the town is host to several league cricket teams with a number of semi-professional league clubs including Oldham CC , Royton CC and Werneth CC in the Central Lancashire League and Saddleworth CC , Austerlands CC , Uppermill CC and Greenfield CC in the Saddleworth & District League. SCHOOLS ''This is a list of schools in Oldham town; for schools in the rest of the borough, see the Metropolitan Borough Of Oldham article''
There are also two colleges of further education in Oldham. These are: TRANSPORT Oldham is about 4 miles from the major M62 motorway, but is linked to it by the M60 and A627(M). Oldham once had five railway stations but now has two, Werneth and Mumps. It is planned to link the town to Manchester's Metrolink tram network, but plans are currently in abeyance due to government refusal to meet the escalating costs of the required engineering work. Should the extension be completed, however, Oldham could become the largest town in the United Kingdom not to have a conventional Railway Station . Oldham has a newly built central bus station with frequent services to other parts of Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire. REFERENCES
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