Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets as well as suburbs of Oldham on the west side of the Pennine hills.
Areas include Austerlands, Delph, Denshaw, Diggle, Dobcross, Friezland, Grasscroft, Greenfield, Grotton, Lydgate, Scouthead, Springhead and Uppermill.
Saddleworth lies east of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is broadly rural and had a population of 25,460 at the 2011 Census, making it one of the larger civil parishes in the United Kingdom.
Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire and following the Industrial Revolution, in the 18th and 19th centuries, Saddleworth became a centre for cotton spinning and weaving. By the end of Queen Victoria's reign, mechanised textile production had become a vital part of the local economy. The Royal George Mill, owned by the Whitehead family, manufactured felt used for pianofortes, billiard tables and flags.
Following the Great Depression Saddleworth's textile sector declined. Much of Saddleworth's architecture and infrastructure dates from its textile processing days however, notably the Saddleworth Viaduct and several cottages and terraces, many built by the local mill owners.
For centuries Saddleworth was linked, ecclesiastically, with the parish of Rochdale and was long talked of as the part of Yorkshire where Lancastrians lived. The former Saddleworth Urban District was the only part of the West Riding to have been amalgamated into Greater Manchester in 1974. However, strong cultural links with Yorkshire remain amongst its communities. There are several brass bands in the parish.
History
Early history
The first documentary evidence of Saddleworth appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, in which it is referred to as "Quick", spelt "Thoac"; where it is described as "Land of the King in Eurvicsire (Yorkshire), Agbrigg Wapentake."
The history of the region clearly dates further back than the Domesday Book however. Place names derived from Celtic and Anglian dialects, along with the discovery of flint arrowheads and gold Viking rings all point to a much earlier Saddleworth, possibly as old as the Stone Age. A Roman road from Chester to York passed through the area. Castleshaw Roman fort was built to defend and patrol the local section of the road. The first fort on the site was an Agricolan-period fort, built in turf and timber c. AD 79. This was refurbished soon after construction and then abandoned c. AD 95. Within the south eastern half of the fort, a fortlet was constructed, also in turf and timber, c. AD 105. This was redeveloped during its brief occupation and then abandoned again c. AD 125. In the Saddleworth area is a bowl barrow, which may be Bronze Age, located at . Despite excavations, no grave goods or human remains have been found in the barrow.
Industrial history
The steep slopes of the Saddleworth area and the acidic soils of the region have never been particularly conducive to intensive farming; meaning that long before the Victorian era, Saddleworth already had a long established, albeit domestic, textile tradition. Small, basic mills had been existent in Saddleworth before the industrial revolution, but these were increasingly replaced by larger more intensive establishments. By the end of Queen Victoria's reign, mechanised textile production had become a vital part of the local economy.
The boom in industry that had occurred in Saddleworth during the Industrial Revolution called for greater transport links. Construction of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal was begun in 1794, at the height of Canal Mania, connecting Huddersfield to Stalybridge via Saddleworth and completed seventeen years later in 1811; when the Standedge Canal Tunnel at Diggle was finally opened. The decline of canals and the rise of steam powered locomotives left the canal falling behind the competition, and so it was decided that a railway tunnel would be built parallel to the canal, which was completed in 1848. The rise in traffic demanded a second tunnel be built, completed in 1871. Both of these were single line tunnels and eventually superseded by the 1894 tunnel, a double line tunnel, which is the only one of the three still regularly carrying passengers.