Oldham

Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Oldham shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Oldham offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Oldham at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Oldham? Wrong! If the Oldham is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Oldham then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Oldham? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Oldham and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Oldham wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Oldham then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Oldham site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Oldham, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Oldham, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{infobox UK place||country = England|static_image= |static_image_caption=Oldham Town Centre|latitude= 53.5444|longitude= -2.1169|official_name= Oldham|population= 103,544 (United Kingdom Census 2001)|population_density= |metropolitan_borough= Metropolitan Borough of Oldham|metropolitan_county= Greater Manchester|constituency_westminster1= [Oldham West and Royton (UK Parliament constituency)|post_town= OLDHAM|postcode_district = OL1-OL2, OL4, OL8-OL9|postcode_area= OL|dial_code= 0161|os_grid_reference= SD922053|london_distance= 164 mi (264 km) Boxing the compass|area_total_sq_mi=25.9-->

Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It rises high amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk and River Medlock, northeast of the city of Manchester, and south-southeast of Rochdale. Oldham is circumbound by several smaller settlements which together form part of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, of which Oldham is the administrative seat.

Historic counties of England a part of Lancashire, and with little Prehistoric Britain to speak of, Oldham rose to prominence during the 19th century as an international centre of Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. Oldham was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the first ever Industrialisation towns, rapidly becoming "one of the most important centres of cotton and textile industries in England". At its zenith, it was the single most productive Spinning (textiles) mill town in the world. Since the mid 20th century however, Oldham's textile industry began to decline towards an eventual halt, though is marked architecturally by several surviving large cotton mills, and other buildings and infrastructure linked to the sector.

Following the demise of its textile producing industry, resulting in a localised economic depression Oldham today is a predominantly residential town, with a total population of List of towns and cities in England by population, and an area of around . It is a centre for further education, and the performing arts.

History Toponymy Oldham (International Phonetic Alphabet ) is a derivative of Aldehulme (first recorded in around the year 1180), and is believed to be derived from the Old English language "ald" combined with the Old Norse "holmi", meaning "old promontory or outcrop", possibly describing the town's hilltop defensive position.

Early history The earliest known evidence of a human presence in what is now Oldham is attested by the discovery of Neolithic flint arrow-heads and workings found at Werneth, Greater Manchester and Beesom Hill, implying habitation in the locality from 7,000 to 10,000 years ago. Evidence of later Roman Britain and Celts activity is confirmed by an ancient Roman road and Bronze age archaeological relics found at various sites within the town. Though History of Anglo-Saxon England occupied territory around the area centuries earlier, Oldham as a permanent named-place of dwelling is believed to date from the year 865 when Danelaw established a settlement with the name Aldehulme.

Unmentioned in the Domesday Book, Oldham during the Middle Ages, from the time of its founding in the 9th century through to the Industrial Revolution, is believed to been nothing but a mere scattering of small and insignificant settlements spread across the moorland and dirt tracks which linked Manchester to York. However Oldham does appear in legal documents from this time, invariably recorded as territory under a number of minor Feudalism and barons. In the 13th century, Oldham was documented as a manor held from The Crown by a family surnamed "Oldham (surname)", whose seat was at Werneth, Greater Manchester.

Industrial Revolution and cotton Much of Oldham's history is concerned with textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, and it has been said that "if ever the Industrial Revolution placed a town firmly and squarely on the map of the world, that town is Oldham." Oldham's soils were too thin and poor to sustain crop (agriculture) growing, and so for decades prior to industrialisation the area was used for grazing sheep and thereby support a wool weaving trade. It was not until the last quarter of the 18th century that Oldham witnessed its change from a cottage industry township concerned with producing woollen garments via manual labour, to a sprawling industrial metropolis of textile factories.

The climate, geology, and topography of Oldham were unrelenting constraints upon the social and economic activities of the human inhabitants. Located some above sea level with no major river or visible natural resources, the Oldham area had poor geographic attributes compared with other settlements for investors and their engineers, and so Oldham played no role in the initial period of the Industrial Revolution. Later seen as obvious territory to industrialise for its conveinient position between the labour forces of Manchester and southwest Yorkshire, cotton Spinning (textiles) and cotton mill was introduced to Oldham via its first mill, Lees Hall, built about 1778 by William Clegg which began a spiralling process of urbanisation and Socioeconomics transformation. Within a year, 11 other mills were constructed and by 1818 there were 19 - though this total was small in comparison with other local settlements. With only a small local population, mass migration of village workers into Oldham occurred, resulting in a population change from just over 12,000 in 1801 to 137,000 in 1901. The speed of this urban growth is highly significant; Oldham, with little pre-industrial history to speak of, was effectively born a mill town.

It was not until the second half of the 19th century when Oldham became the world's manufacturing centre for cotton spinning. In 1851, over 30% of Oldham's population was employed within the textile sector, compared against 5% across Great Britain. It overtook the major urban centers of Manchester and Bolton as a result of a mill building booms during 1860s-1870s, which confirmed Oldham as the most productive cotton-spinning town in the world. By 1911 there were 16.4 million Spindle (textiles) in Oldham, compared with a total of 58 million in the United Kingdom and 143.5 million in the world, and in 1928, with the construction of "Elk" mill - the UK's largest textile factory - Oldham reached its manufacturing zenith. During this peak, over 360 mills operated night and day.

Although Oldham was hit hard by the Lancashire Cotton Famine of 1861–1865 when supplies of raw cotton from the United States were cut off, it was not until 1964 when Oldham ceased to be the largest single centre of cotton spinning. Said to have over-relied upon the textile sector, as the importation of cheaper foreign yarns grew, Oldham's economy strained into a localised depression. Though efforts were made to make the production more efficient and competitive, the last cotton to be spun in the town was at "Elk" mill, in 1998.

Coal mining and engineering Facilitated by its flourishing textile industry, Oldham developed extensive History of coal mining and mechanical engineering sectors during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The expansion of coal mining in Oldham, which lies on the eastern edge of the south Lancashire coalfield, began with the arrival in the town of two Welsh people labourers, John Evans and William Jones, some time before 1770. Forseeing the growth in demand for coal as a source of motive and steam power, they acquired colliery rights for Oldham, which by 1771 had 14 colliers. The mines were largely to the southwest of the town around Hollinwood and Werneth, Greater Manchester and provided enough coal to accelerate Oldham's rapid development at the centre of the cotton boom. The amount of coal in the field was somewhat overestimated, however, and production began to decline even before that of the local spinning industry. Today, the only visible remnants of the mines are some disused shafts and tunnels.

The manufacture of spinning and weaving machines in Oldham belongs to the last decade of the 19th century, when it became a leading centre in the field of engineering. On the back of the Industrial Revolution, the town developed an extensive engineering industry, strongly linked to the local cotton industry. The Platt Brothers originated in nearby Dobcross village, Saddleworth, but moved to Oldham. They were pioneers of cotton spinning, inventing several innovations which enabled mass-production of cotton yarn.Platt Brothers became the largest textile machine makers in the world, employing over 15,000 people, twice the size of their nearest rivals, "Dobson & Barlow" in Bolton and "Asa Lees" on Greenacres Moor, Oldham. They were keen investors in the local area and at one time, were supporting some 42% of the population. The centre of the company lay at the New Hartford Works in Werneth, a massive complex of buildings and internal railways on a site overlooking Manchester. The railway station which served this site later formed the basis of Oldham Werneth railway station, which together with the main building exists to this day.

Although textile engineering declined with the industry, leading to the demise of Platts in 1982, other engineering firms existed, notably electrical and later electronical engineers Ferranti in 1896. Ferranti went into receivership in 1993, but some of its former works continue in other hands, notably the original Hollinwood site now operated by Siemens AG.

Civil disturbance Oldham is no stranger to political civil disturbance, the Riot Act was read in United Kingdom general election, 1852 following concerns over the Reform Act.

In May 2001, Oldham became the centre of national and international media attention. Following several high profile Racism conflicts, and long-term underlying racial tensions, major race riots broke out in the town. Occurring with particular intensity in the Glodwick area of the town, the Oldham Riots were the worst racially-motivated riots in the United Kingdom for fifteen years prior, briefly eclipsing the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland in the media.

At least 20 people were injured in the riots, including fifteen officers, and 37 people were arrested. "Reasons Behind The Ethnic Riots in Oldham", Islam Online, June 13, 2001, URL accessed June 19, 2006 Similar riots took place by communities in English northern towns over the following days and weeks. The 2001 riots prompted a number of governmental and independent inquiries, which collectively agreed on a number of community relations improvements and considerable regeneration schemes for the town.

Governance Civic history of the former County Borough of Oldham council, granted 7 November 1894. Owls have long been a heraldry device of the town, and are said to be a pun on both the local pronouciation of the town - "Owdham", and the town's motto, "Sapere aude".Oldham was recorded in 1212 as being part of the thegnage estate of Kaskenmoor, which was held on behalf of John of England by Roger de Montbegon and William de Nevill. Oldham later formed a township (England) within the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham, in the Salford (hundred).

In 1826 commissioners for the social and economic improvement of Oldham were established. In 1849, Oldham was incorporated as a municipal borough, giving it Borough status in the United Kingdom, and in 1850 the Borough Council obtained the powers of the improvement commissioners. In 1880 the Hollinwood and Crossbank parts of Chadderton and Ashton-under-Lyne townships were added to the Borough of Oldham. Oldham Above Town and Oldham Below Town were, from 1851 until c.1881, statistical units used for the gathering and organising of civil registration information, and output of census data.

When the Administrative counties of England of Lancashire was created by the Local Government Act 1888, Oldham was elevated to become the County Borough of Oldham and was effectively a unitary authority exempt from the administration of Lancashire County Council. In 1951 parts of Alt, Bardsley, Greater Manchester and Woodhouses civil parishes were added to the County Borough of Oldham, and in 1954 other parts of these same civil parishes were added to it. Since 1961, Oldham has been twin towns with Kranj in Slovenia. Under the Local Government Act 1972, the town's autonomous County borough status was abolished, and Oldham has, since 1 April 1974, formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, within the Metropolitan county of Greater Manchester.

Parliamentary representation The boundaries of two United Kingdom constituencies divide Oldham: Oldham East and Saddleworth (UK Parliament constituency), and Oldham West and Royton (UK Parliament constituency) (which includes the town centre), which are represented by Labour party (UK) Member of Parliament Phil Woolas and Michael Meacher respectively.

Oldham was where Winston Churchill began his political career. Although taking two attempts to succeed, in the United Kingdom general election, 1900 Churchill was elected as the member of Parliament for the Oldham (UK Parliament constituency). He held the constituency for the Conservative Party (UK) until the United Kingdom general election, 1906, when he won the election for Manchester North West (UK Parliament constituency) as a Liberal Party (UK) MP. After he became the serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1940, on April 2, 1941, Churchill was made a Honorary Freedom of Boroughs Act 1885.

Geography {{climate chart||1|6|70|1|7|50|3|9|60|4|12|50|7|15|60|10|18|70|12|20|70|12|20|80|10|17|70|8|14|80|4|9|80|2|7|80|source=|float=right-->At (53.5444, -2.1169), and north-northwest of London, Oldham stands above sea level, northeast of Manchester City Centre, on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk and River Medlock. Saddleworth and the South Pennines are close to the east, whilst on all other sides, Oldham is bound by a number of smaller towns, including Ashton-under-Lyne, Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton and Shaw and Crompton, with little or no green space between them. Oldham experiences a temperate Oceanic climate, like much of the British Isles, with relatively cool summers and mild winters. There is regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year.

The topography of Oldham is characterised by its rugged, upland (geology) Pennine terrain. Oldham, with an extreme length from southwest to northeast of over , has an area of . The River Beal, flowing northwards, forms the boundary between Oldham on one side and Royton and Shaw and Crompton on the other. To the east of this river the surface rises, to a height of , being attained at Woodward Hill on the border with the parish of Saddleworth. The rest of the surface is hilly, the average height decreasing towards the southwest towards Failsworth and the city of Manchester. The ridge called Oldham Edge, high, comes southward from Royton into the centre of the town. is characterised by its vast number of red-brick cotton mills and surrounding terraced houses.Oldham's built environment is characterised by its vast number of 19th century red-brick terraced houses, and much of the infrastructure that was built to support these and the town's former cotton mills - some of which still mark the skyline of Oldham. The urban structure of Oldham is irregular when compared against most List of towns in England, its form restricted in many places by its hilly upland terrain. There are irregularly constructed residential dwellings and streets loosely centred around a central business district in the town centre, which is the local centre of commerce. Oldham was described in John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72) as consisting of "numerous streets, and contains numerous fine buildings, both public and private; but, in a general view, is irregularly constructed, presents the dingy aspect of a crowded seat of manufacture, and is more notable for factories than for any other feature."

There is a mixture of high-density urban areas, suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Oldham, but overwhelmingly the land use in the town is urban. The territory of Oldham is contiguous with several other towns on all sides except for a small section along its eastern and southern boundaries, and for purposes of the Office for National Statistics, forms the fifth largest settlement of the Greater Manchester Urban Area, the List of conurbations in the United Kingdom. The M60 motorway passes through the southwest of Oldham, through Hollinwood, and a heavy rail line also enters Oldham from this direction, travelling northeast to the town centre before heading northwards through Derker towards Shaw and Crompton.

Divisions and suburbs

Many of Oldham's present divisions and suburbs have origins as pre-industrial hamlets, manorial commons and ancient chapelries. Some, such as Moorside, Oldham, exist today as recently constructed residential suburbia, whilst districts like Hollinwood exist as electoral wards and thoroughly industrialised districts.

One of the oldest recorded named places of Oldham is Hathershaw, occuring in a deed for 1280 with the spelling Halselinechaw Clugh. Existing as a manor in the 15th century, Hathershaw Hall was the home of a Royalist family in the 17the century who lost part of their possessions due to the English Civil War. Waterhead, Greater Manchester, an upland area in the east of Oldham, traces its roots to a water cornmill over the border in Saddleworth. Recorded originally as Watergate and Waterhead Milne, it was for a long time a hamlet in the parish of Oldham that formed a significant part of the Oldham Above Town registration sub-district. Derker was recorded as a place of residence in 1604 with the name Dirtcar. Bound by Higginshaw to the north, Derker is the location of Derker railway station and, said to have terraced residencies "unsuited to modern needs", is currently being redeveloped as part of the Housing Market Renewal Initiative. Coldhurst, an area along Oldham's northern boundary with Royton, was once a chapelry and the site of considerable industry and commerce, including coal mining, cotton mills and hat manufacture. It is said to have been the scene of an action in the English Civil War in which the Roundhead were defeated.

|}--->

Demography {| id="toc" style="float: right; margin-left: 2em; width: 40%; font-size: 90%;" cellspacing="3"!colspan="3"|Oldham compared|-|United Kingdom Census 2001||Oldham||Metropolitan Borough of Oldham||England|-|Total population||List of towns and cities in England by population||217,273||49,138,831|-|Foreign born||15%||8.2%||9.2%|-|White||71%||86%||91%|-|Asian||27%||12%||4.6%|-|Black||0.9%||0.6%||2.3%|-|Christian||58%||73%||72%|-|Muslim||25%||11%||3.1%|-|Hindu||1.1%||0.1%||1.1%|-|No religion||8.3%||8.9%||15%|-|Over 65 years old||12%||14%||16%|-|Unemployed||5.5%||3.7%||3.3%|}According to data from the United Kingdom Census 2001, Oldham had a total resident population of 103,544, making it the List of English cities by population in England, and the 5th most populous settlement of the Greater Manchester Urban Area. This figure in conjunction with its area provides Oldham with a population density of 3,998 people per square mile (1,544 per Square kilometer).

Oldham, considered as a combination of the 2001 ward (politics) of Alexandra, Coldhurst, Hollinwood, St. James, St. Marys, St. Pauls, Waterhead, Greater Manchester and Werneth, Greater Manchester, has an average age of 33.5, and compared against the average demography of the United Kingdom, has a high level of people of South Asian heritage, particularly those with roots in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Due to Oldham's industrial might, the town had always attracted migrant workers, including those from wider-England, Scotland, Ireland and parts of Poland. During the 1950s and 1960s, in an attempt to fill the shortfall of workers and revitalise local industries, members of the wider Commonwealth of Nations were encouraged to Immigration to the United Kingdom (1922-present day). Many came from the Caribbean and Indian subcontinent and settled throughout the Oldham borough. Today, Oldham still has large communities with heritage from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and parts of the Caribbean. At the time of the 2001 census, over one in four of its residents identified themselves as from a South Asian or British Asian ethnic group.s, indicating the area's history as a mill town.A large portion of Oldham's residencies are Victorian era brick terraced houses in a back-to-back row formation, built for the most part from 1870 to 1920, to house the town's cotton mill workers. In the semi-rural east of Oldham, such as Moorside, Oldham, are the site of more modern type housing, though terraces are found in almost all parts of Oldham.

With only a small local population during medieval times, as a result of the introduction of industry, mass migration of village workers into Oldham occurred, resulting in a population change from under 2,000 in 1714 to 12,000 in 1801 to 137,000 in 1901.

Below is a table outlining the population change of the town since 1801, which demostrates a trend of rapid population growth in the 19th century and, after peaking at 147,483 people in 1911, a trend of general decline in population size during the 20th century.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%;width:70%;border:0px;text-align:center;line-height:120%;"! style="background: #99CCCC; color: #000080" height="17" | Year! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1801! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1811! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1821! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1831! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1841! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1851! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1861! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1871! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1881! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1891! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1901! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1911! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1921! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1931! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1939! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1951! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1961! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 1971! style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000080;" | 2001|- Align="center"! style="background: #99CCCC; color: #000080" height="17" | Population| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 12,024| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 16,690| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 21,662| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 32,381| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 42,595| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 52,820| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 72,333| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 82,629| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 111,349| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 131,463| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 137,246| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 147,483| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 144,983| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 140,314| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 120,511| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 121,266| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 115,346| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 105,922| style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;" | 103,544|-| colspan="20" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;"|Sources:
A Vision of Britain through Time
|}

Economy s still mark its skyline, and in some cases are now used as processing and distribution centres.For many years Oldham's economy was heavily dependent on manufacturing industry, especially textiles and mechanical engineering. These sectors however have since been replaced by home shopping, publishing, healthcare and food processing sectors, though factory-generated employment retains a significant presence., houses one of Europe's largest stained glass roofs. Which, created by local artist Brian Clarke, celebrates the music of one of Oldham's famous sons, William Walton.Park Cake Bakeries, recently sold as part of a large shake-up by the Northern Foods Group, have a large food processing centre in Hathershaw, which employs in excess of 1,600 people. Over 90% of the cakes produced go to Marks & Spencer. Long existing as an industrial district, Hollinwood is home to the Northern Counties Housing Association, and Mirror Colour Print Ltd; the printing division of the Trinity Mirror group, which prints and distributes thirty-six major newspapers, and employs five-hundred staff.

Oldham's town centre has been redeveloped extensively during the last few decades, with two shopping centres, "Town Square" and "The Spindles", providing one of the largest covered retail areas in Greater Manchester. "The Spindles" (named with reference to Spindle (textiles)) is a modern built Shopping mall with over 40 retailers, banks, building societies and catering outlets. It houses one of Europe's largest stained glass roofs, which, created by local artist Brian Clarke, celebrates the music of one of Oldham's famous sons, composer and Conductor (music), William Walton.{{cite web|url=http://www.visitoldham.co.uk/shopping/spindles.htm|title=The Spindles Shopping Centre|date=N.D.|author=|publisher=visitoldham.co.uk|accessdate=2007-09-13-->

Ferranti is an electronic, electromechanical and electrical engineering company based in Waterhead, Greater Manchester, Oldham.

Landmarks Town Hall City hall built in 1841.Oldham's Old Town Hall is a Neoclassical architecture City hall built in 1841 - seven years prior to Oldham receiving its Borough status in the United Kingdom. It was from these Town Hall steps that Sir Winston Churchill made his inaugural acceptance speech when he was first elected as a Conservative MP in 1900. A Blue Plaque features on the exterior of the hall, which serves to commemorate the event.

Long existing as the political centre of the town, the structure has been derelict for many years, but has regularly been earmarked for redevelopment as part of a number of proposed regeneration projects, Town Centre Redevelopment Oldham.gov.uk. URL accessed October 1, 2006. including The Heart of Oldham.

Oldham War Memorial Erected as a permanent memorial to the men of Oldham who were killed in World War I, the Oldham War Memorial consists of a granite base surmounted by a bronze sculpture depicting five soldiers making their way along the trenches in order to go into battle. The main standing figure, having climbed out of the trenches, is shown calling on his comrades to advance. The base serves to house books containing the roll of honour of the 1st, 10th and 24th Battalions, Manchester Regiment. The pedestal has two bronze doors at either side.

Commissioned in 1919 by the Oldham War Memorial Committee, the Oldham War Memorial was conceptualised and fabricated by Albert Toft, and unveiled by Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton on April 28, 1923, before a crowd estimated at over 10,000. The monument was intended to symbolise the spirit of 1914-1918.

The inscriptions on the memorial read:

Over doors: "MORS JANUA VITAE, 1914-1918" (death is the gate of life)
Opposite side: "TO GOD BE THE PRAISE"

Civic Centre The Civic Centre tower is the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham's centre of local governance. The fifteen storey white-brick building has housed the vast majority of the local government's offices since its completion in 1977. Standing at the summit of the town, the tower stands over 200 feet high and was built at a cost of Pound sterling6,800,000. The Town & Borough of Oldham - Contemporary Oldham, www.manchester2002-uk.com, September 10, 2003, URL accessed June 26, 2006

The Civic Centre can be seen from as far away as Salford, Trafford, Wythenshawe and even Winter Hill (Lancashire) in Lancashire, and offers panoramic views across the city of Manchester and the Cheshire plain.

Parish Church The "Oldham Parish Church of St. Mary with St. Peter", in its present form, dates from 1830 and was designed in the Gothic Revival architecture by Richard Lane, a Manchester born Architect. It was linked with St. Mary's Church in Prestwich and together the sites were principal churches of the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham.

A church building had existed on the site since 1280. During this time, a small chapel stood on the site to serve the local historic townships of Oldham, Chadderton, Royton and Shaw and Crompton. This was later replaced by an Gothic architecture Church in the 15th century. With the coming of the Industrial Revolution, the population of Oldham increased at a rapid rate (from under 2,000 in 1714, to over 32,000 by 1831). The rapid growth of the local population warranted that the building be rebuilt in to the structure which stands today. The cost of building was Pound sterling30,000, one third of which was spent on the crypt structure. Alternative designs by Sir Charles Barry, the designer of the Palace of Westminster, although now regarded by some as superior, were rejected. The Church, of the Anglicanism denomination, is in active use for worship, and forms part of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester.

Transport Oldham is about 4 miles from the major M62 motorway, but is linked to it by the M60 motorway and A627(M).Central Oldham once had six railway stations but now has four, Oldham Werneth railway station, Oldham Mumps railway station, Derker railway station and Hollinwood railway station. It is planned to link the town to the Manchester Metrolink tram network, but plans are currently in abeyance due to government concerns to meet the escalating costs of the required engineering work.

Oldham has a Oldham Bus Station with frequent bus services to Manchester, Rochdale, Ashton-under-Lyne and Middleton with other services to various areas in Oldham plus Stalybridge and Hyde and across the Pennines to Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. The bus station is also used by National Express coaches.

Sports The town is home to a number of sports teams including Oldham Athletic A.F.C., Oldham Town F.C. and Oldham Roughyeds Rugby League Football Club. In addition the town is host to several league cricket teams with a number of semi-professional league clubs including Oldham Cricket Club, and Werneth Cricket Club in the Central Lancashire League.

Oldham Athletic F.C are the most notable and successful of the town's sports teams. They were Football League runners-up in the 1914-15 in English football of the First World War, but were relegated from the Football League First Division in 1923. They reached the Football League Cup final in 1990 and won the Football League Second Division title in 1991, ending 68 years outside the top flight. They secured their top division status a year later to become founder members of the new Premier League, but were relegated after 1993-94 in English football despite reaching that year's FA Cup semi-finals. They are currently playing Football League One, the third tier of the English league. The club's current manager is John Sheridan, and they play at Boundary Park.

Education is one of Oldham's oldest schools, dating back to 1834.Almost every part of Oldham is served by a school of some kind, including some with religious affiliations. According to the Office for Standards in Education, schools within the town perform at mixed levels. Blue Coat School, Oldham, consistently Oldham's top performing secondary school for 11- to 16-year-olds, also has a sixth form college of further education for 16- to 18-year-olds on the same site.

Oldham produced was is considered to be one of the greatest benefactors of education for the nation, Hugh Oldham, who in 1504 was appointed as Bishop of Exeter, and later went on to found what is today Manchester Grammar School.

{]| Secondary School || || www.blue-coat.oldham.sch.uk|-! Breeze Hill School| Secondary School || |||-! [Grange School, Oldham| Secondary School || |||-! [Hulme Grammar School| Secondary School || |||-! [Oldham Sixth Form College || || www.osfc.ac.uk|-! [The Oldham College| Higher education college || |||-! [St Augustine of Canterbury R.C. High School| Secondary School || |||}

Culture The town has a notable 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 and the Oldham Theatre Workshop. There are plans to develop an Oldham "West End".

Communal facilities The Lyceum is a Listed building opened in 1856 at a cost of £6,500 as a "mutual improvement" centre for the working men of Oldham. Superceding an earlier building which opened under the same terms in 1839, available to its members were a library, a newsroom and a series of lectures on geology, geography and education, microscope and chemistry, female education and botany. Instrumental music was introduced and there were soon 16 violinists and 3 'cellists. Eventually the building was extended and comprised The Lyceum and The School of Science and Art. Music had always existed at the Lyceum and in 1892 a School of Music began with 39 students enrolled for the "theory and practice of music".

The Lyceum continued throughout the 20th century as a centre for the arts in Oldham and in 1986 the local authority was invited by the directors and trustees of the Lyceum to accept the building as a gift. The acceptance of the Lyceum building by the Education Committee provided the opportunity to re-locate The Music Centre and "further enhance the cultural activities of the town". In 1989 the Oldham Metropolitan Borough Music Centre moved into the Lyceum building, and is today home to the Oldham Lyceum School Of Music.

Oldham’s museum and gallery service dates back to 1883.{{cite web|url=http://www.galleryoldham.org.uk/collections.htm|title=Gallery Oldham Collections|publisher=galleryoldham.org.uk|accessdate=2007-10-15|date=|author=|format=http--> Since this time Oldham Art Gallery and Museum has established itself as a cultural focus of Oldham and has developed one of the largest and most varied permanent collections in North West England. The current collections include over 12,000 social and industrial history items, more than 2,000 works of art, about 1,000 items of decorative art, more than 80,000 natural history specimens, over 1,000 geological specimens, about 3,000 archaeological artefacts, 15,000 photographs and a large number of books, pamphlets and documents.

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. Later phases of the development saw the opening of an extended Oldham Library, a lifelong learning centre and there are plans to include a performing arts centre.

Invention and discovery claiming the first chip shop in United Kingdom, in Oldham

Oldham lays claim to being the birthplace of the chip shop (though possibly not in the sense it is understood today of fish-and-chip shop' - the combination is thought to have been first offered by Joseph Malin at his premises in London circa 1860), from which the fast food industry's origins may be traced. The chip shop in question was on the site of what is now the Tommyfield indoor market.

Oldham is the place of birth of the tubular bandage, and Yates Wine Lodge having been started by the Yates brothers, Peter and Simon in 1884.

The Royal Oldham Hospital was the birthplace of Louise Brown, the world's first baby to be born by In vitro fertilisation, in 1978.

Notable people People from Oldham are called Oldhamers. The town has been the birthplace and home many notable people, both of national and international acclaim. Amongst the most notable persons of historic significance with a connection to Oldham are acclaimed composer William Walton, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill, and Louise Brown, the world's first baby to be conceived by in vitro fertilisation. Notable Oldhamers from popular culture include comedy double act Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball, actress Shobna Gulati, and Mark Owen of boyband Take That.

See also

Oldham Evening Chronicle

References Notes Percentages are taken from 2001 ward boundaries that together most closely match the territory of the former County Borough of Oldham.
The total population of Oldham is given as those within an urban area divorced from the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham.

External links

Oldham Website operated by the local council.
Oldham, GENUKI article, including genealogical data and historic descriptions.
Oldham Advertiser Oldham Advertiser newspaper website
Oldham Evening Chronicle Local newspaper website.
Oldham Coliseum Theatre
Oldham Carnival official website.
Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm Oldham's Community Radio Station.

Over doors: "MORS JANUA VITAE, 1914-1918" (death is the gate of life)
Opposite side: "TO GOD BE THE PRAISE"

Oldham Evening Chronicle

Oldham Website operated by the local council.
Oldham, GENUKI article, including genealogical data and historic descriptions.
Oldham Advertiser Oldham Advertiser newspaper website
Oldham Evening Chronicle Local newspaper website.
Oldham Coliseum Theatre
Oldham Carnival official website.
Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm Oldham's Community Radio Station.

Oldham Council - Home
Contains news, leisure, cultural, sporting and council information.

Oldham Council - Home
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council - Home Automatically imported page. ... New Citizens' Plan published. Oldham Council's new Citizens' Plan has now been published.

Home | Oldham Athletic
The official Oldham Athletic FC website with news, transfer rumours, online ticket sales, live match commentary, video highlights, player profiles, mobile content, wallpapers and ...

Rivals - Home - Oldham Athletic - Oldham Athletic Club Home
News, tables, player profiles, club information, statistics, archives, a message board, and chat.

The Oldham College - Greater Manchester
Offers details of the full and part-time, further and higher education courses on offer.

Contacts | The Oldham College - Greater Manchester
Contacts. Course Enquiries: 0800 269 480 Reception: 0161 624 5214. Student Services: 0161 785 4054. E-mail: info@oldham.ac.uk. Fax: 0161 785 4234. Add us to your address book ...

The Oldham College - Gateway Service (new)
The Gateway service allows students and staff to access college resources via the Internet. If you have any problems getting to the service you require, please read the ...

BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Oldham
News, match reports, results, fixtures, tables, and live text commentary.

Oldham Primary Care Trust
Oldham Primary Care NHS Trust provides health services for people living in the Oldham area. ... The Primary Care Trust, or PCT, is responsible for providing and overseeing ...

University Centre Oldham (UCO) Home Page
A campus of the University of Huddersfield; offers information about the University Centre's courses and facilities. ... University Centre Oldham, Cromwell Street, Oldham, OL1 1BB ...