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Rochdale

Coordinates: 53°37′N 2°10′W / 53.61°N 2.16°W / 53.61; -2.16
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 172.220.81.119 (talk) at 20:11, 24 June 2023 (→Economic initiatives). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other uses, see Rochdale (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Rochedale (disambiguation).

Rochdale
Top: Rochdale Town Centre skyline – Centre clockwise: Rochdale Town Hall, St Chad's Church, Milkstone Mosque, College Bank tower blocks – Bottom: Rochdale Municipal Offices
Rochdale is located in Greater Manchester
Rochdale
Rochdale
Location within Greater Manchester
Area22 sq mi (57 km2)
Population111,261 [1]
• Density5,057/sq mi (1,953/km2)
OS grid referenceSD893130
• London222 mi (357 km) SSE
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townROCHDALE
Postcode districtOL11, OL12, OL16
Dialling code01706
PoliceGreater Manchester
FireGreater Manchester
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Greater Manchester
53°37′N 2°10′W / 53.61°N 2.16°W / 53.61; -2.16

Rochdale (/ˈrɒtʃdeɪl/ ROTCH-dayl) is a town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England.[2] In the 2021 census the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wider borough.[3][4] Rochdale is in the foothills of the South Pennines and lies in the dale of the River Roch, 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Oldham and 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Manchester.

Rochdale's recorded history begins with an entry in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Recedham Manor". The ancient parish of Rochdale was a division of the hundred of Salford and one of the larger ecclesiastical parishes in England, comprising several townships. By 1251, the town had become of such importance that it was granted a Royal charter.

The town became a centre of northern England's woollen trade, and by the early 18th century was described as being "remarkable for its many wealthy merchants".[5] In the 19th century it became a mill town and centre for textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. The town is historically within Lancashire, and was a county borough within the county prior to 1974.

History

Name origins

The town is recorded as Recedham in the Domesday Book and Rachetham in 1193. Variations of Rechedham continue into the thirteenth century when the first element's termination is dropped as Rachedam became Racheham. This change was soon followed with the suffix -ham (homestead) changing to -dale (wide valley).

Rachdale is recorded as a name for the town in 1242, but may have been used earlier as a name for the valley, Hundred and Parish.[6][7] The Domesday Book's rendering of the name led Eilert Ekwall to suggest a derivation from reced, an obscure Old English element meaning "hall".

Although the name of the river is still pronounced /roʊtʃ/ (with a long vowel sound), Rochdale is pronounced /ˈrɒtʃdeɪl/ (with a shorter o sound).

Early history

Arrow Mill is a former cotton mill and Grade II listed building in Castleton

A Roman road, leading from Mamucium (Manchester) to Eboracum (York), crossed the moors at Blackstone Edge.[8]

Rochdale was subjected to incursions by the Danes, the castle that Castleton is named after, and of which no trace remains, was one of twelve Saxon forts possibly destroyed in frequent conflicts that occurred between the Saxons and Danes during the 10th and 11th centuries.[8] At the time of the Norman Conquest the manor was held by a Saxon thegn, Gamel. Rochdale appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Recedham and was described as lying within the hundred of Salford and the county of Cheshire. At that time, Rochdale was under the lordship of Roger the Poitevin.[9] Before 1212 Henry II granted the manor to Roger de Lacy whose family retained it as part of the Honour of Clitheroe until it passed to the Dukes of Lancaster by marriage and then by 1399 to the Crown.[8][10] In medieval times, weekly markets were held from 1250 when Edmund de Lacy obtained a grant for a market and an annual fair.[8] The market was held outside the parish church where there was an "Orator's Corner".

John Byron bought the manor in 1638 and it was sold by the poet, Lord Byron, in 1823, to the Deardens, who hold the title. Rochdale had no manor house but the "Orchard" built in 1702 and acquired in 1745 by Simon Dearden was the home of the lords of the manor after 1823. It was described as "a red-brick building of no architectural distinction, on the north side of the river opposite the town hall" and sometimes referred to as the Manor House. It was demolished in 1922.[11]

Industrial Revolution

Rochdale is a product of the Industrial Revolution,[12] though the manufacture of woollen cloth, particularly baize, kerseys and flannels, was locally important as far back as the 1500s. At that time the textile industry was rooted in the domestic system, but towards the end of the 18th century mills powered by water started to appear.

Water power was replaced by steam power in the 19th century and local coal became important. The Deardens who were lords of the manor were among the local coal mine owners.[13] By the mid-1800s, the woollen trade was declining and the cotton trade was rapidly growing in importance. Cotton manufacturing took advantage of new technological developments in spinning and weaving.[14] In 1804, the Rochdale Canal opened, providing the first link over the Pennines between Lancashire and Yorkshire.[15]

During the 19th century, Rochdale became one of the world's most prominent cotton processing towns rising to prominence and becoming a major centre for textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the first ever industrialised towns.[16] By the end of the 19th century Rochdale had woollen mills, silk manufacturers, bleachers and dyers, though cotton spinning and weaving were the dominant industries in the community.[17][18]

The socioeconomic change brought by the success of Rochdale's textile industry in the 19th century led to its rise to borough status and it became an important regional town based upon this economic success.[16]

The Rochdale Pioneers opened the first Cooperative shop in Toad Lane in 1844.[19] The reformer and Member of Parliament, John Bright (1811–1889), was born in Rochdale and gained a reputation as a leader of political dissent and supporter of the Anti-Corn Law League.[20]

Decline of textile manufacturing

By the middle of the 20th century, Rochdale's economy was in decline, reflecting the broader economic situation in other textile manufacturing towns in the Northwest of England. This decline was largely driven by the global availability of cheaper textile product offerings from abroad.[21][22]

During the 1950s and 1960s Rochdale's lack of a diverse economic base became very apparent, with the closure of numerous textile manufacturing facilities.[23] Textile manufacturing did remain a major contributor to the local economy, even into the 1970s. Regionally, numerous companies still have some connection to the textile industry.[21]

Population and Economic Data

As with many communities in the Northwest of England, Rochdale has seen demographic population shifts that started in the 1940s and 1950s and continued into the 1960s and 1970s.[24][25] Its current demographic makeup consists of a significant immigrant and refugee/asylum-seeking population.[25]

There is a long history of immigration from commonwealth nations to the Northwest of England, influenced by a number of changes to UK immigration laws and geopolitical issues. Though broadly speaking modern demographic shifts began after the second world war with the influx of displaced people from a war-torn Europe.[26]

The area is considered to be deprived using numerous metrics such as education, disposable income, housing stock, healthcare access and life expectancy [27]

Population Demographics

Rochdale has a significant population group originating from the former parts of Eastern Europe – largely Poland,[28] and Ukraine.[29] 84.5% of the population of the borough were born in the United Kingdom,[24] compared to 82.6% of the population of England.[30] British Asians are currently the predominant non-white ethnic group in Rochdale, making up close to 20 percent of the population (as of 2023).[25] This broadly includes immigrants from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

Population by ethnicity in the Borough of Rochdale, 2021 census:[24][25]

  • White – 165,485 people or 74.0%
  • Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh – 41,406 people or 18.5%
  • Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African – 7,927 people or 3.5%
  • Mixed or multiple ethnic groups – 5,284 people or 2.4%
  • Other – 3,669 people or 1.6%

Religious beliefs – 2021 census:[24]

  • Christian – 104,841 people or 46.9%
  • Muslim – 42,121 people or 18.8%
  • Other religions (Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish, Other) - 2,095 people or 0.9%
  • No religion – 64,349 people or 28.8%
  • Did not answer – 10,366 people or 4.6%

Current Economic Picture (2023)

Based on the UK's Office of National Statistics (ONS, Data 2018–2023) - the gross domestic product (GDP) in the Borough of Rochdale was worth an estimated £4.3 billion (2020). Rochdale's GDP growth between 2019 and 2020 was around 3.1% per year,[25] the manufacturing industry being the largest in the borough based on the number of jobs, accounting for 13.0% of roles in the area. The borough had a mean average salary for full-time employees of £30,630 (2022), and the unemployment rate was around 4.3% (2022).[31]

Compared to England as a country:[25]

  • The GDP value of the Borough of Rochdale represents 0.2% of the English economy. The borough is the 31st metropolitan district in England (of 36 total) when ordered by GDP, and the 27th metropolitan district in England (of 36 total) when ordered by GDP per capita.
  • The borough is the 31st metropolitan district in England (of 36 total) when ordered by total jobs, and the 31st metropolitan district in England (of 36 total) when ordered by job density.
  • The borough unemployment rate of ~4.3% is 0.4% higher than the unemployment rate for England (3.9%).

Economic initiatives

Rochdale was part of the national 'Future of Cities' initiative (2015-2016), with a workshop being held relating to a future vision and development strategies for Rochdale . [32][33] Other broader initiatives such as the Northern Powerhouse central government set of programs and 'visons for the future' are also relevant to this community [34] It should be noted that the Northern Powerhouse initiative has been criticized by a number of sources [35].[36] Yet another regional initiative to improve Rochdale's economic growth has been termed 'Atom Valley' [37]and includes incentives to attract science and technology businesses to local areas such as the Northern Gateway, Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale. [38]

Governance

The coat of arms of the former Municipal, and later County Borough of Rochdale council, granted 20 February 1857. The arms incorporate references to Rochdale's early industries and lords.[39]

Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire since the early 12th century, Rochdale was recorded in 1066 as held by Gamel, one of the twenty-one thegns of the Hundred of Salfordshire.[10]

The ancient ecclesiastical parish of Rochdale was divided into four townships: Butterworth, Castleton, Hundersfield and Spotland. Hundersfield was later divided into four townships: Blatchinworth, Calderbrook, Wardleworth and Wuerdle and Wardle.

Excluding the large chapelry of Saddleworth, which lay entirely in Yorkshire, the parish of Rochdale had an area of 65.4 square miles (169.4 km2).[10]

In 1825, commissioners for the social and economic improvement of the town were established. The town became part of a parliamentary borough in 1832. As there were no existing township boundaries, the commissioners and later the parliamentary constituency were deemed to cover a circular area extending three-quarters of a mile from the old market-place.[10]

Under the terms of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, Rochdale became the head of Rochdale Poor Law Union which was established on 15 February 1837, despite considerable local opposition.[40] In 1856 Rochdale was incorporated as a municipal borough, giving it borough status in the United Kingdom and after 1858 it obtained the powers of the improvement commissioners.[2]

In 1872, the remaining area of Wardleworth township and parts of Castleton, Wuerdle and Wardle, Spotland and Butterworth townships were added to the borough.[2]

When the administrative county of Lancashire was created by the Local Government Act 1888, Rochdale was elevated to become the County Borough of Rochdale and was, in modern terms, a unitary authority area exempt from the administration of Lancashire County Council. In 1900, most of Castleton Urban District was added to the borough; this urban district included parts of Castleton, Hopwood and Thornham townships. In 1933, parts of Norden Urban District and Birtle with Bamford civil parish were added to the borough.[2]

Under the Local Government Act 1972, the town's autonomous county borough status was abolished. The municipal boroughs of Middleton and Heywood and Littleborough, Milnrow and Wardle urban districts are now part of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, one of the ten metropolitan boroughs in Greater Manchester.[2]

Since 1953, Rochdale has been twinned with Bielefeld in Germany and since 1956 with Tourcoing in France, as well as Sahiwal in Pakistan since 1988 and Lviv in Ukraine since 1992. Sahiwal council has received many gifts like fire brigade trucks, ambulances and grants for hospitals from the people of Rochdale.[41]

Parliamentary representation

The Rochdale constituency was created by the Reform Act of 1832. The constituency was held for two decades during the 20th century by Cyril Smith, first of the Liberal Party and then of the Liberal Democrats.[42]

Following the 2010 general election, the town was represented by [[Simon Danczuk], who was elected as a Labour MP but was subsequently suspended and under investigation by the Labour Party.[43]

Tony Lloyd (Labour) was elected as MP for Rochdale constituency in the 2017 general election, and as of June 2023 is the current MP.[44]

Geography

Further information: Geography of Greater Manchester

Rochdale is approximately 450 feet (137 m) above sea level, 10 miles (16 km) north-northeast of Manchester city centre, in the valley of the River Roch. Blackstone Edge, Saddleworth Moor and the South Pennines are close to the east, whilst on all other sides, Rochdale is bound by other towns, including Whitworth, Littleborough, Milnrow, Royton, Heywood and Shaw and Crompton, with little or no green space between them.

Rochdale's built environment consists of a mixture of infrastructure, housing types and commercial buildings from a number of periods. Rochdale's housing stock is mixed, but has a significant amount of stone or red-brick terraced houses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Rochdale's Town Hall, seven large tower blocks (locally nicknamed 'The Seven Sisters') and a number of former cotton mills mark the town's skyline. The urban structure of Rochdale is regular when compared to most towns in England, its form restricted in places by its hilly upland terrain.

Much of Rochdale's built environment is centred around a central business district in the town centre, which is the local centre of both the town and borough.

There is a mixture of high-density urban areas, suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Rochdale, but overwhelmingly the land use in the town is urban.

For purposes of the Office for National Statistics, the Borough of Rochdale forms the fifth largest settlement of the Greater Manchester Urban Area,[45] the United Kingdom's third largest conurbation.

The M62 motorway passes to the south and southwest of Rochdale. Two heavy rail lines enter Rochdale from the east, joining at Rochdale railway station before continuing southwards to the city of Manchester.

Divisions and suburbs

Climate

Like much of the British Isle, Rochdale experiences a temperate maritime climate, with relatively cool summers and mild winters.

Climate data for Rochdale (110 m elevation) 1981–2010
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 6.6
(43.9) 		6.8
(44.2) 		9.1
(48.4) 		11.8
(53.2) 		15.3
(59.5) 		17.8
(64.0) 		19.7
(67.5) 		19.5
(67.1) 		16.8
(62.2) 		13.0
(55.4) 		9.3
(48.7) 		6.8
(44.2) 		12.7
(54.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 1.1
(34.0) 		1.0
(33.8) 		2.6
(36.7) 		4.0
(39.2) 		6.9
(44.4) 		9.6
(49.3) 		11.8
(53.2) 		11.5
(52.7) 		9.6
(49.3) 		6.6
(43.9) 		3.5
(38.3) 		1.1
(34.0) 		5.8
(42.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 112.2
(4.42) 		83.0
(3.27) 		92.2
(3.63) 		70.5
(2.78) 		62.8
(2.47) 		77.9
(3.07) 		79.9
(3.15) 		91.8
(3.61) 		92.6
(3.65) 		119.3
(4.70) 		114.5
(4.51) 		122.3
(4.81) 		1,118.6
(44.04)
Average precipitation days 15.9 12.4 14.2 12.1 10.9 11.9 11.6 13.1 12.3 15.2 15.9 16.2 161.7
Mean monthly sunshine hours 31.5 47.0 91.3 143.3 169.9 143.0 168.0 153.1 115.7 80.6 41.8 27.4 1,212.4
Source: Met Office[46]

Landmarks

See also: List of Scheduled Monuments in Greater Manchester, Grade I listed buildings in Greater Manchester, Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester, and List of public art in Greater Manchester

There are four grade I listed buildings in the town: the Town Hall,[47] the Cenotaph,[48] the Church of St Mary in the Baum,[49] and St Edmund's Church.[50]

Rochdale Cenotaph stands before Rochdale Town Hall

Rochdale Town Hall is a Victorian era town hall "widely recognized as being one of the finest municipal buildings in the country".[51][failed verification] It is the ceremonial headquarters of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and houses local government departments, including the borough's civil registration office.

Built in the Gothic Revival style it was inaugurated on 27 September 1871. The architect, William Henry Crossland, won a competition held in 1864. The town hall had a 240-foot (73 m) clock tower topped by a wooden spire with a gilded statue of Saint George and the Dragon which were destroyed by fire on 10 April 1883. A new 191-foot (58 m) stone clock tower and spire in the style of Manchester Town Hall was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, and erected in 1888. Art critic Nikolaus Pevsner described the building as possessing a "rare picturesque beauty".[52] Its stained glass windows, some designed by William Morris, are credited as "the finest modern examples of their kind".[51][failed verification] It has been described as one of the United Kingdom's finest examples of Victorian Gothic revival architecture.[53]

The building came to the attention of Adolf Hitler who was said to have admired it so much that he wished to ship the building, brick-by-brick, to Nazi Germany had the United Kingdom been defeated in the Second World War.[54][55]

The Rochdale Cenotaph, a war memorial bearing four sculpted and painted flags, is located opposite the town hall. It commemorates those who died in conflicts since the First World War. The monument and surrounding gardens were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.[56][57]

Worthy of note is a large industrial park, named the Kingsway Business Park for which planning permission for its construction began in 2009. The complex covers an area of 420 acres (0.66 sq mi; 1.7 km2).[58]

Transportation Infrastructure

Public transport in Rochdale is coordinated by Transport for Greater Manchester who owns the bus station and coordinates transport services in the area.

Road

The earliest routes around Rochdale were tracks and packhorse routes and a paved track over Blackstone Edge into Yorkshire that had Roman origins.[59] As trade increased the Blackstone Edge turnpike road was built in 1735.

The M62 motorway to the south of the town is accessed via the A627(M), which starts at Sandbrook Park in Rochdale and runs to Elk Mill in Chadderton. The A627(M) provides access to the M62 and to Oldham.

Rochdale Canal

The idea for the Rochdale Canal emerged in 1776, when James Brindley was commissioned to survey possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester.

However it was not until 4 April 1794 that an Act of Parliament was obtained. The broad canal which linked the Bridgewater Canal in Manchester with the Aire and Calder Navigation at Sowerby Bridge became a major artery of commerce between Lancashire and Yorkshire for cotton, wool, coal, limestone, timber, and salt.[60]The Rochdale Canal has the highest concentration of canal locks in the regional northern canal system; it houses 91 locks over 32 miles (51 km).[61]

Hollingworth Lake is part of the canal system, the lake was originally designed to regulate water levels and was part of the original engineering initiative. By the 1950s, the canal had fallen into general disuse and was abandoned in the 1960s along with many other industrial areas that had supported traditional industries. The lower section from the Bridgewater Canal to the junction with the Ashton Canal was restored as part of the Cheshire Ring in 1974. The rest of the canal was restored and re-opened in 2003. Local activist groups have worked to improve the canal further.

The Metrolink stop at Rochdale railway station

Demand from the cross-Pennine trade to support local cotton, wool and silk industries led to the building of the Manchester and Leeds Railway which opened in 1839 from Manchester to Littleborough, and from Normanton to Hebden Bridge in 1840.

The linking section opened on completion of the Summit Tunnel in 1841. Rochdale railway station is about a mile south of the town centre. Trains run to Manchester Victoria, Halifax, Dewsbury, Bradford and Leeds. A new service to Burnley and Accrington commenced in 2015.

The service to Manchester Victoria on the Oldham Loop line ended in October 2009, in preparation for conversion of the line to an extension of the Metrolink light rail system, renamed as the Oldham and Rochdale Line.

It was deferred in 2004 on grounds of cost but in July 2006 plans were approved for the extension from Manchester Victoria as far as Rochdale railway station, and opened on 28 February 2013.

The extension to Rochdale town centre, via Drake Street and terminating opposite Rochdale Interchange opened on 31 March 2014.

Bus

Until 1969, the borough's bus service was provided by the municipal operator Rochdale Corporation Transport which was merged into the SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive. Rochdale's old bus station closed in November 2013 and was demolished in April 2014 along with the multi-storey car park and municipal offices (known locally as 'The Black Box'), to make way for the new Town Centre East retail and leisure development.[62]

The replacement Rochdale Interchange is located next to the council office building Number One Riverside and is linked with Rochdale Town Centre tram stop.

There are frequent bus services from Rochdale, operated by First Greater Manchester, to Middleton, Royton, Chadderton, Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bury and Bolton. Frequent services to Manchester city centre are provided by First Greater Manchester's 17 overground service.

There are cross-county services into Lancashire and West Yorkshire, provided by Rosso, who operates to Rawtenstall and Accrington, First West Yorkshire, which operates to Burnley and Halifax, both via Todmorden, while the service to Halifax via Ripponden is operated by Yorkshire Tiger.

Education

Main article: List of schools in Rochdale

Hopwood Hall College is a further education college with a campus in Rochdale. It offers vocational courses for school leavers, and courses for adult learners and some higher education.

Rochdale Sixth Form College opened in September 2010, and is the primary provider of A-Level courses in Rochdale and the wider metropolitan borough. Most secondary schools in the area no longer offer sixth form courses.

Religion

See also: List of churches in Greater Manchester

St Chad's Church is a grade II* listed building.[63] It was the mother church of ancient parish of Rochdale and was founded before 1170, possibly on an Anglo-Saxon site. Much of the current building is the result of late Victorian restoration.

St John the Baptist Catholic Church was built in 1927 in Byzantine Revival style and is a grade II* listed building.[64]

Marland Grange[65] was a Cistercian grange of Stanlow, Cheshire, then of Whalley. The grange was founded before 1212.

Rochdale is home to 21 mosques of various denominations. Rochdale Central Masjid [Idara] is the largest of Rochdale's mosques.[66]

Public services

Scout Moor Wind Farm overlooking Rochdale

Home Office policing in Rochdale is provided by Greater Manchester Police and the Rochdale Division has headquarters at Town Meadow adjacent to the magistrates' court.

Statutory emergency fire and rescue services are provided by the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, which has fire stations in Rochdale, Littleborough and Heywood.[67]

Emergency healthcare is provided by Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. The Trust operates four hospitals in the North Manchester area, including the Rochdale Infirmary for the NHS. Patient transport is provided by the North West Ambulance Service.

Rochdale Infirmary is the only hospital serving the town since the closure of Birch Hill Hospital which occupied the former Rochdale Union Workhouse at Dearnley in 2007.[40] New facilities were established in Rochdale Infirmary as part of a restructuring of the town's healthcare services.

Primary care services in Rochdale are provided by the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale NHS Primary Care Trust. In 2006 it was announced that Accident & Emergency facilities at Rochdale Infirmary would be closed by 2011, leaving Oldham and Bury as the closest departments serving Rochdale.[68] Confirmation that the unit would close was met with protest locally, including a march through the town centre.[69]

Waste management is coordinated by the local authority via the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority.[70]

Rochdale's distribution network operator for electricity was United Utilities until 2010, when its electricity subsidiary was sold to Electricity North West. There are no power stations in the town following the closure of Rochdale power station in 1958, but Scout Moor Wind Farm which has 26 turbines was built on the high moors between Rawtenstall and Rochdale.

The wind farm generates 65MW of electricity.[71] United Utilities manage Rochdale's drinking and waste water.[72] Water supplies are sourced from several reservoirs, including Watergrove, Blackstone Edge, Greenbooth and Piethorne in Rochdale's outlying moorland.[72]

Sports

Rochdale has two professional sports teams: Rochdale A.F.C. (football) and Rochdale Hornets (rugby league); both play home games at the Spotland Stadium. Rochdale AFC were founded in 1907 and joined the Football League in 1921, when the new Football League Third Division (North) was created.[73]

The club has never played above the third tier of the English league divisional structure and, before its promotion at the end of the 2009/10 season (their first promotion since 1969), had played continuously in the Football League's lowest division since 1974. However, the club reached the Football League Cup Final in 1962 and lost to Norwich City. Rochdale Hornets is one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, making it one of the world's first rugby league teams.[74]

The town was previously home to defunct non-league football club, Rochdale Town,[75] but still hosts National Conference League amateur rugby league club Rochdale Mayfield. Rochdale R.U.F.C. who play in Bamford. There are two adult amateur football leagues: the Rochdale Online Alliance League and the Rochdale and District Sunday Football League.[76]

Golf courses around the town include Rochdale Golf Club and Marland Golf Course, at Springfield Park.[77] The town also has a number of cricket clubs, most of which play in the Pennine Cricket League (PCL). Rochdale Sub-Aqua Club was formed in 1959 and remains active.[78]

Speedway racing was staged at the Athletic Grounds in 1928–30 and returned at the start of the 1970s when it provided a home for the British League Division Two Belle Vue Aces juniors and Rochdale Hornets. Peter Collins, who won the 1976 World Championship was a Hornets rider.[79] Stuart Smith[80][81] and Doug Cronshaw[82] competed in BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars between 1965 and 1984.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Rochdale

The 19th century saw several notable characters. Lancashire dialect poet Edwin Waugh (1817–1890) was born and brought up in the town.

The aristocrat and poet George Gordon Byron was Lord Byron of Rochdale. Rochdale has a proud liberal political heritage, as shown by such people as John Bright, one of the first Quakers to sit in the House of Commons; and Rev. Joseph Cooke, the inspiration behind the Methodist Unitarian movement. In the 20th century, another prominent (if now controversial) political personality was Cyril Smith.

Among Rochdale's residents have been several musicians, including singers piri, Gracie Fields, Lisa Stansfield (born in Heywood) and Barb Jungr and bands Kaliphz also known as Kaleef, Autechre, and Tractor.

Broadcasters John Peel and Mark Chapman also have links with the town, Peel having lived there for a period of time and the latter three having been born there. Actors Anna Friel and Bill Oddie were born in Rochdale. Don Estelle, who was born and brought up in Crumpsall, lived for much of his life in Rochdale and was buried there in August 2003.[83]

Sajid Javid, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer was born in Rochdale to British Pakistani parents.

Dr Fayyaz Afzal, district judge lived in Rochdale.[84]

Other notable residents include businessman and philanthropist Sir Peter Ogden, novelist Nicholas Blincoe, Monica Coghlan, a prostitute caught up in the Jeffrey Archer scandal, and the banker Rev. Paul Flowers.

Poet John Siddique was born in Rochdale and has referred to the town in several poems. Novelist Anna Jacobs was born in Rochdale. World Series of poker winner Jake Cody grew up in Rochdale.

The footballer Earl Barrett was born there in April 1967 to Jamaican immigrant parents.[85] Great Britain Olympian Craig Dawson, represented hometown club Rochdale and Bolton Wanderers at football.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Rochdale (Greater Manchester, North West England, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Greater Manchester Gazetteer". Greater Manchester County Record Office. Places names – O to R. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  3. ^ "Rochdale (Greater Manchester, North West England, United Kingdom) – Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  4. ^ "How the population changed in Rochdale, Census 2021 – ONS". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  5. ^ Godman, Pam (1996). Images of England: Rochdale. ISBN 1-84588-173-7.
  6. ^ Mills, A.D.: A Dictionary of English Place Names, 2nd Edition, page 289, s.n. Rochdale. Oxford University Press, 1998
  7. ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1922). The Place-names of Lancashire. Manchester University Press. p. 54.
  8. ^ a b c d Lewis, Samuel (1848), A Topographical Dictionary of England; 'Rixton – Rochford', Institute of Historical Research, pp. 679–686
  9. ^ *Rochdale in the Domesday Book. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d Brownbill, J; Farrer, William (1911), A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5, Victoria County History, pp. 187–201
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Bibliography

  • Nicholls, Robert (2004). Curiosities of Greater Manchester. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3661-4.
  • Higgins et al (2020). British Cotton Textiles: Maturity and Decline: Maturity and Decline. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780367595159
  • Roethe, Johanna and Williams, Mike (2019), Central Rochdale, Greater Manchester: Historic area assessment (Historic England Research Report Series no. 56–2019, available online)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rochdale.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Rochdale.
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