Oldham
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OLDHAM, a town, a township, several chapelries, two sub-districts, and a district, in Lancashire. The town stands on an elevation between the rivers Irk and Medlock, near the source of the former and near the W bank of the upper part of the latter, on branches of the Northwestern and the Lancashire and Yorkshire railways, at the junction-terminus of the Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne and Guide-Bridge railway, and at a branch canal from the Rochdale and other canals, 7 miles N E of Manchester. The Roman road from Westmoreland into Yorkshire passed through its site, and can still be traced in the vicinity; but scarcely any other vestiges of antiquity about it either meet the eye or figure on record. The town, in despite of its name, is all comparatively modern, and makes little or no appearance in history. It originated in the introduction of textile manufactures, seemingly in the time of Charles I.; it acquired an impulse by the introduction of the factory-system about the year 1770; it acquired a still greater impulse by the expiration of Arkwright's patents in 1783 and 1789, and by the introduction of the steam-engine; it got great advantage from the existence of numerous and valuable coal mines in the immediate vicinity; it reaped benefit from successively the water-power of the neighbouring streams, the formation of the canals, and the formation of the railways; and, under combination of these advantages with local enterprise and skill, it rose, within the limits of the township, from a pop. of 12,024 in 1801 to a pop. of 72,333 in 1861. more ...

John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)

Archives and libraries

The best source of local information is:

Oldham Local Studies and Archives,
84 Union Street,
Oldham OL1 1DN
Email: local.studies@oldham.gov.uk

Cemeteries

The person to contact about all the public cemeteries in Oldham is:

The Registrar of Cemeteries and Crematorium
Environmental Services Department
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
P.O. Box 30
Civic Centre
West Street
Oldham
Lancashire OL1 1UQ

Telephone No: 0161 681 1312
Fax: 0161 683 5233
Email:ENV.Cemeteries@oldham.gov.uk

The records for the municipal cemeteries are held at Hollinwood Cemetery:

Hollinwood Cemetery & Crematorium
Roman Road
Hollinwood
Oldham

Telephone number 0161 681 1312

The municipal cemeteries and their opening dates are as follows: Chadderton (1857), Greenacres (1857), Lees (1879), Royton (1879), Failsworth (1887), Hollinwood (1889) and Crompton (1891).

Monumental inscriptions for the following graveyards have been published by the LFH&HS.

Census

Details about the census records, and indexes for Oldham.

Church History

Church Records

You can also perform a more selective search for churches in the area that are recorded in the GENUKI church database. This will also help identify churches in nearby townships and/or parishes. You also have the option to see the location of the churches marked on a map.

If you keep this page loaded for a very long time and the database is updated since loading it, the church links above may become stale and may display the wrong church. If this happens, reloading this page will correct them.

The following Church of England registers are to be found at the Oldham Local Studies and Archives:

All Saints, Newton Heath
Christ Church, Chadderton (Baptisms)
Christ Church, Friezland
Holy Trinity, Bardsley
Holy Trinity, Dobcross
Holy Trinity, Shaw
Holy Trinity, Waterhead
St. Anne's Church, Lydgate (Baptisms and burials)
St. Chad's, Saddleworth
St. James, Oldham (Burials, baptisms)
St. John's Werneth (Baptisms, marriages)
St. John's, Failsworth
St. John's, Hey (Baptisms, burials)
St. Margaret's, Hollinwood
St. Mary's, Oldham (Parish church)
St. Paul's, Royton
St. Paul,'s, Scouthead (Baptisms, Marriages)
St. Peter'. Oldham
St. Thomas', Friarmere (Baptisms, burials)
St. Thomas", Leesfield
St. Thomas', Moorside
St. Mary's, Prestwich

They also have non-conformist registers.

Civil Registration

Oldham Register Office holds records of births, marriages and deaths since 1837.

Description and Travel

Gazetteers

Ask for the gazetteer for a calculation of the distance from Oldham to another place.

Historical Geography

In 1835 the parish of Oldham contained the townships of Oldham, Crompton, Royton, Chadderton, Tonge and Alkrington.

Information about boundaries and administrative areas is available from A Vision of Britain through time.

History

A description of Oldham in the 19th century.

Maps

View maps of Oldham and places within its boundaries.

Newspapers

The Oldham Chronicle.

Poor Houses, Poor Law

The Workhouse site has an interesting description of Oldham workhouse.

Probate Records

For probate purposes prior to 1858, Oldham was in the Archdeaconry of Chester, in the Diocese of Chester. The original Lancashire wills for the Archdeaconry of Chester are held at the Lancashire Record Office.

Voting Registers

Oldham Local Studies and Archives Library holds a full set of Burgess Roll and Electoral Registers going back to 1850 but the complete run covers the town of Oldham only. There are gaps during both World Wars when registers were not published.

Coverage of surrounding districts is good but there are gaps and Royton is not covered for the early 1920s. It is covered for 1851, 1871 - 1915 and 1973 to the present day. Lancashire Record Office in Preston hold registers from 1934 - 1946 but it is an incomplete run.