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Revision as of 15:07, 20 June 2006

Shaw and Crompton
Shaw and Crompton
Statistics
Population: 21,721 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference: Maps for SD938090
Geography
County: Lancashire
Region: North West England
Nation: England
Administration
Status: Civil Parish, (1987)
District: Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
County: Greater Manchester
Other
Police: Greater Manchester Police
Ceremonial County: Greater Manchester
Admin. HQ: Oldham
Post Office and Telephone
Post town: OLDHAM
Postal District: OL2
Dialing Code: 01706
Politics
Shaw and Crompton Parish Emblem
Shaw and Crompton Parish Emblem
UK Pariamentary Constituency: Oldham East and Saddleworth
Political Representation: Labour
MP: Phil Woolas

Shaw and Crompton is a civil parish within the traditional borders of Lancashire, England, ten miles to the north-east of Manchester. It comes under the administration of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham.

Shaw and Crompton includes the districts of Shaw and High Crompton, and a number of smaller suburbs. The most well known are Rushcroft, Buckstones, Clough, Jubilee, Shaw Side and Wrens Nest. Lesser known suburb names include Cowlishaw, Low Crompton, Nook, Goats, Wood End and Shore Edge. The area contains two separate political wards, appropriately named "Shaw" and "Crompton".

Shaw and Crompton was a major centre of 19th century cotton-spinning and textile manufacture.

Shaw and Crompton has three Anglican Ecclesiastic parishes (although other denominations exist in the area), named Shaw, High Crompton and East Crompton respectively.

According to census data, in 1921 Shaw and Crompton had a population of 14,750, in 1991 21,093, and most recently in 2001 21,721.

Geography and administration

Shaw and Crompton lies at the very edge of the historic Lancashire border, with Yorkshire and the Pennines close to the east. The larger towns of Rochdale and Oldham lie to the west and south respectively. Since the local government reforms of 1974, the district is situated in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, administered primarily by Oldham metropolitan borough council. Shaw and Crompton forms part of the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency, which is represented in the House of Commons by Labour MP, Phil Woolas. Since 1987, Shaw and Crompton has had parish council status with parochial responsibilities.

Shaw was originally a sub-district of Crompton, and in 1835 was noted as a chapelry in the township of Crompton, and the site to a small chapel. However due to the build up of the town, the two areas and names merged to form the present day name of "Shaw and Crompton". Currently, the area of Shaw and Crompton is commonly referred to as Shaw by local communities; this is in contrast to former times when the area was broadly known as Crompton. This contrast can be seen on the markings of many prominent historical structures, which only bear the name "Crompton".

File:PMBShawVista.JPG
View of Shaw and Crompton from Dog Hill, Buckstones Road with the areas of Cowlishaw, High Crompton and Ruscroft in the distance and Clough, East Crompton and Buckstones itself in the foreground. The old cotton mills now belonging to Fulfillment Logistics and Littlewoods Shop Direct Group respectively, can also be seen in the foreground.

History of Shaw and Crompton

Early history

The name Shaw is Anglo-Saxon in origin, coming from the word "sceaga" meaning wood. The name Crompton is also Anglo-Saxon derived, and is from the words "crom"/"crumb" meaning crooked, and "ton", the Anglo-Saxon for hamlet or village.

Whilst in 1076 the area was given to Roger de Pictaventis (maternal nephew to William the Conqueror), the first known recorded use of the name for the township of Crompton was part of legal documentation from the early 13th century, when Gilbert de Notton was granted the estate from descendants of the Norman conquest.

Some decades after this, the De La Legh family (again, descendants of the Norman conquest forces), acquired the land as theirs and later, principal landowner Hugh De La Legh saw it fit to change his family name to "de Crompton" (of Crompton), the town which he and his family both owned and resided in.

Until the Industrial Revolution, Crompton was a small township made up of scattered woods, farmsteads, moorland, and swamp for a small community of local families and until 1894 was within the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham. The manufacture of textiles (namely wool) in the area can be traced back as far as 1474, however.

Crompton family

The Crompton family have a well documented history. Crompton first appears as a family name when the De La Legh family (settlers from the Norman conquest) changed their name to indicate the Anglo-Saxon township they had obtained and settled in during the 13th century. In turn the Crompton family name can be traced back to the time of Magna Carta to the Assize Roll for 1245.

The family were prosperous landowners of the area, and collectively had private ownership of the majority of Shaw and Crompton's land from their initial medieval acquisition, right through to the early 20th century.

The Crompton family also owned a large manor by the name of Crompton Hall, on the site of Crompton Fold (more commonly known now as Buckstones). Crompton Hall first appears in historical records as early as 1442 and was owned by Thomas de Crompton and his family.

The original 'medieval' Crompton Hall was demolished c.1848. A second and apparently 'magnificent' Crompton Hall, set in its own prominent forested grounds, was erected by the family, but following the dissipation and eventual death of the last remaining family members, the site was sold off and the manor was demolished in 1950 to make way for an exclusive development of bungalows (now the site of controversy over proposed plans to erect luxury three-storey apartments).

Some of the original forested grounds of Crompton Hall can still be found in the Buckstones area today, and is a small but popular public woods. The legacy of the Cromptons is also still apparent today in the area with Crompton House Church of England High School still bearing the Crompton family name (rather than the address it occupies).

Industrial Revolution and cotton

Shaw and Crompton owes much of its history to the British industrial revolution, particularly with 19th century cotton spinning, which provided the area with rapid expansion, prosperity and economic growth - so much so, that during the 19th century, Shaw and Crompton had more millionaires per capita than any other town in the world.

The cold but humid climate of Shaw and Crompton, (much like the surrounding borough of Oldham) provided ideal conditions with which cotton spinning could be performed without the cotton drying and breaking. Newly established 19th century technologies and mechanisation optimised cotton-spinning for mass production for the global market. In combination with Oldham, the area was responsible for 13% of the world's cotton production.

The global demand for cotton goods from the Oldham area allowed expansion both industrially and residentially, and in 1911 Shaw and Crompton had a considerable population of 14,750. The number of cotton mills in the small township peaked at a staggering thirty six mills in 1920. However, events following the First World War and new competition from abroad led to a severe depression in the British cotton industry and thus production in the area declined to an eventual halt. Somewhat surprisingly, the final cotton to be spun in Shaw and Crompton was in 1989 in Lilac and Park mills.

Mills

History has documented no less than forty eight separate mill buildings gracing the Shaw and Crompton skyline over the last few centuries. Currently, only seven of them still exist and five of them have survived for over a century; the oldest being the Duke Mill remaining firm on its foundation stone since 1883. Below is a table outlining all of the documented mills seen in Shaw and Crompton since the mid-18th Century.

Name Architect Location Built Demolished Served
(Years)
Ash Wild & Collins Jubilee Street 1883 1984 101
Beal UNKNOWN Beal Lane c.1832 c.1875 43
Beal Joseph Stott George Street 1889 1933 44
Briar P.S. Stott Beal Lane 1906 N/A 100+
Brook /
Crompton Fold		 UNKNOWN Buckstones Road c.1790 c.1852 c.62
Cape P.S. Stott Refuge Street 1900 1993 93
Clough UNKNOWN Mark Lane 1800 1990 190
Clough UNKNOWN Mark Lane 1835 1934 99
Cocker /
Diamond Rope Works		 UNKNOWN Cocker Mill Lane <1832 1994 >162
Cowlishaw /
Victoria		 UNKNOWN Scowcroft Lane <1789 1940 >151
Dawn P.S. Stott Eastway 1901 N/A 105+
Dee P.S. Stott Cheetham Street 1907 1984 77
Duchess Wild & Collins Duchess Street 1884 1960 76
Duke Joseph Stott Refuge Street 1883 N/A 123+
Elm /
Newby		 Joseph Stott Linney Lane 1890 N/A 116+
Fern Joseph Stott Siddal Street 1884 1983 99
Greenfield UNKNOWN Greenfield Lane 1776-1778 1945 169
Hawk A. Turner Store Street 1908 1991 83
Laneside UNKNOWN Grains Road 1817 >1875 >58
Lilac P.S. Stott Beal Lane 1918 N/A 88+
Lily G. Stott Linney Lane 1904 N/A 102+
Lily (No.2) G. Stott Linney Lane 1918 N/A 89+
Lyon UNKNOWN High Street <1852 1929(BD) 77
Moorfield Joseph Stott Durden Street 1876 1974 98
Moss Hey /
Ivor		 UNKNOWN Beal Lane <1789 1972(BD) 183
New Mill UNKNOWN Rochdale Road 1846 1884 38
New Mill (Rebuilt) UNKNOWN Rochdale Road 1884 1926(BD) 42
Old Brox UNKNOWN Rochdale Road 1789 1819(BD) 30
Old Brox (Rebuilt) UNKNOWN Rochdale Road 1819 1906 87
Oak /
Tom Taylors		 UNKNOWN Moor Street 1863 1937 74
Park UNKNOWN Milnrow Road 1834 1991 157
Rutland F.W. Dixon & Son Linney Lane 1907 1993 86
Sandy Lane UNKNOWN Rochdale Road >1863 1975 >112
Sandy Lane (No.2) UNKNOWN Rochdale Road >1878 1975 >97
Shaw Edge UNKNOWN Oldham Road >1818 <1845 c.27
Shaw Lane UNKNOWN High Street >1844 1900 c.56
Shaw Mill UNKNOWN Newtown 1820 >1890 >70
Shaw Spinning J. Wild Salts Street 1875 1972 97
Shaw Side /
Irk		 UNKNOWN Oldham Road <1832 >1980 c.148
Smallbrook J. Wild Nolan Street 1875 1964 89
Springhill UNKNOWN Thornham Road 1846 1938 92
Trent F.W. Dixon & Son Duchess Street 1908 1967-1969 61
Vale /
Crompton Spinning Co.		 UNKNOWN Beal Lane 1861 1934 73
Woodend UNKNOWN Smallbrook Road >1838 1920 (BD) 82
Wye A. Turner & Son Napier Street 1914 1974 60
Wye (No.2) A. Turner & Son Napier Street 1925 1974 49

'<' = Earlier Than, '>' = Later Than 'c.' = Circa (About), 'BD' = Burnt Down

Two cottage mills are also known to have existed, named Holebottom and Millcroft. Little is known about them except that Holebottom was built in the mid 17th Century but wasn't demolished until around 300 years later.

Landmarks

Despite its comparitive small size with nearby towns, Shaw and Crompton boasts some important local landmarks, including a magnificent War memorial.

Crompton War Memorial

Crompton War Memorial

Crompton War Memorial consists of a Scottish granite plinth surmounted by a large bronze statue flanked by two Rolls of Honour containing the 346 names of those from Shaw and Crompton who fought and died in World War I. Panels listing the Roll of Honour from World War II were added and unveiled on November 12, 1950 by Councillor H. M. Turner.

Commissioned by the Crompton War Memorial Committee, the statue was conceptualised in 1919 by Richard Reginald Goulden, and unveiled on April 29, 1923 by General Sir Ian Hamilton. The original cost for the memorial alone was £4,000, but the total cost, including site and layout, was about £6,067.

The inscription on the memorial reads:

"IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF CROMPTON WHO FOUGHT AND GAVE THEIR LIVES TO FREE MANKIND FROM THE OPPRESSION AND BRUTAL TYRANNY OF WAR,. 1914-1919."

The symbolic memorial depicts a group in which the central figure is a man defending the future generations, represented by young children, against foreign aggression.

The memorial is also a time capsual. Inside it is a lead casket containing, in addition to the usual coins and a copy of the local newspaper, three cops of spun cotton and a length of cloth manufactured within the local area.

The Big Lamp

"The Big Lamp" was originally a six-sided gas powered public street lamp, standing 6 metres (20 feet) high at the original cross-road junction of Manchester Road, Oldham Road, High Street and Church Road. The original version was pulled down 17 June, 1925 when electric lighting was introduced. Its absence was so evident that the adjacent public house, known as The Kings Arms, was itself renamed The Big Lamp. Eventually during the 1990's, after redevelopment of the junction to a large roundabout to accommodate the new Crompton Way bypass, a new scaled-down replica of the original Big Lamp was erected in the centre of the roundabout. The new Big Lamp is electrically powered and stands at a height of approximately 2 metres. Soon after the new lamp appeared, The Big Lamp public house reverted back to its original name. Today the 'Big Lamp' term is still in regular use, even the roundabout itself is referred to as "The Big Lamp Roundabout".

Gas was used to power the majority of Shaw and Crompton's street lamps until the mid 1950's.

Present day

Littlewoods Shaw National Distribution Centre: A major employer of the local and wider communties.

Although Shaw and Crompton has now lost all of its cotton manufacturing, the town still bears the marks, at least architecturally, of the legacy of its industrial past. A large percentage of the properties in the area are Victorian terraces, built as dwellings for the masses of cotton mill workers of the times. Furthermore the skyline is still marked by seven surviving large red brick mills. These are the two Lily Mills, Newby Mill, Duke Mill, Lilac Mill, Briar Mill and Dawn Mill.

Shaw and Crompton has become a popular residential area, supported by its convenient position between Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Lancashire and Yorkshire. This, coupled with the town's good public transport and motorway links, and a supply of large, disused mill properties have made Shaw and Crompton a base for a number of mail order catalogue companies.

Shaw and Crompton is home to Littlewoods Shop Direct Group's Shaw National Distribution Centre, which is a major employer of the local and wider communities. The company occupies three former cotton mills and state-of-the-art purpose-built storage and sortation facilities on a twenty acre complex within the town. The site, as of 2007, is set to become the retail company's only packing and distribution centre for non-bulk items, employing nearly one thousand staff; strengthening Littlewoods Shop Direct's position as the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham's largest private employer.

Until recently, Shaw and Crompton was also the home to Osram, the international lightbulb manufacturer, and a significant employer in the area. Production has now moved away from the United Kingdom, however.

Education

Almost every suburb of Shaw and Crompton is supported by a school of some kind, including some with religious denominations. All of the schools in the area perform either on or above the national average for test results.

Primary schools

Preparatory schools

Secondary schools

Religion

Shaw and Crompton boasts many churches of a selection of typical denominations, primarily Church of England. The buildings vary from 19th Century to late 20th Century, although the architects of most of the 19th century churches typically adopted an Early English Period style making them look even older than they already are. The following is a list of churches in Shaw and Crompton and their locations.

Church of England

Catholic

Methodist

Salvation Army

Most of the above churches participate in Shaw's annual Whit' Walks event, when congregations, choirs and brass bands parade through the streets from their respective churches to a car park opposite Shaw Market for one massive inter-church service.

Sport and leisure

Shaw and Crompton has many public parks, sporting establishments, communal playing fields and public houses, additionally it has a modern library building with a large book, video and audio collection and internet facilities. Shaw and Crompton has no major commercial cinema complex.

Parks

Sporting establishments

Playing fields

Public houses

Transport

Railway

Shaw and Crompton has had a Rail transport line and station since 1863, then it was used mostly for haulage. Today Shaw and Crompton railway station is frequented by passanger trains running between Rochdale and Manchester. Plans to turn it into part of the Manchester Metrolink have so far been rejected, but not completely ruled out.

Buses

Shaw and Crompton has had bus services since 1935. Major bus companies Stagecoach Group and First Group both hold routes that either go through major roads of Shaw and Crompton from Manchester or Rochdale or terminate in one of its suburbs (Rushcroft, Wrens Nest or Buckstones). There is also a 'Shaw Circular' route run by a small local company which serves the smaller roads of Shaw and Crompton. Bus routes in the area are co-ordinated by GMPTE.

Future developments

Shaw and Crompton is the site of a number of proposed redevelopment schemes (namely the installation of Metrolink light rail, and plans to build a large ASDA supermarket on the current site of Dawn Mill).

Shaw and Crompton trivia

  • A quaint law existed from 1675 to 1814 which helped encourage Shaw and Crompton's wool production. It required that everyone was to be buried in woollen garments to ensure that trade was kept buoyant.
  • Shaw and Crompton has featured on a number of British television programmes and films.
    • The film "The Parole Officer" features a scene filmed with main star Steve Coogan in a car driving along a road in Shaw, namely Grains Road. The scene is filmed near the junction of Grains Road and Buckstones Road at Dog Hill and the Shaw and Crompton skyline can be clearly seen in the background.
    • The BBC's "Common As Muck" featured a lot of scenes filmed in the local area, particularly the Cricketers pub and several locations in the town centre.
    • Bolton celebrity steeplejack Fred Dibnah visited the cotton mills of the area as part of a BBC television programme.
  • Shaw and Crompton is the only area of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham to have a waterfall. The un-named waterfall (provisionally called Crompton Waterfall) cascades off Crompton Moor into the now unused Pingot Quarry. It is the main source of the River Beal, a tributary to the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Irwell.
  • Television and movie actress Anna Friel was a pupil at Crompton House Church of England High School.

Notable residents of Shaw and Crompton

Shaw and Crompton is the current home of Oldham-born actress Shobna Gulati, former Oldham Athletic A.F.C. player and manager Andy Ritchie, and is the home town of Dale Longworth and Kevin O'Toole, both founding members of dance act N-Trance.

References and citations

  1. Shaw Genuki - England and Ireland Genealogy. URL accessed June 10, 2006.
  2. Frances Stott (1996). The Changing Face of Crompton, Oldham Education & Leisure. ISBN 0902809385.
  3. Julian Hunt & Frances Stott (1988). Looking Back at Crompton, Oldham Education & Leisure. ISBN 0902809172.
  4. "Crompton: From the Normans to the Tudors", URL accessed June 16, 2006
  5. Gurr & Hunt (1998). The Cotton Mills of Oldham, Oldham Education & Leisure. ISBN 0902809466.
  6. Crompton War Memorial Public Monument and Sculpture Association, URL accessed June 14, 2006
  7. Frances Stott (1996). The Changing Face of Crompton, Oldham Education & Leisure. ISBN 0902809385.
  8. "Littlewoods sheds 1,200 staff" Guardian Unlimited, May 9, 2006. URL accessed June 10, 2006
  9. "Heritage - The Oldham Boroughs - Crompton". Visit Oldham - URL accessed June 10, 2006

Shaw and Crompton on the internet

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