Chadderton - Governance

Governance

Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire since the early 12th century, the boundaries of Chadderton have varied from time to time. Chadderton anciently formed part of the hundred of Salford for civil jurisdiction, but for manorial government, Chadderton was a constituent manor of the Fee of Tottington, whose overlords were the de Lacys, Barons of Clitheroe Castle. The de Chaddertons, Lords of the Manor of Chadderton, were accustomed to pay tax to the overlords until the division of Tottington. In 1507, two constables were appointed to uphold law and order in Chadderton. Following a court case, in 1713 it was agreed that 20 acres (8 ha) of Hollinwood be within Chadderton with the rest belonging to Oldham.

Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, Chadderton formed part of the Oldham Poor Law Union, an inter-parish unit established to provide social security. Chadderton's first local authority was a local board of health established in 1873; Chadderton Local Board of Health was a regulatory body responsible for standards of hygiene and sanitation in the township. Following the Local Government Act 1894, the area of the local board became the Chadderton Urban District, a local government district within the administrative county of Lancashire. The urban district council, comprising 18 members, would later be based out of Chadderton Town Hall, a purpose built municipal building opened in 1913. In 1933, there were exchanges of land with the neighbouring Municipal Borough of Middleton and City of Manchester.

Chadderton was the second most populous urban district in the United Kingdom by the 1930s, and the district council took initial steps to obtain municipal borough status, but this was not achieved. In 1926 and 1931, two Oldham Extension Bills for the County Borough of Oldham to amalgamate with Chadderton Urban District were rejected by the House of Lords, following objections from neighbouring councils. A twinning arrangement was made in 1966 by Chadderton Urban District Council with Geesthacht, West Germany. Under the Local Government Act 1972, the Chadderton Urban District was abolished, and Chadderton has, since 1 April 1974, formed an unparished area of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, a local government district of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester. Chadderton has three of the twenty wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham: Chadderton North, Chadderton Central and Chadderton South.

In terms of parliamentary representation, Chadderton after the Reform Act 1832 was represented as part of the Oldham parliamentary borough constituency, of which the first Members of Parliaments (MPs) were the radicals William Cobbett and John Fielden. Winston Churchill was the MP between 1900 and 1906. Constituency boundaries changed during the 20th century, and Chadderton has lain within the constituencies of Middleton and Prestwich (1918–1950) and Oldham West (1950–1997). Since 1997, Chadderton has lain within Oldham West and Royton. It is represented in the House of Commons by Michael Meacher, a member of the Labour Party.