History of Oldham - Municipal History

Municipal History

See also: County Borough of Oldham and Metropolitan Borough of Oldham

Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire since the early 12th century, Oldham was recorded in 1212 as being part of the thegnage estate of Kaskenmoor, which was held on behalf of King John by Roger de Montbegon and William de Nevill. Oldham later formed a township within the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-Oldham, in the hundred of Salford.

In 1826 commissioners for the social and economic improvement of Oldham were established. The town was made a parliamentary borough, in 1832, though it was in 1849 when 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, Greater Manchester 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 county of Lancashire was created by the Local Government Act 1888, Oldham was elevated to become the County Borough of Oldham and was outside the jurisdiction of the Lancashire County Council or, in modern terms, a unitary authority area. In 1951 parts of Alt, Bardsley 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 twinned 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.