History of Oldham - Demographic History

Demographic History

With only a small local population during medieval times, as a result of the introduction of industry, mass migration of village workers into Oldham occurred, resulting in a population change from under 2,000 in 1714 to 12,000 in 1801 to 137,000 in 1901. Surnames of families forming the bulk of the parish of Oldham's earliest records include Assheton, Bardsley, Brearley, Broadbent, Butterworth, Buckley, Chadderton, Clegg, Coup, Crompton, Dunkerley, Halkyard, Halle, Heap, Heywood, Hopwood, Jackson, Knott, Lees, Mellor, Neild, Ogden, Schofield, Scholes, Smethurst, Sandiforth, Tetlow, Taylor, Whitehead, Whittaker, Winterbottom, Wolfenden, and Wild. The population change of the town since 1801, demonstrates a trend of rapid population growth in the 19th century and, after peaking at 147,483 people in 1911, a trend of general decline in population size during the 20th century.

Compared against the average demography of the United Kingdom, Oldham has a high level of people of South Asian heritage, particularly those with roots in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Due to the town's prevalence as an industrial centre and thus a hub for employment, Oldham attracted migrant workers throughout its history, including those from wider-England, Scotland, Ireland and parts of Poland. During the 1950s and 1960s, in an attempt to fill the shortfall of workers and revitalise local industries, members of the wider Commonwealth of Nations were encouraged to migrate to Oldham and other British towns. Many came from the Caribbean and Indian subcontinent and settled throughout the Oldham borough. Today, Oldham has large communities with heritage from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and parts of the Caribbean. At the time of the 2001 census, over one in four of its residents identified themselves as from a South Asian or British Asian ethnic group. Cultural divisions along ethnic backgrounds are strong within the town, with poor cross-community integration and cohesion along Asian and white backgrounds.