Shaw and Crompton
Shaw and Crompton is a civil parish in Greater Manchester, lying ten miles to the north-east of Manchester in the north-west of England. It lies within the pre-1974 borders of Lancashire, and is one of seven areas which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham.
Shaw and Crompton includes the districts of Shaw and High Crompton, and a number of smaller suburbs (Cowlishaw, Shawside, Buckstones and Rushcroft). The area contains two separate wards, appropriately named Shaw and Crompton.
According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 21,721.
Geography and Administration
Shaw and Crompton lies at the very edge of the traditional (pre 1974) 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.
Currently, the area of Shaw and Crompton is commonly referred to as Shaw by local communities; this is in contrast to former times where the area was broadly known as Crompton. This contrast can be seen on the markings of many prominent and historical structures, which only bear the name Crompton.
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.
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 decendants of the Norman conquest.
Some decades after this, the De La Legh family (again, decendants 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 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. The manufacture of textiles (namely wool) in the area can be traced back as far as 1474, however.
The 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.
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 secondary school still bearing the Crompton family name (rather than the address it occupies).
The 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 millionaries per capita than any other town in the world.
The cold but humid climate of Shaw and Crompton, (much like the surrounding area 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 10% 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 36 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.
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, all of which are now used for storage for distribution companies.
Present day
Shaw and Crompton is 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 the Littlewoods National Distribution Centre, which is a large-scale 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 20 acre complex within the town.
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.
Future Developments
Shaw and Crompton is the site of a number of proposed redevelopment schemes (namely the installation of Metrolink services, and plans to build a large ASDA supermarket on the current site of Dawn Mill).
Education
Primary Schools
- Crompton Primary School
- Buckstones Junior and Infant School
- East Crompton St George's CofE School
- East Crompton St James CofE School
- Saint Mary's CofE Primary School High Crompton
- Beal Vale Primary School
- Rushcroft Primary School
- St Joseph's RC Junior Infant and Nursery School
Secondary Schools
- Crompton House
- Royton and Crompton School Located just inside the border of Royton and was specifically built to serve both townships.
Shaw and Crompton Trivia
- Crompton was the only place in Great Britain that had a piped water system according to the Domesday Book (a primitive 11th century census).
- Shaw and Crompton has featured on a number of British television programs.
- The BBC's "Common as Muck" featured much footage from 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 in a recent BBC television program
- 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 dissued Pingot Quarry. It is the main source of the River Beal, a tributary to the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Irwell.
- Famous TV and Film actress Anna Friel went to school at Crompton House Church of England secondary school.
Notable Residents of Shaw and Crompton
Shaw and Crompton is the current home of Oldham-born actress Shobna Gulati, former Oldham Athletic player and manager Andy Ritchie, and is the home town of Dale Longworth and Kevin O'Toole, both members of dance act N-Trance.