Dobcross
Encyclopedia
Dobcross is a village in Saddleworth
—a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
, in Greater Manchester
, England. It is located in a valley in the South Pennines
, along the course of the River Tame
and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
, 4.2 miles (6.8 km) east-northeast of Oldham
and 13 miles (21 km) west-southwest of Huddersfield
.
Historically
a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire
, Dobcross was anciently a chapelry
in the Quickmere division of Saddleworth. For centuries, Dobcross was a hamlet
, sustained by domestic flannel
and woollen cloth production. Many of the original 17th and 18th century barn
s and weavers' cottage
s survive today as listed buildings.
Together with neighbouring Delph
, Dobcross is, geographically, "considered as the centre of Saddleworth", although is not its largest village centre by some margin. Industrial tycoon Henry Platt
was born in Dobcross in 1770. John Schlesinger
's 1979 film Yanks
was filmed on location in Dobcross, and an annual Yanks festival, coupled with a brass band
contest on Whit Friday
, each contribute to the village's cultural calendar.
which was formerly used by trans-Pennine packhorse
s as they travelled east from Lancashire
to Yorkshire
.
At this crossing point of the River Tame lies the site of Walk Mill, which derives its name from the way the wool was 'walked' or trodden to 'full' the cloth before the introduction of mechanical stocks by which the cloth was beaten with fulling
hammers to felt and thicken it. Probably the earliest fulling mill in Saddleworth, Walk Mill would have been a common meeting place for the local clothiers.
Beginning with Richard, the Lawton family ran the mill from at least the late 16th century, if not earlier, and their later wealth in buildings, land and money probably came from the monopoly held by the fulling mill in finishing locally made cloth. The size of the business can be estimated in that by 1792, Saddleworth saw the production of 36,637 cloth pieces, each priced at 7 pounds each. A total of 1,480,000 lbs of wool had been used in their manufacture. From wool to the innkeeping business, the Lawton family continued to be a prominent family in Dobcross through to the early 19th century.
On the morning of Whit Friday
, the traditional Whit Walks, a church procession followed by a service, take place in Saddleworth parish. Saddleworth and District Whit Friday Brass Band Contests take place every year on the afternoon and evening of Whit Friday. In the village of Dobcross a Henry Livings
memorial prize is open to bands who have played on any of the morning's walks.
of Yorkshire
since a very early time, during the Middle Ages
, Dobcross lay within the Saddleworth chapelry
of the ancient parish of Rochdale
. Like the other Yorkshire areas of the ancient parish, it was in the wapentake of Agbrigg
, with the Lancashire
areas of the ancient parish being in Salfordshire
.
Dobcross was created an ecclesiastical parish in 1797. It is currently in Saddleworth Deanery, part of the Archdeaconry of Rochdale, in the Anglican Diocese of Manchester
.
From 1894 to 1900, Dobcross lay within the Saddleworth Rural District, a local government district in the administrative
County of York, West Riding. In 1900, Dobcross was merged into Saddleworth Urban District
, where it stayed until 1974. Under the Local Government Act 1972
, the Saddleworth Urban District was abolished, and Dobcross has, since 1 April 1974, formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
, within Greater Manchester
.
Since 1997, Dobcross has formed part of the parliamentary constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth, and is represented in the House of Commons
by Phil Woolas
, a member of the Labour Party
. Between 1983 and 1997 it was in the Littleborough and Saddleworth
constituency.
The villages of Dobcross and Uppermill were treated as a single entity by the Office for National Statistics
in the 2001 United Kingdom Census
. As such, there are no demographic statistics for the village on its own. The statistics given here are for the combined population of Dobcross and Uppermill, which are about half a mile apart.
As of the 2001 census, the area had a population of 7,475. The 2001 population density was 10324 PD/sqmi, with a 100 to 92.6 female-to-male ratio. Of those over 16 years old, 22.5% were single (never married), 49.6% married, and 7.8% divorced. The 3,225 households in the area included 27.7% one-person, 43.2% married couples living together, 8.1% were co-habiting
couples, and 6.9% single parents with their children. Of those aged 16–74, 21.1% had no academic qualifications
, significantly below the averages of Oldham (37.7%) and England (28.9%).
As of the 2001 UK census, 79.6% of residents in the area reported themselves as being Christian, 0.3% Muslim, 0.3% Hindu, 0.2% Buddhist, and 0.2% Jewish. The census recorded 13.3% as having no religion, 0.2% had an alternative religion and 6.0% did not state their religion.
. This runs twice an hour to Diggle and Huddersfield, and in the opposite direction to Oldham and Manchester. On the hourly service to and from Huddersfield, it avoids the village by taking a quicker route along Wool Road, lying just to the east of the village. The other services through Dobcross Square are the 353 and 354 which run from Denshaw and Carrcote to Ashton. These each run every two hours Monday to Saturday, and are run by Stotts Tours (Oldham)
. There are no evening or Sunday services through Dobcross Square.
Besides the services through the village proper, First Manchester
services 82 (Uppermill - Manchester, peak hours only), 350 (Ashton - Oldham, every 30 minutes) and X84 (Carrcote - Manchester, peak hours only) serve Dobcross New Road.
Saddleworth
Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills: Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle and others...
—a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 219,600, and spans . The borough is named after its largest town, Oldham, but also includes the outlying towns of Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton and Shaw and Crompton, the village of...
, in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England. It is located in a valley in the South Pennines
South Pennines
South Pennines is a region of moorland and hill country in northern England lying towards the southern end of the Pennines. It is bounded to the west by the Forest of Rossendale and the Yorkshire Dales to the north...
, along the course of the River Tame
River Tame, Greater Manchester
The River Tame flows through Greater Manchester, England.-Source:The Tame rises on Denshaw Moor in Greater Manchester, close to the border with West Yorkshire but within the historic West Riding of Yorkshire.-Course:...
and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
Huddersfield Narrow Canal
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under from Lock 1E at the rear of the University of Huddersfield campus, near Aspley Basin at Huddersfield to the junction with the Ashton Canal at Whitelands Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne...
, 4.2 miles (6.8 km) east-northeast of Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
and 13 miles (21 km) west-southwest of Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
.
Historically
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
, Dobcross was anciently a chapelry
Chapelry
A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England, and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church...
in the Quickmere division of Saddleworth. For centuries, Dobcross was a hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
, sustained by domestic flannel
Flannel
Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fibre. Flannel may be brushed to create extra softness or remain unbrushed. The brushing process is a mechanical process...
and woollen cloth production. Many of the original 17th and 18th century barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
s and weavers' cottage
Weavers' cottage
A weavers' cottage was a type of house used by weavers for cloth production in the Domestic system.Weavers' cottages were common in Great Britain, particularly in Yorkshire, usually with dwelling quarters on the lower floors and loom-shops on the top floor...
s survive today as listed buildings.
Together with neighbouring Delph
Delph
Delph is a village in the Saddleworth civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on the River Tame below the village of Denshaw, east-northeast of Oldham, and north-northwest of Uppermill.The centre of the village has barely...
, Dobcross is, geographically, "considered as the centre of Saddleworth", although is not its largest village centre by some margin. Industrial tycoon Henry Platt
Platt Brothers
Platt Brothers & Co Ltd, was a British company based at Oldham, in North West England. They were textile machinery manufacturers, iron founders and colliery proprietors, and by the end of the 19th century, had become the largest textile machinery company in the world, employing over 12,000 workers...
was born in Dobcross in 1770. John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
's 1979 film Yanks
Yanks
Yanks is a 1979 John Schlesinger film, set in World War II in the village of Dobcross, in Greater Manchester, England. Starring Richard Gere, Vanessa Redgrave, William Devane, Lisa Eichhorn, Rachel Roberts and Tony Melody....
was filmed on location in Dobcross, and an annual Yanks festival, coupled with a brass band
Brass band (British style)
A British-style brass band is a musical ensemble comprising a standardised range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 19th century, with a vibrant tradition of competition based around local industry and communities...
contest on Whit Friday
Whit Friday
Whit Friday, meaning White Friday, is the name given to the first Friday after Pentecost or Whitsun .The day has a cultural significance in northern England, as the date on which the annual Whit Walks are traditionally held...
, each contribute to the village's cultural calendar.
History
Dobcross is located at an ancient crossing point of the River TameRiver Tame, Greater Manchester
The River Tame flows through Greater Manchester, England.-Source:The Tame rises on Denshaw Moor in Greater Manchester, close to the border with West Yorkshire but within the historic West Riding of Yorkshire.-Course:...
which was formerly used by trans-Pennine packhorse
Packhorse
.A packhorse or pack horse refers generally to an equid such as a horse, mule, donkey or pony used for carrying goods on their backs, usually carried in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of wheeled vehicles. ...
s as they travelled east from Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
to Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
At this crossing point of the River Tame lies the site of Walk Mill, which derives its name from the way the wool was 'walked' or trodden to 'full' the cloth before the introduction of mechanical stocks by which the cloth was beaten with fulling
Fulling
Fulling or tucking or walking is a step in woolen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of cloth to eliminate oils, dirt, and other impurities, and making it thicker. The worker who does the job is a fuller, tucker, or walker...
hammers to felt and thicken it. Probably the earliest fulling mill in Saddleworth, Walk Mill would have been a common meeting place for the local clothiers.
Beginning with Richard, the Lawton family ran the mill from at least the late 16th century, if not earlier, and their later wealth in buildings, land and money probably came from the monopoly held by the fulling mill in finishing locally made cloth. The size of the business can be estimated in that by 1792, Saddleworth saw the production of 36,637 cloth pieces, each priced at 7 pounds each. A total of 1,480,000 lbs of wool had been used in their manufacture. From wool to the innkeeping business, the Lawton family continued to be a prominent family in Dobcross through to the early 19th century.
On the morning of Whit Friday
Whit Friday
Whit Friday, meaning White Friday, is the name given to the first Friday after Pentecost or Whitsun .The day has a cultural significance in northern England, as the date on which the annual Whit Walks are traditionally held...
, the traditional Whit Walks, a church procession followed by a service, take place in Saddleworth parish. Saddleworth and District Whit Friday Brass Band Contests take place every year on the afternoon and evening of Whit Friday. In the village of Dobcross a Henry Livings
Henry Livings
Henry Livings was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television and theatre from the 1960s to the 1990s.-Early life and career:...
memorial prize is open to bands who have played on any of the morning's walks.
Governance
Lying within the ancient county boundariesHistoric counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
of Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
since a very early time, during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Dobcross lay within the Saddleworth chapelry
Chapelry
A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England, and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church...
of the ancient parish of Rochdale
Rochdale (ancient parish)
Rochdale was an ecclesiastical parish of early-medieval origin in northern England, administered from the Church of St Chad, Rochdale. At its zenith, it occupied of land amongst the South Pennines, and straddled the historic county boundary between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire...
. Like the other Yorkshire areas of the ancient parish, it was in the wapentake of Agbrigg
Agbrigg and Morley
Agbrigg and Morley was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was split into two divisions, which in the mid-nineteenth century became wapentakes in their own right....
, with the Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
areas of the ancient parish being in Salfordshire
Salford (hundred)
The hundred of Salford was an ancient division of the historic county of Lancashire, in Northern England. It was sometimes known as Salfordshire, the name alluding to its judicial centre being the township of Salford...
.
Dobcross was created an ecclesiastical parish in 1797. It is currently in Saddleworth Deanery, part of the Archdeaconry of Rochdale, in the Anglican Diocese of Manchester
Anglican Diocese of Manchester
The Diocese of Manchester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York, England. Based in the city of Manchester, the diocese covers much of the county of Greater Manchester and small areas of the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.-History:...
.
From 1894 to 1900, Dobcross lay within the Saddleworth Rural District, a local government district in the administrative
Administrative counties of England
Administrative counties were a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888 as the areas for which county councils were elected. Some large counties were divided into several administrative...
County of York, West Riding. In 1900, Dobcross was merged into Saddleworth Urban District
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
, where it stayed until 1974. Under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, the Saddleworth Urban District was abolished, and Dobcross has, since 1 April 1974, formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 219,600, and spans . The borough is named after its largest town, Oldham, but also includes the outlying towns of Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton and Shaw and Crompton, the village of...
, within Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
.
Since 1997, Dobcross has formed part of the parliamentary constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth, and is represented in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
by Phil Woolas
Phil Woolas
Philip James Woolas was a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth from his election in 1997 to 2010. He was the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration in the Home Office, as well as being the Minister of State for the Treasury...
, a member of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. Between 1983 and 1997 it was in the Littleborough and Saddleworth
Littleborough and Saddleworth (UK Parliament constituency)
Littleborough and Saddleworth was a parliamentary constituency in Greater Manchester, England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
constituency.
Demography
| Dobcross/Uppermill compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK census | Dobcross/Uppermill | Oldham (borough) Metropolitan Borough of Oldham The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 219,600, and spans . The borough is named after its largest town, Oldham, but also includes the outlying towns of Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton and Shaw and Crompton, the village of... |
England |
| Total population | 7,475 | 217,273 | 49,138,831 |
| White | 98.3% | 86.1 | 91% |
| Asian | 0.6% | 11.9 | 4.6% |
| Black | 0.2% | 0.6 | 2.3% |
The villages of Dobcross and Uppermill were treated as a single entity by the Office for National Statistics
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
in the 2001 United Kingdom Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
. As such, there are no demographic statistics for the village on its own. The statistics given here are for the combined population of Dobcross and Uppermill, which are about half a mile apart.
As of the 2001 census, the area had a population of 7,475. The 2001 population density was 10324 PD/sqmi, with a 100 to 92.6 female-to-male ratio. Of those over 16 years old, 22.5% were single (never married), 49.6% married, and 7.8% divorced. The 3,225 households in the area included 27.7% one-person, 43.2% married couples living together, 8.1% were co-habiting
Cohabitation
Cohabitation usually refers to an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married...
couples, and 6.9% single parents with their children. Of those aged 16–74, 21.1% had no academic qualifications
National Qualifications Framework
The National Qualifications Framework is a credit transfer system developed for qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
, significantly below the averages of Oldham (37.7%) and England (28.9%).
As of the 2001 UK census, 79.6% of residents in the area reported themselves as being Christian, 0.3% Muslim, 0.3% Hindu, 0.2% Buddhist, and 0.2% Jewish. The census recorded 13.3% as having no religion, 0.2% had an alternative religion and 6.0% did not state their religion.
Transport
The main bus route through the village of Dobcross is the 184, operated by First ManchesterFirst Manchester
First Manchester is one of the bus companies serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
. This runs twice an hour to Diggle and Huddersfield, and in the opposite direction to Oldham and Manchester. On the hourly service to and from Huddersfield, it avoids the village by taking a quicker route along Wool Road, lying just to the east of the village. The other services through Dobcross Square are the 353 and 354 which run from Denshaw and Carrcote to Ashton. These each run every two hours Monday to Saturday, and are run by Stotts Tours (Oldham)
Stotts Tours (Oldham)
Stotts Tours , or Stotts for short, is one of the bus companies serving the area of Greater Manchester, England. The company, based in Oldham, operates within the area covered by Transport for Greater Manchester.-1986 to 1997:...
. There are no evening or Sunday services through Dobcross Square.
Besides the services through the village proper, First Manchester
First Manchester
First Manchester is one of the bus companies serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
services 82 (Uppermill - Manchester, peak hours only), 350 (Ashton - Oldham, every 30 minutes) and X84 (Carrcote - Manchester, peak hours only) serve Dobcross New Road.
Further reading
- Livings, Henry (1975) That the Medals and the Baton Be Put on View: story of a village band, 1875-1975. Newton Abbot: David & Charles (relating to Dobcross Band).