Waterhead is an area 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 an electoral ward

Wards of the United Kingdom

A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...

 of the wider 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. A upland area amongst the Pennines

Pennines

The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...

, the ward of Waterhead has population of 12,876.

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 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...

, Waterhead once formed its own ecclesiastical parish within Prestwich-cum-Oldham

Prestwich-cum-Oldham

Prestwich-cum-Oldham was an ancient ecclesiastical parish of the hundred of Salford, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire, England...

, in the Salfordshire hundred

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...

 of 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...

. Waterhead also formed a significant part of the Oldham Above Town

Oldham Above Town

Oldham Above Town was, from 1851 until c.1881, a statistical unit used for the gathering and organising of civil registration information, and output of census information. It was a sub-district of the larger registration district of Oldham, in the then registration county of Lancashire, in...

 registration district

Registration district

A registration district in the United Kingdom is a type of administrative region which exists for the purpose of civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths and civil partnerships...

.

Waterhead was the site of considerable industry and commerce, including coal mining

Coal mining

The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...

 and cotton spinning

Spinning (textiles)

Spinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...

. Following a building boom associated with the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

, Waterhead became a densely populated industrial district

Industrial district

Industrial district was initially introduced as a term to describe an area where workers of a monolithic heavy industry live within walking-distance of their places of work...

 dominated by cotton mill

Cotton mill

A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....

s. In 2005, Waterhead was described as still "dominated by early 20th century mills". Cairo Mill was used by the Ferranti

Ferranti

Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. Known primarily for defence electronics, the Company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but ceased trading in 1993.The...

 company for many years.

Waterhead is located next to parts of Greenacres

Greenacres, Greater Manchester

Greenacres , or archaically Greenacres Moor, is an area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the west side of the River Medlock opposite the village of Lees....

, Salem, Moorside and Lees

Lees, Greater Manchester

The village consists of a small cluster of shops and businesses on either side of the A669 Lees Road, surrounded by some terraced houses and some small estates...

, and Austerlands

Austerlands

Austerlands is a suburban area of Saddleworth, a civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It occupies a hillside amongst the Pennines, between the villages of Lees and Scouthead. It is traversed by the A62 road....

 and Scouthead

Scouthead

Scouthead is a hamlet within Saddleworth, a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It is traversed by the A62 road, and occupies a hillside amongst the Pennines....

 from the west side of Saddleworth

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...

. The main road from Oldham to 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....

 passes through the locality.

Waterhead also provides the terminus for 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...

's 81, 81A and 82 services to Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 via Oldham. The area is also served by First's 350 service between Oldham and Ashton

Ashton-under-Lyne

Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...

, Bluebird's 410 and 411 circular services and Checkmate's 418 service between Austerlands and Chadderton

Chadderton

Chadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire...

.