Rochdale by Mel Goulding, Town Hall volunteer

I live in an Accrington red brick terraced house which was built for mill workers when my grandparents were children. Cotton was king and thousands of houses for thousands of folk, flocking to the mechanized future, rose up. Confidence in the future and self-belief and pride were soaring!

Past, present, and future rub along together. Neighbours are friends. The corner shop is open all hours. I hear the town hall chimes in the still of the night. A walk into town... ‘Good morning’ to all! Smiles and ‘alright?’. Terraces, some repurposed. Pubs and shops, schools, churches, and now mosques, temples and the Kingdom Hall. All red bricks or pebble dashed.

Patchwork roads and paths, tarmac smeared cobbles and flagstones. From the top of Broadfield Park, I see the Town Hall clock. Checking if I need to run... dashing past grandad’s World War II allotment site and the reduced wildlife pond. On into the old rose garden, now gloriously open grass for cricket, football and picnics.

George Leach Ashworth in the middle, looking on. At the Town Hall, Ashworth’s realised dream reveals all its reclaimed beauty. Rochdale reclaims its place, encouraging everyone to Credo Signo – believe in the sign… believe in ‘ourselves’.

Middleton by Jackie Smith, Town Hall volunteer

Middleton is a small town that’s part of the Rochdale borough. It has a population of 42,972.

Middleton goes as far back as the 1500s. The Old Boar’s Head pub still stands today. It is one of Britain’s oldest pubs and was built in 1632. It’s where the gypsies would stop with their horse and cart when passing through for a pint and where locals still go to this day.

It is also the home of Edgar Wood, Middleton’s own architect, born in May 1860. Middleton had its own Town Hall up until the late 1970s but it closed for refurbishments and council officers and councillors now go to Rochdale Town Hall.

Ivy Isherwood, one of the residents of Langley Middleton, remembers moving to Langley in the 1950s. She woke up one morning to her mam chasing what she thought was a cow round the garden. It was actually a bull as Middleton was all greenery then!

The people of Middleton now think it’s a diverse community. Middleton is welcoming, neighbourly and friendly and welcomes people into its community. We are also part of the Rochdale coat of arms.

Milnrow by Trevor Lorimer, Town Hall volunteer

In the Middle Ages, Milnrow was part of the township of Butterworth, becoming its main settlement by the 1800s.

Hill farming and flannel weaving were the main activities, until cotton spinning took over during the Industrial Revolution. Coal mining and metalwork also flourished at that time.

In 1894, the Milnrow Urban District was established and was governed by the District Council. In 1974, it was abolished and Milnrow became part of the Rochdale Metropolitan Borough. Milnrow is represented in the borough’s new coat of Arms by the fleece.

Today, the mills and coalmines are long gone. With its own tram link to Rochdale, Oldham, and Manchester and a motorway link to the rest of UK, it has become very much a residential village. It offers a good choice of home - a 200 year old weaver’s cottage, a stone built terrace, or a house on one of the small estates, with direct access to miles of open moorland.

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Littleborough by Janet Emsley, Town Hall volunteer

Sitting in the foothills of the South Pennines, Littleborough has a history reaching back to the Romans. The River Roch flows west through the valley to Rochdale and beyond; to the east Blackstone Edge (1550ft) is the highest point.

The Summit Tunnel brings the Manchester – Leeds railway through from Yorkshire connecting Littleborough. George Stephenson opened the line at Littleborough station in 1839. For walkers the Pennine Way is within easy reach as is Hollingworth Lake, a Country Park where a wide variety of wildlife can be seen. There are growing businesses and a thriving village centre which have grown from a history of mining, textiles and farming.

Littleborough’s stone-built town centre is a conservation area and there are many architecturally interesting historic buildings: Littleborough Station, the Coach House, Holy Trinity Church, Toll House, and Falcon Inn. The Rochdale Canal flows through Littleborough past Smithy Bridge, Ealees, Durn, Gale, Calderbrook, and Summit.

Blue plaques across the town commemorate the Co-operative Dance Hall, the novelist Jessie Fothergill, Olympian Queenie Newall, social activist Enid Stacy and industrialist Gordon Harvey.

Littleborough is a place of heritage and history; it is a beautiful popular place to live and work or to simply visit!

Wardle by Janet Emsley, Town Hall volunteer

Wardle is a village near Littleborough, lying in the foothills of the South Pennines it includes Smallbridge and Dearnley. The village square is a focal point for the annual Christmas Carol concert provided by a local brass band from Wardle Academy. A cobbled road leads to Watergrove Reservoir, which was made by flooding a village, and further to Brown Wardle. Both are popular with walkers and runners.

The whole area was a centre for flannel and woollen cloth production as far back as the Middle Ages and remnants of the industry can be seen around the village in weavers’ cottages and mills. Many of the farmhouses and cottages date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. It remains a popular place to live and has a thriving community.