Greenacres, Greater Manchester facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Greenacres |
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 Greenacres
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| OS grid reference | SD945055 |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | OLDHAM |
| Postcode district | OL4 |
| Dialling code | 0161 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament |
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Greenacres (pronounced gree-NAY-kers), also known in the past as Greenacres Moor, is a part of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It sits on the west side of the River Medlock, across from the village of Lees.
Greenacres is a hilly area that gently rises from west to east. It's a place where people live, located near other parts of eastern Oldham like Clarksfield, Waterhead, Mumps, and Derker.
A Look Back in Time
Before 1807, Greenacres was mostly open moorland (like a big, open field). But in the 1800s, during a time called the Industrial Revolution, Oldham grew very quickly. Greenacres became a busy area with many cotton mills (factories that made cotton thread and fabric) and lots of redbrick terraced houses (houses built in long rows). The main road connecting Oldham to Huddersfield also helped Greenacres grow into a town.
Greenacres Cemetery is one of the biggest cemeteries in Oldham. The local council bought the land in 1850, and it opened in 1857. It has special areas for people who follow the Church of England and those who are Roman Catholic.
Greenacres has also been home to a special kind of church group called Nonconformists for a very long time. The Greenacres Congregational Church started in 1672.
Asa Lees & Co. was a company based in Greenacres that made machines for spinning cotton. Greenacres also used to have shallow coal measures (places where coal could be found close to the surface).
A Special Kind of Church
Greenacres has a long history with Nonconformist churches and their groups. The Greenacres Congregational Church has been around for almost the entire time that Nonconformist churches have existed in the United Kingdom.
In 1662, a minister named Reverend Robert Constantine was removed from his church in Oldham. This happened because he didn't agree with the national rules for Protestant beliefs and practices, which were set by the Act of Uniformity 1662. In 1672, he started preaching to people in Greenacres from a small, thatched cottage. Later, they moved to a bigger building, and then to another one in 1699.
By the 1780s, more and more people were joining the church, and their building wasn't big enough. So, they decided to build a larger and better church for everyone. This new building, which is still standing today, was built in 1784 and opened in 1785.
Schools in Greenacres
Greenacres is home to Greenacres Primary School. St. Anne's RC Primary School is also located here. Both of these schools are on Greenacres Road and are across the street from each other.
