Whitegate, Greater Manchester facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Whitegate |
|
|---|---|
 Whitegate
|
|
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | OLDHAM |
| Postcode district | OL9 |
| Dialling code | 0161 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament |
|
Whitegate is a lively area in the town of Chadderton, located in Greater Manchester, England. It's a place where people live and where businesses operate.
Whitegate is situated in the southern part of Chadderton. It's right next to other areas like Nimble Nook, Butler Green, Coalshaw Green, and Hollinwood. To the south, it borders New Moston in the City of Manchester.
The Rochdale Canal runs through Whitegate, adding to its character. The area is also split from east to west by the M60 motorway. There's a motorway exit (Junction 21) at the A663 (Broadway), which cuts through Whitegate from north to south. You'll find the historic Boat And Horses pub close to this junction.
For fun and games, Whitegate has a small park called Princess Park. It offers a special area for various sports and a playground for children. The Oldham Broadway Business Park is also located here, right by the Rochdale Canal in the Slacks Valley.
Contents
Learning in Whitegate
Whitegate has several schools for young people.
Primary Schools
Two primary schools serve the children in the area:
- Yew Tree Community School
- Whitegate End School and Infants
Secondary Schools
A secondary school called The Collective Spirit Free School (CSFS) opened in September 2013. However, it closed in July 2017. This happened after the education watchdog, Ofsted, said the school was not meeting standards.
The building where Collective Spirit Free School was located used to be home to South Chadderton School. This school moved to Hollinwood and joined with Kaskenmoor School. It is now known as Oasis Academy Oldham.
Before 1964, Butterworth Lane County Primary School served the Whitegate End area.
Whitegate's Past
.jpg)
,_Broadway,_Chadderton_near_Oldham_(geograph_3113880).jpg)
Whitegate was once a quiet, rural part of Chadderton. It was known as Hale Moss, a large common land between Hollinwood and White Moss. In the Middle Ages, much of this area was part of a district called Theale Moor. This area stretched into Moston to the south.
The first records mentioning Whitegate date back to 1556.
The Rochdale Canal
The Rochdale Canal opened through Whitegate in 1801. Building the canal through the Slacks Valley was very difficult. Workers had to cross two streams, and it took six years to complete this section.
The Boat And Horses Pub
The Boat And Horses public house opened in 1750. This makes it one of Chadderton's oldest pubs, sharing this title with the Dog inn at Cowhill. In its early days, the pub was called The Crown.
During the canal's construction, a new inn was built next to it, along with a wharf and a small warehouse. It was first named the Pleasure Boat Inn, then the Boat House. In 1826, it became known as the Boat And Horses. When the M60 motorway was built in the late 1990s, the pub's foundations were damaged. It had to be completely rebuilt, and a travel lodge and restaurant were added.
Old Buildings and Mills
Local historian James Butterworth wrote in 1817 that Whitegate End was a "noted ancient residence." Owler Lane Farmhouse, believed to be from 1700, still stands today.
In the early 1900s, Whitegate became a major cotton mill area. Mills like Gorse, Rugby, Ram, and Ace were built between 1907 and 1913. Most of these mills are still standing, except for the Rugby Mill, which was taken down in 2014.
Roads and Power
Broadway (A633), a main road, was built in 1925. In the same year, the first Chadderton Power Station was built in the Slacks Valley near Whitegate. Hollinwood Avenue (A6104) was also constructed around this time.
Changes to Borders
In 1933, there were land exchanges between Chadderton Urban District and Manchester City Council. Land near Owler Lane was given to Chadderton, and a similar area south of Hollinwood Avenue went to Manchester.
More Recent History
The Whitegate public house opened in 1937 at the corner of Broadway and Hollinwood Avenue.
South Chadderton Library opened in 1953 to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. However, the library closed and was later demolished in 2009.
Yew Tree Junior and Infants Schools opened in 1954 on the site of the old Yew Tree Farm. The original farmhouse is now a home for the elderly.
The local post office, named Whitegate, closed down in 2008/2009 as part of a big change in Post Office services.
Moston Park: A Place for Sports
.jpg)
Moston Park was a sports and recreation ground in the late 1800s. It was located off Mough Lane and Owler Lane. Today, St George's Square stands in this area.
James Taylor owned the park, and it hosted many events. These included horse racing, dog racing, wrestling, and rabbit coursing. People from Manchester loved it because it was close to Moston railway station.
The Railway Hotel, a hotel and pub, served the park. It was located at the corner of Owler Lane and what is now Hollinwood Avenue.
Not everyone in the area was happy about the park and hotel. In 1878, a local church leader, Rev Thomas Wostencroft, spoke against the hotel getting a beer license. He said that people who went to Moston Park were "a rough lot." He worried that Moston Park would become like Belle Vue, a popular but sometimes rowdy attraction.
St George's Church
.jpg)
St George's Church was first built as a smaller church connected to Emmanuel Parish Church. Emmanuel Church was in the Coalshaw Green area and opened in 1911.
As more people moved to Whitegate End after World War II, there was a need for a new church. So, a daughter church was planned on the site of what was known as the 'hut'.
The first stone for St George's was laid on June 9, 1957. The church officially opened on April 27, 1958.
In October 2014, St George's became Chadderton's newest parish. The church was officially recognized by Bishop Mark Davies 57 years after its foundation stone was laid.
When the M60 motorway was built, it split the church's area. St George's became more important and eventually replaced its parent church, which closed and was demolished in 2017.
Old Land Disputes
For many years during the Tudor period (from the 1480s to the early 1600s), there was a big argument in the area. It was between the lords of Chadderton, Foxdenton, and Werneth on one side, and the owner of Nuthurst Manor (Moston) on the other. The fight was about who had the right to let their animals graze on the open moors.
The argument started with Edmund Chadderton, who claimed he had the only right to graze animals on Theale Moor. This moor was between his land and Chadderton and Hollinwood.
This feud continued for generations. In 1526, people working for Nuthurst chased Chadderton's animals off the moors. Chadderton quickly fought back. About 200 armed farmers and workers went to Theale Moor, where they met the Nuthurst men. A small battle happened, and the argument became more violent over time. The feud finally ended in the late 1500s when clear boundary markers were put up on the common moors.
Famous People from Whitegate
Samuel Collins (1802–1878) was a poet and activist in the 1800s. He was known as the Bard Of Hale Moss and lived in a small house in the Butterworth Lane area.
Getting Around Whitegate
,_Chadderton_(geograph_2247981).jpg)
Several bus services help people travel in and out of Whitegate.
First Greater Manchester operates these bus routes:
- 181/182: Travels to Manchester City Centre (via New Moston and Newton Heath) and to Rochdale (via Chadderton town centre, Shaw, and Milnrow).
- 81: Goes to Manchester City Centre (via Moston and Harpurhey) and to Oldham. Some evening and weekend services go further to Derker.
Stagecoach Manchester also runs bus service 49. This service goes to Manchester (via Higher Blackley) and to Oldham (via Hollinwood).
The area is also served by Moston railway station on Hollinwood Avenue. This station is right next to the border between Chadderton and Manchester at New Moston.
