Editing Oldham (section)

== History ==

{{main|History of Oldham}}

=== Toponymy ===
The [[toponymy]] of Oldham seems to imply "old village or place" from ''Eald'' ([[Anglo-Saxon language|Saxon]]) signifying oldness or antiquity, and ''Ham'' (Saxon) a house, farm or [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]].{{sfnp|Butterworth|1981|p=|ps=}} Oldham is however known to be a derivative of ''Aldehulme'', undoubtedly an [[Old Norse]] name.{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} It is believed by some to be derived from the [[Old English language|Old English]] ''ald'' combined with the Old Norse ''holmi'' or ''holmr'', meaning "promontory or outcrop", possibly describing the town's hilltop position.{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} It has alternatively been suggested that it may mean "holm or hulme of a farmer named Alda".{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} The name is understood to date from 865, during the period of the [[Danelaw]].{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} [[Cumbric]] ''alt'', meaning "steep height, cliff", has also been suggested for the first element.<ref name="bliton">{{cite web |last1=James |first1=Alan |title=A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence |url=http://spns.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Alan_James_Brittonic_Language_in_the_Old_North_BLITON_Volume_II_Dictionary.pdf |website=SPNS – The Brittonic Language in the Old North |access-date=25 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813011121/http://spns.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Alan_James_Brittonic_Language_in_the_Old_North_BLITON_Volume_II_Dictionary.pdf |archive-date=13 August 2017 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

=== Early history ===
The earliest known evidence of a human presence in what is now Oldham is attested by the discovery of [[Neolithic]] flint arrow-heads and workings found at [[Werneth, Greater Manchester|Werneth]] and Besom Hill, implying habitation 7–10,000 years ago.{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} Evidence of later [[Roman Britain|Roman]] and [[Celts|Celtic]] activity is confirmed by an ancient [[Roman road]] and [[Bronze Age]] archaeological relics found at various sites within the town.{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} Placenames of Celtic origin are still to be found in Oldham: Werneth derives from a Celtic personal name identical to the [[Gaulish]] ''vernetum'', "[[alder]] swamp",<ref>"Werneth (Cheshire and Lancashire), derived from ''uerneto''- (British) = Latinized Gaulish Vernetum 'alder swamp'" (''Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies'' [University of Wales] 1979:545).</ref> and [[Glodwick]] may be related to the [[modern Welsh]] ''clawdd'', meaning "dyke" or "ditch".{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=3|ps=}} Nearby [[Chadderton]] is also pre-Anglo-Saxon in origin, from the [[Old Welsh]] ''cadeir'', itself deriving from the [[Latin]] ''cathedra'' meaning "chair".{{sfn|Mills|1976|p=39|ps=}} Although [[Anglo-Saxons]] occupied territory around the area centuries earlier,{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}}{{sfnp|Ballard|1986|p=|ps=}} Oldham as a permanent, named place of dwelling is believed to date from 865, when [[Danelaw|Danish invaders]] established a settlement called Aldehulme.{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}}{{sfnp|Daly|1974|p=|ps=}}

From its founding in the 9th century until the [[Industrial Revolution]], Oldham is believed to have been little more than a scattering of small and insignificant settlements spread across the [[moorland]] and dirt tracks that linked [[Manchester]] to [[York]].{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}}{{sfnp|McNeil|Nevell|2000|p=|ps=}} Although not mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]], Oldham does appear in legal documents from the [[Middle Ages]], invariably recorded as territory under the control of minor [[Feudalism|ruling families]] and [[baron]]s.{{sfnp|Daly|1974|p=|ps=}} In the 13th century, Oldham was documented as a manor held from [[the Crown]] by a family surnamed [[Oldham (surname)|Oldham]], whose seat was at [[Werneth Hall]].{{sfnp|Butterworth|1981|p=|ps=}} Richard de Oldham was recorded as [[lord of the manor]] of Werneth/Oldham (1354). His daughter and heiress, Margery (d.1384), married John de Cudworth (d.1384), from whom descended the Cudworths of Werneth Hall who were successive lords of the manor. A Member of this family was [[James VI and I|James I]]'s Chaplain, [[Ralph Cudworth (died 1624)|Ralph Cudworth]] (father of the [[Cambridge Platonists|Cambridge Platonist]] philosopher [[Ralph Cudworth]]). The Cudworths remained lords of the manor until their sale of the estate (1683) to [[Sir Ralph Assheton, 2nd Baronet, of Middleton|Sir Ralph Assheton]] of [[Middleton, Greater Manchester|Middleton]].<ref>W. Farrer and J. Brownbill (eds), 'The parish of Prestwich with Oldham: Oldham', in ''A History of the County of Lancaster'', (London, 1911), v, pp. 92–108. [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp92-108] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207130313/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp92-108|date=7 February 2019}} (British History Online); R.E. Stansfield-Cudworth, 'Gentry, Gentility, and Genealogy in Lancashire: The Cudworths of Werneth Hall, Oldham, ''c''.1377–1683', ''Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society'', 111 (2019), 48–80.</ref>

=== Industrial Revolution and cotton ===
[[File:Oldham From Glodwick.png|thumb|''Oldham from [[Glodwick]]'' by [[James Howe Carse]] (1831), depicts the early skyline and industrial activities of Oldham. All the [[Open space reserve|green space]] has since been [[Urbanization|urbanised]].]]
Much of Oldham's history is concerned with [[textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution]]; it has been said that "if ever the [[Industrial Revolution]] placed a town firmly and squarely on the map of the world, that town is Oldham."<ref name="GM Evolution">{{Harvnb|Frangopulo|1977|p=154}}.</ref> Oldham's soils were too thin and poor to sustain [[crop]] growing, and so for decades prior to [[industrialisation]] the area was used for grazing [[sheep]], which provided the raw material for a local [[wool]]len weaving trade.{{sfnp|Butterworth|1981|p=|ps=}}

By 1756, Oldham had emerged as centre of the [[hatter|hatting]] industry in England. The rough [[felt]] used in the production process is the origin of the term "Owdham Roughyed" a [[nickname]] for people from Oldham.{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} It was not until the last quarter of the 18th century that Oldham changed from being a [[cottage industry]] township producing woollen garments via domestic [[manual labour]], to a sprawling industrial metropolis of textile factories.{{sfnp|Butterworth|1981|p=|ps=}} The climate, geology, and topography of Oldham were unrelenting constraints upon the social and economic activities of the human inhabitants.{{sfnp|Kidd|1977|p=|ps=}} At {{convert|700|ft|m|sigfig=1}} above sea level and with no major river or visible natural resources, Oldham had poor geographic attributes compared with other settlements for investors and their engineers. As a result, Oldham played no part in the initial period of the Industrial Revolution,<ref name="Cotton Mills" />{{sfnp|McNeil|Nevell|2000|p=|ps=}} although it did later become seen as obvious territory to industrialise because of its convenient position between the labour forces of [[Manchester]] and southwest [[Yorkshire]].{{sfnp|Foster|1974|p=|ps=}}

[[Cotton]] [[Spinning (textiles)|spinning]] and [[cotton mill|milling]] were introduced to Oldham when its first mill, Lees Hall, was built by William Clegg in about 1778, the beginning of a spiralling process of [[urbanisation]] and [[Socioeconomics|socioeconomic]] transformation.<ref name="Cotton Mills" /> Within a year, 11 other mills had been constructed,{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} and by 1818 there were 19&nbsp;– not a large number in comparison with other local settlements.{{sfnp|McNeil|Nevell|2000|p=|ps=}} Oldham's small local population was greatly increased by the mass migration of workers from outlying villages,{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} resulting in a population increase from just over {{formatnum:12000}} in 1801 to {{formatnum:137000}} in 1901.{{sfnp|McNeil|Nevell|2000|p=|ps=}} The speed of this urban growth meant that Oldham, with little pre-industrial history to speak of, was effectively born as a [[mill town|factory town]].
[[File:Royd Mill, Hollinwood.jpg|thumb|Royd mill, built in 1907,<ref name="Cotton Mills" /> and seen here in 1983, was one of the more than 360 textile mills that operated night and day during Oldham's peak.]]

Oldham became the world's manufacturing centre for cotton spinning in the second half of the 19th century.{{sfnp|McNeil|Nevell|2000|p=|ps=}} In 1851, over 30% of Oldham's population was employed within the textile sector, compared to 5% across Great Britain.{{sfnp|Foster|1974|p=|ps=}} It overtook the major urban centres of [[Manchester]] and [[Bolton]] as the result of a mill building boom in the 1860s and 1870s, a period during which Oldham became the most productive cotton-spinning town in the world.{{sfnp|McNeil|Nevell|2000|p=|ps=}} In 1871, Oldham had more [[Cotton-spinning machinery|spindles]] than any country in the world except the United States, and in 1909, was spinning more cotton than France and Germany combined.<ref name="Contaminated">{{citation|url=http://www.oldham.gov.uk/contaminatedlandstrategy.pdf |title=Contaminated Land Strategy 2001 |page=16 |year=2001 |access-date=11 March 2008 |author=Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council |publisher=oldham.gov.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529135723/http://www.oldham.gov.uk/contaminatedlandstrategy.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2008 }}</ref> By 1911 there were 16.4&nbsp;million spindles in Oldham, compared with a total of 58&nbsp;million in the United Kingdom and 143.5&nbsp;million in the world; in 1928, with the construction of the UK's largest textile factory Oldham reached its manufacturing zenith.{{sfnp|McNeil|Nevell|2000|p=|ps=}} At its peak, there were more than 360 mills, operating night and day;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitoldham.co.uk/heritage/history.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070806150248/http://www.visitoldham.co.uk/heritage/history.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 August 2007 |title=Visit Oldham – The History of Oldham |publisher=visitoldham.co.uk |access-date=16 September 2007 }}</ref><ref name="Oldham Spinning Web">{{cite web |url=http://www.spinningtheweb.org.uk/m_display.php?irn=52&sub=nwcotton&theme=places&crumb=Oldham |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205054748/http://www.spinningtheweb.org.uk/m_display.php?irn=52&sub=nwcotton&theme=places&crumb=Oldham |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 December 2012 |title=Spinning The Web – Oldham |publisher=spinningtheweb.org.uk |access-date=28 June 2006 }}</ref>

Oldham's townscape was dominated by distinctive rectangular brick-built mills.{{sfn|Sellers|1991|p=47}} Oldham was hit hard by the [[Lancashire Cotton Famine]] of 1861–1865, when supplies of raw cotton from the United States were cut off. Wholly reliant upon the textile industry, the cotton famine created chronic unemployment in the town.{{sfn|Millett|1996|p=}} By 1863 a committee had been formed, and with aid from central government, land was purchased with the intention of employing local cotton workers to construct [[Alexandra Park, Oldham|Alexandra Park]], which opened on 28 August 1865.{{sfn|Millett|1996|p=}} Said to have over-relied upon the textile sector,<ref name="GM Evolution" />{{sfnp|Daly|1974|p=|ps=}} as the importation of cheaper foreign [[yarn]]s grew during the 20th century, Oldham's economy declined into a depression, although it was not until 1964 that Oldham ceased to be the largest centre of cotton spinning.<ref name="GM Evolution" />{{sfnp|McNeil|Nevell|2000|p=|ps=}}{{sfnp|Clough|1996|p=|ps=}} In spite of efforts to increase the efficiency and competitiveness of its production, the last cotton spun in the town was in 1998.{{sfnp|McNeil|Nevell|2000|p=|ps=}}

==== Engineering ====
Facilitated by its flourishing textile industry, Oldham developed extensive [[Structural engineering|structural]] and [[mechanical engineering]] sectors during the 18th and 19th centuries. The manufacture of [[Cotton-spinning machinery|spinning and weaving machinery]] in Oldham belongs to the last decade of the 19th century, when it became a leading centre in the field of [[engineering]].{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} The [[Platt Brothers]], originated in nearby [[Dobcross]] village, but moved to Oldham. They were pioneers of cotton-spinning machinery, developing innovative products that enabled the mass-production of cotton yarn. Platt Brothers became the largest textile machine makers in the world, employing over {{formatnum:15000}} people in the 1890s,<ref name="Oldham Beyond">{{citation|url=http://www.oldham.gov.uk/oldham_beyond_vision.pdf |title=Oldham Beyond; A Vision for the Borough of Oldham |date=April 2004 |access-date=1 November 2007 |publisher=Oldham.gov.uk |author=URBED |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128022223/http://www.oldham.gov.uk/oldham_beyond_vision.pdf |archive-date=28 November 2007 }}</ref> twice the number of their nearest rivals Dobson & Barlow in Bolton and Asa Lees on [[Greenacres, Greater Manchester|Greenacres Moor]].<ref name="Oldham Spinning Web" /> They were keen investors in the local area and at one time, were supporting 42% of the population.<ref name="Oldham Beyond" /> The centre of the company lay at the New Hartford Works in [[Werneth, Greater Manchester|Werneth]], a massive complex of buildings and internal railways on a site overlooking Manchester. The railway station which served this site later formed the basis of [[Oldham Werneth railway station]]. The main building exists to this day. Platts gained prestigious awards from around the world,{{sfn|Millett|1996|p=}} and were heavily involved with local politics and civic pride in Oldham.<ref name="Oldham Beyond" /> John and James Platt were the largest subscribers for promoting Oldham from a township to a [[municipal borough|Borough]], pledging £100 (more than double the next largest sum) in advance towards any expenses which may have been incurred by the [[Royal Charter]].{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} In 1854 [[John Platt (MP)|John Platt]] was made the (fourth) Mayor of Oldham, an office he was to hold twice more in 1855–56 and 1861–62.{{sfnp|Eastham|1994|p=|ps=}} John Platt was elected in 1865 to become a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Oldham (UK Parliament constituency)|Oldham]], and was re-elected in 1868; he remained in office until his death in 1872.{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} A bronze statue of Platt existed in the town centre for years, though was moved to [[Alexandra Park, Oldham|Alexandra Park]]. There have been recommendations for it to be returned to the town centre.<ref name="Oldham Heart" />

Abraham Henthorn Stott, the son of a [[stonemason]], was born in nearby [[Shaw & Crompton]] in 1822.<ref name="Cotton Mills" /> He served a seven-year apprenticeship with [[Sir Charles Barry]], before starting a structural engineering practice in Oldham in 1847 that went on to become the pre-eminent mill architect firm in [[Lancashire]].<ref name="Cotton Mills" /> Philip Sydney Stott, third son of Abraham and later titled as [[Sir Philip Stott, 1st Baronet]], was the most prominent and famous of the Stott mill architects.<ref name="Cotton Mills" /> He established his own practice in 1883 and designed over a hundred mills in several countries. His factories, which improved upon his father's [[Fireproofing|fireproof]] mills, accounted for a 40% increase in Oldham's spindles between 1887 and 1914.<ref name="Cotton Mills" />

Although textile-related engineering declined with the processing industry, leading to the demise of both Stotts and Platts, other engineering firms existed, notably electrical and later electronic engineers [[Ferranti]] in 1896.<ref name="Oldham Spinning Web" /> Ferranti went into receivership in 1993, but some of its former works continue in other hands. Part of the original [[Hollinwood, Greater Manchester|Hollinwood]] site was operated by [[Siemens]] Metering and Semiconductor divisions.<ref name="Oldham Spinning Web" /> The remainder of the site is occupied by Mirror Colour Print Ltd; the printing division of [[Reach plc|Reach]], which prints and distributes thirty-six major newspapers, and employs five hundred staff.<ref>
[http://www.oldham.gov.uk/working/economic_profile/printing_publishing.htm Oldham's Economic Profile&nbsp;– Printing & Publishing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907224857/http://www.oldham.gov.uk/working/economic_profile/printing_publishing.htm |date=7 September 2006 }} , oldham.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2007.
</ref><ref>
[http://www.trinitymirrorprinting.co.uk/location-oldham.html Contract Printing&nbsp;– Oldham&nbsp;– North West England&nbsp;– Trinity Mirror Printing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121216094455/http://www.trinitymirrorprinting.co.uk/location-oldham.html |date=16 December 2012 }} . Retrieved 16 February 2011
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==== Coal mining ====
On the back of the Industrial Revolution, Oldham developed an extensive coal mining sector, correlated to supporting the local cotton industry and the town's inhabitants, though there is evidence of small scale coal mining in the area as early as the 16th century.{{sfnp|Nadin|2006|p=|ps=}}{{page needed|date=January 2023}} The [[Oldham Coalfield]] stretched from [[Royton]] in the north to [[Bardsley, Greater Manchester|Bardsley]] in the south and in addition to Oldham, included the towns of [[Middleton, Greater Manchester|Middleton]] and [[Chadderton]] to the west.{{sfnp|Nadin|2006|p=|ps=}} The Oldham Coalfield was the site of over 150 collieries during its [[recorded history]].{{sfnp|Nadin|2006|p=|ps=}} Although some contemporary sources suggest there was coal mining in Oldham at a commercial scale by 1738,{{sfnp|Nadin|2006|p=|ps=}} older sources attribute the commercial expansion of coal mining with the arrival in the town of two [[Welsh people|Welsh]] labourers, John Evans and William Jones, around 1770.{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} Foreseeing the growth in demand for coal as a source of steam power, they acquired colliery rights for Oldham, which by 1771 had 14 colliers.{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}} The mines were largely to the southwest of the town around [[Hollinwood, Greater Manchester|Hollinwood]] and [[Werneth, Greater Manchester|Werneth]] and provided enough coal to accelerate Oldham's rapid development at the centre of the cotton boom. At its height in the mid-19th century, when it was dominated by the Lees and Jones families, Oldham coal was mainly sourced from many small collieries whose lives varied from a few years to many decades, although two of the four largest collieries survived to [[National Coal Board|nationalisation]].{{sfnp|Nadin|2006|p=|ps=}}{{sfnp|Fanning|2001|p=|ps=}} In 1851, collieries employed more than 2,000 men in Oldham,{{sfnp|Fanning|2001|p=|ps=}} although the amount of coal in the town was somewhat overestimated however, and production began to decline even before that of the local spinning industry.{{sfnp|Nadin|2006|p=|ps=}} Today, the only visible remnants of the mines are disused shafts and boreholes.{{sfnp|Nadin|2006|p=|ps=}}

=== Social history ===
[[File:MandK Industrial Revolution 1900.jpg|thumb|Workmen leaving [[Platt Brothers|Platt's Works]], Oldham, 1900]]
Oldham's [[social history]], like that of other former [[Parliamentary franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918|unenfranchised]] towns, is marked by politicised [[civil disturbance]]s, as well as events related to the [[Luddite]], [[Suffragette]] and other [[Labour movement]]s from the [[working class]]es.{{sfnp|Brownbill|1911|pp=92–108|ps=}}<ref name="Oldham Beyond" />  There has been a significant presence of "[[Friendly society|friendly societies]]".{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}}<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.unionancestors.co.uk/AtoZ%20O.htm|publisher=unionancestors.co.uk|access-date=30 October 2007|title=Trade Union Ancestors; A to Z of trade unions&nbsp;– O|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114230113/http://www.unionancestors.co.uk/AtoZ%20O.htm|archive-date=14 November 2007}}</ref> It has been put that the people of Oldham became radical in politics in the early part of the 19th century, and movements suspected of [[sedition]] found patronage in the town.{{sfnp|Brownbill|1911|pp=92–108|ps=}} Oldham was frequently disturbed by bread and labour riots, facilitated by periods of scarcity and the disturbance of employment following the introduction of [[cotton-spinning machinery]].{{sfnp|Brownbill|1911|pp=92–108|ps=}}

On 20 April 1812, a "large crowd of riotous individuals" compelled local retailers to sell foods at a loss, whilst on the same day [[Luddites]] numbering in their thousands, many of whom were from Oldham, attacked a cotton mill in nearby [[Middleton, Greater Manchester|Middleton]].{{sfnp|Butterworth|1981|p=|ps=}} On 16 August 1819, Oldham sent a contingent estimated at well above 10,000 to hear speakers in St Peter's Fields at Manchester discuss political reform;{{sfn|McPhillips|1977|p=23}} it was the largest contingent sent to Manchester.{{sfnp|Marlow|1969|p=120|ps=}} John Lees, a cotton operative and ex-soldier who had fought at [[Battle of Waterloo|Waterloo]], was one of the fifteen victims of the [[Peterloo Massacre]] which followed. The 'Oldham inquest' which proceeded the massacre was anxiously watched; the [[Court of King's Bench (England)|Court of King's Bench]], however, decided that the proceedings were irregular, and the jury were discharged without giving a verdict.{{sfnp|Brownbill|1911|pp=92–108|ps=}}

[[Annie Kenney]], born in nearby [[Springhead, Greater Manchester|Springhead]], and who worked in Oldham's cotton mills, was a notable member of the [[Suffragette]] movement credited with sparking off suffragette militancy when she heckled [[Winston Churchill]], and later (with [[Emmeline Pankhurst]]) the first [[Suffragist]] to be imprisoned. Oldham Women's Suffrage Society was established in 1910 with Margery Lees as president and quickly joined the Manchester and District Federation of the [[National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies]].{{sfnp|Crawford|2000|p=|ps=}} The [[Chartism|Chartist]] and [[History of the cooperative movement|Co-operative movements]] had strong support in the town, whilst many Oldhamers protested in support of the emancipation of [[Atlantic slave trade|slaves]].<ref name="Oldham Beyond" /> The [[Riot Act]] was read in [[1852 United Kingdom general election|1852 on election day]] following a mass public brawl over the [[Reform Act]],<ref name="OSD" /> and irregularities with parliamentary candidate nominations.{{sfnp|Bateson|1949|p=|ps=}}

For three days in late May 2001, Oldham became the centre of national and international media attention. Following high-profile [[Racism|race-related]] conflicts, and long-term underlying racial tensions between local [[White British]] against [[British Pakistani]] and [[British Bangladeshi]] communities, major riots broke out in the town. Occurring with particular intensity in the [[Glodwick]] and [[Coldhurst]] areas of the town, the [[2001 Oldham riots]] were the worst racially motivated riots in the United Kingdom for fifteen years prior, briefly eclipsing the sectarian violence in [[Northern Ireland]] in the media.<ref name="Ritchie">{{citation|author=Ritchie, David |url=http://www.oldhamir.org.uk/OIR%20Report.pdf |title=The Ritchie Report |publisher=oldhamir.org.uk |date=11 December 2001 |access-date=17 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007165542/http://www.oldhamir.org.uk/OIR%20Report.pdf |archive-date=7 October 2007 }}</ref> At least 20 people were injured in the riots, including 15 police officers, and 37 people were arrested. Similar riots took place in other towns in [[northern England]] over the following days and weeks. The 2001 riots prompted governmental and independent inquiries, which collectively agreed on community relations improvements and considerable regeneration schemes for the town.<ref name="Ritchie" /><ref name="Cantle">{{citation|url=http://www.oldham.gov.uk/cantle-review-final-report.pdf |publisher=[[University of Coventry]] |author=Cantle, Ted |title=Challenging Local Communities to Change Oldham |date=30 March 2006 |access-date=31 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128022214/http://www.oldham.gov.uk/cantle-review-final-report.pdf |archive-date=28 November 2007 }}</ref>  There were further fears of riots after the death of Gavin Hopley in 2002.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2838221.stm Teenager 'died after gang attack'] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080326221957/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2838221.stm |date=26 March 2008 }}, BBC, 10 March 2003</ref><ref>
{{Cite web |url=http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/blog/article/1584/gavin-deserves-better |title=HOPE not hate blog: Gavin deserves better<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=5 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130912104430/http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/blog/article/1584/gavin-deserves-better |archive-date=12 September 2013 |url-status=dead  }} 
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