Editing Oldham (section)

=== 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>