Thornham, Greater Manchester

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Thornham is a suburban area in Greater Manchester, spanning the towns of Middleton, Royton and Rochdale. It sits on the border between the Metropolitan Boroughs of Oldham and Rochdale. Historically part of Lancashire, Thornham began as a township in the parish of Middleton, including hamlets such as Slattocks, Stake Hill, Buersill Head and Tandle Hill. In 1894 it was divided between Middleton, Royton and Rochdale under new local government rules. Part of the area was once known as Gravel Hole because of gravel pits. The M62 intersects the A627(M) at Thornham Interchange. The area has two primary schools: Thornham St James CofE Primary (in Royton, under Oldham local education authority) and St John's CE Primary Thornham (in Rochdale, under Rochdale local education authority). For secondary education, St Cuthbert's RC High School is located in the Rochdale part. In 1891 the parish had about 1,895 people.