Tandle Hill

Tandle Hill Country Park and even the Welsh mountains.

History of the Park

Tandle hill was originally part of the township of Thornham - part of the extensive parish of Middleton. It was used as a meeting place for radicals in the 19th century. In the period leading up to the Peterloo massacre it was said that it had been used by radicals for practising marching and drilling. The beech woodland was planted to prevent this happening again and the hill became a hunting park and private game reserve as part of the Thornham Estate. [ [http://www.visitoldham.co.uk/country/tandlehill.htm Visit oldham: Tandle Hill Country park] ] It was sold in 1861 and came into the ownership of Joseph Milne, whose wife later sold the park to Norris Bradbury, a Royton councillor. Bradbury gifted the park to the people of Royton in 1919 as a peace offering at the end of the First World War. A granite marker stands near the Oozewood entrance to the park, and its inscription reads:

Tandle Hill was formally designated as a Country park on 1 July, 1971.

War Memorial

The war memorial commemorating the men of Royton who died during the First World War stands at the highest point in the park, and was unveiled on 22 October, 1921 by the Earl of Derby. Originally the memorial, which is constructed from Portland stone, bore plaques listing the fallen and a bronze statue. The original plaques were stolen in 1969, and replacements were later installed in the grounds of St Paul’s Church, Royton.

Cultural References

Tandle Hill is mentioned in one of the Alan Partridge shows for BBC Radio 4. [ [http://www.alan-partridge.co.uk/scripts/radio/radio4.htm Script of "Knowing Me, Knowing You" Radio Show 4] ] Alan recalls ascending the hill during a cross-country run. Partridge's creator Steve Coogan grew up in Middleton, though Alan himself was supposedly from Norwich.

Tandle Hill is mentioned in the lyrics of "Mill Boys" on the album "Everyone is Everybody Else" by Barclay James Harvest.

The album cover "Script of the Bridge" by The Chameleons has a sketch, by the bands' guitarist Reg Smithies, of Tandle Hill and the song "View From a Hill" relates to an experience singer/songwriter Mark Burgess experienced on Tandle Hill. [See "A View from a Hill" by Mark Burgess, pages 159-162 published by Guardian Angel, ISBN 978-0-95576560-5, 2007]

ee also

*Stott, Frances (1994) "Looking Back at Royton". Oldham Arts and Heritage Publication, Oldham.

References