Lees Urban District

Springhead is a suburban area in the civil parish of Saddleworth in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England.

Grotton and Springhead railway station served the villages of Grotton and Springhead from 1856 until 1955.

Austerlands is a suburban area of Saddleworth, a civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It occupies a hillside amongst the Pennines, between the villages of Lees and Scouthead. It is traversed by the A62 road. Historically, Austerlands has been positioned on the West Riding of Yorkshire side of the ancient county boundary with Lancashire. The chimney of the former Austerlands Mill is a local landmark. Austerlands is contiguous with Waterhead area of Oldham, the village of Lees and Scouthead and Springhead areas of Saddleworth. For purposes of the Office for National Statistics, Austerlands forms the eastern fringe of the Greater Manchester Urban Area.

Lees is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, amongst the Pennines east of the River Medlock, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) east of Oldham, and 8.2 miles (13.2 km) northeast of Manchester. In the 14th century, when John de Leghes was a retainer of the local Lord of the Manor, Lees was a conglomeration of hamlets, ecclesiastically linked with the township of Ashton-under-Lyne. Farming was the main industry of this rural area, with locals supplementing their incomes by hand-loom weaving in the domestic system. At the beginning of the 19th century, Lees had obtained a reputation for its mineral springs; ambitions to develop a spa town were thwarted by an unplanned process of urbanisation caused by the rise of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution.Lees expanded into a mill town in the late-19th century, on the back of neighbouring Oldham's boom in cotton spinning. Lees Urban District had eleven cotton mills at its manufacturing zenith.

Lees railway station opened on 5 July 1856 at Lees, Lancashire, when the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR) opened the branch from Greenfield to Oldham.The station was located to the south-east of St. John Street, where it crossed the railway. There were two running lines with platforms on the outer sides connected by a footbridge. The main building was to the south of the line and was accessed by a ramp running down from the road over-bridge. To the south east of the station was a goods yard with a goods shed and between the station and the goods shed was a coal depôt. The goods yard was able to accommodate most types of goods including live stock and was equipped with a ten ton crane.Services Initially services ran to Oldham Mumps (L&NWR) and to Greenfield with some of these continuing to Delph. From 1 July 1862 trains were extended from Oldham Mumps to Oldham Clegg Street, later that year the L&NWR closed its Mumps station replacing it with Oldham Glodwick Road.By 1866 the station saw fourteen services in each direction (four on Sundays) of which three continued to Delph (none on Sundays). By 1922 the number of services had increased to about thirty-nine each way (there was some variation on Saturdays) of which eighteen continued to Delph (none on Sundays). In 1939 the LMS service was about the same with around thirty-eight services each way, with even more variation on Saturdays, twenty-one of which continued to Delph (except on Sundays).The station closed to passengers on 2 May 1955, when the Delph Donkey passenger train service to Delph via Greenfield was withdrawn. The station closed to goods traffic on 16 December 1963. The line remained open until 13 April 1964.Not far from the station, to the north east, was Lees Engine Shed which was open from 1878 to April 1964.Currently the line is a cyclepath and there is no evidence of the station remaining.

Grotton is an residential area in Saddleworth, a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. Located along the A669 road, it forms a continuous urban area with Austerlands and Springhead, which in turn link to Lees and Oldham, all of which are to Grotton's west. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Grotton was anciently a rural hamlet close to the boundary with Lancashire, and was centred on Grotton Hall, a former manor house. Although some buildings date from the 17th and 18th century, the urbanisation of Grotton broadly took place following the Industrial Revolution; Grotton became a large suburb of Oldham following a residential building boom in the 1930s. The 1930s housing being brick built are in stark contrast to the millstone grit farm houses dotted around the hamlet.Before the inter-war residential development, Grotton was home to light industry, including a brickworks and a couple of textile mills. All of these are now closed and demolished. During the 1930s new leisure buildings were constructed. Some still prominently featured, such as the Grade 2 listed Grotton pub built in 1938, now converted to a Co-op along with a lido and tennis courts added in 1935 to serve the leisure needs of the burgeoning community. However, these were closed in 1939. The former railway line to Oldham Mumps railway station closed in 1962, has been converted into a linear country park, providing a largely traffic-free walk for most of the way into Oldham. The old Grotton and Springhead railway station is also preserved. The platforms are visible, and the buildings are now a private house. East of Grotton, the line ran to join the current trans-pennine railway line at Greenfield railway station, but while it is possible to walk east from the station to the western portal of Lydgate Tunnel, the tunnel itself is blocked off and impassable, although it is maintained by the former British Railways Property Board in order to prevent subsidence.

Crossbank is an area of Lees, a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, the name Crossbank is thought to derive from the days of the Knights Templar when a cross was etched into an earthen bank to denote lands granted to them. Prior to 1894, Crossbank had formed a hamlet linked with the parish of Ashton-under-Lyne, and lying within the Oldham parliamentary borough. Following the Local Government Act 1894, Crossbank constituted one of seven civil parishes within the Limehurst Rural District and administrative county of Lancashire. Unlike the other six parishes, Crossbank was an exclave of Limehurst lying to the north, bordering Lees and Waterhead in Oldham. In 1914, owing to urbanisation, the civil parish was abolished and its area incorporated into the Lees Urban District.

Springhead Urban District was an urban district in the West Riding of Yorkshire in England. Established in 1895, it functioned until 1937 when it was absorbed into Saddleworth Urban District.

Majestic Mill, Waterhead is a cotton spinning mill in Waterhead, Oldham, Greater Manchester. It was built in 1903. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964, converted to ring spinning in 1971. Production finished in 1982. Still standing in other use.

Scouthead is a village in the civil parish of Saddleworth in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It is traversed by the A62 road, and occupies a hillside amongst the Pennines. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Scouthead stands on the old Wool Road between Lancashire and Yorkshire and contains several hostelries which were once important staging posts along the road. Scouthead hosts an annual band contest on Whit Friday. Scouthead occupies outlying land to the east of the Waterhead area of Oldham, and Austerlands area of Saddleworth. For purposes of the Office for National Statistics, Scouthead forms the eastern fringe of the Greater Manchester Urban Area.

Waterhead Academy is a coeducational secondary school with academy status located in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The academy was taken out of special measures in June 2016 and was one of the most improved academies in the country in 2016. The Academy is rated as good by Ofsted (leadership) and is sponsored by South Pennines Academies Trust. The academy first opened in September 2010, following the formal closure of Counthill School in Moorside and Breeze Hill School in Oldham. The academy was initially located at the two campuses of the former schools, however it relocated to a new main campus in November 2012. The main campus is located on the site of the former Orb Mill. The academy also operates a sports campus which is located at the site of the former Counthill School.

Orme Mill, Waterhead is a cotton spinning mill in Waterhead, Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in 1908. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and production finished in 1960. The mill was passed on to Ferranti in 1964, and is now in multiple usage.