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Alexandra Park, Oldham

1865 establishments in EnglandGreater Manchester geography stubsHistory of the Metropolitan Borough of OldhamParks and commons in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
Alexandra Park
Alexandra Park

Alexandra Park is a public park in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It was created in response to the Lancashire Cotton Famine of 1861–1865 as an attempt to keep local textile workers employed. The park is located in the Glodwick area of Oldham. 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 processing industry, the economy of Oldham strained as the cotton famine created chronic unemployment in the town. By 1863 a committee had been formed and with a loan from central government, land at Swine Clough was purchased from Reverend John Cocker of Shaw and Crompton whom made it a condition that local unemployed cotton workers were employed to construct the park which opened on 28 August 1865. John Thomas Cocker, Esq., of New-bank Heyside purchased the estate of Swine Clough in 1850 from the Ogden Family. This family enjoyed this estate for several generations. It was sold to Adam Ogden the elder in 1670 by Edmund Assheton, Esq., of Chadderton, Swine Clough was an ancient farm a short distance to the west of Glodwick. Opened by Josiah M Radcliffe, the then Mayor of Oldham, the park was named to commemorate the marriage of Albert, Prince of Wales to Alexandra of Denmark. During its history it has had a "refreshment room", a boating lake (constructed in 1903) and been the site of statues honouring local Oldhamers of eminence. A number of structures in the park are grade II listed, including ornamental features, buildings and statues of John Platt and Robert Ascroft.Oldham council plans to open a state of the art eco-centre at the park sometime in Spring 2022.

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Alexandra Park, Oldham
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N 53.5335 ° E -2.1044 °
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OL4 1SG , Primrose Bank
England, United Kingdom
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Oldham Mumps railway station (London and North Western Railway)

Oldham Mumps (L&NWR) railway station opened on 5 July 1856 as the terminus of the Oldham branch from Greenfield, the station served the Mumps area of Oldham. The station was probably only known as Oldham during its brief period of existence, the suffixes Mumps and L&NWR may have been added later to provide clarity between the various stations in Oldham. Hooper (1991) states the station was a temporary affair called Victoria. Several sources claim the station was only ever to be temporary.The station location is not precisely known, it has been described as being: "...by a Junction with the Mumps Extension of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway at or near Mumps Mill." (Italics and capitalisation in original). "...presumably adjacent to the LYR station." "...with the Oldham Branch of the London and North Western Railway, at or near their Oldham station, at a place called Mumps,..." "...their existing terminus at Oldham Mumps..." "...this branch terminated at a station adjacent to the L&Y at Oldham Mumps." "...adjacent to the L&Y's Mumps station."Hooper (1991) states that "there was a junction with the L&Y and a one road engine shed was erected for the engine that would work the branch, with a turntable completing the facilities".The station became a through station on 1 July 1862 when it was connected to the Oldham, Ashton and Guide Bridge Railway at Oldham Clegg Street over jointly owned tracks.The station closed on 1 November 1862, when it was replaced by Oldham Glodwick Road.

Oldham Coliseum Theatre

Oldham Coliseum Theatre is a closed theatre in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Found on Fairbottom Street in the town centre, Oldham's Coliseum was formerly a repertory theatre which celebrated its centenary in 1987. Its interior made it a great period classic in theatre terms, and saw the likes of local performers such as Eric Sykes, Charlie Chaplin, Dame Thora Hird and Dora Bryan perform there. The history of the theatre can be traced back to 1885. It was originally intended to be a permanent home for the Great American Circus, then based on Henshaw Street, but the owner of the circus, Mr Myers, was unable to pay for the completed work. Following a court case, ownership of the building was granted to Thomas Whittaker, the carpenter who had performed the work. Whittaker decided to open the Coliseum as a theatre and the first production was called Culver's Circus. Other notable owners of the theatre include Paul Yates, founder and owner of Yates' Wine Lodge. During its time, the Coliseum opened and closed doors on numerous occasions. In 1911, in a bid to compete with the rising trend of cinema, the theatre began to show silent films in between productions. In 1918, it was bought by Dobie's Electric Theatres. In 1931 it was converted into a cinema, but its life as a cinema was short-lived as the recession of 1932 hit hard and it closed within 12 months. It stood empty until 1939 when a local group called The Oldham Playgoers Club were successful enough to sign the lease on the building and stage their own productions. The theatre is said to have been one of the most haunted theatres in Britain. In 1947, actor Harold Norman, who was non-superstitious and refused to follow theatrical tradition when it came to The Scottish Play, died after being stabbed by a sword whilst playing the title character in Macbeth. The theatre featured in a 2004 episode of the TV series Most Haunted. The theatre was renovated in 2012.Following funding being cut by Arts Council England in late 2022, the board of trustees announced on 14th February that it wasn’t financially viable to continue to run the theatre full time so they were entering a period of consultation with the intention of closing on 31st March 2023.In mid March 2023 it was announced that the theatre would close at the end of the month.The final performance at the theatre was Encore, which was performed on 31 March 2023.