Middleton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the river Irk, south-west of Rochdale and north-east of Manchester, with Blackley to the south and Moston to the south-east. Middleton had a population of 42,972 at the 2011 census.

History Historically part of Lancashire, Middleton's name comes from it being the centre of several circumjacent settlements. It was an ecclesiastical parish of the hundred of Salford, ruled by aristocratic families. The Church of St Leonard is a grade I listed building. The Flodden Window in the church's sanctuary is thought to be the oldest war memorial in the United Kingdom, memorialising the archers of Middleton who fought at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. In 1770, Middleton was a village of twenty houses but, in the 18th and 19th centuries, it grew into a thriving and populous seat of textile manufacture and it was granted municipal borough status in 1886.

"Moonraker" is a nickname sometimes given to people from the town.

Pre-1700 In 616, Æthelfrith of Bernicia, an Anglo-Saxon King, crossed the Pennines with an army and passed through Manchester to defeat the Brythons in the Battle of Chester. A wave of Anglian colonists followed this military conquest and their settlements are identified by the Old English suffix to local place names. Royton, Crompton, Moston, Clayton, Ashton, Chadderton and Middleton are a number of settlements north-east of Manchester suggested to have been founded as part of this colonisation. It is therefore thought that Middleton as a settlement dates from the seventh century.

Although unmentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, Middleton is said to be "of great antiquity"; a community at Middleton is thought to have evolved outwards from a church that existed considerably earlier than the Norman conquest of England.

The name Middleton first appears in 1194, and derives from the Old English , meaning middle farm or settlement, probably a reference to its central position between Rochdale and Manchester.

During the Middle Ages, Middleton was a centre of domestic flannel and woollen cloth production.

1700-1900

The development of Middleton as a centre of commerce occurred during the 17th and 18th centuries, as a result of the effect of the Industrial Revolution. Additional to this, Lord Suffield obtained a Royal Charter from King George III in 1791 to hold a weekly market and three annual summer fairs in Middleton. Suffield built a market house, warehouses and shambles in the town at his own expense.

Industrial scale textile manufacture was introduced to Middleton as a result of the Industrial Revolution. It became a centre for silk production in the 18th century, which developed into a cotton spinning industry by the mid-19th century and which continued through to the mid-20th century. This transition gave rise to Middleton as a mill town.

The town's local newspaper, the Middleton Guardian has a history going back to Victorian times Retrieved July 2026 ;copies can be found in Middleton Library of every publication since 1908.

1900-present day The town was linked to the national rail network until 1964, when and stations were closed as part of the Beeching Axe.

Governance

Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire from the early 12th century, Middleton was once an ecclesiastical parish of the hundred of Salford and in Oldham poor law union.

In 1861, commissioners were established for the improvement of Middleton and Tonge townships or civil parishes. In 1878, the township of Alkrington and parts of the townships of Hopwood and Thornham were added to the area of the commissioners. In 1886, following the Local Government Act 1894, this territory was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Middleton, a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire. The borough council was based at Parkfield House. Parts of Great Heaton and Little Heaton townships were added to the borough. In 1933, there were exchanges of territory between the borough of Middleton, the City of Manchester and Chadderton Urban District. In the same year, parts of Unsworth were amalgamated with Middleton, whilst part of it was moved to Royton Urban District.

The Redcliffe-Maud Report proposed that Middleton become part of a new Metropolitan Borough of Oldham;Philosophy on councils has yet to emerge. The Times. 8 July 1972 however, following the Local Government Act 1972, the Municipal Borough of Middleton was abolished and its territory became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester.

The Middleton parliamentary constituency was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. It was abolished in 1918, when Middleton became part of the Middleton and Prestwich constituency.

Today, Middleton forms part of the Heywood and Middleton and Blackley and Middleton South parliamentary constituencies, represented in the House of Commons by Elsie Blundell and Graham Stringer respectively, both of the Labour Party.

Geography

Middleton lies on undulated land immediately north of Manchester; the towns of Chadderton and Royton are close to the east. The town of Rochdale lies to the north-north-east. The town's name is derived from Middle-town, from its situation midway between Manchester and Rochdale. It is situated on an ancient road between those places. Middleton town centre is around above sea level.

Middleton experiences a temperate maritime climate, like much of the British Isles, with relatively cool summers and mild winters. There is regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year. Middleton is watered by two confluent streams which have their rise in the immediate district, Wince Brook and Whit Brook, as well as the River Irk, which flows along the southern side of the town centre.

Much of Middleton's built environment is characterised by its 19th-century red-brick terraced houses, the infrastructure that was built to support these and the town's former cotton mills, although from the middle of the 20th century the town saw the growth of its outlying residential areas of Langley, Hollin and Boarshaw which are predominately ex-local authority housing. The skyline is marked by St. Leonard's Church. The urban structure of Middleton is regular in comparison to most towns in England. Residential dwellings and streets are located around the town centre.

There is a mixture of high-density urban areas, suburbs, and semi-rural locations in Middleton, but overwhelmingly the land use in the town is urban. The territory of Middleton is contiguous with other urban areas on its southern and eastern sides, and for purposes of the Office for National Statistics, forms part of the Greater Manchester Urban Area, the United Kingdom's third largest conurbation.

Varyingly agreed divisions and suburbs of Middleton include Alkrington, Birch, Bowlee, Boarshaw, Cheapside, Greengate, Hebers, Hollin, Hopwood, Jumbo, Langley, Moorclose, Rhodes, Stake Hill, Middleton Junction, Thornham and Tonge. Mills Hill is an area shared between Middleton and Chadderton.

Langley in the north of the town was one of Manchester City Council's overspill estates, whilst Alkrington in the south is a suburban area.

Economy

Middleton's town centre is mostly commercial, with Tesco and Middleton Arndale occupying the majority of the town centre. Middleton Gardens also contains many businesses and pubs.

Industrial polymer, thermoplastics and nonwovens producer The Vita Group have a registered office in Middleton. Kitbag operates a distribution centre from Greengate.

Bluebird Bus and Coach was a travel company based in Middleton. Bus company JP Travel was also based in Middleton.

Robert McBride, a household and personal care product manufacturer, is also based in the town.

JW Lees houses its brewery at Middleton Junction; the brewery owns several pubs in Greater Manchester area.

Landmarks

Several of Middleton's buildings were designed by Edgar Wood, a local-born influential architect of his day. Several in Middleton are landmarks and are notable.

In the early 1970s, The Arndale Property Trust cleared land adjacent to Middleton Gardens to build an American-style modern shopping precinct. The Middleton Arndale Centre commenced trading in 1971, although it was officially opened by the Duchess of Kent in March 1972.

St Leonard's Church The Parish Church of St Leonard was completed in 1524, incorporating two stone arches made of stonework from an earlier Norman church. A wooden Saxon church is believed to have occupied the site long before the Norman church was built, in about 1100.

The present church was built by Sir Richard Assheton, in celebration of the knighthood granted to him by Henry VIII for his part in the Battle of Flodden, the largest battle ever fought between England and Scotland. The Flodden Window, in the sanctuary, is thought to be the oldest war memorial in the UK. It memorialises on it the names of the Middleton archers who fought at Flodden Field in 1513. The church also has one of the finest collections of monumental brasses in the area, including the only brass in the UK of an English Civil War officer in full armour, Major-General Sir Ralph Assheton.

The church was designated a grade I listed building in 1957. Middleton Archaeological Society (MAS) have been investigating Clarke Brow, a public field next to St Leonard's Square, and carried out its first dig there in August and September 2013. An account of the Society's research can be found on their website

Tonge Hall

Tonge Hall is a grade II* listed Tudor structure badly damaged by an arson attack in 2007. Rochdale Council are now (2012) in the process of buying the property from the owner for a nominal sum with a view to restoration. The North West Building Preservation Trust, a registered charity, is likely to take over its long term maintenance.

MAS undertook research into Tonge and Tonge Hall. The first of these investigations took place in August 2012 and work is ongoing.

As of 2019, the building still stands derelict, surrounded by supporting scaffolding. No work has been undertaken on restoration since the arson attack.

Alkrington Hall

Alkrington Hall was built in 1736 and was the seat of the Lever family. Its dominant position on a wooded hillside, looks out over the Irk Valley towards Middleton and is a grade II* listed building. Some of the original parkland around the hall has now been developed into high end housing, while the rest is a local nature reserve, Alkrington Wood.

Ye Olde Boar's Head Situated below the parish church, on Long Street, Ye Olde Boar's Head was originally a coaching inn on the road between Chester and York. It is said to date from at least 1632, with parts of it date back to the 1500s. It is a grade II* listed building.

Warwick Mill Warwick Mill is situated on Oldham Road, opposite the Middleton office of the Greater Manchester Police. Warwick Mill was a cotton mill built in 1907, with five machine floors within. It is a grade II listed building and, as of 2026, sits derelict.

Lodge Mill

Lodge Mill is reputedly Middleton's oldest surviving mill. Situated opposite to the old substation, the building dates back to 1839, and was a silk and cotton mill. A fire on 30 December 2021 damaged the back mill; further damage was caused to the front mill when, during demolition of the back mill, the back of the engine house for the front mill was accidentally demolished. The front mill is currently occupied by a local ice cream parlour.

The mill was damaged by a fire on 30 December 2021, and again on 29 March 2026.

Education

Almost every part of Middleton is served by a school of some kind, some with religious affiliations. According to the Office for Standards in Education, schools within the town perform at mixed levels.