Delph
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Saddleworth Beer Walk in Delph, 2006 |
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Backwoods of Delph, Saddleworth |
Delph is a village in
Saddleworth in the
Metropolitan Borough of Oldham,
Greater Manchester,
England, although geographically it remains in the county of
Yorkshire. With a population of around 2,000, the village consists of a variety of stone cottages nestled in a valley in the
Pennine hills.
The centre of this picturesque village has barely changed from its
19th century heyday, when small mills were at the heart of a thriving community. The place name of
Delph is derived from the
Old English word 'Delf', meaning a quarry and refers to the
bakestone quarries which lay at the lower end of the Castleshaw Valley just north of the village. The bakestones were quarried as tiles up to three quarters of an inch thick and used to bake oatcakes and muffins. The industry was in existence well before 1330 and only died out in 1930: examples of bakestones are available in Saddleworth Museum.
The village is home to the most popular of the
Saddleworth Whit Friday
brass band contests, with in the region of 75 bands from across the country marching down the main street at five minute intervals on the evening of the contest which often continues into the early hours.
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Saddleworth.net
