Audenshaw

Audenshaw is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Tame 1.8mi south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and 4.9mi east of Manchester. Historically part of Lancashire, in 2001, Audenshaw had a population of 13,000. By the 2011 Census the population had decreased to 11,419.The name Audenshaw derives from Aldwin, a Saxon personal name, and the Old English suffix shagh meaning woodland. Nico Ditch, an early-medieval linear earthwork possibly built as a defensive barrier against Vikings, runs through the area. During the Middle Ages, Audenshaw was a division of the township of Ashton, in the county of Lancashire. Audenshaw's urbanisation and expansion largely coincided with developments in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era. In the 1870s, many of Audenshaw's inhabitants were employed in hat-making, cotton-spinning, calico-printing, and silk-weaving. In 1894, the area became Audenshaw Urban District in the poor law union of Ashton-under-Lyne. In 1974, it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside.