Greenfield, Yorkshire

Greenfield
Yorkshire West Riding
The Obelisk on Alderman's Hill overlooking Greenfield
Location
Grid reference:	SD995061
Location:	53°33’6"N, 2°0’24"W
Data
Post town:	Oldham
Postcode:	OL3
Dialling code:	01457
Local Government
Council:	Oldham
Parliamentary constituency:	Oldham East and Saddleworth

Greenfield is a village in Saddleworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It lies in a broad rural area amongst the southern Pennines, and borders the Peak District National Park.

Greenfield is mainly situated on and around two roads in the Chew Valley in the Pennines. One of these roads is the main A635 road from Ashton-under-Lyne to Holmfirth.

History

A Roman road passes along the Saddleworth hills, from the fort of Ardotalia in Glossop to Castleshaw Roman fort. The route of the Roman road passes through Greenfield and crosses the Chew Brook at Packhorse Bridge.

The old stone houses of Saddleworth date from the 17th century and were home to farmers and hand-loom weavers in the woollen trade. The first industrial looms were also designed and built in Saddleworth. England's highest church 'The Heights' and canal tunnel 'Standedge Tunnel' are also here, the latter dating from the end of the 18th century and being a Thomas Telford project.

The world's first rock climbers' sit harness was invented in Saddleworth in the 1970s, variations of it now forming the basis of almost all the world's climbing sit harnesses.

The poem Jone o Grinfilt was written about a fictional inhabitant of the village with the aim of ridiculing countryside dwellers. The poem was written in the Oldham dialect of English, and was very popular in the 19th century. The author was probably Joseph Lees of Glodwick and it was written in the first decade of the 19th century.

In 1849 the Boarshurst Silver Band was formed as the village band. This Brass Band is still in existence.

Greenfield has an amateur rugby league side, Saddleworth Rangers, and tow cricket clubs: Greenfield Cricket Club and Saddleworth Cricket Club.

Geography

Greenfield also contains four reservoirs, three of which are linked to one another: Greenfield, Yeoman Hey, and Dovestones. The fourth is Chew Reservoir at the head of Chew Valley, which is the highest man-made reservoir in England. There is a yachting club on Dovestone Reservoir, the largest of these, and a set of walking paths round the first three. A steep walking path also connects Dovestones to Chew Reservoir. Much of the area covered by the reservoirs lies within the boundary of the Peak District National Park.

Saddleworth Moor rises above Greenfield and leads over impressively barren and disorientating moorlands to Holmfirth.

Churches

• Church of England: St Mary
• Methodist: Greenfield Methodist Church

Sights about the village

Pots and Pans is a locally well known hill overlooking the village: The monument on top is a war memorial constructed in 1923 and is sited so that it is visible from all the seven villages that comprise Saddleworth. It is stands at about 1200 feet above sea level and every year on Remembrance Sunday a service is held there.

Railway

Greenfield Station

Greenfield is only place in Saddleworth which has a train station. It lies along the Huddersfield Line with services running towards Huddersfield by way of Marsden and Slaithwaite and towards Manchester Victoria by way of Mossley, Stalybridge and Ashton-under-Lyne. Another line once ran from here more directly westward and into the Lydgate Tunnel, a line now abandoned.

Big Society

Greenfield is one of the towns and villages which holds an annual Whit Friday brass band contest.