Higher Openshaw
| Openshaw | |
|---|---|
 Openshaw
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| Openshaw shown within Greater Manchester | |
| OS grid reference | SJ885975 |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MANCHESTER |
| Postcode district | M11 |
| Dialling code | 0161 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Openshaw is an area of Manchester, England, about two miles east of the city centre. Historically part of Lancashire, Openshaw was incorporated into the city of Manchester in 1890. Its name derives from the Old English Opinschawe, which means an open wood or coppice. Openshaw is part of the New East Manchester area and is undergoing extensive redevelopment under the East Manchester Regeneration Scheme.
As a result of the Industrial Revolution, Openshaw became an area of heavy industry with residents working in factories or at Bradford Colliery. Socialism and trades unionism saw a fertile breeding ground in the area and in 1910 the Openshaw Socialists were formed, with Keir Hardie (founder of the Labour Party) as their inaugural guest speaker. Annie Lee became Manchester's first socialist woman alderman in 1936, having been secretary of the Openshaw Independent Labour Party from the 1890s.
The ordnance works closed down after the end of the First World War, and the railway yards also closed as a result, Openshaw has a population only a fraction of that a century ago. Nothing remains of companies such as RHM on Ogden Lane, Ferguson, Pailin & Co. (later GEC Switchgear), the English Steel Corporation, B&S Massey and Crossley Brothers, which employed thousands of people. There is very little industry in the district but Openshaw falls within the East Manchester Regeneration Scheme and new businesses are moving into the area. Openshaw is the 11th most deprived area in the UK as a result of massive de-industrialisation.
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