Werneth Low

Werneth Low
Werneth Low, showing the cenotaph, and the Greater Manchester Urban Area in the background.
Highest point
Elevation	279 m (915 ft)
Prominence	c. 112 m
Coordinates	53°26′1.57″N 2°3′14.94″W / 53.4337694°N 2.0541500°W / 53.4337694; -2.0541500Coordinates: 53°26′1.57″N 2°3′14.94″W / 53.4337694°N 2.0541500°W / 53.4337694; -2.0541500
Geography
Werneth Low Location of Werneth Low in Greater Manchester
Location	Greater Manchester, England
Parent range	Pennines
OS grid	SJ968930
Topo map	OS Landranger 109

Werneth Low is a hill in Greater Manchester, England, and a part of the Pennines. It is located on the borders of and Tameside in the town of Hyde and rises to a height of 279 metres (915 ft). The villages of Woodley, Greave, Gee Cross, Mottram and Romiley lie on the sides of the low.

The term "low" does not refer to any lack of altitude, it being a North English word for hill.

Werneth Low offers panoramic views over the Greater Manchester Urban Area and in clear weather, the Winter Hill transmitting station can be seen from here. To the south, town centre, part of Wythenshawe in south Manchester and the Welsh Mountains can be viewed in clear weather.

The majority of Werneth Low is administered jointly by Hyde War Memorial Trust (link below) and Tameside Council. The Trust organise the Remembrance and Peace day services. The trust was established to be guardian of Werneth Low and to keep it "For the people of Hyde" and provide a lasting monument to the 710 men of Hyde that perished in World War I.

Various landmarks can be seen from the top of Werneth Low. For example, Manchester's Beetham Tower; the Oldham Civic Centre; and Jodrell Bank Observatory's radio telescope (visible from the South Western End of the hilltop).

A flint knife and a Bronze Age stone mace head have been discovered on Werneth Low. Hangingbank is the site of a possible Iron Age farmstead dating to the first millennium BC, enclosed by a double ditch and featuring crop marks. A Roman road from Melandra to Astbury probably crosses the hill, however the exact course has not been identified. The site covers 1.23 hectares (3.0 acres). There is also evidence of Romano-British activity on Werneth Low, a sherd of Roman pottery dating to the 2nd century AD was discovered in the material filling one of the ditches at Hangingbank, indicating that was when the site fell out of use. There is a possible temporary Roman camp and excavations have recovered a posthole. The name Werneth derives from the Welsh verno for alder meaning 'the place where alders grow'.