page_title: Wardle, Greater Manchester
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Wardle, Greater Manchester / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: A view over Smallbridge, in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England.
context_page_description: Wardle is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the South Pennines, 1.8 miles east-southeast of Whitworth, 2.5 miles north-northwest of Rochdale and 12 miles north-northeast of the city of Manchester.
  Historically a part of Lancashire, Wardle and its surroundings have provided archaeological evidence of Mesolithic activity in the area. The name Wardle is said to be derived from "Ward Hill", implying "fortified place". Brown Wardle Hill overlooks the village from the north, its name being derived from the Celtic word bron meaning "round". During the Middle Ages Wardle was a small centre of domestic flannel and woollen cloth production, and many of the original weavers' cottages survive today as listed buildings.
  Wardle, the most northerly settlement in Greater Manchester, encompasses small parts of Smallbridge and Dearnley — urban areas contiguous with Rochdale — but "retains a rural character". Watergrove Reservoir, which is situated on the northern outskirts of Wardle, is the largest of a series of reservoirs in the Borough of Rochdale, with a storage capacity of 720 million gallons.
context_section_description: At 53°38′52″N 2°7′56″W (53.6478°, -2.1323°), and 170 miles (274 km) north-northwest of London, Wardle lies at the foothills of the Pennines, at the northeastern fringe of the Greater Manchester Urban Area, the United Kingdom's third largest conurbation. Wardle is the most northerly settlement in Greater Manchester.
  Wardle is south of the Watergrove Reservoir and west of Littleborough.
caption: A view over Smallbridge towards Wardle
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