page_title: Whitegate, Greater Manchester
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Whitegate, Greater Manchester / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Gorse Mill An image from 1992. The tower lacks the modern crown of antennae. The engine house is still gone and its position is marked by the cream panel on the right hand end. The blind arcading marks the position of the rope race. Urban explorers (some) seem to have problems with this structure and its original function.
context_page_description: Whitegate is an industrial and residential district of the town of Chadderton in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England.
  Lying along the course of the Rochdale Canal, Whitegate is located in the south of Chadderton, contiguous with the Nimble Nook, Butler Green, Coalshaw Green and Hollinwood areas of the town and New Moston in the City of Manchester which lies to the south.
  Whitegate is bisected from east to west by the M60 motorway with a junction at the A663 which bisects the area from north to south, close to the Boat And Horses public house.
  A small recreation ground, Princess Park, serves the area. Its facilities include a multi purpose games area and children's playground.
  Oldham Broadway Business Park is located in this district, lying alongside the Rochdale Canal through the Slacks Valley between Whitegate and Middleton Junction.
context_section_description: Whitegate is located in what was previously an isolated rural part of Chadderton archaically known as Hale Moss, which was an extensive common lying between Hollinwood and White Moss in the south of the township.  During the Middle Ages much of this area was a constituent part of the archaic district known as Theale Moor ('The Hale Moor'), which extended into the township of Moston to the south.
  Records mentioning Whitegate date from 1556.
  1801 saw the opening of the Rochdale Canal through Whitegate.  The stretch of the canal through Slacks Valley was one of the most difficult sections to build as it had to cross two streams.  Work at Slacks Valley actually began in 1795 but it took six years to overcome the problems there.
  1750 saw the opening of the Boat And Horses public house, making this Chadderton's oldest licensed premises, a distinction shared with the Dog inn at Cowhill. In its early years the pub was known as The Crown.  During the Rochdale Canal's construction, a new inn had been built alongside, together with a wharf and small warehouse. It was given the name the Pleasure Boat Inn, but was also known as the Boat House for a few years, until in 1826 it received its present name.  The construction of the M60 motorway in the late 1990s, caused substantial damage to the foundations of the Boat and Horses and it had to be completely rebuilt. During this work, a travel lodge was added to the scheme, which also included a restaurant and pleasant canal side terrace.
  The author and local historian James Butterworth, writing in 1817 described Whitegate End as 'a noted ancient residence, lying near to the boundary of the township west'. Although now partly hidden among twentieth century housing, the farmhouse of Owler Lane Farm still stands and is believed to date back to 1700.
  The early part of the 20th century saw the growth of a substantial cotton mill district at Whitegate, with the Gorse, Rugby, Ram and Ace mills all built between 1907 and 1913. All of the mills survive with the exception of the Rugby which was demolished in January 2014.
  The arterial road Broadway (A633) was constructed in 1925.  The same year also saw the construction of the first Chadderton Power Station built in the Slacks Valley close to Whitegate.  Hollinwood Avenue (A6104) was also constructed during this period.
  1933 saw exchanges of land between Chadderton Urban District and Manchester City Council (18 acres) in the Whitegate and New Moston area.  Land lying between Owler Lane and the railway line was transferred to Chadderton with a similar sized area lying south of Hollinwood Avenue being transferred to Manchester.
  The Whitegate public house opened in 1937 at the junction of Broadway and Hollinwood Avenue.
  South Chadderton (later Broadway) Library opened in 1953 in commemoration of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II but the library was closed and subsequently demolished in 2009 following an unsuccessful campaign to have the building listed.
  Yew Tree Junior and Infants Schools opened in 1954 on the site of the former Yew Tree Farm. The main farm house still stands just off Long Lane, having been converted into a residential home for the elderly.
  The area's sub post office, named Whitegate, was closed down as part of the  Post Office's restructuring of services during 2008/9.
caption: Gorse Mill
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