Toponymy The name Royton is
Anglo-Saxon in origin, and it has been suggested that the
Rye crop is the root of the name; "Roy-" is derived from Rye, with the Old English suffix
-ton added to imply "rye farm" or "rye settlement". The first known written record of the name Ryeton (or Ryton) was in a survey of Lancashire in 1212,
Early history There is evidence of
Stone Age human activity in the area, by way of a
Neolithic stone axe found at Royton Park. The
ancient Britons are thought to have inhabited the area, and the
Romans to have traversed it; There is no physical manifestation of the
Vikings/
Norsemen in the locality, but
toponymic evidence implies they have been present;
Textiles and the Industrial Revolution Apart from the dignitaries who lived in Royton Hall, the population of Royton during the
Middle Ages comprised a small community of
retainers and
farmers, most of whom were involved with
pasture, but supplemented their incomes by weaving
woollens in the
domestic system. The area was thinly populated and consisted of several hamlets, including Thorp, Heyside and Royton village itself as the nucleus. During the
Early Modern period, the weavers of Royton had been using
spinning wheels in makeshift
weavers' cottages, but as both the demand for cotton goods increased and the technology of
cotton-spinning machinery improved during the early-18th century, the need for larger structures to house bigger, better and more efficient equipment became apparent. The construction of a water powered
cotton mill by Ralph Taylor at Thorp Clough in 1764, is said to be the first structure of its kind. The construction of more mills followed, which initiated a process of urbanisation and
socioeconomic transformation in the region; the population moved away from farming, adopting employment in the
factory system. The Manchester Patriotic Union, a group agitating for parliamentary reform, began to organise a mass public demonstration in Manchester to demand the reform of parliamentary representation. Organised preparations took place, and a spy reported that "seven hundred men drilled at
Tandle Hill as well as any army regiment would"; a few days later, on 3 August, a royal proclamation forbidding the practice of drilling was posted in Manchester. On 16 August 1819, Royton (like its neighbours) sent a contingent of its townsfolk to Manchester to join the mass political demonstration now known as the
Peterloo massacre (owing to the 15 deaths and 400–700 injuries that followed). Royton's damp climate provided the ideal conditions for cotton spinning to be carried out without the cotton drying and breaking, and newly developed 19th century mechanisation optimised cotton spinning for mass production for the global market. By 1832, there were 12
steam powered mills in Royton, of which its former hamlets had begun to
agglomerate as a town around the cotton factories, a number of small coalpits and new turnpike road from Oldham to Rochdale, which passed through the town centre. The Manchester, Oldham and Royton Railway and a goods yard was constructed in the 1860s, allowing improved transportation of textile goods and raw materials to and from the township. had begun to encroach upon Royton's southern boundary, forming a continuous urban cotton-spinning district. The demand for cheap cotton goods from this area prompted the
flotation of cotton spinning companies; the investment was followed by the construction of 22 new cotton mills in Royton. Together with Oldham, at its peak the area was responsible for 13% of the world's cotton production. boundary) was one of the UK's largest and most modern
cotton mills. It closed in 1998 and was demolished a year later. Supplies of raw cotton from the United States were cut during the
Lancashire Cotton Famine of
1861–65, leading to the formation of the Royton
Local Board of Health in 1863, whose purpose was to ensure social security and maintain hygiene and sanitation in the locality. An anonymous communication was received by the supposed bomber, stating that he intended the explosion for the Royton School Board because children were not allowed to work at the age of 10 years, and because he wanted the abolition of the
Factory Acts. There were no fatalities caused by the explosion, and damage to the building was restricted to smoke damage and shattered windows, doors and woodwork. Despite this, since the turn of the millennium Royton has been earmarked for cosmetic gentrification.
Life on Mars is set in 1970s Manchester. ==Governance==