Top 5 Oldham Landmarks

Oldham has a lot to offer, with many hidden gems including popular and even famous landmarks.

5. Gallery Oldham

Designed by architects, Gallery Oldham was completed in its original form in February 2002. It is a free-to-view public art gallery in the Cultural Quarter of central Oldham. The popular building provides a wide range of exhibitions and activities targeted at different audiences of all ages within Oldham and the surrounding area. The art gallery integrates local museum and gallery services. An extension to include the £13 million Oldham Library and Lifelong Learning Centre opened in April 2006. The building has state-of-the-art library and learning facilities. Current and forthcoming exhibitions feature artworks and items from Oldham’s diverse collections alongside newly commissioned art, international work, touring exhibitions and work produced with local communities. Talks and tours, art and craft workshops, work with schools and artist residencies are all part of the gallery’s regular activities programme. Gallery Oldham is the idea place for a peaceful day out with the family or by oneself!

4. Tandle Hill Country Park

Tandle Hill is Oldham’s oldest country park. With its 48 hectares of park land visitors can enjoy the parks mature beech mixed with woodland and grassland. The park offers views across the Manchester Plain and the Pennine Hills. Visible from many parts of Oldham it overlooks Higginshaw village to the east, Royton to the north and Oldham centre to the west and south. Tandle Hill is a designated Site of Biological Importance for its fungi and bird populations. Things to do at Tandle Hill include activities such as: Cycling, Bird watching, Pond dipping, Orienteering, Walking (dogs too), Children’s play area with sand play and basket swings. Visitors can also use the parks Café and toilet facilities which are open most weekends and school holidays – depending on the weather! Tandle Hill is a perfect place for families to visit and spend the whole day and still have many parts of the park to explore!

3. ODEON (Parliament Square)

Originally built to be Oldham’s popular Town Hall in 1841 the seven screen cinema was completed in 2016 and which kept the Town Halls important Georgian neo-classical building at the front and provided a major extension at the rear. The ODEON was built as part of the already well known state-of-the-art chain cinema for blockbusters in 2-D or 3-D format and offers family and student deals. ODEON Oldham is situated in Parliament Square, adjacent to the Town Square and Spindles Shopping Centre. The cinema began life as the Town Hall in the 1840’s and has had an interesting history, including the distinction of being Winston Churchill’s first seat as an MP in 1900 and is now home to the beloved statue of Suffragette Annie Kenney. The popular cinema also is surrounded by dine in food places perfect for family meals out. Holding 7 screens with RealD 3D, and iSense the cinema offers premier seating and also has a Costa inside. ODEON Oldham is the place to be to watch the most recent blockbusters with family, friends or by yourself.

2. Alexandra Park

In the early 1860s Oldham was an important cotton spinning town. Disruption to the supply of cotton caused by the American Civil War caused high unemployment and hardship in the area. One solution was to provide jobs by investing in a new park for the town and employing cotton workers to landscape the site. Work began towards the end of 1863 and the park was opened on 28 August 1865. The park was named to commemorate the marriage in 1863 of Albert, Prince of Wales to Alexandra - a princess from Denmark, hence the name Alexandra Park. From Alexandra Park there are marked paths leading into Snipe Clough, Brushes Clough, and to Park Bridge Heritage Centre and beyond. Facilities at the park include: Heating conservatory, Boating lake, Boathouse with Café, Fishing club, 7 free tennis courts, 3 crown green bowling greens, Children’s play area, Sand pit and beautiful Ornamental gardens. The park also has toilet facilities (when the gardeners are on site) and plenty of car park space. Home to popular attractions with spacious play areas for the kids and plenty of acres to wander and explore Alexandra Park promises a wonderful time to spend your day.

1. Oldham Coliseum

Established in 1885, the Coliseum began its life as a circus on Henshaw Street. However when the Oldham Council demanded that the site used for the circus was to be used as a market (currently known as Tommyfield Market) the circus was forced to move two years later in 1887 to its current site in Fairbottom Street. The entire wooden building was dismantled and moved piece by piece to its new home. From 1903 the venue was transformed and for the next 28 years, it became known as a popular music hall visited by stars of the time. The theatre soon developed a reputation for the quality of its shows and performances. By the end of the 1950’s the actors from the theatre were so acclaimed that this led to many of them having careers in the glamorous television industry. The Coliseum now has been a home of producing theatre and has worked with many successful and innovative artists and is now one of only 32 regular producing theatres in England, offering employment and a creative platform to actors, directors, designers, writers and technicians. It is also the only professional producing theatre in the historic cotton-mill town of Oldham.

The Coliseum’s stage has seen countless performers over the years from comedy greats such as Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel to mega movie stars such as Ralph Fiennes and Minnie Driver at the beginning of their careers. Many early cast members of the popular show Coronation Street were drawn from the Coliseum. Oldham Coliseum Theatre is one of the most established and well attended venues in the North West where it produces eight in-house shows each year. It is also a place where touring productions, visiting companies and special one-night events are held.