Blue plaques commemorate interesting historical events and people associated with the borough.
There are no formal criteria for the selection of subjects for plaques although the general principle followed is that the event or person should be eminent and sufficiently famous to be familiar to a succeeding generation. To qualify a person should normally have been deceased for at least 20 years or have passed the centenary of their birth.
Enquiries
If you have any enquiries about blue plaques please contact the planning team.
| No. | Subject | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crompton Local Board | 13 Market Street, Shaw |
| 2 | Peterloo Massacre, 1819 | Civic Centre, Oldham |
| 3 | Sir Winston Churchill – MP for Oldham, 1900 | Old Town Hall, Oldham |
| 4 | Lord Rhodes – industrialist, politician, statesman | 3 Valley Cottages, Manchester Road, Greenfield |
| 5 | Sir William Walton – composer | 93 Werneth Hall Road, Oldham |
| 6 | Creation of park during cotton famine and Civil War | North Lodge, Alexandra Park, Queens Road, Oldham |
| 7 | Annie Kenney – leading suffragette | Lees Brook Mill, Lees |
| 8 | Helen Bradley – artist | 3 Princess Street, Lees |
| 9 | Site of Oldham Royal Infirmary | Oldham VI Form College, Oldham |
| 10 | First Yates’s Wine Lodge | 8a, High Street, Oldham |
| 11 | Henry Platt – industrial engineer, founder of “Platt’s” | The Smithy, Bridge House, Dobcross |
| 12 | Ben Brierley – dialect writer | 466 Oldham Rd, Failsworth |
| 13 | Sebastian de Ferranti – Industrialist | Siemens, Manchester Rd, Hollinwood |
| 14 | Patrick Steptoe – ‘test tube’ baby pioneer | Royal Oldham Hospital, Maternity Unit |
| 15 | Joseph Platt – First secretary Northern Rugby Union | 11, Queen Street, Oldham |
| 16 | Roy Chadwick – aeroplane designer (Lancaster Bomber) | British Aerospace, Chadderton |
| 17 | Incorporation as a Borough, 1849 | Old Town Hall, Oldham |
| 18 | John Bunting – largest individual mill owner in Lancashire | 115 Union Street, Oldham |
| 19 | John Lees – originator of fish and chips | Market Hall, Albion Street, Oldham |
| 20 | Bradbury Sewing Machines | Park Road, nr King Street roundabout, Oldham |
| 21 | James Dronsfield – Industrialist | Ashton Road, Oldham |
| 22 | First cotton mill in area | Mill Brow Street, Royton |
| 23 | Coin Controls – world leader in transaction automation | New Coin Street, Royton |
| 24 | Lydia Becker – suffragist | Foxdenton Hall, Chadderton |
| 25 | Dame Sarah Lees – suffragist, philanthropist, Mayor of Oldham County Borough | Werneth Park, Werneth |
| 26 | Bishop Wheeler | Sacred Heart Church, Uppermill |
| 27 | Henry Taylor – swimmer and Olympic gold medallist | Chadderton Swimming Stadium |
| 28 | Site of Royton Hall | Hall Street, Royton |
| 29 | Oldham’s Victoria Cross Holders | 11, Church Terrace, Oldham |
| 30 | Sir Philip Sidney Stott – Lancashire’s famous mill architect | Chadderton Central Library |
| 31 | Joseph Burgess – founder of the Independent Labour Party | 64a, Old Road, Failsworth |
| 32 | Terry Hall – ventriloquist and creator of ‘Lenny the Lion’ | Middleton Road, Chadderton |
| 33 | Watersheddings Rugby Ground | Junction of Ripponden Road/ Counthill Road, Watersheddings |
| 34 | Water Street – part of ancient route | Manchester Chambers, George Street, Oldham |
| 35 | Eric Sykes – comedian | 36 St Hilda’s Drive, Oldham |