Nico Ditch, an early-medieval linear earthwork possibly built as a defensive barrier against Vikings, runs through the area.

[2] Audenshaw expanded as a centre for textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era with inhabitants employed in hat-making, cotton-spinning, calico-printing, and silk-weaving.

[9] Although it is thought to be earlier, the earliest documented reference to Nico Ditch is in a charter detailing the granting of land in Audenshaw to the monks of the Kersal Cell.

[11] During the Early Middle Ages Audenshaw is supposed to have been a thanage held by Saxons,[4] but following the Norman conquest of England fell within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire, and noted as a division of Ashton, an ancient township and parish within the hundred of Salford.

[25] The area is served by Guide Bridge railway station, which is a stop on the Glossop and Hope Valley lines.

Northern Trains provides regular services to Manchester Piccadilly, Glossop, Hadfield and Rose Hill Marple.

[33] Bus services are operated by Stagecoach Manchester; key routes that serve the area include:[34] Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the main occupation in Audenshaw was that of farming.

[37] As was the case in neighbouring Denton, in the 19th century most of Audenshaw's residents were occupied in the hatting industry, the manufacture of cotton and silk, and calico printing.

[4] According to the 2001 UK census, the industry of employment Audenshaw's residents aged 16–74 was 20.3% manufacturing, 18.7% retail and wholesale, 10.1% property and business services, 9.0% health and social work, 8.2% construction, 6.8% transport and communications, 6.3% education, 6.2% public administration, 5.2% finance, 3.8% hotels and restaurants, 0.9% energy and water supply, 0.4% agriculture, 0.1% mining, and 4.0% other.

Compared with national figures, the town had a relatively high percentage of residents working in manufacturing (14.8% in England).

[39] These include two lodges which were originally a single barn,[40][41] a trough and pillar,[42] and St Stephen's Church.

[44] Ryecroft Hall, a Grade II listed building,[45] was donated to the people of Audenshaw by the local Member of Parliament, Austin Hopkinson, in 1921.

In 2008, the school was the most successful in the borough in terms of proportion of pupils attaining five or more A*–C grades at General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) including maths and English (64% in Audenshaw School compared with the average of 41.8% for Tameside and 47.6% for England)[51][52] and most points per pupil at A-level.