Historically a part of Lancashire, Castleton's early history is marked by its status as a township within the ancient parish of Rochdale.

[citation needed] Located between junctions 19 and 20 of the M62 motorway, Castleton today is a predominantly residential area, with a total population of 9,715,[2] increasing to 10,159 at the 2011 Census.

The canal granted jobs for hundreds of local residents, as it enabled the construction of several cotton mills.

With the mills came the need for engineering and from 1892, Castleton was the home of Tweedales and Smalley who manufactured looms and textile machinery.

Their 14 acres (5.7 ha) Globe Works factory no longer exists, being part of the Woolworth's site.

Castleton Hall was a country house belonging to the Holtes; it was built in the Elizabethan period and enlarged in 1719.

[5] It was occupied in the late nineteenth century by the "Joyful News Training Home and Mission", now Cliff College, which moved from Castleton to its current location at Calver in Derbyshire under the direction of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1904.

[8] In 1913, the Dunlop Rubber company began building a vast textile mill complex at Castleton.

[9] Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire from a very early time, Castleton constituted a township within the ancient parish of Rochdale,[10] in Salford hundred.

[1] During this time, Castleton stretched beyond what is now recognised as its boundaries, including with it the localities of Balderstone, Captain Fold, Hartly, Marland and Newburn.

[1] Castleton was home to a large Woolworth's warehouse and office block, based on Royle Barn Road.

Castleton's main apparent architecture is that of the old Victorian style terraces, however there are some renovated areas.