Denshaw is a village in the civil parish of Saddleworth in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England.

[citation needed] Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Denshaw and its surroundings have provided archaeological evidence of Stone and Bronze Age activity in the area.

[4] Human activity in Denshaw continued in the Bronze Age, as demonstrated by the discovery of a palstave on Wall Green in 1932, when a trench was being dug for a water pipe,[5] and some tools from Denshaw Moor, on the site of the proposed wind farm, which include a ceremonial flint dagger.

[2][3] Many of the traditional stone dwellings are listed buildings and are descendants of the cluster of houses first built in the locality during the 16th century.

It served as a posting house on the Ripponden-to-Oldham turnpike road (opened in 1798)[2] for the changing of horses and the provision of refreshments.

This was met with opposition from the local and wider communities, culminating in the Saddleworth Moors Action Group, who were joined by environmentalist David Bellamy.

Under the Local Government Act 1972, the Saddleworth Urban District was abolished, and Denshaw has, since 1 April 1974, formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, within Greater Manchester.

[32] Since 1997, Denshaw has formed part of the parliamentary constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth, and is represented in the House of Commons by Debbie Abrahams, a member of the Labour Party.

At 53°35′32″N 2°2′19″W / 53.59222°N 2.03861°W / 53.59222; -2.03861 (53.5921°, −2.0385°) and 165 miles (266 km) north-northwest of London, Denshaw stands about 990 feet (302 m) above sea level, 11.4 miles (18.3 km) northeast of Manchester city centre, on elevated Pennine ground by the River Tame, which flows southwesterly from its source near the Dowry and New Year's Bridge reservoirs.

The land-use of Denshaw, which centres on a road junction, is predominantly residential, the outlying land being a mixture of permanent grassland and heath.

Denshaw is not contiguous with any other settlement and for purposes of the Office for National Statistics, does not form part of the Greater Manchester Urban Area.

[34] Denshaw experiences a temperate maritime climate, like much of the British Isles, with relatively cool summers and mild winters.

[35] A Grade II listed building since 19 June 1967, Christ Church dates from 1863, the year before Denshaw became an ecclesiastical parish.

Following closure of the Oldham Loop Line, the nearest railway station to Denshaw is located at Greenfield.

Since the 5th of January 2025, the 356 is now under the control of the Bee Network and is contracted to Diamond Bus North West as part of Tranche 3 of franchising.

During its time of operation, it was run by First Greater Manchester every two hours Mon-Sun with a Local Link Demand-responsive transport system covering the evening journeys.