[5][6] The Domesday Book's rendering of the name led Eilert Ekwall to suggest a derivation from reced, an obscure Old English element meaning "hall".

[8] Before 1212, Henry II granted the manor to Roger de Lacy, whose family retained it as part of the Honour of Clitheroe until it passed to the Dukes of Lancaster by marriage and then to the Crown by 1399.

It was described as "a red-brick building of no architectural distinction, on the north side of the river opposite the town hall" and sometimes referred to as the Manor House.

[10] Rochdale is a product of the Industrial Revolution,[11] though the manufacture of woollen cloth, particularly baize, kerseys and flannels, was locally important as far back as the 1500s.

[15] By the end of the 19th century, Rochdale had woollen mills, silk manufacturers, bleachers and dyers, though cotton spinning and weaving were the dominant industries in the community.

[18] The reformer and Member of Parliament, John Bright (1811–1889), was born in Rochdale and gained a reputation as a leader of political dissent and supporter of the Anti-Corn Law League.

[19] By the middle of the 20th century, Rochdale's economy was in decline, reflecting the broader economic situation in other textile manufacturing towns in the North West England.

[20] Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire since the early 12th century, Rochdale was recorded in 1066 as held by Gamel, one of the twenty-one thegns of the Hundred of Salfordshire.

As there were no existing township boundaries, the commissioners and later the parliamentary constituency were deemed to cover a circular area extending three-quarters of a mile from the old market-place.

The seat was subsequently won by George Galloway, leader and founder of the Workers Party of Britain, in the 2024 Rochdale by-election on 29 February; the campaign was dominated by opposition to British involvement in the Israel-Hamas war.

Rochdale is approximately 450 feet (137 m) above sea level, 10 miles (16 km) north-north-east of Manchester city centre, in the valley of the River Roch.

Blackstone Edge, Saddleworth Moor and the South Pennines are close to the east; on all other sides, Rochdale is bound by other towns including Whitworth, Littleborough, Milnrow, Royton, Heywood and Shaw and Crompton, with little or no green space between them.

The urban structure of Rochdale is regular when compared to most towns in England; its form is restricted in places by its hilly upland terrain.

[33][34] Rochdale has the highest number of Jobseeker's Allowance claimants in Greater Manchester, with 6.1 per cent of its adult population claiming the benefit in early 2010.

The town hall had a 240-foot (73 m) clock tower, topped by a wooden spire with a gilded statue of Saint George and the Dragon, which were destroyed by fire on 10 April 1883.

The monument is made from Cornish granite and sits on the site of a building known as Manor House, which was used as a recruiting station during World War I.

[52] The statue was the first of a woman to be unveiled in Greater Manchester in more than 100 years[53] and was part of Rochdale Borough Council's wider regeneration of the town centre.

In Broadfield Park in the town centre, there is a statue of John Bright MP, a British Radical and Liberal statesman, who is regarded as one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies.

Bright was born in Rochdale; he became famous for his crusade to repeal Britain's corn laws and his promotion of religious freedom and electoral reform.

Demand from the cross-Pennine trade to support local cotton, wool and silk industries led to the building of the Manchester and Leeds Railway.

Go North West operates the 471 to Bury/Rochdale while all other local Bee Network routes to destinations such as Bury/Littleborough are provided by First Manchester out of their Rochdale Depot.

The M62 motorway passes to the south of the town and is accessed via the A627(M), which starts at Sandbrook Park in Rochdale and runs to Elk Mill in Chadderton.

The idea for the Rochdale Canal emerged in 1776, when James Brindley was commissioned to survey possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester.

[43] St John the Baptist Catholic Church was built in 1927 in Byzantine Revival style and is a grade II* listed building.

Mental Health services are found to the back of the former Birch Hill Hospital; it provides care for children and adults on both an inpatient and out-patient basis.

[75] Water supplies are sourced from several reservoirs in Rochdale's outlying moorland, including Watergrove, Blackstone Edge, Greenbooth and Piethorne.

[80] Speedway racing was staged at the Athletic Grounds in 1928–30 and returned at the start of the 1970s when it provided a home for the British League Division Two Belle Vue Aces juniors and Rochdale Hornets.

Rochdale has a proud liberal political heritage, as shown by such people as John Bright, one of the first Quakers to sit in the House of Commons, and Rev.

Among Rochdale's residents have been several musicians, including singers Piri, Gracie Fields, Lisa Stansfield (born in Heywood) and Barb Jungr and bands Kaliphz also known as Kaleef, Autechre, and Tractor.

Other notable residents include businessman and philanthropist Sir Peter Ogden, novelist Nicholas Blincoe, Monica Coghlan, a prostitute caught up in the Jeffrey Archer scandal, and the banker Rev.