Brown Wardle Hill overlooks the village from the north, its name being derived from the Celtic word bron meaning "round".

During the Middle Ages Wardle was a small centre of domestic flannel and woollen cloth production, and many of the original weavers' cottages survive today as listed buildings.

[2] Wardle, the most northerly settlement in Greater Manchester,[3] encompasses small parts of Smallbridge and Dearnley — urban areas contiguous with Rochdale — but "retains a rural character".

Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire since the early 12th century, Wardle was anciently linked with Wuerdle, and lay within the township of Hundersfield and parish of Rochdale.

[1] At 53°38′52″N 2°7′56″W / 53.64778°N 2.13222°W / 53.64778; -2.13222 (53.6478°, -2.1323°), and 170 miles (274 km) north-northwest of London, Wardle lies at the foothills of the Pennines, at the northeastern fringe of the Greater Manchester Urban Area, the United Kingdom's third largest conurbation.