Audenshaw

Audenshaw is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is located on the east side of The River Tame, along the course of both the M60 motorway and the Ashton Canal, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) southwest of Ashton-under-Lyne and 4.9 miles (7.9 km) east of the city of Manchester. As at the United Kingdom Census 2001, Audenshaw had a population of 13,000.

The name Audenshaw is a corruption of its earlier name Aldwinshagh which derives from Aldwin, a Saxon personal name, combined with the Old English suffix shagh meaning woodland. Nico Ditch, an early-medieval linear earthwork possibly built as a defensive barrier against Vikings, runs through the area. During the Middle Ages, Audenshaw was a division of the township of Ashton, in the County of Lancashire. Audenshaw's urbanisation and expansion largely coincided with developments in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era. In the 1870s, many of Audenshaw's inhabitants were employed in hat-making, cotton-spinning, calico-printing, and silk-weaving. In 1894 this area became Audenshaw Urban District and in the poor law union of Ashton-under-Lyne. In 1974 it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside.

The name Audenshaw is a corruption of its earlier name Aldwinshagh which derives from Aldwin, a Saxon personal name, combined with the Old English suffix shagh meaning woodland.