leading to Cowhill were called Bent, afterwards West gate, and still later West street. The dwellings bordering the old road to Rochdale, were beginning to be named Henshaw street, and those on the skirts of the ancient road to Manchester had obtained the name of Bardsley brow and George brow, afterwards George street. The central portion of the main street was dignified by the name of High street. The lane leading from High street to the church, was rapidly rendered a street avenue, and the lanes pointing to Horsedge, Priors, and Sheepwashes underwent a similar transformation almost as quickly. The highway towards Yorkshire was speedily bordered with new erections, and soon received the name of Yorkshire street. The houses called Goldbourn, and the groups of dwellings at Holebottom and Dolstile were ultimately placed as far as practicable alongside the lanes around them, but they still in some measure retain, as some of the buildings and some of the people still do, particular features that seem peculiar to the place itself.

The tendency of the cotton manufacture to effect amazing changes as respects the number of buildings, amount of population, the industrial resources of the people, and their consequent improvement both physically and mentally was much more strikingly exemplified at Greenacres moor than even at Oldham, but this will form a subject for subsequent notice. The increase of inhabitants at Hollinwood, Shaw, Royton, Waterhead mill, and other places, form additional instances of the vast changes effected by the cotton manufacture, and, therefore, are entitled to due attention. The population of the town or village of Oldham in 1796 was about 2250, and the number of dwellings about 400. The vast extension of the Manchester manufactures gave rise to various new schemes of water communication between the centre of that traffic and its principal stations in the surrounding country. Thus, in 1792, an act of parliament was granted for the formation of a

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