History of the Four Meres
Standing on the western side of the Pennine watershed, the Civil Parish of Saddleworth belongs to the historic West Riding of Yorkshire.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, Saddleworth was referred to as ‘The Land of The King in Yorkshire’ and following the Norman Conquest it became a part of the Honour of Pontefract. It was then divided into four distinct quarters or ‘Meres’: Friarmere, Shawmere, Lordsmere and Quickmere.
Confusingly, the whole district was also once known simply as ‘Quick’.
Saddleworth’s history can be traced back beyond 1066 to the Stone Age, with a Bronze Age bowl barrow situated within our borders, and to Ancient Rome - the civilisation which built a road from Chester to York, changing the Castleshaw Valley forever.
While the Meres have long since ceased to have any official role in governing our Civil Parish, in the 19th century they formed the basis of local governance.
However, with administrative reforms and the creation of urban and rural districts, the significance of the meres diminished.
Today, the names only survive on some of the milestones and monuments erected by the West Riding County Council, but the modern-day communities we now look upon are creations of the industrial revolution.
