In 1901, social reformer, pioneering conservationist and Oldham resident Mary Higgs wrote to the Oldham Chronicle to ask, ‘Beautiful Oldham – Why Not?’
By the mid-19th century Oldham had become the cotton-spinning epicenter of the world, its skyline and fortunes transformed by the mills of the Industrial Revolution. Mary saw beyond the mills and chimneys of the industrial Oldham she lived in. Her vision was to create a cleaner, greener Oldham, in which residents were empowered to make positive change.
In 1902 Mary founded the Beautiful Oldham Society. The Society encouraged residents, young people and businesses to plant flowers and trees, grow veg, and to cherish and protect the environment.
Inspired by Mary’s vision, our team of local Community Champions produced a family-friendly community celebration featuring live performances, interactive artwork, woodland music, heritage exhibitions, henna demonstrations, craft activities, games and nature crafts.
Special thanks
This event was co-created and produced by Northern Roots team of local Community Champions. Thank you Sue, Faiza, Louise, Sean, Thomas, Oliver, Ola, Matt, Aisha, Tayyibah, Tracey and Dawn.
Northern Roots would like to thank Gallery Oldham, who gave us access to Oldham’s archives and permission to use historic photographs.
The ‘Beautiful Oldham – Why Not?’ heritage project was made possible with generous funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
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Community Champion Louise helped bring ‘Beautiful Oldham – Why Not?’ to life, and now supports the Natural Health Service.