Sholver

Sholver is an area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. An elevated, residential area, it lies near the middle of the Oldham part of the valley of the River Beal, northeast of Oldham's commercial centre, nearly at the northeasternmost extremity of the town, by open countryside close to the source of the River Medlock and by the border with Saddleworth. Historically a part of Lancashire, Sholver and its surroundings have provided archaeological evidence of Neolithic activity in the area. The name Sholver is of Old Norse derivation, and the locality, anciently, was a hamlet, independent of Oldham. Top Sholver is the site of a large council estate built in the 1960s. Bottom Sholver consists of higher-value suburban semi-detached housing, built in the 1990s, although it still contains a very small number of council houses. Locations within the area like Beasom Hill Country Park, Sholver Millennium Green, Strinesdale, Sholver Rangers and Fullwood Community Garden are particularly nice areas to visit. History of Oldham The earliest known evidence of a human presence in what is now Sholver and adjacent Moorside is attested by the discovery of Neolithic flint arrow-heads and workings found at Besom Hill, implying habitation 7–10,000 years ago. Like Oldham, the name Sholver is thought to be of Old Norse origin; a derivative of "erg (a Norse word for hill-pasture) of a farmer called Skjolgr (a Norse forename)". Indeed, Norsemen occupied Sholver in the 10th century, where they erected shielings - temporary huts in a remote pasture akin to the style of living done in their native Scandinavia. It is recorded as Sholgher in 1291, Choller in 1311. For centuries, in keeping with the known history of Oldham, Sholver was a remote and obscure hamlet set amongst the Pennines. The plan of the hamlet of Sholver changed little since the Early Middle Ages. At the end of the 17th century the medieval timber and plaster dwellings were replaced by solid farms in the local grey sandstone, without substantial changes in the sites of the buildings.