Walkden

The name Walkden or Walkeden derives from the Old English denu, a valley, belonging to a man possibly called Wealca (fuller), an Old English personal name. It has been in existence since at least the 13th century. The name was recorded in documents dating to 1246. A Roman road crossed the area roughly on the line of the present A6 road through Walkden and Little Hulton. In 1313, in a dispute involving land, a jury decided that Walkden was too small to be considered a hamlet or a town but was "only a place in Farnworth". In the 15th century Walkden appears to have covered a wider area than at present, spreading into Farnworth and Little Hulton. In 1765 "Walkden Moor" was the subject of a…

Walkden featured in the news in 1994, when well-known British television host Richard Madeley was arrested for failing to pay for items, including champagne, on two occasions at the Tesco supermarket in Walkden. Then British Prime Minister Theresa May visited Walkden during the 2017 Conservative Party Conference to meet a couple who had just bought a new build house using the government's Help to Buy Scheme.