the Holtes; it was built in the Elizabethan period and enlarged in 1719. It was occupied in the late nineteenth century by the "Joyful News Training Home and Mission", now Cliff College, which moved from Castleton to its current location at Calver in Derbyshire under the direction of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1904. In 1903, Whipp & Bourne Ltd. was founded by Samuel Whipp and Charles Bourne to manufacture electrical switchgear. The company closed its factory in Castleton, in 2007. In 1913, the Dunlop Rubber company began building a vast textile mill complex at Castleton. At its peak the mill employed over 3,000 workers. Most of the mill was demolished in 1979. Dunlop Textiles ceased trading in 2005. Governance Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire from a very early time, Castleton constituted a township within the ancient parish of Rochdale, in Salford hundred. During this time, Castleton stretched beyond what is now recognised as its boundaries, including with it the localities of Balderstone, Captain Fold, Hartly, Marland and Newburn. In 1865, part of Castleton was transferred to the newly created Municipal Borough of Rochdale, and following local government reorganisation in 1894, Castleton, though lying wholly within the administrative county of Lancashire, remained divided on this basis, forming two local government districts; "County Borough of Rochdale" and "Castleton-by-Rochdale". Castleton-by-Rochdale was renamed to "Castleton Urban District" in 1896, and four years later in 1900, was abolished (as part of a mutual agreement between local councillors) split and transferred to the neighbouring Rochdale and Heywood local government districts. As part of the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, the former county boroughs and urban districts were abolished, and Castleton was given to the newly formed Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester. Economy Castleton was home to a large Woolworth's warehouse and office block, based on Royle Barn Road. The site is now closed following the failure of the Woolworths group. This mill is close to Arrow Mill, which is almost adjacent on Queensway. Royle Barn Road links Castleton with Sudden, emerging near the Tesco supermarket. Castleton is without any banks as they were all closed in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Carcraft was based there, on the former site of Asda but has now closed down. Landmarks Castleton is home to St. Martin's C of E church. This example of religious Victorian architecture still stands