 Cotton spinning and milling were introduced to Oldham when its first mill, Lees Hall, was built by William Clegg in about 1778, the beginning of a spiralling process of urbanisation and socioeconomic transformation.Within a year, 11 other mills had been constructed, and by 1818 there were 19 – not a large number in comparison with other local settlements.The first steam engine for Oldham went into operation in 1794.