 The climate, geology, and topography of Oldham were unrelenting constraints upon the social and economic activities of the human inhabitants.Located above sea level with no major river or visible natural resources, Oldham had poor geographic attributes compared with other settlements for investors and their engineers.As a result, Oldham played no part in the initial period of the Industrial Revolution, although it did later become seen as obvious territory to industrialise because of its convenient position between the labour forces of Manchester and southwest Yorkshire.