 In 1826 commissioners for the social and economic improvement of Oldham were established . The town was made part of a parliamentary borough , in 1832 , though it was in 1849 when Oldham was incorporated as a municipal borough , giving it borough status in the United Kingdom , and in 1850 the Borough Council obtained the powers of the improvement commissioners . In 1880 , parts of the Hollinwood and <unk> areas of Chadderton and Ashton @-@ under @-@ Lyne townships were added to the Borough of Oldham . Oldham Above Town and Oldham Below Town were , from 1851 until c . 1881 , statistical units used for the gathering and organising of civil registration information , and output of census data . 
