 By 1756 , Oldham had emerged as centre of the <unk> industry in England . The rough felt used in the production process is the origin of the term " <unk> <unk> " a nickname for people from Oldham . It was not until the last quarter of the 18th century that Oldham changed from being a cottage industry township producing <unk> garments via domestic manual labour , to a sprawling industrial metropolis of textile factories . The climate , geology , and topography of Oldham were <unk> constraints upon the social and economic activities of the human inhabitants . At 700 feet ( 213 m ) above sea level and 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 <unk> because of its convenient position between the labour forces of Manchester and southwest Yorkshire . 
