Rochdale Hornets

Rochdale Hornets RLFC is an English professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. From 2015, Hornets will compete in the re-structured Kingstone Press League 1, the third tier of European rugby league (behind the Super League and Kingstone Press Championship). Rochdale Hornets is also one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, making them one of the world's first rugby league clubs. Rochdale Hornets beat local rivals Oldham 32–18 in 2013 Championship 1 playoff final at Leigh Sports Village. The club has a strong relationship with Super League side St. Helens.

History

Early years – the 19th century

A Rochdale Athletic Club was formed in 1866 and held its first festival on the cricket ground at Merefield. Rugby football first took place as an organised game about 1866 or 1867, when the Rochdale Football Club was formed by a magistrate and numerous business owners and self-employed men. Within a year they were all playing alongside new members when working class men were allowed to join as well. Other clubs quickly followed, among them Rochdale Wasps and Rochdale Juniors.

Rochdale Hornets (speedway)

The Rochdale Hornets were a British speedway team from Rochdale in the north west of England. They were founded in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of British Speedway in 1929 but closed in 1930. In 1970, they were reformed by the promotion from the Belle Vue Aces to give their junior riders a chance to progress when they moved their Belle Vue Colts team to the stadium under the control of Dent Oliver.

The team arrived in 1970 but moved on to Ellesmere Port at the end of the 1971 season. The track was not a good shape and proved to be unpopular with supporters. The safety fence was unusual in that it was made of steel plates supported on wire ropes. The most famous rider to progress from the Hornets was 1976 World Champion Peter Collins.

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Rochdale

Coordinates: 53°36′49″N 2°09′40″W / 53.6136°N 2.1610°W / 53.6136; -2.1610

Rochdale /ˈrɒtʃdeɪl/ is a market town in Greater Manchester, England, positioned at the foothills of the South Pennines on the River Roch, 5.3 miles (8.5 km) north-northwest of Oldham, and 9.8 miles (15.8 km) north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, population 211,699. Rochdale is the largest settlement and administrative centre, with a total population of 95,796.

Historically a part of Lancashire, Rochdale's recorded history begins with an entry in the Domesday Book of 1086 under Recedham Manor. The ancient parish of Rochdale was a division of the hundred of Salford and one of the largest ecclesiastical parishes in England comprising several townships. By 1251, Rochdale had become important enough to have been granted a Royal charter. Subsequently, Rochdale flourished into a centre of northern England's woollen trade, and by the early 18th century was described as being "remarkable for many wealthy merchants".

Rochdale (disambiguation)

Rochdale is a town in England.

Rochdale may also refer to:

Places

Geography

Housing developments and higher education institutions

Sports

Transportation

Rochdale (car)

Rochdale cars were a series of mainly glass fibre bodied British sports car made by Rochdale Motor Panels and Engineering in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England between 1948 and 1973. The company is best remembered for the Olympic coupé made between 1959 and 1973.

History

The Rochdale company was founded in 1948 by Frank Butterworth and Harry Smith in an old mill building in Hudson Street, Rochdale. They performed general motor repairs and made themselves some alloy bodies, usually single-seaters, for racing Austin 7s and other cars. They went on to sell the bodies as the Mk II.

Rochdale Mk IV

In 1954 Rochdale launched the Mark IV, using a glass fibre, two-door, two-seater body that was supplied as a bare shell. It was offered with several wheelbases, ranging from 81 inches, primarily intended for the Austin 7 chassis, up to 108 inches. In addition to a suitable chassis, the purchaser/builder had to provide all the interior fittings and the brackets to locate the mechanical components. The body cost £47 10 shillings (£47.50) and was available until 1961. About 150 were made.