Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills including Delph, Diggle, Dobcross, Greenfield, Lydgate, Scouthead, Springhead and Uppermill.
Saddleworth, which lies east of the large town of Oldham and 11 miles east-northeast of the city of Manchester, is broadly rural, has a scattered population of 24,351, making it one of the larger civil parishes in the United Kingdom.
Elsie Tanner's sister, Fay Butler and her children, Bernard and Sandra lived in Saddleworth and it was from there that the two youngsters came to live with their aunt in Weatherfield in November 1969. Bernard returned home there the following June while Sandra left for London two months later in the company of villain Judd Johnson. Elsie felt constrained to visit Saddleworth to explain to her sister what had happened.
Victor Pendlebury, one of the sweethearts in Mavis Riley's life, first came to her attention in November 1982 when they both took an English Literature class at the Community Centre. The following May he bought a cottage in Saddleworth and tried to persuade Mavis to move there but with no commitment to marriage. She was almost tempted until she found that Victor was passing her off to neighbours as his wife and she then refused his offer. he moved there alone and his penchant for poetry led Rita Fairclough nicknaming him "The Saddleworth Sage". Three months later, the two women drove out and paid a surprise visit to Victor and were stunned when a woman calling herself Mrs Pendlebury answered the door but she turned out to be Victor's sister-in-law. Victor continued to come in and out of Mavis's life for several years to come.
Ten years later, in August 1994, Mavis had started another self-improvement class at night school, this time in art with Emily Bishop and on a painting day at Rivington Pike above Saddleworth, Mavis became friendly with Roger Crompton, a librarian and fellow class member, much to the jealous disgust of her by-then husband Derek Wilton.
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Anne Kirkbride, although born in Oldham, spent her childhood in the Saddleworth area.