Radcliffe is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies in the Irwell Valley 2.5 miles (4 km) south-west of Bury and 6.5 miles (10 km) north-northwest of Manchester and is contiguous with Whitefield to the south. The disused Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal bisects the town.

Evidence of Mesolithic, Roman and Norman activity has been found in Radcliffe and its surroundings. A Roman road passes through the area, along the border between Radcliffe and Bury. Radcliffe appears in an entry of the Domesday Book as "Radeclive" and in the High Middle Ages formed a small parish and township centred on the Church of St Mary and the manorial Radcliffe Tower, both of which are Grade I listed buildings.

Plentiful coal in the area facilitated the Industrial Revolution, providing fuel for the cotton spinning and papermaking industries. By the mid-19th century, Radcliffe was an important mill town with cotton mills, bleachworks and a road, canal and railway network.

At the 2011 Census, Radcliffe had a population of 29,950. Radcliffe is predominantly a residential area whose few remaining cotton mill buildings are now occupied by small businesses.

The name Radcliffe is derived from the Old English words read and clif, meaning "the red cliff or bank", on the River Irwell in the Irwell Valley. The Domesday Book records the name as "Radeclive". Other archaic spellings include "Radclive" (recorded in 1227), and "Radeclif" (recorded in 1309 and 1360). The Radcliffe family took its name from the town.

Radcliffe Tower is all that remains of an early 15th-century stone-built manor house. The structure is a Grade I listed building and protected as a Scheduled Monument. The construction of a nearby tithe barn is not documented, but it was probably built between 1600 and 1720. It was used for storage of the local tithes (a tenth of a farm's produce). Along with Radcliffe Tower, the Parish Church of St Mary is a Grade I listed building. The town also has two Grade II* listed buildings; Dearden Fold Farmhouse, completed during the 16th century, and Radcliffe Cenotaph, built in 1922 to commemorate the First World War. Outwood Viaduct, and Radcliffe's most visible landmark, St Thomas' Church, are Grade II listed buildings. St Thomas' took nine years to complete. The first stone was laid by Viscount Grey de Wilton (grandson of the Countess Grosvenor) on 21 July 1862, and it was consecrated in 1864 by the first Bishop of Manchester, James Prince Lee. Construction of the tower began in 1870 and the building was completed in 1871. The building cost £7,273, (£680 thousand today) and the tower cost £1,800 (£170 thousand today). The first vicar was the Reverend Robert Fletcher.

Radcliffe's first public ornament was a drinking fountain located at the bottom of Radcliffe New Road. It was presented to the town by a Mrs Noah Rostron in memory of her husband, and erected in August 1896. The fountain no longer exists at this location.

Built in 1911 the town hall was on the junction of Water Street and Spring Lane. For many years after the town lost its urban district status, the building was unoccupied. It was converted to private accommodation in 1999.