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Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire since the early 12th century, Rochdale was recorded in 1066 as held by Gamel, one of the twenty-one thegns of the Hundred of Salfordshire.
The ancient eccelsiastical parish of Rochdale was originally divided in to four townships: Butterworth, Castleton, Hundersfield and Spotland. Hundersfield was later divided into four townships: Blatchinworth, Calderbrook, Wardleworth and Wuerdle and Wardle. Excluding the large chapelry of Saddleworth, which lay entirely in Yorkshire, the parish of Rochdale had an area of 65.4 square miles (169.4 km²).
The borough includes the once independent Lancastrian towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough, Milnrow and Wardle.
There is no certain evidence that the town of Rochdale became a borough during the Middle Ages.
In 1825 commissioners for the social and economic improvement of the town of Rochdale were established. The town was made part of a parliamentary borough, in 1832, though it was in 1856 when Rochdale was incorporated as a municipal borough, giving it borough status in the United Kingdom, and in 1858 the borough council obtained the powers of the improvement commissioners. In 1872 the remaining area of Wardleworth township and parts of Castleton, Wuerdle and Wardle, Spotland and Butterworth townships were added to the Borough of Rochdale.
When the administrative county of Lancashire was created by the Local Government Act 1888, Rochdale was elevated to become the County Borough of Rochdale and was effectively a unitary authority area exempt from the administration of Lancashire County Council. In 1900 most of Castleton Urban District was added to the borough; this urban district had included parts of Castleton, Hopwood and Thornham townships. In 1933 parts of Norden Urban District and Birtle with Bamford civil parish were added to the borough. Since 1953 Rochdale has been twinned with Bielefeld in Germany and since 1956 with Tourcoing in France. Under the Local Government Act 1972, the town's autonomous county borough status was abolished. The Municipal Boroughs of Middleton and Heywood, along with the Littleborough, Milnrow and Wardle Urban Districts; are now part of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, one of the ten metropolitan boroughs belonging to the Metropolitan County of Greater Manchester.
Rochdale was named for its position on the River Roch at the edge of the Pennines. The Domesday Book records the name as Recedham, formed from Old English reced "hall", and ham "homestead". The name of the river is a back-formation from this Old English name. With time, the town's name changed to Rachedale and eventually Rochdale.
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