 On 20 April 1812 , a " large crowd of riotous individuals " compelled local retailers to sell foods at a loss , whilst on the same day Luddites numbering in their thousands , many of whom were from Oldham , attacked a cotton mill in nearby Middleton . On 16 August 1819 , Oldham sent a contingent estimated at well above 10 @,@ 000 to hear speakers in St Peter 's Fields at Manchester discuss political reform ; it was the largest contingent sent to Manchester . John Lees , a cotton operative and ex @-@ soldier who had fought at Waterloo , was one of the fifteen victims of the Peterloo Massacre which followed . The ' Oldham inquest ' which proceeded the massacre was anxiously watched ; the Court of King 's Bench , however , decided that the proceedings were irregular , and the jury were discharged without giving a verdict . 
