Heywood (pop. 28,000) is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Roch and is 2.4 miles (3.9 km) east of Bury, 3.7 miles (6.0 km) west-southwest of Rochdale, and 7.4 miles (11.9 km) north of the city of Manchester. The town of Middleton lies to the south, whilst to the north is the Cheesden Valley, open moorland, and the Pennines. Heywood's nickname is Monkey Town, a name with unclear origin, but known to date as far back as 1857. Historically a part of Lancashire, Heywood as a settlement is believed to date from Early Medieval England, when the Anglo-Saxons cleared the densely wooded area, and divided it into heys or fenced clearings. During the Middle Ages, Heywood formed a chapelry in the township of Heap. This chapelry was centred on Heywood Hall, a manor house owned by a family with the surname Heywood. Farming was the main industry of this sparsely populated rural area, which in the 15th century "consisted of a few cottages".