Heywood serves as a town as well as unparished area within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, within Greater Manchester, England.[1] In the past part of Lancashire, at the 2001 census it had a population of 28,024.[2] The town sits 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 is located to the south, while to the north is the Cheesden Valley, open moorland, plus the Pennines. Heywood's nickname is Monkey Town, a reputation proven to date as far back as 1857.