What's in a name?

The name Shaw is comes from the Old English word sceaga, meaning "wood". 
The name Crompton is also of Old English derivation, from the words crom or crumb, meaning "bent" or "crooked", and ton, for "hamlet or village". 
The dual name of both Shaw and Crompton has been said to make the town "distinctive, if not unique",while preference of Shaw over Crompton and vice versa has been a minor local controversy and point of confusion.
Today, the single name of Shaw seems to have won preference in the locality.
Shaw was originally a sub-district of Crompton and got this name because of a small church sited there dating back to the 16th century.
In 1872, Shaw was noted as one of three villages in Crompton.However, due to Shaw's urbanisation following the construction of a major road from Werneth to Littleborough, and the establishment of a post office sub-district named and situated in Shaw, it came to dominate Crompton. 
The names merged to form the present day Shaw and Crompton, which boundary markers have used since at least the 1950s.