Middleton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk. It is 5 miles southwest of Roc…Middleton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk. It is 5 miles southwest of Rochdale and 5 miles northeast of Manchester. Middleton had a population of 42,972 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the northern edge of Manchester, with Blackley to the south and Moston to the south east.