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Rochdale Town Hall is located in Town Hall Square to the south of The Esplanade and the River Roch. It is regarded as being one of the finest Victorian town halls in Britain, described by art critic Nikolaus Pevsner as possessing a "rare picturesque beauty". It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building (List Entry Number: 1084275 Link Heritage Gateway). It is claimed that Adolf Hitler admired the architecture so much that he planned to ship the building, brick-by-brick, to Germany after the War. Whatever the truth in this, Rochdale seems to have been broadly avoided by German bombers during the Second World War (Link BBC Manchester).

With an initial budget of £20,000 to spend on its construction, the town council advertised a competition in 1864 to design a new Town Hall. The winning design, selected from 27 entries, was by William Henry Crossland. The foundation stone was laid on 31 March 1866 by Rochdale-born statesman John Bright Link and the building was completed at a total cost of £160,000 (equivalent to more than £12.6M in 21st century value) by 1871. This increase of expenditure was heavily criticised by the public but the end result, Built in the Gothic Revival style with its 240-foot high tower and features including the Grand Staircase, the magnificent Great Hall, frescos, stained glass, statuary, ceramics and paintings all adding to its grandeur, prompted celebrations of civic pride (Link Rochdale online). A fire in 1883 destroyed the original wooden clock tower which was replaced by the stone spire which is 50 feet shorter.

Although the majority of local government functions take place in Rochdale's Municipal Offices building, Rochdale Town Hall continues to be used for cultural and ceremonial functions. For instance it is used for the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale's mayoralty, civil registry, and for formal naturalisation in British Citizenship ceremonies. Many of its rooms can also be hired for It is also used for functions and it is a popular location for weddings, television filming, conferences, meetings and corporate events.

More information:
Link Wikipedia
Link Rochdale Past
Link Rochdale On-line

Created: Tue, 21 Feb 2017, Updated: Tue, 21 Feb 2017