First look inside iconic Greater Manchester landmark compared to Palace of Westminster ahead of reopening

A prized historic asset and iconic part of Rochdale’s skyline has been brought back to its former glory.

Rochdale Town Hall has stood in the heart of the town since 1871 but has been closed off to the public for the last few years to undergo vital restoration work. A cash injection of £8.9m from The National Lottery Heritage Fund allowed work on the multi-million pound project to commence in 2020.

Now, after thousands of hours of work from construction workers, curators and hundreds of volunteers – historic features have been restored and huge community spaces have been revitalised.

Once the venue opens again on March 3, big events such as weddings and parties can be held at the town hall once more. Even new discoveries have been made during the project – estimated to be worth just over £20m. 

During the archaeological dig various 19th century artefacts have been found and even within the hall itself previously unknown ancient features were discovered. The exchange and grand staircase, the Bright Hall, the Great Hall, the new welcome gallery as well as historic rooms such as the mayor’s parlour have all been given titivation and restored back to how they would have looked in the 1800s. 

“The modernisation that went on meant that a lot of the stuff in here was hidden, for example the beams,” Coun Janet Emsley, cabinet member for equity, safety and reform at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “Not only was it not in view, but the town hall was not as accessible to the public. 

“It is not about opening up the sights, but the building itself. We’ve got tour guides and volunteers that are trained up and ready to go. The businesses in the area have been hit hard with Covid and the cost of living crisis. They will get more from what is happening here as it is all part of our strategy. The first time I came into the town hall again I cried because it was so beautiful. It makes me proud that we’ve got it before it got into a serious state of decline.”

Council leader Neil Emmott, describing the town hall as Rochdale’s answer to the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba in Spain, added: “It is absolutely fantastic. This building is iconic for Rochdale. In my humble opinion, this is one of the finest examples of Victorian gothic revival architecture in Britain, you’d be hard pressed to find anything better. The things these wonderful volunteers have found when doing this, they’ve come across things you would not have expected.

“They found a beautiful set of murals that were behind some plywood at one stage. Modernisation took away some of the Victorian features. Places in here that were dirty have come out in their full glory.”

The town hall is going to take centre stage for festivals and events in the area once it reopens. The Christmas lights switch on and the Festival of Ideas is expected to heavily feature the newly refurbished town hall.  In addition to restoring many of the building’s historic spaces, the project will enable the town hall, which was previously primarily a council building, to operate as a tourist attraction for the first time in its 153-year history.

One volunteer, who worked on restoring the angels in the Great Hall as part of her hundreds of hours of work – believes it was worth every painstaking hour she contributed.  Alison Iveson, who lives in the area, said she was drawn to help after falling in love with the building when attending an event earlier in her life and wanted to get involved. 

“I am one of the many volunteers who have put in hundreds, if not thousands of hours on this project alongside the curators,” Alison said. “I have done several different projects including research, documentation, the archaeological dig and then the restoration work.

“I was able to go up the scaffolding to help restore the wooden angels. There was so much dirt and dust as well as two layers of varnish that we had to take off. It was always a stunning building but to see it like this now, I walk in and say ‘wow’ – it takes your breath away.

“When I first walked through the door my jaw hit the floor, and it hasn’t come back up again since. There are only two other buildings comparable to this, one is Manchester Town Hall and the other is the Palace of Westminster. To have that here in Rochdale and be given the money to refurbish it is incredible.”

Alison, who claimed never to have missed an episode of Time Team, said her best find during the archaeological dig was some blue and white china from the Victorian era. When restoring one of the angels in the great hall, the retired teacher spent an entire morning cleaning up one individual crown – showcasing the level of detail this project went into. She will start working in the town hall once it reopens in a few weeks time. 

Helen Featherstone, Director of England North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “This is obviously a building project but it’s not just that, it’s an investment into the community. It has benefits for local supply chains and the community in terms of accessibility and the activities they can engage in.

“We know that heritage achieves better pride in communities and helps people connect with the past and make sense of the world around them today. It also preserves this for future generations. This project is really significant as it is a Grade-I listed building and played a central role in the Cooperative movement. It has some amazing heritage features such as the best stained glass windows in the country. It was a heritage building at risk. It was in accelerating decline and if it hadn’t been restored some of these heritage features could have been lost.”