Issue 38 Summer web 23 - Flipbook - Page 35
Rochdale Town Hall
Rochdale Town Hall was designed by the architect William Crossland who won a competition
held by the town council in 1864. Taking 7 years to build, running significantly over budget and
opening in 1871 it has been a much admired public building ever since and is Grade 1 listed.
The building was required to fulfil several civic functions,
town council meeting rooms, a base for the Mayor, an
exchange for wool trading, a police station and cells, a
residence for the police commander and a fire station for
the town. Crossland treated each of these functions
very differently and the massing of the building, with 42
separate roofs, clearly articulates the individual uses. The
original clock tower by Crossland was a mighty 73 meters
high but burned down in 1883 and was replaced by the
one you see now which was designed by Waterhouse.
Although built during the high gothic period Crossland
created a unique set of spaces with craftsmen who were
as much part of the emerging Arts and Crafts movement
as they were masters of neo gothic form. The building has
a series of wonderfully carved stone interiors such as the
Exchange and Grand Staircase and a series of smaller
more intimate rooms where the plaster is painted with
flora and fauna including a beautiful gold leaf bird motif.
Crossland made great use of timber, with many rooms
panelled at lower level and with highly decorative timber
ceilings, most of which were also painted in a style that is
almost naïve in places. It is Crossland’s use of stained glass
that probably makes him and the building so well known.
The grand staircase has 9 magnificent full height stained
glass windows displaying Rochdale’s trading links with the
world and which, with the stone vaulted ceilings, create
an exhilarating feeling of a cathedral. The Great Hall
has a series of 11 large windows depicting the crowned
monarchs of Great Britain with Victoria and Albert’s
portrait forming the centre piece of 2 rose windows at
either end. The portrait of Oliver Cromwell has long been
commented on and is sometimes seen as symbolic of
Rochdale’s radical politics.
The centre-piece of the building is the Great Hall, a single
space 20m high, with 16 hammer beam trusses, 330
decorative ceiling panels, and 16 large angels holding the
lights. At one end the Magna Carta mural by Henry
Holiday and at the other end the much admired Binns
organ. It is difficult to either describe or photograph this
space and do it justice. The intensity of the decoration of
almost every surface, the amount of gold used, the deep
colours of stained glass all come together to create what
must be one of the most visually exciting spaces in the
country.
Below, drone shot of Rochdale Town Hall
