Inside Rochdale Town Hall's new council chamber
A section of Rochdale Town Hall closed off for years will soon reopen. The council chamber was shut down - along with the rest of the Grade-I listed building - back in 2021 as a major restoration project got underway.
In March last year, the historic building reopened to the public. The completion of the chamber is the final piece of the puzzle.
After the grand town hall opening in 2024, work got under way on the council chamber and adjoining room, which once served as office space and will now be used as the mayor's parlour.
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The chamber is an ode to the town's rich history, with ceiling panels sporting the borough's coats of arms, hanging fleeces, flora and fauna and other insignia cleaned and restored by experts from Lancashire Conservation Studios.
The council chamber previously served as Rochdale's Magistrates' Court for more than a century following the opening of the town hall in 1871.
Its stained glass windows depict famous legal figures and defenders of civil rights, including John Pym, who spoke against King Charles I and played a major role in the formation of what would become the modern English parliamentary system.
Frescoes along the walls, which had faded away and suffered water damage, have been painstakingly repainted by hand by a team of experts. Additionally, an old featureless carpet has been replaced by one which depicts cotton plants, in a nod to the borough's major role in the global cotton trade.
Beautiful mahogany thrones which depict angels, knight's helmets and lions have been repaired and cleaned using cotton buds and tiny paint brushes and reinstated into the space.
Council leader, Neil Emmott, said: 'The town hall is a historic asset and one of our borough's most precious buildings. It's vital that it is protected and cared for, so that this important piece of our collective history is not lost to time and decay and can be preserved for future generations.
'I'm delighted that this space has been so lovingly brought back to life and the attention to detail has ensured that it looks very similar to how it would have looked when the town hall first opened more than a century ago. It's a masterclass in craftsmanship and skill and I can't wait for people to see it.'
During the restoration, volunteers discovered that the walls had been covered in a leather material which had pomegranates etched in before it was painted over years ago.
The team commissioned a heritage wallpaper company to create a lincrusta wallpaper for the space which featured pomegranates before specialists on site painted it in the original town hall colour palette of red, green and gold.
Smithybridge resident Andrew Hill, who was one of the project volunteers, said: 'I lost my job and was at an incredibly low ebb when I saw an advert for a conservation training programme being run as part of the restoration project. I started in January 2024 and have been volunteering here ever since.
'I've cleaned minton tiles, restored antique furniture and helped to design the bespoke wallpaper in the mayor's parlour. It's been life changing for me because my self esteem was at an all time low after losing my job.
'I've really enjoyed being with lovely people and doing something so positive. I love walking past something I've cleaned and seeing how much better it looks.'
A complementary, lottery supported project to redevelop the Broadfield Slopes behind Rochdale Town Hall into a public park and recreation area is due to get under way in April.
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