Milnrow Town Hall

Last updated

Milnrow Town Hall
Milnrow Town Hall and library.jpg
The town hall and library in 2024
LocationNewhey Road, Milnrow
Coordinates 53°36′22″N2°06′18″W / 53.6061°N 2.1049°W / 53.6061; -2.1049
Built1889
Architectural style(s) Gothic Revival style
Greater Manchester UK location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Greater Manchester

Milnrow Town Hall, formerly known as Milnrow Council Offices (and originally the Local Board Offices), is a former municipal building in Newhey Road, Milnrow, a town in Greater Manchester in England. Built together with an attached fire station, it opened in 1889 and forms a group with the neighbouring former police station (1886) and Milnrow's Carnegie Library (1907). [1] The building, which for decades served as the offices and meeting place of Milnrow Urban District Council, is currently vacant.

History

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the number of cotton mills in the area, a local board of health was established in Milnrow in 1870. [2] The local board decided to commission dedicated offices in which to hold its meetings. The site they selected was open land on the northeast side of Newhey Road. [3] The Milnrow School, established in 1726 (where 'Tim Bobbin' famously taught), formerly stood on the site. [4]

Construction work on the offices started in 1885. The building was designed in the Gothic Revival style, built in sandstone and was completed in 1889. [5] The design had an asymmetrical main frontage facing onto Newhey Road, with a central clock tower flanked by the fire station to the left and the town hall to the right. The single-bay clock tower featured a small window on the ground floor with an architrave above, a large mullioned and transomed window on the first floor, surmounted by an entablature inscribed with the words "Milnrow Local Board of Health", a date stone with the date "1889" and a gable above. There was originally a wooden clock turret, with a belfry, a spire and a weather vane, behind the gable; the hour-striking clock was by J. B. Joyce & Co. [6] The town hall to the right was of three bays: in the centre was an arched entrance (with an archivolt, a hood mould and a keystone) on the ground floor, and an oriel window flanked by pinnacles on the first floor, all surmounted by a gable, while the other two bays were fenestrated by mullioned and transomed windows on both floors; the roof was topped with a flèche. [1] The fire station to the left was also of three bays with a central gable, but lower in height and with less ornamentation than the town hall. [7]

In 1894, the board was succeeded by Milnrow Urban District Council, which maintained its headquarters in the building which became known as the town hall. [2] A Carnegie library was added, set back between the town hall and the police station, to a design by Butterworth and Duncan, in 1908. The library included a lecture room on the first floor, which doubled as the council chamber. [8] The original clock turret was dismantled and replaced by a taller stone tower of much plainer design, probably in the late 1930s. [1]

The building continued to serve as the meeting place of the district council for much of the 20th century, [9] but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Rochdale Borough Council was formed in 1974. [10] The building briefly served as the health department of the new council. However, in 1979, the health department moved to new offices in central Rochdale. [11]

In 2002, the building was sold to Milnrow Properties Limited, [12] who were granted planning permission 'to convert the building into four new apartments while retaining its character'. [13] In 2005, plans were put forward to demolish the building and construct two apartment blocks, but these proposals were abandoned in the face of local opposition. [14] [15] Subsequently they allowed the building to fall into a state of disrepair. [13]

The adjacent library was grade II listed in 2012. [8] A lobby organisation entitled "The Friends of Milnrow Clock Tower and Library Group" was launched in 2014, with the aim of restoring public access to the former council chamber, and returning the town hall clock tower to working order. [5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Local Board Offices and Fire Station, Neyhey Road, Milnrow". Architects of Greater Manchester 1800–1940. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 Farrer, William; Brownbill, J. (1911). A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5. London: Victoria County History. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  3. ↑ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1850. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  4. ↑ Fishwick, Lieut.-Colonel Henry, ed. (1894). The Works of John Collier (Tim Bobbin). Rochdale: James Clegg. p. 7. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Friends of Milnrow Clock Tower and Library Group launched". Rochdale Online. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  6. ↑ Pickford, Chris (1995). Turret Clocks: Lists of clocks from makers' catalogues and publicity materials (2nd ed.). Wadhurst, E. Sussex: Antiquarian Horological Society. p. 127.
  7. ↑ "Milnrow old fire station". Firestations.org.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  8. 1 2 Historic England. "Milnrow Carnegie Library and forecourt wall (1410713)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  9. ↑ "No. 45623". The London Gazette . 16 March 1972. p. 3310.
  10. ↑ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN   0-10-547072-4.
  11. ↑ "Moving up in the world generated only towering hate". Manchester Evening News. 18 April 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  12. ↑ "Possible refurbishment of Milnrow Clock" (PDF). Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  13. 1 2 "Old clock tower building 'safe'". Manchester Evening News. 12 January 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  14. ↑ "Milnrow and Newhey news in brief". Manchester Evening News. 24 April 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  15. ↑ "Milnrow and Newhey news in brief". Manchester Evening News. 13 August 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.