| Rawtenstall Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2008 | |
| Location | Bacup Road, Rawtenstall |
| Coordinates | 53°42′03″N2°17′05″W / 53.7009°N 2.2847°W |
| Built | 1876 |
| Architectural style(s) | Italianate style |
  Shown in Lancashire | |
Rawtenstall Town Hall is a municipal building in Bacup Road, Rawtenstall, a town in Lancashire in England. The building, which served as the offices and meeting place of Rawtenstall Borough Council and has been converted for commercial use, is a locally listed building. [1]
The building was commissioned by a group of local businessmen as a stock exchange. The site they selected was open land on the north side of Bacup Road. [2] The new building was designed in the Italianate style, built in rubble masonry and was completed in 1876. The original design involved an asymmetric main frontage of four bays facing onto Bacup Road. The left-hand bay featured a round headed doorway with an archivolt and a hood mould. The other bays on the ground floor were fenestrated by pairs of square headed windows, while the bays on the first floor were fenestrated by pairs of square headed windows surmounted by round headed hood moulds containing roundels and other carvings. There was a row of dormer windows at attic level. [3]
The building was acquired by Rawtenstall local board of health in 1889, [4] and, after Rawtenstall was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1891, [5] the new council adopted the building as its town hall. In 1910, after the responsibilities of the council had been expanded, the building was extended by an extra three bays to the left in the same style, giving it symmetry and connecting it to the headquarters of the municipal tramway. [3] A further extension, at the rear of the complex, was completed in 1964. [6]
The town hall was the venue for Rhodes Boyson's interview to become a teacher at Lea Bank Secondary Modern School at nearby Cloughfold in 1950. Boyson got the job and ultimately went on to become Minister of State for Local Government in Margaret Thatcher's government. [7] Thatcher briefly visited the town hall herself and met the mayor in August 1979. [8]
The town hall continued to serve as the headquarters of the borough council for much of the 20th century, [9] but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Rossendale Borough Council was formed in 1974. [10] However, the council continued to use the building for the delivery of some services until 2012. [11]
In May 2015, a proposal was put forward to demolish the building, [12] [13] but ultimately, in the face of local opposition, only the 1964 extension and the municipal tramway offices were demolished, and, instead, a major programme of works to restore the town hall was implemented. [14] The works were commissioned by the RTB partnership, a joint venture between Rossendale Council, Barnfield Investment Properties and Together Housing, and were completed in February 2019. [15] Together Housing moved into the building, but, in the light of post-pandemic working practices, vacated the building again in October 2021. [16] In June 2023, the council announced plans for a skills centre in the building. [17]
Bacup is a town in the Rossendale Borough in Lancashire, England, in the South Pennines close to Lancashire's boundaries with West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. The town is in the Rossendale Valley and the upper Irwell Valley, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Rawtenstall, 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Rochdale, and 7 miles (11 km) south of Burnley. At the 2011 Census, Bacup had a population of 13,323.
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Bacup and its largest town is Rawtenstall. It also includes the towns of Haslingden and Whitworth. The borough is named after the Rossendale Valley, the upper part of the River Irwell.
Hyndburn is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington, the largest town, and the borough also covers the outlying towns of Clayton-le-Moors, Great Harwood, Oswaldtwistle and Rishton. The borough was created in 1974 and takes its name from the River Hyndburn. It had a population of 80,734 at the 2011 Census. Elections to the council are held in three out of every four years, with one third of the 35 seats on the council being elected at each election. Both the Conservative and Labour parties have controlled the council at different times, as well as periods when no party has had a majority.
Haslingden is a town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is 16 miles (26 km) north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels' or 'valley growing with hazels'. At the time of the 2011 census the town had a population of 15,969. The town is surrounded by high moorland; 370 m (1215 ft) to the north; 396 m (1300 ft) Cribden to the east; 418 m (1372 ft) Bull Hill to the south.
The Rossendale Valley is in the Rossendale area of Lancashire, England, between the West Pennine Moors and the main range of the Pennines. The area includes the steep-sided valleys of the River Irwell and its tributaries, which flow southwards into Greater Manchester. The rivers cut through the moorland of the Rossendale Hills, generally characterized by open unwooded land, despite the ancient designation of "forest".
Rawtenstall is a town in the borough of Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The town lies 15 miles north of Manchester, 22 miles east of Preston and 45 miles south east of Lancaster. The town is at the centre of the Rossendale Valley. It had a population of 23,000.
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School (BRGS) is a selective co-educational academy grammar school in Waterfoot, Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The school is named after the two main towns either side of Waterfoot, Bacup and Rawtenstall.
Waterfoot is a historic mill town and civil parish in the Borough of Rossendale between Rawtenstall and Bacup in Lancashire, England. The B6238 road from Burnley meets the A681 road, and Whitewell Brook the River Irwell.
Rosso (Rossendale Transport Limited) is a bus operator providing local services in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
Newchurch is a village within the borough of Rossendale in Lancashire, England. It is around one mile east of Rawtenstall and half a mile north of Waterfoot.
Haslingden High School is a secondary school located in Haslingden, Rossendale, England. The school receives children from many local primary schools, one of the largest being Haslingden Primary School.
Stacksteads is a village between the towns of Bacup and Waterfoot within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England. The population of this Rossendale ward at the 2011 census was 3,789. Stacksteads includes a mountain bike trail called Lee Quarry which had originally been a working quarry.
Broadclough – historically Broad Clough – is a village located to the north of Bacup, previously having been a part of the old borough of Bacup and now with Rossendale borough of Lancashire and part of the Greenclough Ward. It is part of the Rossendale and Darwen constituency, with Jake Berry having been the Member of Parliament since 2010. Like much of Bacup, Broadclough is rapidly becoming a commuter area for cities and towns such as Manchester, Burnley, Accrington, Preston, Blackburn, Rochdale.
Rawtenstall Library is a Carnegie Library located in the town of Rawtenstall, Lancashire.
Lytham St Annes Town Hall is a municipal building on the South Promenade in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England. The structure, which is used as the headquarters of Fylde Borough Council, is a locally listed building.
Hindley Town Hall, also known as Hindley Council Offices, is a municipal building in Cross Street, Hindley, Greater Manchester, England. The building is currently used by Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council for the delivery of local health and social care services.
Prescot Town Hall is a municipal building in Warrington Road, Prescot, a town in Merseyside, England. The building is currently used as the offices and meeting place of Prescot Town Council.
Ashton-in-Makerfield Town Hall, formerly Ashton-in-Makerfield Urban District Council Offices, was a municipal building in Bryn Street, Ashton-in-Makerfield, a town in Greater Manchester, England. The building, which served as the offices and meeting place of Ashton-in-Makerfield Urban District Council, was demolished in 2017.
Kearsley Town Hall was a municipal building on Bolton Road in Kearsley, a town in Greater Manchester, in England. The building, which was the headquarters of Kearsley Urban District Council, was demolished in 2013.
Stubbylee Hall, formerly known as Bacup Town Hall, is a former municipal building in Stubbylee Lane in Bacup, a town in Lancashire in England. The building, which served as the offices and meeting place of Bacup Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.