| Royton Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 Royton Town Hall | |
| Location | Rochdale Road, Royton |
| Coordinates | 53°33′59″N2°07′20″W / 53.5663°N 2.1223°W Coordinates: 53°33′59″N2°07′20″W / 53.5663°N 2.1223°W |
| Built | 1880 |
| Architectural style(s) | Victorian style |
  Shown in Greater Manchester | |
Royton Town Hall is a municipal building in Rochdale Road, Royton, Greater Manchester, England. The town hall was the headquarters of Royton Urban District Council.
After population growth associated with the increasing number of cotton mills in the town, the local board of health, which had been formed in 1863, decided to procure municipal offices for the area: the site they selected on Rochdale Road had previously formed part of Royton Hall Park. [1] [2]
The new building, which was designed in the Victorian style, was built in red brick with stone dressings at a cost of £7,000 and was officially opened by the first chairman of local board of health, James Ashworth, in September 1880. [3] [4] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto Rochdale Road; the central bay, which was built of stone and slightly projected forward, featured a round headed doorway on the ground floor flanked by pilasters supporting an entablature bearing the town's coat of arms; there was an eight-light window on the first floor and a pediment above with a clock tower at roof level. The other bays contained mullion windows on the ground floor and round headed windows on the first floor. The clock, which was designed and manufactured by Gillett and Bland, [5] and the bell were a gift from Dr and Mrs John Kershaw, [6] who also financed the local cottage hospital. [7] [8]
The clock tower was inscribed on three sides with Latin mottos: "Tempus Fugit" (time flies), "Sic Labitur Aetas" (so the years pass by) and "Finem Respice" (have regards to the end). The clock face on the east side, which faced Shaw and Crompton, was designed so as to be much smaller than the ones on the other three sides. When the Church of Holy Trinity at Shaw was constructed in 1869, it had no clock on the western facade of its clock tower, which faced Royton. According to the Royton Local History Society, a local story emerged that the reduced clock face size on the town hall was retaliation against the design of the church at Shaw. [9]
On 26 November 1884, a gangmaster, who was protesting at those provisions of the Factory Acts that prohibited children under 10 years old from working in mills, [10] placed a gunpowder-based explosive device in a cellar underneath the town hall. [11] The device detonated and, although there were no casualties, windows and doors were blown off. [12] The building became the headquarters of Royton Urban District Council when it was formed in 1894. [13]
The building continued to serve as a meeting place for Royton Urban District Council for much of the 20th century but ceased to be the local seat of government after the enlarged Oldham Council was formed in 1974. [14] Since then, apart from some space used by the council's local district team and some space leased out to Greater Manchester Police, the building has been empty and deteriorating. [15] In September 2017, Oldham Council announced plans to refurbish the town hall: the proposed works involved moving the library from an adjacent building into the ground floor of the town hall. [16] Then, in January 2020, council sought bidders for the contract, which was estimated to be worth £2.4 million, to carry out the works. [17]
Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast of Rochdale and 7 miles (11.3 km) northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, which had a population of 237,110 in 2019.
Chadderton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk and Rochdale Canal. It is located in the foothills of the Pennines, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Oldham, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of Rochdale and 6 miles (9.7 km) north-east of Manchester.
Manchester Town Hall is a Victorian, Neo-gothic municipal building in Manchester, England. It is the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses a number of local government departments. The building faces Albert Square to the north and St Peter's Square to the south, with Manchester Cenotaph facing its southern entrance.
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Rochdale is a town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, 5.3 miles (8.5 km) northwest of Oldham and 9.8 miles (15.8 km) northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, which had a population of 211,699 in the 2011 census.
The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Oldham, The borough had a population of 237,628 making it the seventh-largest district by population in Greater Manchester. The borough spans 55 square miles (142 km2).
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Royton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 21,284 in 2011. Close to the source of the River Irk, near undulating land at the foothills of the South Pennines, it is 1.7 miles (2.7 km) northwest of Oldham, 3.2 miles (5.1 km) southeast of Rochdale and 7.6 miles (12.2 km) northeast of Manchester.
The Oldham Loop Line was a suburban-line in Greater Manchester, England, used by trains that ran from Manchester Victoria to Rochdale via Oldham Mumps. Services on the line at the time of its closure were operated by Northern Rail.
Shaw and Crompton is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which contains the town of Shaw and lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines. It is located 2.3 miles (3.7 km) north of Oldham, 3.6 miles (5.8 km) south-east of Rochdale and 8.7 miles (14 km) north-east of Manchester.
The Stotts were a family of architects from Oldham, North West England, of Scottish descent who specialised in the design of cotton mills. James Stott was the father, Joseph and his elder brother Abraham Stott had rival practices, and in later years did not communicate. Their children continue their practices.
Central Park is a tram stop on the Oldham and Rochdale Line (ORL) of Greater Manchester's light rail Metrolink system. It opened to passengers on 13 June 2012 as part of Phase 3a of Metrolink's expansion, and is located in the Newton Heath area of Manchester, England.
Trent Mill was a cotton spinning mill on Duchess Street in Shaw and Crompton, Greater Manchester, England. It was built by F.W. Dixon & Son in 1908. It closed and was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1929 reopened in 1938 and closed again in 1962, and was demolished in 1967.
Rutland Mill was a cotton spinning mill on Linney Lane, in Shaw and Crompton, Greater Manchester, England. It was built by F. W. Dixon & Son in 1907 for the Rutland Mill Co. Ltd. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1935. By 1964, it was in the Courtaulds Group. In the late 1980s, as Courtaulds moved operations to other parts of the world, the mill was bought by Littlewoods who demolished it and replaced it with a new automated storage warehouse.
Hawk Mill, Shaw was a cotton spinning mill in Shaw, Oldham, Greater Manchester. It was built in 1908. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1931 and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. The mill closed in 1967, and was demolished in 1991.
Dawn Mill, Shaw was a cotton spinning mill in Shaw and Crompton, Oldham, Greater Manchester. It was built on the site of Shaw Mill at the "dawn" of the 20th century. Dawn Mill was equipped with mule weft spindles in 1950. It was powered by Engines named Venus and Mars, 1800 hp twin tandem compound engine by George Saxon of Manchester. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. It was sold again and used by distribution company DTS Logistics for storing and distributing clothing. It was demolished in 2006 to make way for an Asda supermarket.
Royton Ring Mill was a cotton mill in Royton, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in 1908 and extended in 1912. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1935 and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. Production finished in 1966. It was extended again in 1969 and used for other purposes. It has now been demolished, the street has been renamed and houses replace it.
Elm Mill, was a four-storey cotton spinning mill in Shaw and Crompton, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in 1890 for the Elm Spinning Company Ltd., and was called Elm Mill until it closed in 1928. It was revived by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1929 and called Newby Mill. LCC and all their assets passed to Courtaulds in 1964. Production at Newby finished in 1970, and it was used for warehousing. Subsequently, named Shaw No 3 Mill, it became part of Littlewood's Shaw National Distribution Centre. It was demolished to make way for housing in 2022.
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