Chapter VIII Towards the Centenary of the Borough

Chapter Eight TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 CLERK AND CORPORATION . HE history of the Town Clerk's Department is, in epitome, a history of the Corporation itself, for "the essential duty of a Town Clerk is that of ` Clerk ' to the Council and each of its T committees, and he is, therefore, responsible for calling, preparing the agenda for, and minuting the proceedings of the Council and its committees, and conducting the correspondence arising from such meetings." In 1906 there were 44 members of the Council and II standing committees, namely : Watch ; Paving, Sewering, Scavenging and Building ; Baths, Parks and Cemetery ; Waterworks ; Gas and Electricity ; Health ; Public Library, Art Gallery and Museum ; Finance ; Tramways ; Edu- cation, and, lastly, the General Purposes Committee, which, amongst its other varied functions, acts as the Town Clerk's consultative committee in all cases of emergency, and transacts such business of the Council as cannot be conveniently postponed until the next Council Meeting. During 1933, with the inclusion of Norden and Bamford, the Borough was extended to an area of 9,533 acres, compared with 6,665 in 1906, and the number of Councillors was increased to 48 . For purposes of comparison, the population of the Borough in 1953-4 was 86,350, compared with 87,189 in 1906-7 . The rateable value of the Borough increased from £393,000 to £572,483 within the same period (and under the 1956 re-valuation now stands at £942,442) . TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 . 143 Such developments as the nationalisation of the gas and electricity industries and the introduction of new social services have led to changes amongst the committees of the Council, of which there are now 17 standing committees, named as follows : Watch ; Markets ; Passenger Transport ; Waterworks ; Highways and Buildings ; Housing ; Cleansing ; Health ; Welfare Services ; Baths, Parks and Cemetery ; Public Libraries, Art Gallery and Museum ; Education ; Children's ; Finance ; Establishment ; Entertainments : General Purposes . Today, there is scarcely an aspect of the town which has not been affected by one or other of the Corporation Departments during the past fifty years ; for example, the Borough Surveyor's Department has literally changed the face of the town by providing new buildings, public schools and housing estates, by surfacing and widening roads, laying out parks and gardens, etc . ; the Health Department keeps a watchful eye on almost every phase of physical and mental human activity, and, together with the Surveyor's Department, is interested in the condition of every house within the Borough, including cinemas, factories and shops . It may not he generally known that the Corporation now owns over one-fifth of the area of the Borough . It is obvious that the development of the various departments has resulted in greater work in the Town Clerk's office, which acts as a co-ordinating centre for all committees and departments . As Secretary to the Council, the Town Clerk, or one of his staff, must attend the meetings of some 75 committees or sub-committees (not to mention sub-sub-committees), amounting to 70 meetings each month ; he is at hand to advise the Mayor and the Chairmen of Committees ; he interprets the Standing Orders of the Council and advises the Council on its powers and duties, particularly as regards new legislation . The number and complexity of statutes affecting local government functions have, over the past fifty years, been very great . Taking housing and town planning as one example, the Town Clerk deals with such Orders as those which concern compulsory purchase (re the acquisition of land ; demo- lition or closing (re unfit houses) ; clearance (re slums or derelict houses) ; also with public enquiries which may arise from such Orders. During the last half century, the Corporation itself has promoted eight Acts (some of which have as many as one or two hundred sections) in order to deal with various and often numerous problems for which no adequate remedy exists under the public general statutes . The eight local Acts are as follows : six Rochdale Corporation Acts of 1908, '25, '30, '32, '37 and '48 ; two Water Acts of 1923 and '30 (the first of which was obtained jointly with the Oldham Corporation) . Naturally enough (although it is not legally essential), it has been the practice in Rochdale, as in most large towns, to appoint a qualified solicitor as Town Clerk, with other solicitors amongst his staff, thus avoiding the need to employ outside solicitors to attend to the complicated work of litigations, prosecutions and the considerable amount of convey- ancing, which, as in the case of recent enquiries into Falinge Hill property, Aerial view Af Rochdale. Photo : Manchester Evening News .

146 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT K may involve deeds going back into the 18th century : this small amount of land at ° The Mount " (less than 5 acres), contained 12 plots in which, altogether, no less than 43 interests were concerned . Other main duties of the Town Clerk include responsibility for the Electoral Registers and for Municipal and Parliamentary Elections ; the supervision of municipal entertainments (such as concerts, bands in the Parks, etc.) ; the supervision of Civil Defence. The maintenance of an Information and Advice Bureau comes within his duties and he is also, in effect, a Public Relations Officer who ensures fair representation by the Press . Since the 1930 transference to the Corporation of the Poor Law duties, the Town Clerk has had a general overall responsibility for the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages . The Superintendent Regist- rar still carries out his work at the Townhead offices of the old Board of Guardians, where are kept records dating from 1837 onwards . , The Town Clerk's staff now numbers 20, compared with 7 in 1908 ; apart from the Clerk and his Deputy, the present staff includes two solicitors-and also a certain percentage of the duties of the Town Hall Keeper, who acts as attendant to the Mayor, of whom the Town Clerk is the secular adviser . This department, one of the smallest within the Corporation, is at the same time the most important . To quote Lord Snell (for many years Chairman of the London County Council) : " The position of the chief municipal officer-the Town Clerk-is one of first-class importance . It is not too much to say that the local administrative machine takes from him much of its tone and quality ." Rochdale has been fortunate in its choice of Town Clerks. W. H . Hickson, O.B.E., an outstanding official, remained at Rochdale for 31 years, from 1904, being succeeded in 1935 by Mr . Harry Bann. G. F. Simmonds, M .A., LL.B. (Cantab .) was appointed in 1945 and was succeeded by the present Town Clerk, K . B. Moore, LL .M ., in 1949 . Amongst the unpaid and voluntarily undertaken duties of Roch- dale's chief officials, is that of visiting large or small organisations in order to discuss or answer problems of Corporation administration . One of these informal discussions recently led to an exposition of the advantages of local government : properly administered, it can be an effective check to totalitarianism (for which a completely centralised government might be an easy tool) . It has the advantage of accessibility : councillors may freely be approached by any ratepayer . Local knowledge is also a great asset : councillors and officials know intimately the problems of their own district . Flexibility and economy are aided by the interworking of almost all departments : police and surveyor together study the effect of street lighting upon crime ; the Cleansing Department lends lorries to other departments : the staff of the Parks Department tend the grass verges of the housing estates and the playing fields of the schools . The ratepayer himself, vaguely conscious of satisfactory service, only takes an interest in municipal affairs when something goes slightly TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 . 147 wrong : in spite of one of the best water supplies in the country, a tinge of moorland peat will bring a storm of protest to the Waterworks Department and to the local press . At such times it is obvious that some, at least, of the County Borough's inhabitants, do realise that the Town Clerk and the 2,500 full-time employees of the Corporation are their servants ; that the ratepayers of Rochdale own the Corporation, and, through their elected Councillors rule the town . The work of their devoted servants is briefly outlined in the following pages, which have been based upon information and upon annual reports received from the Chief Officials of the Corporation . From such material emerges a detailed picture of almost every activity within the town . One hundred years after the Incorporation of the Borough, Rochdalians no longer die of cholera and typhoid ; the death-rate has shrunk from 23 .4 per thousand in 1856 to 13 .8 in 1954 . Sweet water is now piped from mountain reservoirs, instead of being carried in buckets from pumps or streams polluted by manure . Wide, well-lit and well- paved streets are cleansed at least weekly, sometimes two or three times a day . Children no longer walk over 20 miles a day within dark and dusty factories-no child leaves school before the age of 15 years . All over the Borough new housing estates have been built and the debris of the In- dustrial Revolution is being cleared . As for the centre of the town, Roch- dale's new son-in-law, the Right Honourable Herbert Morrison, C.H ., M .P., was only re-phrasing the words of many prominent visitors when in January, 1955, he said " the people of Rochdale should feel very proud of their Town Centre," an " excellent piece of town layout ." And again, • Rochdale . . . has dignity and a definite consciousness of itself ." " Its people," said Mr. Morrison, " are conscious of a corporate Rochdalian spirit, and that, too, is a great thing for civic patriotism and civic pride ." The 19th century historian of the Rochdale Co-operative Move- ment, George Jacob Holyoake, had already voiced the same thought : • the people are immensely before the town ." It is pleasant to think that a distinguished 20th century visitor should today so quickly recognise the character and spirit of Rochdale, a place which, after all, was picked out with only three others within the ancient Salford Hundred, and listed in the Domesday Book some nine hundred years ago . POLICE. In the early years of the century, the Rochdale Police were in charge of three services which have since been separated from their parent body : in 1921, four years after Henry Howarth was appointed as Chief Constable, in succession to Mr . Barry, the Weights and Measures Department was separated from the Borough Police : in 1941 the Fire Brigade was nationalised and, consequently, became detached from the Police Force ; in 1942 the Ambulance Service was transferred to the Health Department . One of the most noticeable single features affecting the Police Force since 1906 has been the development of motor traffic . In 1903

148 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT there were about 20 owner-driven motor cars within the Borough and the Watch Committee soon considered the question of limiting the speed of motor traffic to 10 miles an hour, but abandoned this idea when, according to an article written by the late Mr. W. D . Watson, members of the Roch- dale Motor Club pointed out that the local steam tram cars were already achieving a speed of 30 miles per hour. In 1915 the first motor-driven ambulance was purchased for the Police Force, although horse ambul- ances continued in use until the '20's . Increasing motor traffic led to Fleece Street being made the first One-Way street in Rochdale, during 1,926, in which year motor cycle combinations superseded the police horses. In 1933 the Force purchased its first Police Car, three years after the Road Traffic Act of 1930 had abolished a speed limit for cars, and two years before driving tests were inaugurated for new drivers . On the for- mation of a Police traffic department in 1937, the strength of the Borough Force was increased by 19 men, also the standardized Home Office uniform was adopted (except for head-gear) . Other innovations are as follows : in 1927 wireless equipment was installed on the Police Fire Engine (the Rochdale Police being the second Force in the country to be so equipped) : 1929 : 22 police telephone kiosks were installed ; 1946 : Rochdale's first Women Police were established, a quarter of a century after police-women had been officially recognised ; 1948 : a Communications Room and two-way wireless system were inaugurated ; 1949 : an Aliens,officer was appointed to deal with some 3,000 Displaced Persons (of whom the majority were Polish) ; 1952 : a Police Dog section was formed, Alsatians having now proved the most suitable breed of dogs for police work (Leonard Barry had experimented with Airedale police dogs early in the century) . The present Chief Constable, Major S . J. Harvey, formerly of the Metropolitan Police, was appointed in 1945 . At the end of 1955 the actual strength of the Force was 178 (including I Woman Police Sergeant and 5 Women Police Constables) . Since 1906, three new stations had been built, one at Mellor Street (1908), another at Balderstone (1951) and a third at Halifax Road (1954), not including the Traffic Department offices at Alfred Street. By 1955, 66 new brick houses had been built for the Police Force since the War. The day-to-day duties performed by the Police Force are mul- titudinous, and include traffic control, inspection of unattended houses, the issuing of certificates for fire-arms, supervision over the sales of dan- gerous drugs, together with training in First-Aid work and Civil Defence, but two of their greatest preoccupations are the prevention of crime and accidents-particularly those resulting in large numbers from road traffic . As regards crime, at the end of 1955 Major Harvey was able to say " It is pleasing to be able to report that there was a drop in recorded crime " : 870 cases classified as crimes . Property valued at £24,081 was stolen but, of this, goods to the value of £14,249 were recovered . House-holders and property-owners are advised to remember that the worst months were those of March, April and May . TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956. 149 Children under 17 years of age made up nearly a third of the persons dealt with for indictable, or serious offences . The number of such children (91) was 3 more than in 1954 . Six of these children were sent to approved schools, and 45 were placed on probation . The largest numbers of such juvenile delinquents were of children aged either 14 or 13 years : born during the years of the war. Close touch was kept with other Police Forces ; during the year, help was received from the Forensic Laboratory at Preston on 13 occasions ; one local Detective Constable was employed on work with fingerprints and photography, but " the beat man or patrol man on foot re- mains the basis of police work and, given proper supervision and the additional cover provided by wireless cars, we have a system which has proved itself sound and yet has the element of surprise which is so necessary ." The growth of " 999 " calls is almost fantastic : in 1948 there had been 112 ; seven years later there were 1,571 (apart from a further 597 calls which were passed on to the County Police) . As a result of quick information and prompt action, 64 arrests were made in 1955 . Amongst many other duties, the Women Police made 15 arrests . The Police Dogs were responsible for 9 arrests and it is known that their presence has caused intending criminals, including those armed with knuckle-dusters, to change their plans . Two facts stand out with regard to present-day accidents ; firstly that many are caused by people who board or step from moving buses, and secondly, that the main roads, where heavy traffic passed through busy shopping centres, have the worst accident records . In 1955, out of 749 accidents reported to the Police, 504 persons were injured as a result of road accidents, 14 of these persons being fatally injured. 135 accidents involving injury (fatal or otherwise) concerned omnibus passengers . The worst months for road accidents involving injury were April, October and December ; the worst thoroughfares were Manchester Road (particularly between Dunster Avenue and Law Street), and Oldham Road (particularly at the junctions with Kingsway and Crawford Street) . In Drake Street, the worst point was at Wet Rake Gardens. Out of 118 children injured, 17 were on their way to or from school. The Police and the Borough Surveyor work together in preventing " black spots " from developing at certain points within the Borough . There are now 12 sets of automatic traffic-lights within the Borough . As regards motorists, the forbearance and patience of the local policemen is emphasized by the fact that although proceedings were taken against 327 persons, 160 letters of caution were sent and 710 verbal cau- tions were given . In spite of the excellent work performed by all concerned with road safety, the number of accidents continues to rise. Many are caused by misjudgment, but the Chief Constable emphasizes that " 89% of personal injury accidents and 17% of the damage only accidents could have

151 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT

been avoided if someone or other had shown just a little more foresight, courtesy, or watchfulness ." In addition to routine duties, the Police are now giving talks to schools ; in 1955 the Police organised cycle tests in school playgrounds . The problem of increasing traffic and accidents is a national one ; in 1954 an officer of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents complimented the Borough on its comparatively low accident figures . These, however, continue to rise . Now more than ever, it would seem, Rochdalians would do well to remember the Union Street Chapel tombstone of James Leach,'composer and musician, who was killed in 1798 during a coach journey ; the inscription on his tombstone ends with the warning : " Reader! There_ is but a step between thee and Death ." Major Harvey has given an interesting summary of changes in Rochdale in the last fifty years . During this period, there have, for instance, been few serious or vicious crimes in the town, and indeed, it is greatly to the credit of the Rochdale Police that there has been no unsolved murder in the history of the Force. As regards statistics, it is not always easy to compare figures of half-a-century ago with those of today, due partly to the use of different methods of analysis and due, also, to changed conditions . In 1906 only

PAma' P . wor.orr. A Police Medal for Bravery, October, 1955 . TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 . 151 one motorist was summoned ; in 1955 sentences were pronounced concern- ning 481 motoring offences, and, in addition, 870 motorists were cautioned . Cases of drunkenness, perhaps, give the fairest comparison over the years : 297 persons, including 90 women, were proceeded against in 1906; in 1955 the toal was 118, of whom 6 were women . Also, " perhaps the most noticeable change in the life of the town is reflected in the number of charges for begging : 43 in 1906 ; none in 1955." Other examples, revealing historical and social changes, are as follows : gaming, 55 as against 3 ; prostitution, 51 against none ; cruelty to animals, 23 as against 2 . Police surveillance has greatly increased : in 1906 the Police made 541 visits to licensed premises : in 1955 this number had risen to 2,375 . Again, in 1906 the figure for houses specially attended at holiday times was only 164, compared with 2,083 in 1955. Training methods are vastly improved : " at one time a young policeman was sent out on his beat without any training whatsoever . He now undergoes a three months' course before doing any duty, and is a probationer for the first two years, during which time he attends a further course at a Regional Training School . He is also given tuition in all the departments of the Force." " Great strides have been made in scientific policework, particularly in fingerprints, photography, ultra violet and infra red light, blood stains, etc. There is rapid co-ordination with the surrounding County Constab- ulary, and mutual assistance is rendered which is not always made public, but which is much appreciated by both Forces. It is not generally known that on the recent occasion when shots were fired in a Whitworth street, three of the Borough Police cars were rapidly on the scene, picked officers of the County Constabulary, and helped in effecting an arrest ." Apart from, or perhaps partly due to improved training, efficiency and speed, " there has been a general improvement in public relations . The public have come to regard policemen as a help in time of trouble, and turn to them when in difficulty . These difficulties may be serious or even laughable, like the woman who went on holiday and thought she had left the kettle on, or the man who telephoned and asked the police to contact his neighbour as he had forgotten the address to which he was going on holiday and his neighbour could help him . Not everyone is aware of the innumerable acts of kindness which are performed by members of the Police Force throughout the year. Dozens of letters are received annually from grateful citizens." As to the future, apart from air traffic and enormous road traffic, " undoubtedly police work will be affected by progress in wireless tele- graphy and television . Science will play a greater part in the detection of offences, particularly in respect of blood grouning and identifications under spectroscopic light . Treatment of criminals will probably become more psychological, but with longer detentive periods for the incorrigibly anti-social. Criminals will become more highly mobile, but it is approach- ing the horrific when one wonders whether the police will have to deal with

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atomic criminals and whether, if inter-planetary travel becomes a fact, we will have criminal visitors therefrom ." In the meantime, nobody doubts the courage of today's policemen : during the past quarter of a century five medals have been awarded by the Watch Committee to members of the Police Force for outstanding acts of bravery-this more than maintains the high standard kept up during the whole history of the Force . In the last hundred years the Rochdale Police have had to tackle many problems, but they have not been found wanting . " Their aim is to be able to deal with any reasonable contingency " : their general kindliness and quiet confidence is not only reassuring but is much appreciated by townspeople who have themselves earned a reputation for level- headedness and straight dealing . FIRE. The Rochdale Fire Brigade was still under the control of the Police when, in 1934, the Fire Station was removed from the old premises in Alfred Street (off Smith Street) to the new and larger station in Maclure Road : a change which was made necessary by the gradual change-over from horse-drawn appliances to motor vehicles, and also because the strength of the Brigade had risen from 15 men in 1906 to 32 in 1934 . After the outbreak of the 2nd World War the Brigade was increased to 1,000 personnel, amongst whom were full-time and part-time Auxil- iaries ; equipment included some 60 pumping appliances, which, together with other vehicles, were housed in no less than 42 stations . In 1941 all Fire Services throughout the country were nationalised . After the War, stations were gradually closed down until in 1948 all the Rochdale personnel were again housed at Maclure Road, and were, once more, under the control of the Corporation, being engaged solely on Fire Brigade duties and consisting of 55 men and 5 female Control Room operatives . Fire-fighting equipment now included two pumps with 50-ft. fire-escapes; one 100-ft. turntable ladder, and various other appliances, one of which, a tender, carries 400 gallons of water . All personnel are well trained in modern fire-fighting methods and the great majority possess life-saving and first-aid certificates . It is interesting to compare the efficiency of a present-day Rochdale engine- driven pump, which can propel water at the rate of 1,000 gallons a minute, with a fire-pump in 1906, which could reach a maximum of 450 gallons per minute ; in 1874, the fire-pump jets depended on the uneven pressure in the water mains, and in the higher parts of the town the jets could not achieve a distance of more than 30 feet. Again, whereas in the early part of this century the average number of calls was about 40 each year, today there are over 500 calls annually . Recently added equipment includes three "Walkie-Talkie" sets to aid rapid communication ; helmets are made of plastic spun-glass ; foam (to combat flaming oil, etc.) is used, as well as water, for fires which vary from those in domestic households to TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 . 153

Firemen and the Theatre Royal, 24th November, 1954 . Photo : D. iVorrall. conflagrations in great factories manufacturing large quantities of cotton, wool or other highly combustible goods . In 1905 the Rochdale Corporation had not considered it " desirable to enter into arrangements with surrounding boroughs to attend fires therein with this brigade," although applications from outside Urban Districts were looked upon more favourably . Today, neighouring brigades are required to help each other on request, assistance is given to the Lancashire County districts and mutual assistance has been arranged between Rochdale, Bury and Oldham . When the Rochdale Theatre Royal was destroyed by fire in the early hours of Wednesday, November 24th, 1954, eleven machines from Rochdale, Bury, Oldham, Royton, Ashton and Middleton fought unavail- ingly to save property estimated at £50,000-to quote the Rochdale Observer of November 27th, " one fireman operating a hose from a ladder high above the heart of the flames was often enveloped in clouds of smoke and steam," but the fire had gained too strong a hold and, though the Theatre was ringed round with jets of water which created a smoke-fog in the Town Centre and although the flames were under control by 8 a.m., only a shell of the building was left when, later in the day, Miss Gracie Fields came to see the end of Rochdale's only theatre . Such a spectacular and tragic event brings the courage and efficiency of the Fire Brigade before the public eye . However, during M

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1954 the Chief Fire Officer, E . W. Sales, M .B .E., A.M.I.Fire.E., was also concerned with a more domestic problem : during the past few years there had been " throughout the country, a large increase in the number of calls to chimney fires." Locally 90% of such fires were due to accumu- lated soot, and Mr . Sales recommended that all chimneys should be swept at six-monthly intervals . A monthly analysis showed that calls rose to over 60 at the end of December, 1953, and, again, to over 70 at the end of August, 1955 . During 24-hour periods, the highest number of calls were received at about 10 a.m. and 3 p.m ., respectively. A telephone call to Rochdale 2222 will bring the firemen and fire-fighting equipment night or day, to any point within the Borough and in a matter of a few minutes, as will the much publicized " Dial 999." During 1955, fire-service vehicles covered nearly 20,000 miles . Apart from various duties, which included fire-prevention inspections of public, private, industrial and commercial premises, also inspections of all open water supplies, such as canals, mill lodges, etc ., the Fire Brigade is invaluable in the case of rescue work, since its very mobile apparatus can reach people (or their property) who have been trapped in almost in- accessible situations . In connection with Civil Defence (inaugurated in November, 1949) the strength of the entirely voluntary and part-time Auxiliary Fire Service reached 129, including 27 Firewomen . A weekly average of 24 to 30 men and 9 to 12 women attended at the Central Fire Station, Maclure Road, during 1953-54, and received training in modern methods, together with the regular personnel . A .F.S. equipment includes 5 large engines which cann pump at the rate of 1,000 gallons per minute and are coloured green, to distinguish them from the familiar red of the Fire Brigade vehicles . Members of the public are encouraged to visit and inspect the Cen- tral Fire Station and many do so : at one of the annual demonstrations, as many as 1,350 people attended in the Fire Station yard ; during each year, there are conducted parties of organisations such as a local House- wives' Association, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, etc . Training in elementary fire-fighting is even provided for children, if they are members of properly organised groups .

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES . Following the Weights and Measures Act of 1904, Board of Trade regulations in 1907 provided for greater uniformity throughout the country by prescribing permitted types of weighing and measuring apparatus, also providing a code of conformity for Inspectors, who, before taking up their duties, had to pass an examination test by the Board of Trade . During 1921, Mr. W. H. Stead was appointed as Chief Inspector of the Rochdale Weights and Measures Department which in this year had been separated from the Police Department . The present Chief Inspector, Mr . Arthur Hawkard, succeeded Mr . Stead in 1931 . TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956. 155 In 1926, after twelve years of deliberation, the Sale of Food (Weights and Measures) Act made it a penal offence to give short weight or measure when selling food for human consumption ; in 1937, clauses were inserted into a local Act to make certain that sales of coke should be subject to the same bye-laws as sales of coal, also, on medical grounds, provision was made for the testing of machines whereby members of the public weighed themselves . During the '20's, inspection of articles of food, wrapped and pre- packed in a manner which would have amazed Victorian shop-keepers, added considerably to the work of the Department, which in 1930 was moved from the Town Hall to its present offices at Richard Street . In 1950, the Pre-packed Food (Weights and Measures : Marking) Order added an additional heavy burden by requiring that almost all pre-packed and distributed articles of food must be marked according to the weight, measure or count of the contents. An idea of the scope of the Department can be gathered from the fact that the Inspectors are also officers under the Acts concerning ex- plosives (including fireworks), petrol, fertilisers and feeding-stuffs, poisons, also celluoid and cinematograph film . In the year ending March 31st, 1955, 8,174 weights, 1,458 measures and 409 weighing or measuring machines were examined by the staff of this department (apart from additional stamping or adjustments) at the Richard Street office, which is open daily . Over 2,500 visits to traders' premises included the examination of more than 10,500 weights, 23,000 measures and 3,700 weighing or measuring instruments . In his annual report, Mr. Hawkard drew attention to the somewhat high permitted error of 2 fluid ounces in excess, or half a fluid ounce in deficiency, as regards petrol pumps . At this rate, garage proprietors could lose one gallon of petrol in every 80 sold . Also, with regard to loaves of bread sold at 14 oz . or multiples of 14 oz ., " It seems unfortunate that it has not been possible to revert to the weights required previously, namely I lb. and multiples of 1 lb ." Industrialists, retailers and other business proprietors were urged to keep their old weights in order to test increasingly popular self-indicating machines which are liable to develop errors. Housewives were reminded that a delivery note should be provided when they receive more than 2 cwt . of coal or coke, which, a ;so, they are entitled to have re-weighed . The standards and equipment at Richard Street are examined each quarter-year, and during 1953-4 a new balance was acquired, having air- damped oscillations which increase the speed of usage . The old local standards are still in use and the beautiful patina of the 1873 gunmetal standard weights, in particular, are regularly praised by the visiting Board of Trade officers . Necessary equipment has, of course, been added from time to time, and recently acquired precision balances employ micro-film projec- tions for indications which are so rapid and sensitive that the weight of a "single human hair one half-inch in length can be indicated accurately to .0004 of I grain within two seconds ." (There are 7,000 grains in a pound).

156 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT There were 25 prosecutions recorded by this department during 1954-5 : relating to deficiencies in the weight of bread and coal : much local apparatus was found to be incorrect, but out of 4,944 loaves inspected in outside premises only 100 were found to be deficient, and no deficiency was found during visits to inspect milk and meat .

Photo: Borough Sur.rroi c lrrpnrtmrnr . Inspectors, Weights and Measures Department . The present staff of the department consists of three inspectors and two assistants, of whom little is seen or heard by the average Rochdalian . Nevertheless, it is very evident that housewives and other buyers are being diligently safeguarded, also that the shop-keepers and salesmen of Roch- dale still earn the reputation of being good and honest traders, more likely to be defrauded by their own weighing machines and petrol pumps than to profit illegally by them . MARKETS . Long before the name of Byron had been connected with the Manor of Rochdale, the Manorial Weights and Measures had been closely associated with the Rochdale Market under the control of the Steward of the Manor. However, in 1822 an Act of Parliament was obtained whereby the Rochdale New Market Company undertook to provide an additional market. The Company appears to have bought the entire market rights from Lord Byron (even including the Cryer's Bell, but excluding the rights TOWARDS THE CENTENARY Of THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956. 157 concerning Fairs), nevertheless, from 1872, when the market rights of the Lord of the Manor became vested in the Corporation, there seems to have been considerable friction between the Company and the Corporation : there had been a decision by a Court of Appeal in 1876, and by a Court of the Queen's Bench in 1885 ; in 1889 there was a Royal Commission enquiry as to the markets and fairs within the Borough, but it was not until August 16th, 1936, that the rights and property of the Company, including the Market Hall and the Open Market, were finally bought by the Corpora- tion . Mr. A. Kershaw then continued in office as Market Superintendent, a position which he had held from 1907, until 1939 when he was succeeded by the present Superintendent, Mr . S. Sykes . On December 8th, 1937, the Market Hall was completely gutted by " the most spectacular fire that has occurred in Rochdale during the last half century," but the majority of the market tenants were temporarily accommodated at the old Baths, in Smith Street, now known as Lea Hall . The outbreak of the War interrupted reconstruction work, but not before the new Market Hall and Cold Stores had been completed, the former being opened on December 18th, 1939, and the latter being first used in April, 1940 . The present Market premises, stretching between Yorkshire Street and Toad Lane, include the Market Hall, a market for meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, the Open Market, an arcade of shops, other shops outside the Market, and the Cold Stores at Toad Lane . Over 200 shops or stalls are tenanted and there is a twelve-months waiting-list for regular stalls in the Open Market, with approximately three-month and one-month waiting-lists for tenants at the Friday and Wednesday Open Markets, respectively . In the year ending March 31st, 1955, nearly 2,000 tons of food were refrigerated in the Cold Stores, at a temperature of 12-16 degrees Fahren- heit, the total value of perishable goods amounting to over £800,000. During July, 1954, the first public slaughter-house in Rochdale was opened at Milton Street in premises which had been leased and converted by the Corporation . The Cattle Market at " The Holme " (the name means " Island ") adjoining Town Meadows, was discontinued on September 30th, 1951, but three pleasure fairs are still held each year on this ground during the Trinity, Rushbearing and Christmas holidays, producing an income of £370 annually, apart from £45 received for car parking and similar charges . The year 1951 marked the 700th anniversary of the Royal Charter which granted to Edmund de Lacy (whose father and son were Earls of Lincoln) the right to hold a weekly market and an annual fair at " Rache- dale" : a commemoratory plaque is carved in the stonework at the Yorkshire Street entrance to the Arcade ; the Charter itself, as has been mentioned in a previous chapter, is now at the Public Record Office, Chancery Lane, London .

158 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT The present Markets Department of the Rochdale County Borough is now a firmly established asset of the Corporation . . . substantial contributions from profits are now being made to the General Rate Fund," In 1954-5, the total annual income exceeded £40,000, with a net profit of nearly £5,000 . " From this a contribution of £4,000 is being made to the General Rate Fund in aid of the rates for the year 1955-56 ." WATER . Unlike various profitable municipal undertakings, the public service of providing water had proved exceedingly costly during the 19th century, and, until recently, Rochdale's growing needs were often uncomfortably near the limit of available supplies . Ramsden reservoir, acquired from the Todmorden Waterworks Company in 1898, was not brought into full use until 1914, at a time when domestic and trade consumption of water continued to rise, and when the droughts of 1913 and 1915 created dangerously low levels . From 1910, Mr . F. H. Brunt was the Waterworks Manager until in 1920 he was succeeded by Mr . H . A. Braddock, and during the same year an agreement was made with Bacup for a bulk supply of up to 300,000 gallons per day ; it was later agreed that the period of supply should be determinable in 1954. In 1867, Mr . J. H . Moore, then Chairman of the Waterworks Committee, had forecast that within 12 or 14 years the population to be supplied with water would double to 112,500 people . As events proved, by 1921 the Area of Supply, including the Urban Districts of Littleborough, Milnrow, Wardle and Whitworth, reached a population of 126,700 people, whose daily consumption of water totalled 3 million gallons, or well over half a million gallons above the " safe " supply from all reservoirs . This precarious situation in Rochdale, together with a somewhat similar position in Oldham, led to the joint promotion by the two Cor- porations, in 1923, of a Parliamentary Bill to acquire from the Rochdale Canal Company a group of reservoirs which had been first constructed under an enactment of 1794 and which are among the earliest examples of large impounding reservoirs in this country . By the subsequent Act of 1923, Rochdale acquired Warland and Light Hazzles Reservoirs, on Black- stone Edge, while Hollingworth Lake, and the two Chelburn reservoirs near the Summit were taken over jointly by Rochdale and Oldham, and were used for supplying compensation water to the Rochdale Canal . Warland and Light Hazzles were reconstructed, and were brought into use during the severe drought of 1929, the total cost of the project being £400,000 . In spite of some disagreement within the Rochdale Council, and after another Parliamentary Bill had been obtained in 1930, work was begun on the £750,000 Water Grove Reservoir, near Wardle : a very necessary project, as during the severe drought of 1934 one million gallons TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH: 1906-1956 . 159 of water per day had to be bought from Oldham during the summer months, and, once again, pumped from the Butterworth Hall Colliery at Milnrow. Water Grove, Rochdale's largest and deepest reservoir, with a surface area of 96 acres and a depth of 87 feet, was brought into use in 1938, having a storage capacity of 720 million gallons . For purposes of comparison, Hollingworth Lake holds 535 million gallons and has a maximum depth of 28 feet, but its low altitude, amongst other reasons, makes it unsuitable as a supply for drinking water .

Photo : D worron. Water Grove reservoir. Hundreds of visitors come from various parts of Great Britain each year to inspect the Water Grove filter house, which is one of the most up-to-date in England . Water from the reservoir, dosed with chemicals, is passed through six horizontal pressure filters containing Leighton Buzzard sand . At Water Grove, as at all other Rochdale reservoirs, chlorinating apparatus was installed in 1939, as a precaution against possible bacteriological warfare . This apparatus, and that at other filter houses, is now being replaced by more modern equipment . In addition to the plant, the building itself, of local stone throughout, is a fine example of the mason's craft and skill . Supplies from Water Grove are gravity fed, unless the water level in the reservoir is low, when they can be pumped at a maximum rate of 3 million gallons per day . The completion of this

160 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT reservoir brought the total available water supply for the Rochdale district up to 6J million gallons per day, calculated on the basis of three dry years . Following the Second World War, greatly increased numbers of new houses, equipped with modern plumbing, drew heavily upon supplies, and a high standard of living was " reflected in the consumption of water for trade purposes, for the better canteen, washing and sanitary facilities provided in mills, factories and workshops "-to quote Mr . R. N . Simp- son, M .LW.E., who succeeded Mr . Braddock in 1946 . Mr. Simpson continues : " In 1951 the Council decreed that the General Borough Rate Fund would no longer be used to subsidise the recurring annual deficits in finances of the Waterworks Department. Over a period of 70 years the total aid given by the ratepayers amounted to £600,000 . Both domestic and trade charges were substantially increased and in 1952 the Depart- ment showed a surplus on the year's working . By 1955, the daily consumption of water had risen to nearly 6 million gallons and the revenue from the water charges rose to almost £200,000. The total capital expenditure was nearing the £2~ million mark." During a recent Water Survey, it was estimated by an Engineering Inspector of the Ministry of Health that in 1975 the estimated population of Rochdale's Area of Supply will amount to some 127,000 people . The Inspector allowed for a total demand of 45 gallons per head per day (35 gallons for domestic supplies and 10 for trade), with some allowance for cattle. It seems strange to learn from Mr . Simpson that few County Boroughs in Lancashire have greater numbers of cattle grazing within their boundaries . The total amount of water required in 1975 was estimated at 5,872,000 gallons per day . Compared with Rochdale's present available supply of 61 million gallons daily, in 1975 there should still be almost 400,000 gallons per day in reserve . Rochdale has now nine main reservoirs, acquired or constructed in the following order : Buckley Wood ; Hamer Pasture ; Brown House Wham ; Spring Mill ; Cowan : Ramsden ; Light Hazzles ; Warland ; Water Grove. The greatest depth of water is at Water Grove : 87 feet, while Ramsden and Cowm rank second and third, with 70 and 51 feet of water, respectively . Ramsden is also the third highest, at 968 feet above sea level ; Warland is 1,231 feet, but its neighbour, Light Hazzles is the highest of Rochdale's reservoirs . At 1,256 feet above sea level, Light Hazzles stands just above the source of the Roch, which rises almost from the toe of the embankment before descending to Summit and being uncere- moniously helped across the main line railway by an iron bridge . Canal, railway and reservoir have made their mark on the moors : built into the long storm wall at Water Grove are the date-stones of 17th century houses demolished to make way for the reservoir . Meanwhile, the people of Rochdale enjoy one of the sweetest and softest water supplies in the country : on an average, each local household uses approximately 100 gallons daily . TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 . 161 Only 100 years ago many English townspeople were driven to steal water, and, in Rochdale, to carry it in buckets from pumps and streams . Moreover, with the regulating power of the reservoirs, there are no longer floods at " Rachda' Brig ." The Reverend J . E. Eagles has lately told how, in 1747, the early Methodist, John Bennett of Chinley, Derbyshire, wrote in his journal " When we came to Rochdale the Water was very high so that many Houses were flooded, and the Water floated so about the Bridge I did not think we could have got into the Town ." In 1938, for the first time in the history of the County Borough, Rochdale had water enough and to spare in its reservoirs : in 1956 and for twenty years to come there should still be ample supplies . GAS . For the past thirty years, and longer, Parliament has been much concerned about the municipal administration, throughout the country, of various public services . Municipal supplies of water, gas, electricity, or services such as health, education, etc ., have been provided within administrative areas often too small, or inconveniently shaped : pipe-lines, for instance, might be extravagantly long through avoiding a short-cut across the jutting outline of a neighbouring boundary ; moreover, the standards of local undertakings have varied considerably : the gas supplies of one town might be good, while those of its neighbours were poor . During the '30's it became obvious that changes must be made, and so, during the nationalisation schemes of the '40's, the Rochdale Corporation, like other local authorities, surrendered those two very profitable undertakings, gas and electricity, which became merged into the nationalised industries, administered within large regional areas, each of which engulfed many local undertakings . An outline of the Rochdale Corporation Gas Department has already been traced up to 1906 ; a further brief account now follows, giving, for comparison, a few developments which have taken place since nationalisation. Between 1906 and 1915 the main improvements to the Rochdale Corporation Gas Works were the addition of Glover-West retorts at Dane Street in 1911 ; the opening, by Councillor Walker, of the Gas Show- rooms, Drake Street, in 1913, and the building of new gas purifiers in 1914 . Major reconstructions followed after each of the World Wars and between 1925 and 1930 various alterations were made to the gaso- meters (which acquired the more up-to-date name of gas-holders) ; a new coal store and high level road were constructed ; Woodall-Duckham vertical retorts were added, also dri-gas plant and a napthalene washer . A further reconstruction took place in 1936-7, during years when the demand for gas had lessened since a peak year in 1930 (when some 728 million cubic feet were made) . Following Mr. T. B . Ball, Mr . H . Shewring became the Gas Engineer in 1925, and it was during his term of office that, in 1929, the

162 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT Gas Companies of Whitworth Vale and of Milnrow were acquired, increasing the output of Rochdale's Gas Works by about 80 million cubic feet per annum . C. H. Bamber, B .Sc., M .Inst .GasE., became the Engineer and Manager in 1935 . During the 2nd World War, under Mr . Bamber, the Rochdale Gas Works war munition production was on a scale larger, it is believed, than that of any other gas works in the country . Part of the Dane Street Works was used by the Chemical Defence Section of the Ministry of Supply, and notwithstanding war-time needs, the normal pressure of gas was maintained . Between 1940 and 1949, the annual production of gas was nearly doubled, to over 1,200 million cubic feet . In 1945 plans had been made to double the pre-war production, and eventually additions were made which included more carbonising plant, a new gas-holder and an extended distributing system . Provision was also made for an ultimate extension which would bring the capacity of the Gas Works to a maximum of 12 million cubic feet per day . On March 4th, 1949, Mr . Alfred Robens, deputising for the Rt . Hon . Hugh Gaitskell, Minister of Fuel and Power, formally opened the new carbonising plant and extensions . Two months later, on May 1st, 1949, the Rochdale Corporation Gas Works was nationalised, being transferred to the North-Western Gas Board, the premises at Dane Street containing the District Offices of the Oldham-Rochdale Group, Mr. Bamber being the General Manager . Before the transference, the area supplied by Rochdale included the County Borough and the Urban Dis- tricts of Milnrow, Whitworth and Wardle . The local undertaking had started as a private company in 1823 and had been owned by the Corporation for 105 years, since 1844 . Statistics for the last 10 years of the Department show that in 1939 there were some 30,987 consumers : in 1949 the total had risen to 31,100 . Gas sold in 1939 for commercial and industrial purposes accounted for over 160 million cubic feet, and in 1949 for over 370 million, but in 1948 and '49, gas sold for public lighting had shrunk to half the 1939 figures . During 72 years of public service, over half a million pounds had been contributed from profits, towards the relief of the Rates. After nationalisation, the new gas-holder was brought into use during November, 1950, having three lifts, and a capacity of I I million cubic feet . In 1955 a fourth lift was added increasing the total capacity to 2 million cubic feet . This, together with existing holders (capacity 2~ million) made an actual storage capacity of 4 1,1 million cubic feet . During July, 1953, the Gas Works at Littleborough closed down and this Urban district is now fed from Rochdale, who also supply part of the gas consumed in the Borough of Heywood . Three interesting developments took place in 1954 : firstly, in May it was announced that within the North-Western area, 17 groups were to be reduced to 11 ; the Oldham-Rochdale Group is now joined with Bury- Rossendale and Bolton to make a new unit called the Central Lancashire TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956. 163

Group, with Mr. W. B. Harrison, M.Inst .GasE.,A .M.I .Mech .E. (of Bury- Rossendale) as General Manager, while Mr . Bamber became Deputy General Manager of the enlarged North Cheshire Group . Secondly, a process patented in 1917 by two Lancashire men, Mr . John West and Professor M . Perkin of Manchester University, both of whom have since died, had been revived by two of the N . W. Gas Board experts, (Messrs . T. Nicklin and M . Redman) and was tried out at Roch- dale, where, by January 1954, experiments had proved so significant that commercial scale trials were begun on new Woodall-Duckham vertical retorts at Partington, within the Manchester Group . Briefly, the new " Rochdale Process," as it is named, speeds up carbonisation by injecting additional gas into the base of the retort while carbonisation is going on . The new process can carbonise an average of 14 tons of coal per retort in 24 hours, compared with the usual 7 tons processed in the same time ; it is expected not only to produce cheaper gas and to improve the quality of coke, but to make possible the use of low grade coal which has not so far been suitable for carbonisation . Thirdly, early in 1954, a long distance link from Partington had been extended through Radcliffe to Bury, Heywood and Rochdale . During the March quarter the first supplies were transmitted through the Lancashire grid, from Manchester to Rochdale at the rate of some 1~ million cubic feet per day . The completion of this grid enables the gas supply to the town to be maintained whilst plant at the Rochdale Works is closed down from time to time for necessary repairs . The capacity of the Dane Street Gas Works is at present as follows : 2} million cubic feet (Glover-West) ; 3'r (reconstructed Woodall-Duckham) and 3 (two li recently completed carburetted water-gas plant) ; making a total capacity of 9 million cubic feet per day . Meanwhile the general trends in the sales of gas during the last few years have been much the same in the North-West as in other parts of the country : sales for public lighting and for gas lighting generally, are decreasing ; domestic sales remain reasonably constant, but both industrial and commercial sales are increasing rapidly . ELECTRICITY . Before 1913, the bulk of Rochdale's electricity was taken up by lighting and by the tramway system, but in 1916 cotton manufacturers were becoming increasingly interested in this new form of power. In this year, out of more than 12 million units sold, industrial demands took more than double the amount used for traction and lighting purposes . Consumption continued to rise rapidly so that by 1919 the Dane Street power station had been developed to its utmost extent so far as the generation of electricity was concerned. After careful investigation the Corporation arranged for an interconnection of the local system with that of the Lancashire Electric Power Company-entering into an agreement with that Company for the furnishing of further supplies . During succeeding years these inter- connections have been increased and the original generating plant at

J64 ROCHbALE RETROSPECT Dane Street has gradually been withdrawn from service and today very little generation indeed is carried out at Dane Street. By 1930, when the annual sales of electricity in Rochdale were nearing the 90 million mark, the majority of units sold provided power for industry in the Borough . By using machinery driven by electrical power, local firms were able to scrap cumbersome shafting and belting, thus minimising dust and shadows, much improving working conditions and cutting out the need of banking up coal for boilers. It is recorded that in 1930, the whole of the engineering workshops in the town received power from the Corporation's supply mains . These 90 million units sold included bulk supplies (under contract) to the Urban Districts of Little- borough, Milnrow and Whitworth---Norden and Wardle being within the Rochdale Corporation area of supply . In just over 10 years, from 1919 to 1930, 325 miles of cables and conduits had been laid, and 130 sub- stations were built and equipped . Until 1924, domestic consumers had relied on electricity mostly for lighting, but cheap supplies and the display of household electrical appliances in part of the Gas Department premises, at Drake Street, led to a domestic demand (apart from lighting) which increased steadily after 1924, the figures rising from over 350 thousand units in that year to over 63 million units supplied for domestic use in the year ending March 31st, 1930-thousands of electric fires, cookers, irons, boilers and vacuum cleaners having been hired out or sold from the Electricity Showrooms up to this time-the most popular item being over 4,600 electric fires, although only 286 vacuum cleaners (then novelties) were on supply during 1930. On December 15th of that year the official opening of Electric House, Smith Street, took place, the opening ceremony being performed by the then Chairman of the Electricity Committee (Councillor L . W. Taylor, .I .P.). The Borough Electrical Engineer and Manager was Mr. F. H . Rudd, A .M .I.E.E. Electric House was the associated work of Mr. Rudd, Mr. S. H . Morgan, Borough Surveyor, and his assistant, Mr. S. G . Eldred . The building consists of five storeys, containing basement : ground floor showrooms ; and on the upper floors, office accommodation, demon- stration rooms, workshops, etc . In 1930 nearly 90 million units were sold to nearly 10,000 consumers ; in 1948 the respective figures were nearly 137 million units to nearly 28,000 consumers . Excluding bulk supplies to Littleborough, Milnrow and Whitworth, industrial needs in 1948 accounted for some 75 million units ; domestic, 30 million : commercial, nearly 6 million ; while farms and public lighting consumed approximately half a million units each. Housewives may be interested to know that by 1948 over 6,000 cookers were on supply (some on hire purchase) compared with less than 3,500 in 1930. On the 1st April, 1948 the Corporation Electricity Undertaking was transferred to the North Western Electricity Board, the offices of the No. TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956. 165

3 Sub-Area being at Oldham, while the local Rochdale (3B District) offices remained at Electric House . It is due to the courtesy of Mr . F. J . Cole, Manager of the No . 3 Sub-Area, that information has been made available on the progress of the undertaking from that time . When the Board came into being it was decided to include in the Rochdale District not only the former Rochdale Electricity Undertaking, but also to embrace the supply undertakings of Littleborough, Milnrow and Whitworth . As mentioned earlier these three undertakings were already purchasing their supplies of electricity (in bulk) from Rochdale, so no major changes were immediately involved on the supply side, but the inclusion of these undertakings resulted in an immediate increase in the number of consumers served from Rochdale, to 35,928 . During the first seven years of nationalisation to the 31st March, 1955, the total number of consumers in the district increased by over 20% to 43,265. The increased usage of electricity during the same period is reflected in the sales of energy, which increased by over 56% to no less than 214 million units per annum . Such increases naturally led to considerable engineering development and a pre-1948 scheme for strengthen- ing Rochdale's supplies from the Lancashire Electric Power Company's generating station at Kearsley (south-west of Radcliffe) was abandoned in favour of a much shorter supply line from the Chadderton Power Station . This involved the provision of a new sub-station at Gypsy Lane, Castleton, which was brought into use in 1951 . The Central Electricity Authority made this important Rochdale extension one of their first projects . From Castleton further reinforcements were quickly given to Milnrow and Littleborough . After over 50 years of electricity supply in Rochdale, it is indeed appropriate that the Rochdale Centenary year should coincide with a major development affecting electricity supplies to the Borough . In course of construction at the present time, in strategic supply areas throughout the country, is a new " super" grid line capable of transmitting energy at 275,000 volts. This " super " grid is to pass through Rochdale in the vicinity of Norden, where the construction of a high-powered sub-station is well advanced . It is hoped that the work will be completed in late 1956 or early 1957 . This sub-station at Norden will be one of the first direct connections with the new " super " grid in the whole of the North Western Electricity Board, and should do much to ensure the reliability of electricity supplies in Rochdale and district for many years to come. TRA NSPORT . The success of Rochdale's early electric trams, refreshingly clean after the old steam cars, and nattily equipped with looped red curtains, inspired the surrounding Urban Districts to make similar enterprises . The Whitworth section of tramways was opened in 1910, and that of Bacup in 1911 ; the opening of the last important section, Milnrow and Newhey, was accomplished by 1912, but it was not until August, 1925 that there was

166 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT a through tramway service to Manchester, after the Rochdale Corporation had bought that part of the Middleton Undertaking which concerned the route from Sudden to the Castleton Boundary . The maximum number of trams was 88 . Motor traffic was now becoming popular, and by a local Act of 1925 the Rochdale Corporation obtained powers to run a service of motor buses . On March 17th, 1926, the first motor omnibus service, to Deeplish, was introduced, and was gradually extended by services to Healey, via Shawclough, and to Blackstone Edge . At this time, Mr. G . Webster was the General Manager of the Transport Department ; having succeeded Mr. J. S. D. Moffett in 1913 he remained in office until 1936 when he, in turn, was succeeded by Mr. G. A. Cherry . Electric trams and motor omnibuses were in use together for nearly seven years, until, on November 10th, 1932, the tramway service came to an end, after operating for 30 years . Meanwhile, in May, 1931, diesel-engined buses had been introduced in Rochdale, and these, proving to be economical, were eventually standardised on all new vehicles . Double-deck buses were also gradually introduced and today the familiar blue and ivory " double-deckers " seat 59-61 passengers, the latest type of bus being 8 feet wide . In 1955

Photo : Rochdale Corporation buses, March, 1947, TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 . 167 there were 15 single-deck and 140 double-deck vehicles ; servicing is done at the Mellor Street Depot, which had been extended by new machine and docking shops opened in 1952 . Apart from the needs of the Borough itself, the present Rochdale Undertaking is responsible for local passenger transport in Bacup, Heywood, Littleborough, Wardle, Whitworth and Milnrow, in addition to joint inter-running services with other Corporations and omnibus companies. Statistics show that the annual mileage first reached the million mark in 1906-7, and that over 10 million passengers were carried in 1908-9 . Between 1907 and 1955, the annual mileage quadrupled, the annual number of passengers carried increased five-fold, and receipts swelled ten-fold . Mr. C. T. Humpidge was the General Manager of the Department from 1942-51 . The next General Manager was Mr. J . C. Franklin, until July, 1954, and the present Manager, Mr . Ronald Cox, M .I.Inst .T., A.M.I .R.T.E., is the head of a staff numbering approximately 700 . Receipts for 1954-5 were over £572,000 (increased fares had come into operation on November 9th, 1952) ; there was also a record mileage of 4,356,424 during the year; tickets issued totalled 54,662,890 . Accidents totalled 739, or one during approximately every 6,000 miles covered . It must be remembered, however, that any accident, however trivial, from a mere scraping of paintwork to a snag in a pair of nylon stockings, is, in duty bound, reported to the Transport Manager . Nearly 252 accidents involved collisions of some nature, but the remainder involved persons, 157 occurring while people were boarding or leaving buses . There were three fatal accidents during the year. Accident figures for the Roch- dale Undertaking compare very favourably with those of other transport undertakings . The Transport Department makes every effort to reduce accidents, and, in this connection, it may be mentioned that a central-entrance double-deck bus was bought in 1938 but proved to be less efficient from the safety aspect than the normal type ; front-exit doors, operated by the driver, are incorporated in all single-deck buses, but are not considered satisfactory for double-deck vehicles operating on local stage carriage services. In 1955 no single-deck omnibus was over 4 years old but there were 2 double-deckers which were 19 years old . Out of a present fleet of 155 vehicles, which includes the " New-look " type introduced in 1953, approximately two-thirds are under 8 years old . The amount of fuel used during 1954-5 amounted to 511,143 gallons, at 81 miles to each gallon . The price of fuel fluctuated considerably during the year, reaching just over 3s. 6d. per gallon of D .E.R .V. fuel oil . The present Chairman of the Passenger Transport Committee is Alderman E. H. S. Scarr, J.P., who during 1952, in a brochure which commemorated 50 years of municipal transport in Rochdale, commented on the progressive ideas of the successive committees, borne out by " the

1 6 8 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT

early introduction of vehicle designs which have eventually become accepted standards ." He also remarked that the Rochdale Undertaking " today compares favourably with the best in the country "-an opinion which must certainly be endorsed by Rochdalians, who, after travelling on various city or country bus routes in England, or abroad, still feel a sensation of relief and pleasure when they arrive, once more, very punc- tually in Rochdale, and see the constant and methodical procession of buses around the " islands " in the Town Centre . THE BOROUGH SURVEYOR'S DEPARTMENT . In 1908 the Borough Surveyor was responsible for a department controlled by two committees, those of Paving, Sewering and Scavenging, and of Buildings, Baths, Parks and Cemeteries ; in 1909 the committees were combined as the Paving, Sewering and Buildings Committee, under the Chairmanship of Alderman John Turner, J .P. ; in 1938 the Committee became the present Highways and Buildings Committee. A separate Housing Committee has existed since 1919 . A large portion of the work done by the Department is now controlled by the General Purposes Committee and by other Committees . Mr. S. S. Platt, Borough Surveyor from 1881, was followed by Mr . Henry Yarwood (1920-1921), and Mr . S. H. Morgan (1921-1948) . The present Borough Surveyor, Mr. W. H. G. Mercer, B .Se. (Tech.), A .M.I .C.E., is the head of an augmented department which has a staff of 103 . The technical members of the staff possess an impressive variety of professional qualifications in such subjects as architecture, engineering, surveying, planning, housing, heating and ventilating, sanitation and accounting . There are also 250 workmen employed by the Works Department and at the Sewage Works. The Department is divided into no less than 13 sub-sections, namely, Engineers, Architects, Housing Architects, Planning, Building Inspectors, House Management, Highways, Works and Street Lighting, Sewage Works, Photographic, Clerical, Typists and the Town Hall Staff. The successive Surveyors and their staffs have, more than any other unit of the Corporation, " changed the face " of Rochdale during the last 50 years . In the centre of the town, a considerable amount of extra space has been achieved by roofing over the River Roch . In 1910 the river was covered from Yorkshire Street to the newly built Newgate ; in 1924, from Newgate to Theatre Street, and in 1926, from Wellington Bridge to Weir Street . The new General Post Office was opened in 1927, shortly after the adjoining section of the river covering had been completed . In 1922 the Rochdale War Memorial was built to the design of the architect for the Whitehall Cenotaph, Sir Edward Lutyens, and occupied the site of the former Dearden Manor House, " The Orchard " (given to the Town by Alderman William Cunliffe) . The unsightly Nelson Street slopes were cleared by 1925, and were laid out to form St . Chad's Gardens, which now attractively enclose the Church Steps and Packer TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 . 169 Spout . Work is in progress on an extension to the War Memorial grounds : the Garden of Remembrance, which will ultimately be surrounded by proposed new civic buildings and business premises designed to form a worthy setting for the Town Hall . Major public buildings include : the Castleton Baths (opened in 1910); Electric House (1930) ; Maclure Road Fire Station (1933) ; Girls' Grammar School (1935) ; Central Baths (1937) ; Market Hall (1939) ; Crematorium (1945) ; Municipal Technical College (Holland Street) and the Boys' Grammar School at Balderstone (1953) . Main engineering works include the building of Maclure Road by 1906, and, between 1924 and 1933, the completion of Queensway, Kingsway and Albert Royds Street contributed towards the scheme for an Outer Ring Road which has already aided the free flow of traffic through the Borough, lessening congestion in the Town Centre . A further section of the Outer Ring Road, at Half Acre Road, will link Manchester Road with Edenfield Road, via Sandy Lane, which was completed in 1933 . In the 50 years following the building of Firgrove Bridge in 1906, road bridges have been constructed at Kingsway, Moss Bridge Road, Mellor Street and Half Acre Road ; railway bridges have been widened at Milnrow Road, Kingsway and Albert Royds Street . At the present time there are 1124 miles of Rochdale roads and streets, for which the Corporation are responsible, and approximately 20 miles are Class I main roads ; nearly 6 miles are Class 2 and nearly 5 miles are Class 3 . The length of Class I roads is nearly double the average figure for County Boroughs throughout the entire country . Most of the 19th century granite setts have been covered over with asphalt ; modern machine-laid surfacing has contributed immensely to the comfort of travellers and has much reduced wear and tear on vehicles . Following the transfer of the Borough's Electricity Undertaking to the North Western Electricity Board in 1948, the Borough Surveyor became responsible for street lighting . Some of Rochdale's street lamps had been lit by electricity in 1917 ; in 1934 an experiment was tried with mercury discharge lamps, but this was abandoned in favour of the now familiar sodium lamps, the metal discharge of which provides a warm yellow light . At the present time over 70 miles of Rochdale's streets are lit by electricity, and gas lamps are used in the remainder of the Borough's lighted streets . Before 1919, Rochdale's houses were built by private enterprise, and, over a long period, production averaged approximately 300 houses per annum, but, after the interruption of building during the 1st World War, the Housing and Town Planning Act of 1919 imposed upon local authorities the duty of building houses for the working classes . This Act was followed by a succession of Housing Acts between 1923 and 1954, and over most of this period the Government made grants to subsidise house building . However, in 1911, after 14 months of investigation and preparation, a report had been compiled by Rochdale's Medical Officer of Health, N

170 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT who submitted it to his Committee, but no action was taken at that time. The first of Rochdale's Corporation houses was built in 1919, at Spotland ; by 1922 there were 580 of such houses. Between the World Wars, nearly 4,000 municipal houses were built on some 20 estates, and at the end of 1955 a total number of 6,688 houses have been tenanted on 32 estates . In chronological order, the various estates and the 6,688 houses contained within them, are as follows : Spotland (328) ; Turf Hill (424) ; Deeplish (22) ; Ivor Street, I and 2 (72) ; Marland (2) ; Kilworth Street off New Barn Lane (148) ; Clarke's Lane (58) ; Albert Royds Street (139) Dicken Green, Queensway (326) ; Castleton, Borough boundary (192) Regent Street and Elliott Street (20) ; Nook, Whitworth Road (406) Rathbone Street (116) ; Belfield (260) ; Cutgate (192) ; Brimrod (310) ; Brotherod (438) ; Clover Hall No. I (214) ; Clover Hall No. 2 (228) ; Charming Street (72) ; Birch Road, Wardle (20) ; Martin Lane (temporary houses) (33); Marland Old Road (temporary houses) (33) ; Greave (259) ; Newbold (192) ; Kirkholt (1,855) ; Mayfield (170) ; Kingsland and Royle- lands (12) ; Chatsworth Street (16) ; Abbott Street (44) : Park Road (49) ; Alder Road (38) . The Kirkholt Estate is planned to reach an ultimate number of 2,500 traditional type dwellings (including some 326 houses built before the War at Dicken Green and Daventry Road) . The preliminary work on this " neighbourhood unit " necessitated the laying of about 15,000 lineal yards of sewers and 90,000 square yards of concrete roads, while more than 300,000 tons of earth were moved . Equipment included bulldozers, scrapers, draglines and dumpers; concrete was mixed by a centralised weigh hatching plant, and mechanical vibrating machines were used for consolidating the roads . To quote Mr . Mercer, " In the 1920's and 1930's the housing estates were never larger than about 400 dwellings, and being on the fringe of existing development did not create difficult communal problems . . . ". It was evident, however, that the 300 acre Kirkholt Estate would need " all the necessary provisions for day-to-day existence, namely, schools for all ages, shops, public-houses, churches, health clinic and a community centre." This plan is already partly completed, the first 7 shops having been built by 1953 . also such buildings as two Infants' Schools (1949 and 1953) the Junior School (1952) ; and Kirkholt Secondary Modern School (1956). "Proposals are well in hand for developing a second neighbourhood unit in the Caldershaw area, and it is the present intention that when this is nearing completion a third neighbourhood unit in the Shawclough area should follow." In addition, various small estates in other parts of the town are envisaged . In the '20's, houses were built to meet an urgent need, and since the majority of houses then existing in Rochdale were of a 2-bedroomed type, the Corporation was mainly concerned with building 3-bedroomed and family houses, but " when slum clearance began to operate in 1930

TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956. 171 it became obvious that there must be a greater variety of dwellings on each estate and . . . a number of one-bedroomed and four-bedroomed dwellings were erected," the former type being bungalows, intended for old-age pensioners only . After the interruption caused by the 2nd World War, the experiment was tried of building 13 3-storey blocks containing 156 flats, at Kirkholt, but it was found that 2-storey blocks were more economical to build and maintain, and that they had more appeal to potential tenants than the 3-storey blocks . At least two social trends have been shown in Rochdale during the last 50 years of housing : firstly, a good many of the people who once considered that " an Englishman's home is his castle " have overcome their dislike for flats : secondly, due to a great increase in the number of old

Photo : [td. Spotland Housing Estate and Rooley Moor, June, 1955,

172 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT

people (also of people who live alone), 20% of the municipal dwellings now being built are one bedroomed, whereas in the '30's, only 4% were of this type. Needless to say, the Borough Surveyor and the Medical Officer of Health share a common interest in the living conditions of all Rochdalians . Existing houses which were built before 1870 are mentioned in another section of this chapter . It is evident that the present high rate of building must be maintained if the replacement of obsolete and unfit dwellings is to keep pace with the present rate of deterioration . Regarding building inspection, our ancestors, with amazing foresight, included within the local Acts of 1853 and 1872, clauses which even today give better control than that provided by current national legislation. Plans of all new buildings have to be submitted to the Council for approval ; the buildings themselves are inspected while under construction. The astonishing number of 20,000 plans had been deposited at the Surveyor's Department by 1953 and, at present, about 700 more are received each year. In Town Planning, also, Rochdale was well to the fore, having the distinction of producing one of the first three schemes ever to be made in the country, under the 1909 Housing and Town Planning Act : in 1915, with the collaboration of local owners, the development of land at Marland was controlled . Town Planning, as we know it today, has developed progressively during the last 45 years, and includes the control of private development and the initiation by the local authority of projects which private enterprise is unwilling or unable to carry out . Before the 2nd World War a local joint planning committee existed in order to co-ordinate Rochdale's planning proposals with those of the adjoining districts, but during the War, the Government reviewed previous Planning Acts, and, as a result of the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act, the planning of the Urban Districts became the responsibility of the County Council ; as far as Rochdale was concerned, the Act required the preparation of a Development Plan within 3 years ; on March 7th, 1953, having received the approval of the Minister of Housing and Local Government, Rochdale's Development Plan became operative . This 20-year Plan is divided into two periods, of which the first will last for 5 years and aims at satisfying immediate housing needs : by the completion of Kirkholt and by small estates for both Corporation and private enterprise housing . During the last 15 years, or second period of the Plan, slum areas are to be redeveloped, congestion in the older residential areas is to be relieved : the Plan aims at 12 neighbourhood units (including existing estates) interspaced with green belts of land, and separated from_ industrial areas, which will be grouped within defined zones . As concerns roads, four main schemes are included in the Plan, firstly: the construction of an Inner Ring Road around the business centre of the town : it is hoped that, eventually, Yorkshire Street will he closed

TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 173

w H G MF0.CE0. IS 1MIC( •M Tri boIOVGH SURVEVOS SOCHD",f Borough Surveyor's Deportment. Major Road Proposals and Corporation Housing Estates, 1955 .

to through traffic, from the Town Centre and up to John Street. Secondly : a new section of the Outer Ring Road from Queensway to Brimrod Lane, to complete the southern part of the route from Edenfield Road to Halifax Road. Thirdly : the diversion of the southern part of Queensway, to by-pass the existing bottle-neck in the industrial area of Castleton . Fourthly : a section of the proposed Yorkshire Branch Road ; this is intended to be a high speed motor road with limited connections, and will link the East Lancashire Road with Yorkshire .

174 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT

The Development Plan is proceeding rapidly and is already 2 to 3 years ahead of the programmed schedule . Today, the Borough Surveyor bears the " responsibility for expenditure on construction of capital works exceeding £700,000 per annum ." The Corporation now owns 2,194 acres of land within the Bor- ough, equal to 22% of the total area (compared with 9" before the War), also owning 2,436 acres of land within the adjoining Urban Dis- tricts-the bulk of these 2,436 acres is included in the watershed of the reservoirs, and chiefly comprises moorland and agricultural land lying to the north of Rochdale . Corporation properties, including houses, have a rateable value of 23 .8% of the total rateable heredtaments in the Borough . It must not be forgotten that the development of housing estates and of town planning, during the last fifty years, has had its effects on one department which has always been under the control of the Borough Surveyor : the Sewage Works . Roch Mills Sewage Works dates from the '80's, when the method of treatment was by " broad irrigation " of the sewage on plots of land previously levelled and suitably under-drained . The solid matter left in the soil was consumed by growing crops in the land, e .e. osiers and fodder crops. The latter were used to maintain a herd of cattle for milk production . As the population grew and at the same time the use of water for carriage of waste matters increased, it became expedient to relieve the land of some of the sewage solids, and settlement tanks were constructed on the Sudden Valley Outfall in 1890, and on the Roch Valley Outfall in 1896. Machinery for pressing the sludge into dried cake was installed . Further relief was obtained by the construction of five and a half acres of double-contact filters in 1903 . A sewage works built for the Castleton Urban District in 1896 was taken over on the amalgamation of the District with the Borough in 1900 . 1933 saw the acquisition of two small works, now demolished, which had been constructed by Bury Rural District and Norden Urban District . Early in 1951 work was begun on a sewer to convey the sewage from these two works to Roch Mills . As regards Roch Mills, development has been almost continuous . Experimental work, commenced in 1899, led to the addition of thirteen 72 ft. diameter percolating filters (1913) and seven 99 ft . diameter similar filters in 1926 . Sludge pressing was superseded by a method of controlled fermentation or digestion in 1931 : in 1942 the plant was furthermodern- ised, and in 1944 the Brush-aeration Activated Sludge plant was constructed to a design made in consultation with Dr . Kessener of The Hague, Holland . This plant is almost unique in England, and made unnecessary the use of land and contact beds for filtration . Improvements are still being made at the Roch Mills Sewage Works which today are amongst the most up-to- date in Great Britain . Additions and alterations to the Trub works have kept pace with those at the larger works . TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 175 Local domestic and trade wastes make a daily total sewage flow of more than 44' million gallons (over one third of the dryweather flow of the Roch), of which the trade waste constitutes about 20%, composed of such discharges as those from wool-scouring and piece washing, dyeing and bleaching, tanning, gas manufacture, tripe dressing, brewing and acid pickling (as used in iron and zinc works, for instance). During the last few years, a number of manufacturers have made applications to discharge trade waste products into the town's sewers, rather than into the local streams-to mention only two examples of this, Naden Brook and Hey Brook have benefited by this trend. The Corporation is in close touch with the Mersey River Board in making efforts to reduce river pollution : this is, however, no easy matter, particularly as there are many zealous owners of water rights in Rochdale's numerous small streams . At Roch Mills, the sewage passes through detritus tanks which remove grit ; sedimentation tanks allow solid matter to settle, and after various filtering, agitating, aeration and other processes, the sewage is converted into a clear liquid, which " is at all times cleaner than the river into which it is discharged," and leaves a moist sludge which is sold for manure. The Roch Mills Farm is also maintained, and since 1952 a beef herd has been built up out of pedigree Galloway and Galloway- Shorthorn heifers . Rainfall measurements have been made at Roch Mills for many years, and a weather observation station, making monthly returns to the Air Ministry, was installed in 1947 . Instruments include a rain gauge, a sunshine recorder, weather vane, barometer, thermometers and thermo- graph . " Daily weather records are kept and supplied regularly to interested bodies . Individual queries from firms and persons are answered ." For the eight years from 1948 to 1955, the average yearly rainfall recorded at Roch Mills was 43 .32 inches ; the daily average of sunshine was 3.44 hours, and mean temperature was 48 degrees Fahrenheit . In 1955 the rainfall measured 33 .77 inches. and in 1954, the wettest year since 1923, no less than 55 .97 inches were recorded . In 1951, Roch Mills was one of the three stations established within the Borough to measure atmospheric pollution, and in 1955 the year's deposit in this area was calculated at 156 .79 tons per square mile, in a district where (to quote Rochdale's Medical Officer of Health) "the prevailing south-west wind enters the Borough ." Such observations, however, " indicate the trend of atmospheric pollution rather than . . . the amount . . . ", also " a long period of observation . . . is needed before reliable conclusions can be drawn ." More information on this subject is given later in this chapter, relating to the work of the Health Department . Various experiments and analyses are continually being carried out at the Roch Mills Laboratory . Visitors to the Works are encouraged, and they may, in fact, be surprised to find, not only an extremely efficient Works and Farm, but neat and attractive flower-gardens, near the weir of the now van- ished water-driven corn-mill, and surrounded by the still green hills of the Roch Valley below Oakenrod .

176 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT CLEANSING. The municipal history of cleansing in Rochdale is somewhat complicated, devolving between Paving, Sewering, Scavenging and Health Committees, and it may be remembered that in the 19th century a Scaven- ging Committee undertook responsibilities for the removal of middens, owing to the difficulty of obtaining contractors to do this work . In 1890, Mr. F. W. Brookman became the Manager of the Sanitary Manure Works, and he remained in office until 1919 . Meanwhile, in November, 1909, a Cleansing Committee had been formed ; in 1918 a Transport and Street Cleansing Department was also formed, the Superintendent being Mr . C. Boden, who, in the year following, became responsible for supervising refuse collecting . Not until 1920 was Mr. J. Ardern appointed, succeeding both Mr . Brockman and Mr. Boden, as the first Superintendent to take charge of the whole of the cleansing services under the Cleansing Committee . In 1922 approximately £20,000 was spent on new plant at the Sanitary Works, or Entwisle Road Cleansing Depot, as it is now called . The successive chief officials were Mr. H. Cook, 1926-52, and the present Superintendent, Mr. W. R . Booker, M .Inst .P.C. One of the most striking changes in the last fifty years has been the reduction in the number of pail closets within the Borough from 16,400 in 1906 to slightly less than 900 in 1955 . The first public lavatories were built in 1907, at Cheetham Street, followed by others at six different sites, including the Town Centre conveniences, cloak-rooms and left-parcel office. Several new conveniences are soon to be built, and, the Cleansing Committee last year commenced the reconstruction of the plant at Entwisle Road: the refuse disposal plant (built in 1937) separates and reclaims all marketable salvage such as paper, textiles, tins, metals and bottles, etc . ; waste products are incinerated, giving heat to boilers which provide all the steam required at the adjoining Public Baths, in addition to heat and power for the Depot itself. Dust and clinkers are taken to the nearby Waith- lands Tip, off Milnrow Road, acquired in 1920 . Since 1925, galvanised iron dustbins have been used instead of the old tubs, and since 1948 the Corporation has provided, and maintained, standard dustbins to all domestic users within the Borough . An interesting social and economic trend is shown by the comparatively small increase in the total annual weight of refuse removed, in spite of the greatly increased number of houses within the enlarged Bor- ough. In 1955 the total weight of dry refuse amounted to approximately 21,000 tons, compared with 16,500 in 1906, due to less coal and more gas and electricity being used by private households . However, the now customary use of pre-packed and wrapped articles, also " the vast increases in the sales of . . . newspapers and . . . magazines has increased enormously the bulk of refuse ." Again, increased motor traffic and " the almost complete elim- ination of the horse " have led to cleaner streets, but the mileage of streets TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 177 is double that of fifty years ago . All of Rochdale's public streets are now cleaned at least once a week, and some, according to need, are cleaned twice daily . In short, " the work of the Cleansing Department now includes the collection and disposal of house refuse, the cleansing of streets and gullies, the removal of snow and the gritting of streets, the control of public conveniences and the supply of general purpose lorries to other departments." The number of people employed in this department is approximately 175, of whom 16 are administrative or office staff . Equipment includes petrol-engined, machines which empty 14,000 gullies within the Borough ; 9 snow ploughs and 8 gritting machines are used during wintry months, but, as with the Police Force, " the man on the beat " is still the best for the job, and each road man cleans his own section of road, his greatest problem being caused by litter . The history of ancient civilisations has often been revealed by the almost equally ancient contents of rubbish heaps : future civilisations will find little of Rochdale's 20th century waste, apart from dry ashes at Waithlands, and even these will probably make a level and well-drained site for playing-fields, some time near or after the year 1970. HEALTH . The Health Department may be said to feel the pulse and observe the progress of every other Corporation Department ; its records preserve, in cross-section, specimens of nearly every activity within the Borough . In 1908 there were three widely different, but important, advances towards better health in Rochdale : following general Acts of 1907, the Borough's first full-time Assistant Medical Officer of Health for Schools was appointed ; factory chimneys were no longer allowed to belch forth black smoke for more than 3 minutes in each half-hour ; the notification of births came into operation, at a time when 25% of the infants registered in Rochdale (as distinct from notified) were dead even before the Health Visitor had paid her first visit . During 1909, Dr . A. G. Anderson, Rochdale's first full-time Medical Officer of Health, succeeded Dr . J. Henry, and in the same year a start was made in clearing away the pioneer pail closets (which, during courageous early efforts towards some sort of organised sanitation had earned the title of the " Rochdale System ") ; a general institution of water-closets now began . The introduction of the latter, on any large scale, had only doubtfully been envisaged by the Waterworks' consultant engineer, Mr. Hawksley, in the '60's of the 19th century. Other local inaugurations were as follows : the opening of the municipal Bacteriological Laboratory (1910) ; and of the Elliott Street Tuberculosis Dispensary (1913) ; the appointment of a Schools Dental Offi- cer, and the opening of the Schools Dental Clinic in Baillie Street (1914) ; the inaguration of the first Maternity and Child Welfare Clinic at Smith Street (1916) and of the V . D. Clinic at the Infirmary (1917) .

178 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT Tuberculosis had first become notifiable in 1911, and in 1912 the number of cases notified was 207 . Up to 1911, the poor were dependent on medical treatment provided by the Poor Law, by voluntary hospitals, or by " Sick and Burial Societies," but following the 1912 Health Insurance Act came the Local Insurance Committees, under which doctors and patients could adopt the well-remembered "Panel System," whereby each insured patient could choose his own doctor, and vice versa . In 1930, after the abolition of the Boards of Guardians, and with the inception of Public Assistance Committees, local Health departments became responsible for all public institutions concerned with healing, and also for such medical duties as the protection of infant life, vaccina- tion and the collection and recording of vital statistics . Birch Hill Hospital was acquired by the Corporation in 1930 ; also, at this time, the early Marland Hospital, and the Wolstenholme Tuberculosis Hospital (opened in 1920), together with the curative clinics, were in the hands of the Corporation and were administered by the Health Department, the Med- ical Officer of Health in 1930 being Dr . A . Topping . The work of slum clearance, in close co-operation with the Borough Surveyor's Department, was begun in 1931 and continued until the 2nd World War : in 1936 " the town was surveyed with a view to the abate-

Photo : Borough S o Deportment. Health Department (Child Welfare) . " A disapproving customer," TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 179 ment of overcrowding . No real progress in this was made before the outbreak of war." After the important developments between 1930 and 1936, the next step forward was made possible by the National Health Service Act of 1946, as a result of which, overworked local health departments yielded the management of hospitals and clinics to centralised control . The present Rochdale and District Hospital Management Committee (under the Manchester Regional Hospital Board) now controls the institutions already named, also the Rochdale Infirmary, the Children's Orthopaedic Hospital (Bamford) and Clinic (Smith Street), and the Lake View Hospital, (Smithybridge) . Springfield Maternity and Child Welfare Hospital (opened in 1918) had been temporarily closed in 1929 and was re-opened in 1934 as a hospital for female tuberculosis cases . Wolstenholme Hos- pital had been handed over to the County in 1933, but now came under the control of the Regional Board . The Sparthfield Tuberculosis Clinics (Manchester Road), for tuberculosis, dermatology . dental surgery and special cases, were opened in June, 1953 . In 1947, Dr . J. Innes, M.D., D.P.H., Medical Officer of Health since 1932, was in charge of a Department with 59 administrative and clerical staff-this compares with an establishment of 9 in 1907 . Today the local Health Department is concerned, not with controlling diseases and providing the elements of social hygiene, as was necessary at the beginning of the century, but with the Preventive Services and the type of clinic which serves their purpose e.g. Child Welfare and Ante-Natal . No other Corporation Department is so closely in touch with present day general living conditions, however . Dr. Innes' annual report contains two pages of Contents, with subject headings running through the range of the alphabet . A few instances follow : ambulance facilities, canteens, drainage, factories, foods and drugs, housing, ice-cream, meteorology, milk, offensive trades, pests, rags and flocks, rivers and streams, shops, unemployment, water supply and whooping cough . In his report for 1954, (published in July, 1955), Dr . Innes gives the mid-year estimated population of Rochdale as 86,770, (the area of the Borough being 9,556 acres) . The figure for 1951 (Census Year) was 87,734 and for 1953, 86,350 ; " these are not happy figures for a town which had a population of 95,270 in 1933 . In the last ten years there have been in total nearly 1,000 more births than deaths in the town, so that the decrease in population lies at the door of emigration from the town . It is not the Health Services which can solve this dilemma . Rather must the Town Planners, and the Industrial and Commercial Leaders put on their thinking caps to preserve their status, their working population and their consuming public ." Meanwhile, Rochdale's 86,000 people live in 29,426 houses, with a rough average of 3 persons per inhabited house, compared with an average of 5 persons to each inhabited house in 1856, when the population was 34,545.

180 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT The birth-rate per 1,000 of the population in 1954 was 14 .3 ; the death-rate was 13 .8, compared with 23 .4 in 1856 . The rate of infantile mortality in 1954 was 23 per 1,000 live births-" the lowest figure ever recorded for the County Borough ." However, " the general death-rate is higher than the rest of the Country as a whole and in sections " : Rochdale's proportion of 13 .8 deaths per 1,000 of the population compares with an average of 12 .94 amongst 12 neighbouring towns, and with the figure of 11 .3 for England and Wales. Amongst the deaths caused by diseases, during 1954, some 82;;, were due to various ailments of which heart disease (382), cancer (175) and cerebral haemorrhage (208) provided the largest single totals . Pulmonary tuberculosis has considerably declined, from 207 cases notified in 1912 to 71 notified in 1954 ; the tuberculosis death-rate being reduced to less than a quarter of the 1912 total. Hospitals in the district provide 1,375 beds for patients, and waiting-lists for admission are short compared with those in many other areas . The 1954 maternal mortality rate was 0 .78 per thousand live and stillbirths, compared with 0 .69 for England and Wales . Some 8,000 visits were made to patients by qualified midwives . Hundreds of vac- cinations and immunisations for such diseases as diphtheria, whooping cough and smallpox were received by children during the year . Reports of 11 cases of neglected or ill-treated children were received by the M .O.H. from such sources as the Schools Medical Department, Maternity and Child Welfare, the Police, the Education Department, Social Workers, the N .S.P.C.C ., and that latest branch of the Corporation, the Children's Department. " Domestic Helps" assisted 247 cases of maternity or of illness, at a maximum charge of 2s . 8d. per hour, although no charge at all was made to 55 of the households concerned . This was apart from the service provided by Home Nursing, and by Convalescent Homes, such as that at West Hill, Southport. Mental health continues to be a problem, as it was in 1831, when an Overseer of the Poor wrote that : " the lunatic has been a great ex- pence," but nowadays the treatment is, to say the least, sympathetic- Deaf, dumb, blind, epileptic or spastic children are not certified as being mentally defective until exhaustive observation and tests have been made. Every effort is made to provide occupations or employment where it is at all possible . Psychologists, mental health workers and a consultant psychiatrist are at hand to give specialised help, and there is even a local branch, in effect, of the National Association of Parents of Backward Children . The whole modern outlook on this problem has greatly changed and it is encouraging to find that, whereas there were 120 admissions of local mental patients to hospitals in 1954, there were also 112 patients who were discharged . At the end of 1954, 275 mental patients were still in local and other hospitals . TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 181 Sanitation and cleansing, even the weather, come under the watchful eye of the Medical Officer of Health, whose staff includes three Rodent Operatives (once known as Rat-catchers) . These three officials made nearly 3,000 visits to various premises during the year ; the main sewers of the town were twice treated against rats. In 1949 a systematic survey of houses was inaugurated and, up to date, 18,375 houses have been inspected, the wards so far covered being : Falinge, Wardleworth, Central, Balderstone, Newbold, Deeplish, Small- bridge, Healey, Brimrod and Castleton . One interesting printed table shows that the problem of " back-to-back " houses is greatest in the 8,000 houses built before 1870. Over 1,600 houses inspected were of the " back-to-back " type ; over 500 had pail closets or privies ; nearly 700 had waste water closets ; and over 100 were considered to be overcrowded . During September, 1953, a list of 245 unfit houses was submitted to the Housing Committee . The number of sub-standard houses in 1953 was 4,388, a total sufficient to " keep the Housing Department busy for many years." A very topical problem, that of atmospheric pollution, is being watched daily. Of three stations, at Roch Mills, Foxholes House and Entwisle Road (near the Church of the Good Shepherd), the Entwisle Road gauges, in the heart of the town, measure the greatest amount of atmospheric pollution, with a total deposit of over 292 tons per square mile in 1954, compared with 194 tons at Foxholes and 206 tons at Roch Mills, in the south-west, where the prevailing winds enter the Borough . Smoke may not now be emitted from factory chimneys in the Bor- ough for more than 2 minutes in any half-hour . Also, since 1952, a local Joint Consultative Committee on Atmospheric Pollution, has had meetings attended by representatives of trade and industrial bodies and by the Regional Officers of national concerns such as the Gas and Electricity Boards and the Ministries of Fuel and Power, and of Housing and Local Government. An experimental Smokeless Zone has been established in the central area of the town, and reports on its progress are made to the Committee. Health in schools forms a considerable part of the Department's duties . During 1954, all except three of the schools within the Borough were medically inspected ; 8,163 cases were inspected at the Clinics by the School Medical Officers, and over 59,000 individual inspections, dressings or home visits were made by the School Nurses . Dentistry, speech therapy and the curing of deformities are part of the regular work of the Department, aided by consultant surgeons . Dr . Innes' report on the Corporation's progressive Orthoptic Clinic received the distinction of featuring in a 1952-3 Ministry of Education report. A major development is the provision made for a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon, Dr. Stewart Scott, to operate on squints at the Roch- dale Infirmary-this arrangement is rapidly abolishing long waiting- lists,

1 82 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT

In general, " Improvement in the physical health of the children continues and the facilities of the Department are steadily being switched over to deal with the emotional type of disorder which looms so largely ." In closing, a brief summary of Dr . Innes' annual report for 1954 shows that the population of Rochdale has decreased in spite of the increase of births over deaths ; chief preoccupations are those of slum clearance, overcrowding, and of atmospheric pollution . Amongst the causes of deaths in adults, heart disease, cancer and cerebral haemorrhage are predominant ; amongst child ailments, emotional disorders are causing concern, also it is supected that lack of sunshine may have a bearing on the dental decay which is usual in most industrial areas . It seems plain that the town of Rochdale still possesses dark corners which should speedily be cleared ; that its people are in need of clean air, also of attractive living and working conditions, and that, above all, in this complex age of speed, science and technology, there is, here as elsewhere, a necessity for the deliberate cultivation of at least some leisure and relaxation, nor must one forget the community problems of the many elderly people who, surrounded by the housing estates of the Borough, still live alone and friendless. WELFARE . The history of the Welfare Services Department strikingly illus- trates the complex changes brought about by the development of the social services . From 1601 and for over two centuries the relief of the poor was under the charge of local Parish Overseers ; by the 1834 Poor Law Act, various groups of parishes, throughout the country, were amalgamated into Unions, controlled by local Boards of Guardians, and the old "Houses of Plenty " then yielded to the unpopular Union Workhouses . The large Dearnley Workhouse, with its still-existing clock-tower, was opened in 1877, and superseded all the others within the Rochdale Union . In 1900 the Cottage Homes at Meanwood were opened, and in 1902 the Dearnley Workhouse, which already contained accommodation for the sick, was extended by a new block which became known as Birch Hill . Due to the top-hatted Robert Alfred Leach, Clerk to the Board of Guard- ians for over 40 years, this Birch Hill Hospital earned for itself a great name, and during the Ist World War cared for over 6,000 patients, as is witnessed by a plaque beneath the clock in the hall of the building . Important national developments took place in 1909 (the year of the Old Age Pensions Grant), and in 1911 and 1913, respectively, when the National Insurance Act and the Mental Deficiency Act were passed . In 1919 the national Local Government Board was superseded by the Ministry of Health . After the Act of 1925, rating and valuation duties in Rochdale, as elsewhere, were transferred to the County Borough, thus, on April Ist, 1927, the offices of Overseer and Assistant Overseer of the Poor were abolished. TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 1 83 Following the Local Government Act of 1929, Boards of Guardians ceased to exist and their powers and duties in Poor Law matters were transferred (including the registration of Births and Deaths) to County Councils and to County Boroughs, as from April 1st, 1930, when the new Public Assistance Committees were formed. Mr. Isaac Cleg,_, Clerk to the Board of Guardians since 1926 now became the Public Assistance Officer. Also in 1930, the Corporation decided that in future the hospital accommodation at Birch Hill should he administered under the Public Health Acts ; this hospital had also catered for private patients since 1920.

Photo: Boron Sur Welfare Department . " A helping hand ." After the National Assistance Act of 1948, on July 4th the Welfare Services Department was created, having its own committee which superseded the old Public Assistance Committee . Mr. J . Wilson, F.C.C.S., F.I.S . W., now became the Director of Welfare Services, having succeeded Mr. Clegg as Public Assistance Officer in 1935. The Birch Hill (Dearnley) Institution and Hospital (also Marland Hospital, the voluntarily maintained Infirmary and other Hospitals) now became vested in the Ministry of Health, being directly administered by a separate committee under the Manchester Regional Hospital Board . The present Welfare Services Department provides residential accommodation for persons who are old, infirm or in need of care and attention, also temporary shelter in cases of urgent and unforeseen need;

184 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT

blind, deaf or handicapped people receive welfare services ; the personal property of hospital patients can be cared for, and, in certain cases, funeral arrangements are made by this Department . None of Rochdale's old people now live at Birch Hill ; instead, and to meet a growing need, nine Homes for the Aged have already been provided, namely, at the converted mansions of Lauriston, Horse Carrs, Roylelands, Eversleigh, Chamber House, Amulree, Kingsland, Beaumonds and Mayfield . The old people in these houses are free to do their own shopping, to receive visitors, and, if they wish, to help with the household duties. Premises at Cambridge House have been adapted for temporary accommodation . Weekly meetings of certain societies for handicapped or disabled persons take place at the Townhead Office of the Department . A Pastime Occupation Group has also been established . In addition, the Welfare Services Department makes an annual grant to the Rochdale Old People's Welfare Committee, whose ten clubs have a total membership of over 1,000 . The Welfare Services Committee is thoroughly alive to the problems of elderly people who live alone-many visits are made to these and to others who are in any way physically or socially dependent . Helpful suggestions from organisations and individuals receive careful attention . Numbers of bungalows and flats have been specially built by the Corpora- tion for old or handicapped persons, and the Welfare officials take an active interest in seeing that such tenants are happily settled in their new homes. PARKS AND CEMETERIES . Much of Rochdale's leisure and culture has been provided by public-minded natives of the town : in 1902, Sir Samuel Turner (Mayor during the Coronation Year of Edward VII) had presented Falinge Park ; in 1910 (the Coronation Year of George V) the same donor added a further 4} acres, making 25 acres at Falinge Park . In 1926, Mr . F. Lye presented nearly 46 acres of ground, enabling the addition of a municipal golf- course to the 18* acres at Springfield Park, acquired in 1924. Balderstone was acquired in 1930, and, once again, in 1932, members of the Turner family presented another park, at Denehurst (20 acres) . Together with Broadfield (17 acres), these are the five principal parks owned by the Cor- poration,and the park within the ancient glebe-lands at Broadfield had itself owed much to the generosity of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners during the 19th century . It was at Broadfield, in 1908, when Mr . A. Blagdon had been the Parks Superintendent for three years, that the Corporation's first bowling green was opened ; since then, seven others have been made within the Borough . In 1933 Norden's Bagslate Moor, also the Taylor recreation ground and Millbridge garden were added to Rochdale's open spaces . The Castleton recreation ground was acquired in 1948 . Since 1932, Mr. 3. C. Tully, F .Inst .P.A., has been in charge of Rochdale's parks and also, since 1945, of the Cemetery and Crematorium

TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 185

Photo : Allan T. Handle I.B .P. The Town Centre, from Broadfield Park Slopes . which were then transferred to the control of the Parks Department . The Crematorium had been opened in 1938 and many neighbouring towns have availed themselves of its services. There had been over 24,000 cremations by the end of 1955, compared with over 111,000 burials at the Cemetery from 1855 and up to December, 1955 . It is fitting that the Parks Department should have taken over such duties : in the words of the Book of Common Prayer " Man . . . cometh up, and is cut down, like a flower." In a County Borough ringed round with moorland hills, but still partly encumbered with the jerry-built remnants of the Industrial Revolution, and well-tended parks, gardens, green open spaces, sports-fields and playing-grounds come as a revelation to those who spare even an interval during their working-day-no less than 400 acres are reserved for the public's out-door pleasure . On a fine day, the seats in the Mem- orial Gardens and those in Broadfield Park are filled with townspeople ; there can be few more pleasant places in Rochdale than the sheltered formal garden " up t' broo " on Broadfield, with a view which ranges along a moorland skyline extending eastwards from Knowl Hill and past Brown Wardle until it is limited by the high spire of the Town Hall and by the tower of the Parish Church . That autocratic 18th century Vicar, Richard Hind, who first planted auricular in Rochdale would be amazed to find, not only spring auriculas 0

1 8 6 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT

within the old glebe-lands, where once, centuries before, the vicars' oxen had ploughed rough fields, but long-flowering pink and red polyanthus bushes, varied antirrhinums, stocks and many other flowers which make a profuse and colourful summer show today . Such natives of Rochdale as return to their birthplace after an absence of half a lifetime are astonished at the difference in what now seems to be a town full of gardens-the housing estates themselves are interspaced with green verges and trees, the Town Hall stands enclosed on three sides by grass, flowers and trees; in spring, daffodils make a show of yellow on the steep slopes by the Police Office ; during the summer months, neatly planted beds and hanging baskets flank the outside walls of the Exchange, below the four gilded lions of the Portico ; ri'ing up between the Town Hall and the Parish Church are St . Chad's wooded gardens and the pool and water-falls from Packer Spout . These are in the very heart of Rochdale, but it is at Falinge Park that winter-flowering greenhouse plants are cultivated . No less than Vicar Hind, that other keen gardener, old Mr . John Entwisle, 19th century High Sheriff, and husband of Ellen Smith from Castleton Hall, might today be a little envious to find that 20th century pineapples are now grown at Falinge Park, instead of at Foxholes Hall, together with oranges, begonias and cyclamen . In conclusion, it is odd to reflect that a small bloom which changed the course of Rochdale's commerce-the cotton-plant-can he grown at Falinge, making a botanical example for its heraldic replica on the Arms of the County Borough of Rochdale . BATHS . On the untimely death of Mr . P. Hargraves in 1954, Mr. E. Bury, M .N.A .B.S., became the Superintendent of the Baths Department, which, together with the Parks and Cemetery, is under the direction of one Corporation Committee . In 1852 a " Public Cemetery, Baths, Public Walks and Improved Drainage " sub-committee had existed, but it was not until 1868 that the Smith Street Baths and wash-houses were opened to the public . The Castleton Baths were opened in 1910 . The present stone and brick Entwisle Road Baths were officially opened on May 25th, 1937, by the then Mayor, Councillor C . Crowder, J.P. Of the two swimming-pools, the larger is 100 ft. by 36 ft., with a depth ranging from 3 to 9 feet, containing, within walls of attractively pale blue faience tiles, 120,000 gallons of water which is filtered and purified every three hours, being maintained at a temperature of approximately 78 degrees Fahrenheit . There are four diving-boards, the highest being 5 metres. Behind is a built-in stage which can be used if ever this, in effect, large and pleasant auditorium should be converted into a theatre, concert or dance-hall . Glass-ceilinged, walled with ivory-coloured acoustic tiles, to reduce echoing, having three raised terraces for spectators, apart from the 1st floor Cafe, the Pool is illuminated by under-water flood-lighting projected TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 187 through the glass observation windows of the basement, and must seem something of a revelation to those who remember the dark and crowded Smith Street Baths . Our Victorian grandparents might raise their eye- brows at, not only Turkish and Russian Steam Baths, but Zotofoam and Luma Baths, where, for about 3s . 6d., modern Rochdalians can benefit from heat therapy, adding, if they wish, for a further 9d., pine essence for bronchial relief, or seaweed extract for rheumatic complaints . Slipper Baths, combined with a shower, also cost 9d . Gone are the days when ladies and gentlemen in knee-length bathing costumes were strictly segregated : there is now mixed bathing on every day of the week in the Large Pool, and even until noon on Sundays during the summer months, although certain days are set apart for the Small Plunge and for the steam and foam baths . Swimmers are encouraged all the year round, but are warned against bathing immediately after a heavy meal ; an hour and a half to 2 hours should be allowed for Turkish and similar baths, which have an adjacent cooling room with divan couches .

Photo : Borough Surveyor's Department. Rochdale Corporation Baths: the large plunge . The Entwisle Road Central Baths, fortunately built just before the 2nd World War, are claimed to be the finest indoor baths in the country, apart from those at Blackpool . Many municipal officials from other towns have visited Rochdale, to inspect a particularly well-designed building, equipped with separate cloak-rooms, lockers, showers and driers, with a basement laundry which caters for its own needs and those of other Departments-approximately 130,000 articles were laundered during 1954-55 . The filtration plant, like that at Water Grove Reservoir,

1 8 8 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT

employs vertical pressure filters containing sand from Leighton Buzzard. The water is sterilized by chlorination, in accordance with Ministry of Health standards. A 23-dial central control panel shows at a glance the various temperatures in different parts of the building, also the level of water in the pools, and the rate of filtration flow . The present staff of this Department numbers 30 . Both at Rochdale and at Castleton there are well-attended swimming clubs . With the growth of television, the attractions of swimming contests and exhibitions have been much more widely realised in the country as a whole . Local Galas are extremely popular, and it is not too much to say that, due to the excellent baths and staff at Entwisle Road and at Castleton, Rochdale has produced swimmers of a potential Olympic standard from within an inland and Pennine town . PUBLIC LIBRARIES, ART GALLERY AND MUSEUM . Not until 1919 were public libraries throughout the country free from the limitations of a crippling Id . rate-from then on, the Rochdale Library Department was, like all other branches of the Corporation, entitled to a fair share in the product of the local rates . Meanwhile, the Chief Librarian, Mr. George Hanson, had retired in 1911 . after 40 years of service, and was succeeded by R . J . Gordon (who also became Curator), during a year which saw the reorganisation of the Lending Library and the beginning of the classification system whereby books are grouped conveniently, according to their subjects . The laborious hand- written ledger system of recording loans of books was now changed to a speedier card system . In 1921, the Jubilee Year of the Library, the public were allowed open access to the shelves, and now, for the first time, Rochdalians could choose and handle their own books at will, instead of queueing at the barrier, consulting a catalogue and then inspecting a large Indicator which showed whether respective volumes were " In " or " Out." Gordon, one of the best-known librarians in England, left Rochdale in 1921, and was succeeded as Librarian and Curator by Mr . C. Stott, who also took over the Secretaryship of the Art Gallery . Four years later, the Castleton and Children's Libraries were converted to open-access . Partly owing to the increasing congestion of the Central Library and to the building of new housing estates, with a consequent move of the population away from the centre of the town, in 1929 three new delivery stations (regularly supplied with boxes of books), at Milnrow Road, Spotland and Sudden, supplemented those which had been opened in 1913 at Healey, Lowerplace and Smallbridge ; a Branch Library was opened at Balderstone Hall in 1930 and this was followed by two others, at Bamford and Norden, in 1933 . The year ending March, 1936, saw the inauguration of the North- Western Regional Library Scheme, part of a national and magnificent system whereby libraries co-operate in lending books, generally of a specialist nature, to individual borrowers at local libraries (before this, TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH: 1906-1956 189 specialist books had been borrowed through the National Central Library in London) . This scheme was further developed in January, 1955, when the libraries of the North-West commenced a system of co-operative book purchasing and stock maintenance known as the Subject Specialisation Scheme . Each library has accepted specific subjects on which it has agreed to buy all books as published in England, and to make them freely available to any library within the scheme . Those for Rochdale include co- operation, certain branches of engineering, building and building materials, and engraving. In addition, as librarians discard non-fiction books that are no longer required in their district they offer them to the libraries who are responsible for those subjects covered by the books, with the result that at least one copy of every book now available, and of all new ones as published, will remain available to readers in the North-West . During war-time conditions, reading greatly increased, at a time when there were difficulties in buying or binding books . A somewhat noisy Dickman system of card-stamping (installed in 1938) lessened queues at the barriers, but was not altogether satisfactory, and in 1952 a return was made to the former card-charging routine . During 1948-49 it was decided to resume the practice, interrupted by the War, of supplying to societies, and to students, lists of books on specific subject-matters required ; reading-lists on the Rochdale Canal, the Lancashire Dialect, and the Cotton and Woollen Industries were amongst many that were compiled in this year . In the following year readers soon showed full appreciation of a newly provided Enquiry Desk . On the death of Mr . Stott in 1950, Mr . E. Taylor, A.L.A., was appointed Chief Librarian and Curator . In the year after, the now incomplete lists of Patent Specifications were partly used to supplement those of the war-damaged Liverpool Library stock, the remainder being returned to the Patent Office . At this time there was indeed urgent need for re-organisation : in 1918 Mr . R . J. Gordon had reported that the " present building is taxed to its utmost capacity ." In the Jubilee Year of 1921, dry-rot had obtained a foot-hold in the premises . During 1925 and later years, the Library had gradually encroached upon the Art Gallery and Museum space, and in 1936 half the Reference Library stock had been transferred to Balderstone Hall . Moreover, in 1955 the total book stock amounted to over 122,500 volumes, with a record total of nearly 900,000 loans to borrowers-this compared with the respective totals of less than 40,000 volumes and some 220,000 loans in 1886, shortly after the Library was built. The adaptation of a building, erected seventy years ago, to meet the needs of a greatly expanded service was a problem which had been discussed many times through the years by successive Committees .

190 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT Natural extension was ruled out by the building of the Art Gallery. The alternative was to increase the depth of the premises, which would entail the heavy cost of covering over the river . In these circumstances a complete remodelling of the existing building offered the only possi- bility of modernisation and this was completed in May, 1955. The 1956 Rochdale Public Libraries comprise 7 separate library buildings, with 4 delivery and deposit stations and 16 school libraries departments. The total number of staff is 31, of which 23 are library staff; this compares with a total of 7 staff at Rochdale and Castleton in 1906. The number of " active " borrowers in 1954-55 was 15,951, or approxim- imately 181% of the population . Per head of staff, the yearly issue of books was over 38,000-this takes no account of the administrative and technical work of organising a positive army of books, or of such services as library lectures, co-operation with schools and societies, and aids to readers . Information given by the Reference staff has included replies to the Universities of Ankara and of Miami, and has dealt with subjects varying from the rare metal, beryllium (or bluconium), to a Continental holiday required by a housewife . In 1954-55, the whole library service cost 5s. 9d . to each inhabitant of Rochdale . Mr. Taylor's forecast, in 1953, that " television . could well increase the reading habit . . . once the novelty of viewing has receded " has been proved well founded, locally, by book issues which continue to rise almost sensationally . In the same Annual Report he emphasized the fact that well- equipped public libraries now make a major contribution to the cultural and educational needs of the country . . . and at a cost almost infinitesimal by comparison with some of the public and social services . As has already been mentioned, the thriving Central Library has made demands on the space of the Art Gallery and Museum. During the last War, part of the Art Gallery was used to store Reference stock, displaced by the air-raid shelters in the Library basement, part, also was used to display some of the exhibits when the Museum was temporarily taken over for the Food Control and National Registration offices. In addition to the funds provided by that early donor, James Ogden, the Art Gallery now benefits from the Bright, Handley and Thomp- son Bequests which have made possible such purchases as Clausen's " Golden Barn " and Farquharson's " Through the crisp air," each, and many others, bought with the Ogden funds ; " Hill-folk," by Lucy Kemp- Welch : Handley : " Ben Loyal," by Cecil A . Hunt : Bright : " Our Town," by L. S. Lowry : Thompson . One of the most controversial pictures has been Augustus John's " Eve Kirk," purchased through the Ogden Bequest, in 1946-7, and now insured for £1,200 . One oil painting, chosen, as is the annual custom, to be hung in the Mayor's Parlour, was that of the Burmese lady " Saw Ohn Nyun IV," by Gerald Kelly-this painting was in 1948 admired by the Royal visitor Queen Elizabeth (now the Queen Mother) whose portrait had been painted by the same artist. By far the most popular paint- TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 191 ing, acquired just before the War, is the portrait of " Miss Gracie Fields, C .B .E.," by James Gunn . The Art Gallery Committee is in touch with a London agent ; modern trends are well represented and recent purchases have included works by such artists as Lucien Pisarro, Vivien Pitchforth and John Piper, also the large bronze " Head of Paul Robeson," by Jacob Epstein . Local artists have not been neglected and several of their works have been bought for the Permanent Collection : two " one-man " exhibitions, in 1944 and 1946 featured the paintings of V . J. Gregson and of Harold Hemingway ; there was an exhibition of Lancashire artists in 1949, and one of Rochdale artists in 1951-the Festival of Britain Year, during which the exhibition " Rochdale-past and present " attracted over 20,000 visitors . Local societies are represented amongst the various exhibitions and lectures shown in the galleries : three regular features are the annual exhibitions of the Municipal School of Art, and the Art and Photographic Societies, respectively, of Rochdale . Amongst the more general exhibitions in the Festival Year was one of a type which might be more encouraged, namely, a collection of photographs and other material illustrating the work of the Corporation, in this case, that of the Borough Surveyor's Department . The Library and the Art Gallery have each continued to receive valuable and generous gifts too numerous to he listed here ; there are also signs of an increasing interest in the Museum . One very welcome gift, for instance, donated by Mrs . G. Dearden in 1955, was the fine

The Public Library : Lending Department 1955.

192 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT

Celtic necklet referred to in an earlier chapter . Nevertheless, many irreplaceable articles have been lost to the town through lack of a suitable Folk Museum ; one notable example is the Roman silver arm, which, after remaining for many years in the keeping of private persons, cannot now be traced and must be classed as " missing, presumed lost ." One of the old halls still standing within the Manor of Rochdale would be a fitting choice for a Folk Museum, to be bought and maintained, if necessary, by the ratepayers who formed a large proportion of the many people who flocked to see " Rochdale-past and present ." Meanwhile, the contents of the present Museum are to be transferred to the comparatively recent building of Balderstone Hall, which will house the nucleus of what, it is hoped, will prove to be a Folk Museum worthy of Rochdale's long and rich history. EDUCATION . Following the important Education Act of 1902, whereby local authorities became responsible for all forms of education, with power to supply and aid secondary schools, an Act of 1906 made provision for school meals and school milk, and in 1907 financial help was granted to secondary schools, subject to conditions which stipulated a percentage of " free places " for pupils from elementary schools . At the Rochdale Secondary School for Boys and Girls, opened in 1907, 25% of the pupils were educated free of charge . This school later became known as the Municipal High School (for boys and for girls, respectively) . In 1912 the thriving Nelson Street Technical College was enlarged to double its previous size, but, until 1951, provided evening classes only, the Secondary School occupying class-rooms in the building during the day-time . The 1918 Education Act, followed by the consolidatirg Act of 1921, abolished fees in elementary schools and finally put an end to the pernicious" Half-Time System ." When, after two or three years, the Act came into full force, no child might leave school before the age of 14, whereas, before 1918, children were allowed to do so if they had reached a certain standard of education or had completed a stipulated number of attendances. During the '90's, Archdeacon Wilson had noticed the retarded growth of children who worked in factories ; his measurements of children at the Parish Church School were followed by the 20th century researches of Dr. McMaster and Dr . Nora Mills : since 1908 (the first year of routine school medical inspection) the increase in the weight and height of Roch- dale school children has increased most notably . After 1918 such children ceased to work in factories from 6 a .m. till 12-30 a.m . during one week, and from 1-30 p .m. to 5-30 p .m . in the following week, attending school for half-days only, as had been common practice formerly in Rochdale and other industrial towns . A vigorous local campaigner against this " Half-Time System," Mr . T. L. Roberts, was the head master of the still- existing St. Mary's School (Redcross Street) until he retired in 1925 . TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 193 During the '30's, an attempt to raise the school-leaving age to 15 years was temporarily defeated by the outbreak of the 2nd World War . Meanwhile, in 1925 the Brownhill Open-air School (at the newly converted mansion formerly belonging to the 17th century Holts and lastly to Colonel A . H . Royds) was opened as Rochdale's first special school, for delicate children . In 1935 the Secondary School was divided into two separate schools with the Municipal High School for Girls being transferred to the well-planned and beautifully situated new building at Greenhill, and during the same year the first nursery school at South Street, was opened as a result of efforts by the Rochdale Voluntary Nursery Schools Association . In 1938, during which year Mr. A. Royds became Rochdale's Director of Education, three other nursery schools, at Brimrod, Howard Street and Thames Street, were given by Sir Samuel Turner. Apart from these four separate nursery schools, which cater for children between the ages of 2 and 5 years, certain primary schools in the Borough provided classes for children of 3 years old and over . The High Birch School at Marland for educationally sub-normal children, was opened during 1949 in a new building adjoining a converted house which had formerly belonged to Mr. James Tweedale. Before the close of the War, in 1944 the most important Education Act since 1918 raised the school-leaving age to 15 years, and also stipulated that, wherever possible, classes should not exceed 40 junior pupils, or 30 pupils in senior classes . Public elementary schools were now termed Primary Schools, and catered for children of I I years or under ; the Secon- dary Schools provided for children over that age . Fees in all maintained Secondary Schools were now abolished, and new financial arrangements were made for the maintenance of existing voluntary schools and the building of new ones. In 1953 the pupils of the Municipal High School for Boys were transferred to their new Grammar School at Balderstone, which was opened by the Archbishop of York, Dr. Cyril Garbett, on October 16th- in 1564 the building of the original Grammar School near the Parish Church had been largely due to the interest of the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew Parker . The old 16th century school could easily have been contained within the new Grammar School's Assembly Hall, which seats an audience of 500 people . Its 1935 sister school at Greenhill was now styled as the Grammar School for Girls. On October Ist, 1953, the Holland Street extension to the Tech- nical College was opened by Sir Cuthbert Clegg, J.P., and, for the first time since the Nelson Street building was opened, in 1893, day students could attend classes in well-equipped engineering, building, spinning and weaving workshops . Out of 2,000 students today, some 700 are released by their employers in order to attend at Holland Street for one full day each week. In 1955, 60 schools were administered by the Rochdale Education Department, including 17 schools which have been opened since 1906,

194 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT namely : Oakenrod, 1908 : Castleton, Juniors and Infants, 1914 ; Lower- place, at Kingsway, 1920 : Lowerplace, at Charter Street, 1929 ; these former Council Schools are now termed as County Schools . Apart from other schools already mentioned (two special, four nursery and the two grammar schools), the Brimrod and Green Bank Senior (now Secondary) Schools were opened in 1938 ; the Kirkholt Infants' and Junior Schools followed in 1949 and 1952, respectively ; Hill Top Infants' School was also opened in 1952 . Seven schools had been closed since 1906 : the three Church of England schools, St . Edmund's and Oakenrod (both in 1908) and St. Martin's, in 1914. Belfield Council School was closed down in 1915, followed by the Parish Church Infants' School in 1934 and Milkstone Council School in 1941 ; the Baillie Street Church of England School was closed in 1949 .

P am : Boys and the Grammar School, Balderstone, 1955 . The total number of teachers in 1955 was 477 : (he total school population was 12,287 pupils, of whom 50° ;; took meals at school, either free or at a charge of 9d . Primary and Secondary Schools account for 11,776 scholars, with 452 teachers : an average of 26 pupils per teacher ; classes of handicapped or very young children at special or nursery schools are, naturally, much smaller than the average day-school classes . If necessary, clothing and shoes could be provided by the local authority, but needy cases are, in fact, helped by the National Assistance Board . Truancy is negligible : only 10 prosecutions, for persistent non-attendance, TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 145 were necessary during 1955 . The average number of hours worked by individual children (needless to say, out of school hours) was 10-12 per week, and 297 children obtained work with people who were licensed as suitable employers, under the conditions laid down by the local bye-laws . It is difficult, now, in a district containing so many modern airy schools which are attended by well-fed and well-clothed children, to picture the bad old days, not far distant, when the excuse for non-attendance was " No clogs," and when the " Half-timers " fell asleep amidst the crowded, noisy classes of 60 or more scholars in small, dark buildings having little cloak-room accommodation . Today there are changing-rooms and showers, gymnasiums and, within the Borough, some 120 acres of playing-fields . Necessary trends and changes in educational methods are often more greatly appreciated by teachers, rather than parents . Following the substitution of the General Certificate of Education for the old School Certificate in 1951 (during which year Mr . H . L . Robinson, M.A ., was appointed as Rochdale's Chief Education Officer), Secondary Schools are now divided into three categories, of which the Grammar Schools cater chiefly for academic needs-for pupils who wish to attend universities and, ultimately, to adopt a profession . The Secondary Technical Schools provide not only a textbook training but actual workshop practice for future industrial and commercial employees, or employers . Secondary Modern Schools give a general all-round education . Pupils are entered for the Ordinary Level or Advanced Level of the General Certificate of Education examinations, which are usually taken at the ages of 16 and 18, respectively, and may lead to State or locally granted scholarships . The greatest care is taken in classifying every child correctly ; however, many modern parents tend to lag behind the times in coveting for their children, sometimes unreasonably, a Grammar School education in preference to any other . Other parents, as has always been the case, begrudge their children a very valuable extra year or two at school, in spite of the fact that in Rochdale a weekly maintenance allowance is paid, when necessary, so that children may continue their education after the legal school- leaving age . Classes at the Further Education Centres, attended by adults, as well as by adolescents, are held at Nelson Street (Technical College and School of Art), Holland Street (technical education) and at the Baillie Street Further Education Centre . The Lea Hall Youth Club, sponsored by the Rochdale Education Committee, was opened in 1954 . A local Youth Employment Service has been established since 1949, with, in January, 1955, new offices at the Milkstone Road School . Officers of this department are in close touch, not only with schools and pupils, but with conditions in the local industries . Valuable information and advice is given to every potential employee within Rochdale's schools . On the advice of the Medical Officer of Health for Schools, handicapped children are sent to special schools, often outside the Borough, and epileptic, educationally sub-normal, even blind or spastic children will eventually be found suitable employment, where possible, or will be cared for by the Welfare Department .

196 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT

Since the days of the endowed schools and Sunday schools, Rochdale, the birthplace of Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth, has always fought early and vigorously for education . A fine 20th century example of this kind of enterprise was shown when in 1905 the Rochdale Education Guild was inaugurated ; it is now the Rochdale Branch of the Workers' Educational Association and was the third branch of the Association to be formed in England. W.E.A. evening classes, now held in Rochdale schools, are aided by the Rochdale Education Department . Today, many advantages are taken for granted, and yet it was during the 30's that seven new schools were opened, and since 1949 there have been five more, not including a very necessary Further Educational development : the opening, in a converted mill, of the Holland Street Technical College Extension with workshops (within a still unsatisfactory building) equal to those in any similar North of England college, and containing equipment which was installed at an approximate cost of £80,000 . In such an age as this, when Lancashire depends on up-to-date methods and quality, rather than quantity, in order to compete in inter- national markets the £140,000 spent at Holland Street should soon produce rich dividends for a town which is now well-known for its industrial and commercial versatility, and whose greatest hopes are vested in 12,000 Rochdale school-children . THE CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT. Immediately after the 2nd World War, public opinion became roused concerning those children who, for various reasons, had no parents, or were unable to live with their own parents . Consequently, a govern- mental committee was called to investigate the situation, under the chairmanship of Dame Myra Curtis . The main proposals of the resulting " Curtis Report " were embodied in the Children Act, 1948, whereby, from July 5th of that year, County and County Borough Councils were required by law to undertake responsibility for the care of homeless children and of children who had been removed from their homes by order of a Court. On June 14th, 1948, in anticipation of the Children Act, the Rochdale Children's Department was opened, in temporary premises at the Baillie Street Office of the Health Department, and later, in April, 1953, moved into more permanent quarters at St . George's Chambers, 2, Blackwater Street . When the Department was inaugurated, it took over a children's home, Burnedge View, Kingsway, from the Welfare Services Department . It then acquired three more buildings, the first being at Spring Bank, Bamford, for children up to five years of age, who had previously been looked after in a wing of the Birch Hill Hospital . In May, 1951, Rose Bank, Merefield Street, was opened : this home is in the charge of foster parents who provide a normal home atmosphere for eight working girls of over school age. In 1952, Moss House, Heywood, was opened as a " short stay " home where children could be received until plans had TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 197 been made for their future . Burnedge View then became a " long stay " family group home with provision for various children, including those who could not be boarded out direct from Moss House . From the early days of the Department the number of children to be cared for has continued to rise. However, considerable efforts have been made to keep children within their own homes (or to see that they return to them), also, suitable foster parents have been found for other children whenever possible . Due to these efforts, Moss House became redundant and was closed in March, 1955, its functions being absorbed by Spring Bank . The first Children's Officer, Miss J . S . Heywood, B.A ., A .M .I .A ., was succeeded in 1954 by Mr . J . L. Burns, Cert . Soc . Sc ., who, with a staff totalling 18, supervises the welfare of about 120 children . The duties of this Department include the supervision of children whose own parents have placed them with foster parents, also the provision of reports to the Juvenile Court and the supervision of all children placed within the Borough for adoption . Another heavy responsibility which usually falls to the Department is that of reporting to the Court concerning all circumstances attendant on a proposed adoption . In 1952, a further Act of Parliament increased the duties of Children's Departments by placing upon them the responsibility of investigating, or causing investigation to be made into, any cases in which it has been alleged that children are being neglected in their own homes . The Rochdale Children's Homes are run in a way which provides for the children a life as near as possible to that which they would enjoy if they were in their own homes . The Homes cannot, however, provide exactly the same affection and security as is found within the family circle, and, therefore, one of the chief aims of the Department is to find suitable foster parents. THE SUMMING UP . In summing up the cost of Rochdale's municipal services, the changing value of money must always be borne in mind : in the 14th century, for instance, Is. 4d. would buy a sheep ; 120 eggs cost 4d., and a carpenter's wage was 3 ;d . per day . In 1956 a carpenter's daily wage was £I 15s . 6d. and he could expect to pay about 3s . 6d. for 1 lb . of New Zealand lamb or mutton, and 4d . for one egg. According to The Statist's Annual Index, which takes as its working basis the general average wholesale price of 45 commodities (composed of foods, minerals, textiles, etc .), the index number of wholesale prices in 1856 was 101, and in 1906 it was 77 . In 1947 the index number rose above 200, for the first time since 1920. The figures for the last five years are as follows :--1951 : 402 : 1952 : 380 ; 1953 : 366 ; 1954 : 361 ; 1955 : 374. The history of the Corporation's Finance, during the last fifty years, may be divided into three sections, the first of which applies to rate-making ; the second concerns sources of revenue and capital, and the third outlines the development of the Finance Department itself,

198 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT

From 1906 until March 31st, 1926, the various rates fixed by the Council continued to be collected by the Poor Law Overseers ; thereafter, the Council became responsible for collection, under the provisions of the Rating and Valuation Act, 1925-the first of three important Acts which affected rates. This Act consolidated and amended existing rating law in an endeavour to achieve uniformity in valuation throughout the country ; the consequent revaluation increased the rateable value of the Borough by £20,000 to £646,000 and permitted a rate reduction of 8d . However, by the Local Government Act of 1929 (during a trade slump), agricultural holdings were totally exempted and industrial property was greatly de-rated, but a compensatory Exchequer Grant, under the same Act, saved the rates from being raised in 1931, when the Act came into force . In 1933 the Borough was extended to include Bamford and Norden ; this added a further £27,000 to the rateable value, which, in 1939, had reached a total of £564,000, the rate being fixed at 1 5s. 9d . in the pound . There was little change in the rate during the 2nd World War, but post-war development raised the rateable value of the Borough to £577,000 in 1947-48 . Lastly, by the Local Government Act of 1948, the duty of valuation for rating was transferred to the Inland Revenue Department in an attempt to level rates paid by similar groups of ratepayers throughout the country . The new valuation became effective in 1956-7, the rateable value being increased from £596,335 to £942,442-an increase of 58'/' compared with the national average increase of 72% . In consequence of this increase in the rateable value the rate in the pound was reduced from 26s. 6d. to 19s. although rising prices and extended services brought the net rate borne expenditure to the highest ever figure of £855,000. Rochdale's municipal income is received from two main sources : the rates and Government grants. Since 1906, the latter have risen from £40,000 (three-quarters of which was from the Board of Education) to £285,000 in 1931 (including the General Exchequer Grant of £I 11,500) . In the 1956-7 Estimates, Government grants of £877,000 exceeded the £855,000 to be met from the rates . Meanwhile, the Corporation's trading undertakings had experi- enced both profits and losses . In 1906, £19,000 and £1,000 were transferred to the rates from the Gas and Electricity Undertakings, respectively, but there were deficits of £8,000 for Transport and £3,000 for Water, making a net relief to the rates of £9,000. Between the World Wars, Transport, Gas and Electricity, taken together, were self-supporting, but during the same period the provision of water led to a total deficit of £135,000, which was met from the rates . Since the last War, Passenger Transport and Markets have made contributions towards the rates, and the Water Department, after raising its charges, has become self-supporting for the first time in its history . The Electricity and Gas Undertakings, whose net assets were over one TOWARDS THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH : 1906-1956 199 million pounds and nearly half a million pounds, respectively, were nationalised in 1948 and 1949 . In 1906 the Corporation's capital outlay amounted to over two million pounds ; by 1931 it had risen to over 5 .1 millions, and in 1956-57 it was over 14 million pounds . In recent years, borrowings for capital expenditure have amounted to approximately one million pounds per annum : post-war housing has accounted for over half of this amount,

PhMo : D . Wornvlt. The rate laying ceremony in the Council Chamber, 1954 . and education (including the building of new schools) has taken one-fifth . Today, the total indebtedness of the Borough is about 91 million pounds, of which roughly 71 millions has been raised by mortgage and 2 millions by two issues of redeemable stock . By far the greatest part of the debt consists of over 5 million pounds for housing . The outstanding debt per head of population was approximately £112 in 1956-57, compared with £48 in 1931 and £22 in 1906 . A few comparisons may be interesting ; various increases during the past fifty years have been in the following proportions : the number of Corporation staff has doubled, to 2,500 full-time and 1,000 part-time employees ; the amount raised by the rates, and the Corporation's capital outlay have both increased over six-fold ; the Corporation's weekly wage- bill is now ten times more than the 1906 total . Rochdale's population of 87,189 in 1906 compares with 95,370 in 1933 and with 86,770 in 1956-57 .

200 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT

Improved conditions, particularly as regards housing, education and the greatly expanded social services, have proved costly : in spite of changing money values and a declining population, Rochdale now enjoys the benefits of post-war prosperity and full employment . Municipal accountancy methods have, since the '20's, become considerably standardised throughout the country . Rochdale's accounts are in part audited by Professional Auditors and in part by the govern- mental District Auditors . Copies of the Borough Treasurer's annual abstract of accounts are open to inspection at the Town Hall or at the Public Library and may also be bought, at a reasonable price, by any interested person . During the last quarter of a century the staff of the Department very necessarily rose from 58 in 1931 to approximately 120 after the 2nd World War, being reduced upon the loss of the Gas and Electricity Undertakings, also of the Hospital Service and Valution functions : the staff numbered 80 in 1956. In order to deal efficiently with the increased volume of financial transactions, which now approximate to 6 million pounds per year, and to account for the Council's assets, whose book value alone is 15 million pounds, the Department is equipped with modern accounting machinery including a punched card installation, duplicating, calculating and printing machines . Future development may include the installation of electronic computers . Due to the expansion of the Department and the over-cgowding of the Town Hall, accountancy and auditing offices and staff are now at River Street, but the offices concerned with collection and cash, loans and debtors, and with rating, are at the east side of the Town Hall . In 1939, Mr. S. W. Sykes succeeded Mr. Percy Sutcliffe as Borough Treasurer, and the post has been held by Mr . F. Sanders, F.I .M.T.A ., A.S.A.A., since 1944 . In March, 1955, a masterly " budget speech " was made by the present Chairman of the Finance Committee, Alderman F . W. Green- wood. For the first time, the Rochdale Town Council was proposing revenue expenditure of over one million pounds in one year ; the rates to remain unchanged at 26s. 6d . in the pound . In explaining this expenditure, Alderman Greenwood gave a number of examples to show costs in the various departments :Police : gross requirements, expressed as a cost per police officer, average £935 ; Fire Department: a similar average of £725 per fireman ; Housing : average rate subsidy per dwelling, £4 13s . 6d. ; Highways and Buildings : approximate cost of re-surfacing one mile of a classified road, £30,000 ; Cleansing: keeping the streets clean, £34,000 ; Health : cost of running an ambulance, 4s . per mile ; Welfare : cost of one resident at a Home for the Aged, £5 3s . 3d . per week (part of which is contributed by residents) ; Cemeteries: loss on each earth burial, £13 10s. ; surplus after each cremation ; £2 12s . ; Baths: subsidy for each visitor, 2s. Id. ; Education: cost of one child kept at a Grammar School, £65 per year ; cost of School Milk per year, £20,000 (which is reimbursed by the Government).

FIVE FREEMEN OF ROCHDALE.

Photo : Baron. Photo : A A . Badd. Miss Gracie Fields, C .B.E. Alderman C. H. Bryning, O .B.E.

Photo : D . Worroll. P at . : Rochdale Observer . Mr. John C. Jefferson, Sir Samuel Turner. M.B., B .S., F.R.C.S.

Photo : D . Worroll . p Alderman Samuel Diggle .

202 ROCHDALE RETROSPECT

Alderman Greenwood raised the question of whether it is better to meet capital expenditure from the rates or by loans : " there must be, I think, a limit to the amount which can be borne by the rate of any one year for providing assets which will be enjoyed by future ratepayers for many years to come ." The revenue contributions towards capital outlay were fixed at a rate of Is . 2d . for the _year. Revaluation of property was expected to come into effect on April 1st, 1956, and " other things being equal . . . an increase in the rateable value should be off-set by a decrease in rate poundage ." The rate for 1956-7 was in fact fixed at 19s . Od . Today, Rochdale enjoys the reputation of being an efficient and energetic County Borough ; in the future, it will, doubtless, maintain its progressive policy and continue to build upon the sound financial foun- dation which has been established during the last half century. LATEST STATISTICS .

Item 1 858-9 1906-7 1956-7 Population 34,545 87,189 86,770 Area of Borough (Acres) 1,140 6,446 9.553 Population per Acre 30.3 13.5 9.1 Mileage of Public Roads 57 112 Rateable Value £90,000 £393,000 £942,442 Rateable Value per Head of Population £2 12 I £4 10 2 £10 17 3 Rate in the L Levied . . 3s. ad. 7s. 9d. 19s. Od. Product of Id . Rate £370 £1,395 £3,750 Amount Raised from Rates £13,500 £130,000 £855,000 Rates per Head of Population . . 7s. 10d. £I 9 10 £9 17 1 Expenditure from Loans . . £65,000 £2,300,000 £14,000,000 Loans Repaid and Sinking Funds £5,000 £420,000 £4,300,000 Debt Outstanding £60,000 £1,880,000 £9,700,000 Net Debt per Head of Population LI 15 0 f21 8 0 £112 Net Debt per £. of Rateable Value 13s. Od. £4 19 0 Elf) • First full year of Corporation control in succession to the Improvement Commissioners .

THE HONORARY FREEMEN OF THE BORO(LGH . 1907-1956 . During the first fifty years of incorporation, only seven people, all men who were natives of Rochdale, were admitted to the Freedom of the Borough, and, of these, four received this honour during the Jubilee Year of 1906 . Since then there have been seven Honorary Freemen, of whom three survive in 1956 . Precedent has twice been broken, once to admit, for the first time, a lady- well-known the world over, and, secondly, to admit, also for the first time, a man who was not actually a native of Rochdale but who, during all his working life, was well-beloved as a Rochdale surgeon . The seven latest Freemen of the Borough were admitted in the following order ; Alderman William Cunliffe made Freeman in 1919 ; T'OWARFYi THE CENTENARY OF THE BOROUGH: 1905-1956 203

Alderman Joseph Robert Heape : 1924 ; Miss Gracie Fields, C.B.E. : 1937 ; Sir Samuel Turner : 1937 ; Alderman Samuel Diggle : 1947 ; Alderman Charles Henry Bryning, O.B.E. : 1947 ; Mr. John C . Jefferson : 1954. The Freemen of the Borough take their place in the front rank on any great civic occasion such as the ceremonial visit of a reigning British monarch . Apart from informal occasions, there have been only three such royal visits : King George V and Queen Mary visited Rochdale in 1913 ; King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were formally received in 1938 and in 1954 Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the Town Hall . Only those who have been within the Great Hall at such a time can fully appreciate the powerful effect of such a great assembly within so worthy a setting . In October, 1954, the young Queen, entering the Great Hall, walked towards tall stained-glass windows containing the richly coloured portraits of every monarch from William the Conqueror until the last reigning Queen, Victoria ; on either side of her path were lines of Freemen, Councillors, Chief Officials of the Corporation and many people of distinction . The Mayor and Mayoress, with their robes and chains of office, presided on this civic occasion ; the Town Clerk, wigged and gowned, supervised the ceremony ; the Chief Constable, in a pic- turesque uniform which includes a cocked hat and a pair of spurs, was responsible for the orderliness of the crowds . The oldest Freeman was the nonagenarian Alderman Diggle, who will win no more swimming- races against a Mayor, as he did in 1893 ; the most famous Freeman was Miss Gracie Fields, who did not indulge the audience with a song on this occasion : the latest Freeman had died in September, before receiving the Scroll and Casket, but his family was represented by his sister and her husband, Sir Cuthbert Clegg, the present High Sheriff of Lancashire for 1955-56 . Meanwhile, the statue of George Leach Ashworth stands above the Town Hall in the Formal Garden of Broadfield Park, and the patient face of the architect, W . H. Crossland . waits in the Mayor's Reception Room . Their Town Hall has not changed during the last fifty years, except for the addition of the organ which heralded the Queen, a new floor, and such modern concessions as the loud-speakers which hang between the heavy lamps . It is a fine Town Hall, built by men of imagin- ation for a town which has always maintained its character and energy . In 1956, the Centenary Year of the Borough, there will once more be processions and bonfires ; amongst officials and townspeople there will still be many Rochdalians with the names of Butterworth, Chadwick, Clegg, Holt, Schofield and a score or so of other names which were old when the Parish Church was built above the woods where now the Town Hall stands . Photo : D . Worrall. The Royal Visit, October, 1954.