REPORT FOR DECISION

Agenda item no:

Rochdale Township Committee 9th November 2011

Report of the Service Director Planning and Regulation

Rochdale Town Centre Conservation Area and Townscape Heritage Initiative consultation strategy and draft appraisal report

Wards affected: Milkstone and Deeplish Report Author: Kerrie Smith

Telephone: (01706) 924352

To note the consultation strategy for Rochdale Town Centre Conservation Area and the Townscape Heritage Initiative

1. It is recommended that: 1.1 The Township Committee: 1. Note the relationship between the conservation area designation and the Townscape Heritage Initiative 2. Note the processes involved in applying for a Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) 3. Note the consultation strategy for the THI and the conservation area. 4. Approve the working draft conservation area appraisal in appendix 3 and note that further work shall be undertaken.

2. Reasons for recommendation: 2.1 Due to the relationship between the conservation area and the THI there is a strong logic behind combining consultation on the THI and the conservation area. 2.2 The consultation strategy is based upon a similar programme of consultation for Middleton's THI Bid which was recognised by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for its high level of meaningful community consultation and participation. A summary of the consultation undertaken for Middleton is included in appendix 1.

3. Alternatives and risks considered: 3.1 Not carrying out this level of consultation would undermine the THI Bid and would not be conducive to writing a well informed conservation area appraisal and management plan.

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3.2 Carrying out separate consultation for the THI and Conservation Area appraisal could cause consultation fatigue and would be an inefficient use of officers’ and the public’s time and resources.

4. Consultation undertaken: 4.1 Following the decision by Members of Rochdale Township to extend the designated boundaries of the Rochdale Town Centre Conservation Area, all property owners within the extensions to the Conservation Area were notified by letter informing them that the Conservation Area has been extended to include their property. 4.2 The Rochdale Cultural Heritage group (RoCH) is a workgroup that forms an umbrella group of representatives from local organisations involved in the town’s culture and heritage. The representatives share their organisation’s views and feedback to their respective groups, creating a two-way and effective means of long-term participation. The group first met in August and formed a number of specific subgroups which have subsequently met to build up the THI Bid. 4.3 At the meeting in August RoCH discussed the conservation area designation and were supportive of the extensions. Officers from the Planning service are working in partnership with the RoCH group to write a conservation area appraisal for the conservation area. 4.4 The next full RoCH meeting is planned for 27 th October. The group is currently serviced by David Morris and Kerrie Smith, but it is hoped as the group becomes more established they will become independent of the Council. A list of members and the organisations they represent is contained in appendix 2. Recommendations of further members can be obtained from the Township Committee meeting, or alternatively forwarded to Kerrie Smith. 4.5 The opinion of the Drake Street Traders’ Group was sought before designating the conservation area. It was well-received as a means of protecting the area and attracting investment through the THI. A presentation to the group on the THI Bid will take place on 2 nd November. The Group is also represented on the RoCH group. A verbal update on feedback from this meeting and the RoCH group meeting will be given at Township on the 9 th November. 4.6 Proposed consultation is included in the main text of the report.

5. Main text of report: Background 5.1 Another report to this Committee “Townscape Heritage Initiative Bid” gives more details of the THI Bid for Rochdale. This report should be read in conjunction with the report on the THI Bid. 5.2 Although the opinions of the Drake Street Traders and RoCH were sought as outlined in section 4 of this report, it was not practical to carry out an extensive consultation before designating the extensions to the Town Centre Conservation Area for the following reasons:

• THIs are for the regeneration of conservation areas and therefore Drake Street needed to be included within the conservation area before the THI Bid is submitted in November 2011.

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• There was a risk that an important historic building within the proposed conservation area could be at risk of demolition if the designation was delayed.

5.3 The HLF require the THI strategy to be informed by an understanding of the significance of the conservation area. Despite being designated in 1980, a comprehensive appraisal of the Rochdale Town Centre Conservation Area has never been completed. A draft conservation area appraisal is being written in partnership with the RoCH group and needs to be included in the 1 st round submission of the THI at the end of November 2011. If the 1 st round submission is successful, the conservation area appraisal will be subject to further consultation, along with a management plan and the more detailed THI Bid as required for the 2 nd round submission. Further guidance to assist property owners in preparing planning applications for the replacement of shop fronts and the installation of security shutters will be progressed separately to this. A further report will be presented to Members on this in due course.

5.4 The Rochdale THI Bid and the extension of the conservation area are inseparable. It would not be good practice to consult on them separately or to consult too widely on the THI before a 1 st round pass because it would unfairly raise expectations.

5.5 If the 1 st round submission is successful, the HLF provide up to £50,000 for the development of the 2 nd round submission including consultation costs. This would fund greater publicity and consultation events. If the 1st round THI Bid is unsuccessful, the conservation area appraisal will still be consulted on but the available budget would restrict activities to website, letters and press releases.

Proposed Consultation Strategy 5.6 The proposed strategy is informed by the issues outlined above and also presents an approach that goes beyond consultation to encourage long term participation. It seeks a balance between one-off high-profile consultation events, which can reach bigger audiences, and building participation into the development of a project from the onset so as to build knowledge and empower individuals to fully participate.

5.7 RoCH group: continue to work in partnership with RoCH to develop the THI Bid, Conservation Area appraisal and Management Plan. Increase membership to maximise representation of Rochdale organisations with an interest in the town's culture and heritage.

If the 1 st round submission for the THI is successful, from April 2012 the following consultation will take place:

5.8 Town Centre Heritage Consultation: a high-impact consultation event based in the town centre to raise awareness of and gain feedback on the THI, the conservation area appraisal and management plan, reopening of the river and medieval bridge, and depending on progress it could also include proposals for the Town Hall and Square. Such events widely spread a message and get a level of feedback. They can also be useful in identifying interested groups and individuals would like to become involved in extended consultation and participation.

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5.9 Consultation of amenity and other groups: Presentations to relevant groups on proposals and the conservation area.

5.10 Consultation of owners/tenants: The appointment of a THI Manager/Officer provides the resources to meet with owners on a one-to-one basis to discuss the THI Bid. This has been very effective in Middleton in building support for the Bid and informing and involving owners in the development of proposals.

5.11 Media: Work with RMBC Communications team to publicise consultation and proposals on the RMBC website, through social media and the press.

5.12 Elected members: Continue to inform Council lors of progress and give a presentation during the development of a 2 nd round submission.

6. Personnel Implications:

6.1 The conservation area appraisal is being prepared within existing staff capacities and in partnership with RoCH. A THI Manager would be appointed with development stage funding to progress the 2 nd round submission of the THI which would include the role of consultation.

7. Financial Implications

7.1 The HLF require a high level of community consultation and participation in proposals and without this, and the appraisal, the Council would be unsuccessful in its Bid for £2million for the THI.

7.2 The majority of the cost of consultation would be included in the development stage funding, up to £50,000 from HLF which needs to be matching 50:50 by RMBC by a financial contribution or a contribution in kind.

8. Conclusions:

8.1 Members are asked to note the strategy for consultation which would combine the conservation area appraisal, management plan and THI. They are asked to comment on the proposed strategy and make recommendations for groups and organisations to be included within the consultation process.

For further information and background papers: For further information about this report or access to any background papers please contact Kerrie Smith, Conservation Project Officer Tel: 01706 924352

Peter Rowlinson Service Director Planning & Regulation

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APPENDIX 1 MIDDLETON AND EDGAR WOOD TOWNSCAPE HERITAGE INITIATIVE

CONSULTATION SCHEDULE

Date Consultation Details Audience 22/06/2010 Meeting - (owner) at 39 Rochdale Road Property owners 13/08/2010 Meeting with - for Complementary Initiatives Community groups 20/08/2010 Meeting MHCG – Complementary Initiatives Community groups 27/08/2010 Hand delivered letters and leaflets t o ‘priority projects’ owners and occupiers. Property owners/tenants 31/08/2010 10/09/2010 Meeting - (owners 37 Middleton Gardens) Property owners 17/09/2010 Meeting - (owners) at 19 Market Place Property owners Meeting - (owners) Broadbent’s at 65 Long Street 21/ 09/2010 Meeting - (tenant) at Albion Buildings Property owners/tenants 21/09/2010 Attended ‘Rooted in Midd’ group (Young Roots project for 11 -17yr olds). Young people 22/09/2010 Meeting with - for Complementary Initiatives Community groups 28/09/2010 Meeting - (36 Mellalieu St) Property owners/ tenants 28/09/2010 Meeting with - (owner 27 -31 Market Place and 62 -70 Market Place) Property owners/ tenants 01/10/2010 Middleton Heritage and Conservation Group meeting – Complementary Community Groups initiatives and Conservation Area Management Plan 01/10/2010 Meeting with - (owners 35 Rochdale Road) Property owners/tenants 01/10/2010 Meeting with - (owner Arkholme, Towncroft) Property owners/tenants 05/10/2010 Meeting - (Amigos 4 Middleton Gardens) Prop erty owners/ tenants 06/10/2010 Middleton Regeneration Group – update to Councillors Elected members 08/10/2010 Meeting - (Oxfam 12 Middleton Gardens) Property owners/ tenants 08/10/2010 Meeting - (1 New Lane) Property owners/tenants

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08/10/2010 Meeting - (Florists 10 Middleton Gardens) Property owners/ tenants 12/10/2010 Complementary Initiatives Workshop with the Middleton Heritage and Community groups Conservation Work Group 15/10/2010 Meeting with -, 35 Middleton Gardens Property owners/ tenants 15/10/2010 Meeting at St Leonard’s Church to discuss Flodden window and possible Community initiatives during the 500 th anniversary of the Battle of Flodden. 15/10/2010 Meeting with owning company of Providence Chapel & Spring Gardens Silk Property owners/ tenants Mills. 20/10/2010 THI Presentation to Middleton members Elected members 26/10/2010 Meeting with JW Lees (local brewery & property owner) Property owners/ businesses 27 -30/10/2010 Public consultation on THI, Middleton Gardens, Masterplan, Parkin g Strategy All and Conservation Area Management Plan at Middleton Arndale Shopping Centre. (display at Middleton Arena and Library through November) 30/10/2010 Meeting with - and tenant at 40 Rochdale Road Property owner/ tenant 02/11/2010 Consultation s ession with ‘Rooted in Mid’ Young Roots Project in Middleton. Young people. 04/11/2010 Discussion with Community Safety Officer 05/11/2010 Middleton Heritage & Conservation Work Group Community 09/11/2010 Telephone conversation with - (Redcroft) Proper ty owners Mid November Letter & leaflets on the Draft Conservation Area Management Plan delivered All to all properties within the conservation area. Draft Plan uploaded onto Rochdale.gov.uk website and paper copy deposited at library. 09/11/2010 Individ ual meeting - 42 Rochdale Road Property owners 10/11/2010 Individual meeting - 46 Rochdale Road Property owners/ tenants 19/11/2010 Individual meeting – Joe Potts (JW Lees) and Landlord of Assheton Arms Property owner/t enants (Former Manchester & Salford Bank) 19/11/2010 Individual meeting – - Owner 27 -31 Market Place Property owner 03/12/2010 Meeting with - (38 & 42 Rochdale Road) Property owners

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APPENDIX 2

RoCH Group Members, as of 18 th October 2011:

Margaret Clay Friends of the Town Hall & Blue Badge Guide Dorothy Johnstone Friends of the Town Hall & Town Hall Event Manager Bob Brierley Rotary Club of Rochdale East John Morrison Friends of Falinge Park Andrea Fitton The Garden Club & Friends of Falinge Park Ann Beasley Friends of Broadfield Park Neta Smart Friends of Broadfield Park Tony Smart Friends of Broadfield Park Mike Moore Pennine Photo (Drake Street Traders) Linda Moore Pennine Photo (Drake Street Traders) Louise Butterworth Butterworth Bros, Drake Street Norman Frisby Warden, St Chad’s Parish Church Amir Khan Community representative Terry Whitworth Local Historian Alyson Brailsford Edwin Waugh Society

Officers:

Peter Rowlinson Service Director, Planning & Regulation Services David Morris Conservation & Design Officer Paul Ambrose Senior Planning Officer Kerrie Smith Conservation Project Officer Yvonne Hardman Link4Life & Heritage Service Bob Bevan Rochdale Parks and Countryside Ranger Paul Whiting Lead Performance Improvement Officer Alan Williams Assistant Duty Manager, Town Hall

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APPENDIX 3

ROCHDALE TOWN CENTRE CONSERVATION AREA

DRAFT APPRAISAL (19/10/2011) NOVEMBER 2011

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A “completely different” town centre

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"The visual character of Rochdale is determined by the area of town hall and church. Here all is completely different from other Lancashire towns, and indeed English towns. The town hall lies surrounded by public gardens on three sides and the church lies up a steep bank, and the bank is also a public garden. So the centre is green and pleasant...... "

Nikolaus Pevsner p373 Buildings of England, South Lancashire, 1969 Penguin Books, London

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Contributors:

Thanks for to the following for their assistance in putting together this draft appraisal:

Louise Butterworth Norman Frisby, St Chad’s Church warden Terry Whitworth Alison Turton, Head of Group Archives RBS Group Plc Margaret Clay Bob Bevan The Local Studies Service at Touchstones, Rochdale …

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ROCHDALE TOWN CENTRE CONSERVATION AREA DRAFT APPRAISAL

NOVEMBER 2011

CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION Background Statement of significance Conservation area boundary Surrounding conservation areas and proposed conservation areas

2 ASSESSMENT OF SPECIAL INTEREST Location & setting Historical development Character areas

3 ROCHDALE PARISH CHURCH OF ST CHAD

4 THE OLD TOWN

5 REGENCY DRAKE STREET

6 ROCHDALE TOWN HALL, SQUARE & ESPLANADE

7 CENTOTAPH & MEMORIAL GARDENS

8 PROBLEMS, PRESSURES AND CAPACITY FOR CHANGE

9 BIBLIOGRAPHY

10 APPENDICIES Historical associations Buildings at risk (map) Buildings with potential for listing

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LIST OF MAPS & FIGURES

LIST OF PHOTOGRPAHS

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

1.1.1 The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 imposes a duty on local planning authorities to survey and keep under review their district for areas which are of special architectural or historic interest, the character of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance, and to designate those areas as conservation areas. This duty is an on-going requirement of local authorities.

1.1.2 Conservation area appraisals are living documents that will evolve as more is learnt about the area’s history and significance. The conservation area appraisal covers a large area and many buildings. The omission of a detailed description of a building or feature within the appraisal should not be taken to mean it has low significance and value.

1.2 Statement of significance

To be written as a summary following identification of significance through the body of the appraisal.

(Pevsner wrote that the area in Rochdale around the church and town hall was completely different from all English towns (1969 p373). Rochdale’s fame “…is entirely connected with liberalism…and social progress” (Pevsner, N 1969 p373). Sense of space and openness not typical of industrial areas. In 1837 there were only three churches in Rochdale.)

1.3 Conservation area boundary

1.1.3 The Rochdale Town Centre Conservation Area was first designated in 1980 with extensions added in September 2011. The amended conservation area now includes the interesting and varied built heritage along Drake Street and minor amendments have created a more logical boundary where the previous boundary omitted buildings of obvious townscape and historic interest.

1.4 Surrounding conservation areas and proposed conservation areas

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Rochdale Town Centre Conservation Area Boundary

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2 ASSESSMENT OF SPECIAL INTEREST

2.1 Location & setting

Rochdale is a large town in Greater Manchester approximately 10 miles north-east of Manchester City Centre. Rochdale lies in the foothills of the Pennines, which separate Rochdale from Yorkshire to the east and Bury lies to the west of the town. Rochdale’s proximity to the Pennines accounts for its rise as a woollen town, as opposed to most Lancashire towns and cities that grew around the cotton trade.

2.2 Historical development

2.2.1 The Parish of Rochdale

Rochdale was one of the largest parishes in England, administered via four extensive parishes, subsequently called townships. Three of these townships converged on the town centre which became the trading centre for an otherwise rural industrial economy.

To the south lay Castleton Township, the name being a reference to Rochdale’s castle to the south-west of the river crossing. To the north-west lay Spotland Township which ran northwards almost as far as Bacup in the Rossendale Forest. To the north-east lay Hundersfield, the largest township which extended a considerable way beyond Todmorden at its northern end while further east laid Butterworth, a township including modern-day Milnrow.

Rochdale had no manor house and the Lords of the Manor, the Byron family did not reside in the parish. The ancient families had their houses dispersed throughout the townships and many, like Stubley Hall, Oakenrod Hall and Clegg Hall still survive. In 1251, Rochdale procured a market charter and around the same time became a medieval Borough with twelve burgesses.

About 1700, Rochdale was described as “a pretty neat town, built all of stone” a result of the town’s proximity to the Pennines. A large house from this period, The Great House, was demolished in the early twentieth century to make space for Newgate. The town consisted of a few streets around the church, with the market cross at the bottom of Yorkshire Street. The buildings were mostly inns to house the merchants and their customers. Shortly after this time, brick was introduced as a building material; seen in the surviving buildings.

2.2.2 Growth of the Woollen Industry

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The woollen industry defined the post-medieval development of Rochdale, developing rapidly from the 1500s. Rochdale became Lancashire’s principal wool town serving both English and international markets. Much of the growth took place in the townships, in cottages and early mills adjacent the fast flowing rivers and streams. The town centre housed wool shops, the shops and warehouses of clothiers, mercers and drapers and inns where much trading took place. The town held a weekly wool market, serving around 11 square miles of land. Defoe about 1724 summarised Rochdale as 'a good market town, and of late much improved in the woollen manufacture, as are also the villages in its neighbourhood.'

Rochdale’s subsequent history reflects national trends with the emergence of automation, factories and other aspects of the industrial revolution. Rochdale grew rapidly and the town became crowded, polluted, with unsanitary conditions. The weavers’ quality of life rapidly deteriorated and, in the nineteenth century, cotton eventually replaced wool as the largest industry of the town.

2.2.3 Emergence of the Co-operative Movement

It was during a particular low point where the livelihoods of the hand-loom weavers were finally being broken by the introduction of the power-loom, that Rochdale made its principal contribution to the nation and indeed the world. This was the ‘Rochdale Principles’ of economic co-operation created by the Rochdale Pioneers and have formed the basis of operating principles of co-operatives around the world. Their genius was to find a way of making co-operation work in practice as an alternative to mainstream capitalism. Their success created a world-wide movement that continues to this day.

2.2.4 Rochdale Town Hall

In 1856 the Borough of Rochdale was created and the sprawling ancient parish finally came to an end. The new Borough subsequently took the remarkable step of building one of the finest gothic town halls in England, matching the best that much larger and wealthier towns could build. On all four sides of the Town Hall ran a public square which was connected to a ceremonial esplanade. In terms of scale and imagination, the scheme was one of the largest in the country at that time. The sheer brilliance of the scheme led to subsequent extensions to the south and north, providing Rochdale with a town centre defined by parks and open space.

2.2.5 Early Examples of Conservation

Running parallel to this civic exuberance was the conservation (to the standards of the day) of the key Georgian buildings of the ‘good market town’

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described by the writer Daniel Defoe. The parish church was enlarged, with the most historic fabric retained, rather than demolished and rebuilt, as was happening to many medieval churches around this time. This was followed by four of the best Georgian town houses being conserved in one form or another. Finally, the Georgian church of St. Mary in the Baum was incorporated into a new much larger building. Rochdale never quite forgot its Georgian heyday as a prominent woollen town of merchants and journeymen. The visual focus for this romance is The Butts, the enclosing buildings and the old Rochdale Bridge.

2.3 Topography

The River Roch runs approximately east to west through the Town Centre Conservation Area. The valley provides a shaft of space similarly running east to west along which runs Smith Street to the east, South Parade in the middle and The Esplanade to the west. The historic highway runs from Manchester in the south-west to Halifax in the north-east, crossing the valley rather than running along it.

The valley is too narrow to accommodate the town centre which consequently runs up the valley slopes north and south of the crossing, the latter being too steep in places for development. The steep slopes also cause the highway to cross the contours diagonally and the result is an “S” shape in plan as it negotiates crossing the valley.

The shortage of flat land was part of the reasoning for culverting the river. The problem became acute from the nineteenth century onwards as the size of development increased. The sloping site of the Victorian town hall had to be levelled at great cost using cut and fill techniques while, today, the Wheatsheaf shopping centre has cliff-like elevations at its southern end as runs across the northern valley slope.

2.3 Character areas

The Rochdale Town Centre Conservation Area encompasses the history of the town from medieval to modern times in five distinct historical character areas:

§ Rochdale Parish Church of St Chad § The Old Town § Regency Drake Street § Rochdale Town Hall, Square & Esplanade § Cenotaph & Memorial Gardens

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3 ROCHDALE PARISH CHURCH OF ST CHAD

Overlooking the town and the river to the south is the thirteenth century church of Saint Chad (listed grade II*) situated in an ancient sub-oval enclosure which incorporates a peculiar revetment known as the ‘Saxon wall’ (listed grade II) and includes the medieval stocks (listed grade II) and other listed monuments. Around the church is an attractive green space comprising the church yard, vicarage garden and slopes down to the valley bottom. There are several monuments and features of special interest, including a sundial and the town stocks. Running around the south and east are Church Stile and Church Lane, part of the ancient highway to the river crossing

3.1 Rochdale Parish Church of St Chad (Listed Grade II*)

Saint Chad’s is Rochdale’s medieval parish church and is perhaps the oldest building in Greater Manchester. Early maps indicate that the churchyard was a Saxon sub-oval enclosure, part of which can be seen in the softly curving Church Stile and Church Lane. The dedication to the seventh century English Saint Chad similarly implies a Saxon date. There are no recognisable remains of the Saxon church except perhaps the Saxon Wall (Listed Grade II) an unusual stone boundary fence resembling timber construction. The earliest written evidence of a church is a record that Geoffery Dean of Whalley was the vicar of Rochdale in 1194, the date of a Norman church. This was largely replaced in the thirteenth century and this church developed incrementally over time; the lower part of the tower being the oldest part of the church.

The later architects remained faithful to the church’s perpendicular style. In the nineteenth century Crossland enlarged and altered the church to complement his new Town Hall. A new south aisle, porch and an enlarged tower were designed in a similar romantic Gothic style to the Town Hall. Thomas Earp, carved the dozens of figures and rich ornamentation of both buildings. Thus the Crossland and Earp partnership gave the church a similar theatrical richness to the Town Hall. The process of transformation was completed by a similar partnership between Earp and J. S. Crowther, which designed the chancel in a contrasting yellow stone. As both architects used the sculptor of the Town Hall, Thomas Earp, there is a continuation of styling in the many grotesques, gargoyles and crocketed pinnacles. W. H. Crossland, Thomas Earp and J. S. Crowther transformed the small medieval church into something much more substantial and dignified. Without this increase in scale, the church could not have become the southern focal point of Town Hall Square. The clock was removed during this remodelling primarily so it didn’t clash with the carillon in the tower of the new Town Hall, although this was destroyed by fire in 1883. Extension is in Yorkshire stones but the main body is in more durable Rossendale stone.

Ashlar to the south side and rougher stone to the north side, indicating that it was designed to be viewed more from the south side.

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The church is long and sculpturally interesting and stands high on the south valley side where it is by far the most significant building. The surrounding church yard is very well kept with attractive lawns, rose beds and small trees around the perimeter. Together, church and church yard form one of the ‘picture postcard’ scenes of the conservation area.

By contrast, long term lack of maintenance on Leyland Bank, the northern slope down to Packer Spout, has resulted in large numbers of self seeded and other unsuitable trees which block out the views of the church from the town below and destroy the panoramic aspect from the church yard. The consequences are high levels of vandalism and anti-social behaviour in this location.

Fine West window, “Faith, Hope and Charity,” designed by the pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones, and made by designer and craftsman William Morris 1872-74 - outstanding.

Interesting carvings – on the porch is St Chad holding he church in his hand, impressive gargoyles, on the south side of the tower is a curious ancient carves face, beneath the east window are carved the head of Queen Victoria and three fishes representing the River Roch.

3.2 Churchyard

In addition to the Saxon Wall, there are several interesting monuments in the church yard including the Stocks 1688 (Listed Grade II), Sundial of 1783 (Listed grade II), tomb of John Collier (Tim Bobbin) Fenced grave at east end Rochdale dialect poet, caricaturist and political satirist who died in 1786.and many other early or interesting gravestones the earliest dated 165. The stocks have the date 1668 and are inscribed with the initials W.W. thought to be William Woodley, a former captain of the town watchmen). They were last used in 1822. The Church’s Lychgate was erected in 1890. In 1970 the majority of gravestones were removed and placed to form a pavements across he graveyard along with the landscaping of the lawns and rosebeds.

3.3 Old Vicarage (Listed Grade II)

The church lawns run seamlessly into those of the Old Vicarage and the pair are almost one. However, this was not always the case. The churchyard wall once ran between the two. It was built in 1760 by Dr James Tunstall (vicar 1757-1765) to humour his wife who did not want her children to acquire Lancashire accents from contact with the local children. The new Vicarage sits in one corner and is a sensitive modern building that relates to its setting well, despite a certain awkward location. The Old Vicarage is a very fine brick Georgian house of 1724, extended in 1820. It was built by Rev’d Samuel Dunster D.D. who ‘adopted the plan of his house in Marlborough Street, London’. It replaced a half timbered, thatched house with dirt floors. With

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the church and church yard, the Vicarage is the principal survivor of the Georgian ‘good market town’ south of the river. The house has suffered recent minor alterations that detract from its character but is otherwise a very fine building in an attractive setting. The once symmetrical entrance gateway has been altered and is a feature worth reinstating. Some self- seeded trees in the rear garden need removing due to the impact on the structural stability of the tall garden wall. Stone quoins, pedimental gable and a pretty doorway with small shell carved inside the hood.

3.4 Church Stile and Church Lane

Church Stile and Church Lane are part of the ancient highway from Manchester. Church Stile runs from the south and wraps itself around the edge of the church yard becoming Church Lane as it runs downhill towards South Parade. At this junction, which also includes School Lane, there is an unorthodox rose-bed traffic island of some charm which has potential to be enhanced. Key townscape features include the stone retaining walls and gate posts of the church yard which extend from Church Lane to the Old Vicarage. The church lych gate, sometimes with the church tower behind, is a good focal point. For example there is a fine view from the south on Church Stile. The historic buildings to the south of Church Style were demolished and replaced with bungalows with lawns. Careful siting of small trees to echo those in the church yard would help to unite the two sides of the road.

Church Stile and Sparrow Hill retain historic stone flagged pavements on their northern sides, adjacent the church. Church Lane has stone pavements on both sides with a ‘cobbled’ or setted street between.

3.5 Saint Chad’s Gardens

This is an Edwardian public garden with fine views of the Town Hall on the slope between Church Lane and Town Hall Square. A formal path and steps acts as a short cut. There are many attractive trees mainly around the edge of the garden. Those adjacent the church yard are too dense and would benefit from thinning out.

3.6 Church Steps, Packer Spout and Leyland Bank

Church Steps are highly significant in their artistic and historic value. Their worn condition is highly attractive and they create another ‘picture postcard’ view of Rochdale. They are currently in need of careful conservation to address both structural and safety concerns. Originally there were thirty- three steps which dated from the twelve century. In 1660 these were extended to 122 steps and the stone was quarried from from Blackstone

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Edge. The Steps were repaired in the early nineteenth century.

Packer Spout is the large fountain on the lower slopes of Leyland Bank. It is a re-working of a spring which in 1760 was piped to become Rochdale’s first modern water supply. The name ‘Packer’ is believed to refer to the men and pack horses of the woollen trade who used the spring. The Georgian Market Cross (Listed Grade II) has relocated here and the gardens form an attractive part of the conservation area with fine views of the Town Hall.

The above-mentioned self-seeded trees on the higher parts of Leyland Bank block the views to and from the church and over shadow Church Steps. They should be largely removed but retaining those specimens which contribute to the character of the area. The restored parkland around the Packer Spout should be extended upwards as far as possible up Leyland Bank.

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4 THE OLD TOWN

The old town lays either side of the river crossing, developing around the ‘s’ shaped route needed to navigate the steep banks of the river Roch. Georgian brick buildings replaced the stone and timber-framed structures of earlier generations, but the medieval footprint remains particularly in the ‘Ginnels.’ The medieval passageways, aligned from Yorkshire Street to the Butts which allowed the passage of stock to and from the ford. South of the river, development was restricted by glebe land.

4.1 Rochdale Bridge & the River Roch

The five-phase Rochdale Bridge survives hidden under a concrete platform. Its two earliest phases appear to be medieval and are likely to date to the thirteenth century, making them the oldest complete structure in the conservation area and a heritage asset of the highest importance.

In medieval times the ford crossing at the Butts was complemented by a three-arched bridge built on its western side. It was widened four times so that the original narrow bridge is sandwiched between these later bridges. The first widening is also medieval with two further widenings of the Georgian period and a final one of Regency date. The bridge has been studied and recorded in detail. The parapets have been removed and facing stonework damaged but otherwise the bridge is fully intact.

In the early twentieth century, modern bridging techniques allowed almost the entire river in the town centre to be covered over making the river all but invisible. Rochdale subsequently made the rather dubious claim of having the widest bridge in the world, by placing matching parapets at each end of what was effectively a culvert. Exposing, conserving and interpreting the bridge, while opening the river up either side, would be a transforming enhancement of the conservation area.

The river itself is invisible being covered over by an early example of a ferro- concrete construction, known as Butts Bridge. It covers the river between Wellington Bridge (1882) at the bottom of Drake Street and Rochdale Bridge and is sloped slightly to connect The Butts with the higher level of South Parade. The presence of the structure is completely invisible, the whole area being covered with a floorscape design. The loss of the river makes the space much too large for the modest buildings the enclose it. In the 1960s the architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner, stated that the area was ‘confusing’ with the spaces seeming to be ‘accidental’. Consequently, the area between The Butts and South Parade does not work well as a public space.

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3.2 The Butts

The Butts lies to the north of the River Roch in the heart of the conservation area where a natural space is formed by the slightly wider valley. However, with the Roch and its bridge covered over, the buildings enclose a poor and somewhat inexplicable space. The name comes from its use for archery practice in medieval times. It is a broadly triangular space with a warm south facing aspect and is enclosed by a series of interesting buildings. At the present time, its character is greatly compromised by its use as a large taxi rank.

3.2.1 The Regal Moon P.H.

The Regal Moon P.H. was formerly the Regal Cinema of 1938. It has a plain early modern style with a classical feel. There is a very well composed white Art Deco central bay which is the focal point of the design.

3.2.2 The Royal Bank of Scotland

The Royal Bank of Scotland is comprised of four interconnected bank buildings which, taken together, illustrate the development of local finance from its initial association with the woollen industry.

The house was built by Joseph Tomlinson for the Vavasour Family. Its exact date is unknown, but it was leased by William Rawson of the private banking firm John, William and Christopher Rawson & Co when he moved to Rochdale in 1819 to establish the bank’s footing in Rochdale. This marked a turning point in the growth of banking in Rochdale with three other banks opening in the town between 1818 and 1819. Previous to this, banking in the town had been intermittent for example the Rawson’s had provided banking facilities from premises at the bottom of Yorkshire Street every Monday, on market day.

The large ‘Banking House’ became the residence of the Thomas Rawson Family and the banking business was conducted from an adjoining annex. The Rochdale Branch of the Rawson’s Bank was sold to Clement Royds, a merchant in 1827. Royds & Co became the most important of the Rochdale Georgian Banks, even printing its own money. The Old Bank annex was rebuilt in 1879 into a purpose built banking house designed by the Rochdale architect James Cheetham, who also built the Pioneers Central Store in 1867. It is a small but high quality stone building designed in an engaging Greek Revival style and tucked into the ginnel of The Butts Avenue. In 1881, the Royds bank was sold by Clement Royd’s grandson, Clement Molyneaux Royds, to the Manchester and Salford Bank where he was appointed a director and continued to manage the Rochdale business. The bank later merged with Williams Deacon’s, a London bank

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The banking house was substantially redesigned by Cecil Jackson in 1913 to the large Portland stone building seen today. The building was extended forward by one bay with the old banking house remaining at the rear. The original front elevation was removed for a banking hall but the new facade was broadly in the character of the old with an attractive semi-circular porch. As a further gesture towards conserving the past, the architect retained the original Georgian door case and a window and created a small extension on the western side containing a staircase to the upper floors of the bank. An attractive conservation scheme of stone setts and a gate was installed in recent times in front of the bank, matching the one at the Toad Lane Co- operative Museum. It was the very first Rochdale building to be listed (Grade II), beating even the Town Hall.

The fourth building (Listed Grade II) connects the banks on the Butts to an entrance on Baillie Street with a fine brick and stone Italianate facade. It was built in 1890 as two shops with a hall above and a grand entrance which, surprisingly, opens onto an elaborately tiled staircase running down to the rear of the Greek building.

3.2.3 Georgian cloth warehouse, The Butts

Facing onto The Butts between The Butts Avenue and another ginnel, The Stationers Entry, is a Georgian cloth warehouse converted to shops. Its three storey loading bay has been filled with Victorian windows.

3.2.4 Former Burtons

Adjacent this, between The Stationers Entry and The Walk is an attractive white Art Deco store, formerly Burtons, which is well proportioned and finely detailed. The reworking of the ground floor to create a bank has not been a complete success.

3.2.5 Fishwick newsagents

On the opposite side of The Walk lies a Georgian shop, diminutive in comparison to the Burton’s store. Its scale and the wide second floor window suggest it was a weavers’ cottage. An important aspect of the character of The Butts is the role of the white buildings against the backdrop of the brick buildings. The white former Burtons Store, Royal Bank of Scotland and central part of the former Regal Cinema impart a rhythm and lightness to the scene. They depend on having a muted background which is largely provided by the other buildings. In this regard, the white painted Georgian shop on The Walk as well as the painted rear of a tall warehouse on Baillie Street would benefit from being returned to their original brick finish to improve both their own appearance and that of the wider townscape.

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3.3 The Ginnels

There are various ginnels in this character area. These connecting The Butts to Yorkshire Street and Baillie Street are the most numerous:

§ The Butts Avenue § Bull Brow § Stationers Entry § The Walk § Lyceum Passage

There are three that link Baillie Street to Yorkshire Street:

§ Pack Horse Yard § The Bank § New Buildings Place

And a further two that connect Yorkshire Street to Newgate:

§ Lower Gates § The Roebuck P. H. passage

The ginnels vary in their character and appearance; some go through buildings while others contain attractive flights of steps. Some are in better condition than others but, as a group, they have considerable potential to enliven the town centre if appropriately enhanced and promoted.

3.4 Yorkshire Street

The lower part of Yorkshire Street gently curves as it makes its way downhill to Rochdale Bridge. North of Baillie Street, the road is narrow and varying in width. This is complemented by the small scale shops on the eastern side which reflect medieval or post-medieval sized plots. An exception to this is the Art Deco styled Marks & Spencer store which, despite its larger footprint, fits well into the street scene. The Georgian, Victorian and early twentieth century shops are generally characterful modest buildings that would benefit from the reinstatement of missing historic features. The western side is, unfortunately, overwhelmed by the out-of-scale and poorly detailed Exchange Shopping Centre which also dominates the small Georgian market place, known as Lord Square. Behind which rises an early Co-operative store, its ground floor integrated into the shopping centre. The Co-op advert on the side of this building has faded and should be restored as a symbol of Rochdale’s Co-operative heritage.

South of Baillie Street, Yorkshire Street broadens out and the buildings become larger with banks replacing shops. Two fine examples are the curved

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Halifax which continues the plain Regency styling and the former Fenton’s bank (Yorkshire Bank) with its giant pilasters. Yorkshire Street terminates at Rochdale Bridge where two classical banks of yellow ashlar stone, Barclays and HSBC, make a fine entrance gateway, though Barclays was once more prominent with a domed corner. Like the architecture, the materials of the Old Town are varied though with an underlying logic. More modest buildings such as houses, warehouses and shops are generally in brick with stone dressings. Banks are generally in ashlar stone.

3.4.1 Lloyds Bank (1708)

Originally the residence of the Vavasour Family, then an Inn, Lloyds Bank (1708 Listed Grade II) is a sophisticated three storey corner design with superimposed pilasters of the Ionic and Composite orders. The Vavasours constructed The Walk as a more direct route to the riverbank at The Butts. It later developed into a pretty shopping street though today is suffering from excessive clutter. The house became the Union Flag Hotel and was the centre of Jacobite activity in the town in 1745.

3.4.2 The old Bluebell Hotel

The old Bluebell Hotel, dated 1749 (other reports date it 1745), is a plainer house with attractive Flemish bond brickwork. It was built for the Stead Family. It has lost its upper sash windows. At the rear it becomes a stone Edwardian Yates’ Wine Lodge with the date 1911, when it became the wine lodge.

3.4.3 The Roebuck P.H

The Roebuck P.H. is a somewhat larger and slightly later house tucked away behind the street frontage. Historic importance of The Roebuck to be added..

3.5 Baillie Street

Baillie Street was a Regency period speculative development to access land to the east of the old town. Where it connected to Yorkshire Street, it had to be squeezed between existing buildings and the consequently narrow street appears earlier than it actually is. Nevertheless, the facades a grander and of a higher quality than further up Yorkshire Street. There are several plain Georgian styled buildings, some of which are converted wool warehouses, with their hoists and taking-in doors sometimes disguised. A particularly fine example is the four storey 4-8 Baillie Street which may have pre-existed the street and through which Bull Brow descends to The Butts. Unfortunately, the building has been defenestrated with upvc windows which detract greatly from a fine and unusual building.

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3.5.1 5 Baillie Street

The former wine and porter shop, 5 Baillie Street, (Listed Grade II) is in a similar plain style but with an extravagant stone-carved Italianate shop front composed of round-headed windows. The former William Deacon and Manchester and Salford Bank opposite makes a nod to the wine merchants in its stone carved details.

3.5.2 17a-21 Baillie Street

Further down Baillie Street, beyond the rear of Marks & Spencer there is a charming group of three attractive commercial buildings. The largest is a three storey brick warehouse (listed Grade 2), plain but with string courses and a fine stone doorway. Adjacent is a two-storey ornamented Italianate office with an ashlar ground floor and brick and stone above and next to this is a smaller stone-built office with a facade of three round arches in the manner of 5 Baillie Street. All three are early Victorian designs and illustrate the changing architectural fashion as the century progressed.

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5. REGENCY DRAKE STREET

The Rochdale woollen industry grew rapidly in the post medieval period and by the early 1700s, merchants’ houses, public houses and warehouses began to be built in the Georgian style. The Regency period saw the rapid expansion of industry and trade so that wider roads and bigger buildings were needed. Church Lane was by-passed around 1810 by a new wide street named after the then Vicar, Rev’d Drake which connected the town centre to the Rochdale Canal at the top of the valley slope. The road was a significant achievement for the period and allowed rapid development south of the river.

The road was a significant achievement for the period and allowed rapid development south of the river. At the canal basin, the street turned westwards to connect to a new road to Manchester and, to this day, has two parts, a commercial part climbing the valley side to the canal basin of 1798 (now hidden by later development) and a residential part running on largely flat land south of Broadfield Park. Drake Street is a typical late Georgian development responding to the growing population, industry and ambition of the Rochdale area. With the opening of the Manchester-Leeds railway in 1838, the street also became the strong link between Rochdale railway station and the centre of Rochdale down the hill. From its origins the street has positively contributed to the image of Rochdale, as a famous specialised shopping street.

Today larger twentieth century buildings intermingle with more modest Regency properties in a traditional street scene. Drake Street was the principal shopping street of Rochdale until the 1980s when shopping developments north of the river led to a dramatic decline in its fortunes. The area has a mixed townscape of variable quality characterised by warehouses, newspaper publishing buildings, a Methodist Central Hall (Champness Hall), various retail shops, including the Rochdale Pioneers’ first bespoke Co- operative shop (arguably the first modern Co-operative store in the world) and an early Co-operative Department Store known as ‘Fashion Corner’. In between there are gap sites and buildings of poor quality. Overall, Drake Street is well-recognised and greatly cherished with many buildings of local importance to Rochdale’s history and identity. There are high levels of vacancies along Drake Street indicating market failure and some buildings are now in a very poor state of repair, most notably the former Iveson’s furniture store and warehouse, a much loved Rochdale landmark.

5.1 South Parade:

At its northern extent, Drake Street sweeps around onto South Parade. The buildings on the eastern end of the South Parade represent a continuation of

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the buildings at the bottom of Church Lane and Drake Street as they attractively turn the corner onto South Parade. The sweeping corner is a reminder that this was once a busy and difficult bend to navigate. The buildings are characteristically plain Georgian three storey shops of stuccoed brick with stone lintels. They have suffered some mutilation, such as the removal of the historic chimneys and the loss of the stone flagged roofs, and presently are not looking their best. The Pacific Club, 8 South Parade marks the transition to the western end of South Parade which relates more closely to the character area of the Town Hall, Square and Esplanade.

South Parade traditionally carried the main highway from the bottom of Church Lane to Rochdale Bridge, running adjacent to the river for a short distance. South Parade needed to be carefully maintained both as a highway and part of the river ford. Consequently, whereas The Butts once gently ran down to the river in a natural way, South Parade had to be protected and maintained against damage and flooding. In the early nineteenth century it was referred to as the New Wall; a clear reference to this. South Parade is therefore a short street with buildings on the south side only.

5.1.1 Former Robin Hood Hotel (The Pacific Club) Text to be inserted following research

5.2 The Duke of Wellington Hotel (Grade II listed)

At the bottom of Drake Street, opposite the curved frontage onto South Parade, is the Former Duke of Wellington Hotel which was opened in 1810. Before The Wellington, it was the Smith Family townhouse and the built date is thought to be around 1750. The Smiths were a merchant family with strong trading connections to Portugal. This was their town residence and they spent summertime a short distance away at Summer Castle, a now demolished residence on the hillside to the south east of Drake Street. Although now demolished, Summer Castle and its windmill can be seen in old paintings of South Parade and what is now the bottom of Drake Street. The building has significance as the backdrop to Rochdale’s political development. As the leading coach house in the town it would have been busy with travellers, locals and merchants debating and exchanging ideas. Between 1825 and 1839 the Commissioners of Police held their first meeting at the Hotel. The immediate area outside the Wellington was known as Speaker’s corner and hustings were last erected opposite the Wellington Hotel on November 16 th 1868 when 10,000 people were estimated to be present.

5.3 Butterworth Brothers Diamond Merchants (14 Drake Street)

Butterworth Bros shop was established in 1903, although the building itself was built in 1896. The Butterworth family is one of the longest established in

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Rochdale. Butterworth Bros is prominently positioned at the junction of Drake Street and Church Lane and has a highly attractive shop front that reinforces the character of Drake Street as a historical shopping street. The front façade of the building has a soft curved shape and is orientated for maximum visibility looking up Drake Street from the Butts. The building is split over three floors and is built of brick with sandstone cills and lintels, string courses, cornice and coping stones to the parapet. The traditional dark brown, gold and cream shop front is particularly attractive. In 1981 it underwent an extensive renovation. The delicate carving of the original front was faithfully reproduced but only the top facia of the original frontage remains.

5.4 Church Lane, Nelson Street & Fleece Street

5.4.1 The Deaf and Dumb Institute (23 Church Lane)

The institute for the Deaf and Dumb was built in Rochdale and opened on the 16th of October 1907. Located on Church Lane, it was designed by Messrs S. Butterworth and Duncan, excellent Edwardian architects who were established in Rochdale. The Deaf and Dumb institute is of high architectural value and possesses a strong character that contributes to the identity of Rochdale. The brickwork, the window sills and the arches are in bright red Huncoat bricks. For the wall light-coloured Manchester headers bricks were used to build the facade. The stone features are made of red sandstone from St Bees and Buttermere green slates are used on the roof. This Edgar Wood style building has divided windows with cottage style and an Art Nouveau column with a flat on the top.

5.4.2 Former Temperance Billiard Hall, Nelson Street

Billiard Temperance Hall was built in 1909 by Norman Evans and was originally a magnificent building dominated by an arcade. The former Temperance Billiard Hall closed in 1969 and later knew a mix of uses including ballroom dancing and nightclub and is now a Chinese Restaurant.

The façade of this former temperance hall has been so altered as to have completely lost its original identity. Over time, it may be possible to reverse some of this however the costs involved would be substantial. The proportion of the building has been maintained and some details may survive behind the new facade. The arcade in the frontage of the building is still visible, but is less imposing because its size was reduced by an additional floor built many years ago. The square-shaped windows of the ground floor were preserved but two of them have been filled in. The dome at the entrance of the building, the features of which were rich in style, based on flourishing details.

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5.4.3 ‘Smoking Gadgets’ Fleece Street Text to be inserted following further research

5.8 Drakes Public House (34 Drake Street)

Drake Pub is one of the key buildings of Drake Street. It was built in the 1820s around the time Drake Street was constructed. The Pub has Regency style architecture. The fenestration of the building has suffered through the loss of the original windows and their pattern. Thanks to its good stucco façade and the interesting articulation of the chimneys, the building makes a positive contribution to the character of the area. In addition, the door surround is an interesting design of architectural significance; substantial pilasters capped by a cornice with a fanlight above that. Either side of the fanlight is a scroll. The fanlight and its freestyle decoration may have been a later addition to the classical door surround below. Above the door is a phoenix moulded onto the façade of the building.

5.9 Ivesons

Originally built in the mid 1850s and located in the middle of Drake Street, the Iveson building records part of a famous Rochdale trader’s history. From 1818 and over more than one century, Drake Street was the traditional shopping street of the town. During their 175 years of trade, the Iveson family has built its own Empire, possessing several stores in the town, the last closing in 1995. The most famous Iveson’s shop has a dual history because it is composed of two adjacent buildings: the main Trafalgar Building shop and the adjacent Iveson Brother warehouse. Also the existing hairdresser at no. 14 Nelson Street was formerly owned by the Ivesons and used a supplementary warehouse. The main issue and concern is that both buildings on 42-46 Drake Street are facing problems of dereliction, due to almost 20 years of vacancy. At first glance the building seems to be in good condition, but it is now at substantial risk. For instance, a long crack is visible on the warehouse façade, and trees growing inside are damaging the structure.

5.9.1 Trafalgar Building (42-46 Drake Street)

The Trafalgar building is located at the corner of Drake Street at the junction with Nelson Street. It was built in the mid 1850’s and remodelled in 1901. That year, the A.I. initials of Ann Iveson were engraved in the wall. The corner façade is high and dominates the streetscape, symbolizing the success of the family in trade. The inscriptions left on the top of the tower, give information about the former sales of carpets, founding the reputation of the Iveson.

5.9.2 Iveson Brother Warehouse

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The adjacent warehouse was built in the 1920’s when the Iveson Brothers moved their other store from Oldham Road to no. 42-46 Drake Street. Although at first glance it appears as a modest warehouse building, it possesses interesting Art Deco architectural features. This building is a significant part of the street scene and it is made of a mix red bricks, faience, and mouldings on its façade and tall pilasters which frame the glass windows.

5.9.3 Former Iveson Warehouse (14 Nelson Street)

The Iveson family also possessed another warehouse on Nelson Street, which was built between 1926 and 1932. The building became a hairdressers in 2008. This former premise was designed in the same architectural style of the Iveson Brothers warehouse. Indeed, the detailing on both frontages is identical. Some of the elements are identical such as the tall stone pilasters which frame the windows. Six are visible on Iveson building but four exist in 14 Nelson Street. In addition to that, high value sculptures are exactly the same on both buildings and contribute to create an architectural and historical link between the two buildings. Moreover, the floorscape made of paving setts in front of the building also strengthens its character. This traditional floor links the premise to Chuch Lane, which is entirely paved.

5.10 Champness Hall, Drake Street

Champness Hall is an Art Deco heritage building which takes advantage of its strategic location in the middle of the shopping street while also facing down Water Street. It is an imposing structure in the urban landscape and a precious heritage building testifying to the history of Rochdale.

Inaugurated the 8th September 1925 by the mayor of Rochdale, the Hall was named after Thomas Champness (1832-1905), a Methodist Minister. It was designed by Mr. A. Brocklehurst and Co. architect, an interwar practice based in Manchester which designed a number of chapels and central halls for the Methodist Church. The building was erected by R. & T. Howarth, the principal Rochdale building company of the time with a high reputation for quality. Champness Hall was built to combine religious functions and social meetings: it housed the Methodist Mission in Rochdale. It was not only a place of worship but also the headquarters of several organisations which served community as a whole.

The 2,000 seated Art Deco auditorium is the centrepiece of the Champness Hall. The building has a secular almost ‘cinema’ character quite unlike a church. This was a deliberate design approach of the time, as Methodist halls were meant to appeal to both believers and non-believers alike. The large windows are one of the most impressive Art Deco features. Champness Hall façade was built of Crossland Hill, Yorkshire stone and until 1957 it was dominated by a dome, which was demolished due to rot dry. It was replaced

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with a large stone pediment which, despite being well-built, is not particularly sensitive to the visual upward thrust of the design.

Despite appearing in a good condition, the Hall is not at its visual best. Nevertheless, its strategic situation along Drake Street and huge size makes the building a huge potential as a positive asset for the town, capable of providing a mix of uses for the community.

5.11 The Fashion Corner, 57-59 Drake Street

The Fashion Corner building is located at the junction of Drake Street and Water Street, facing Champness Methodist Hall. Built in 1886 as a Reform Club, it became a James Duckworths store before subsequently being taken over by the co-operations for which it is best known as. It opened its door to the public in 1922 as a drapery shop. Then it sold clothes and became the ‘Fashion Corner’.

The façade of the building is particularly impressive because of its soft rounded shape. In spite of its location on a corner, the façade is not rectangular but drawn in a smooth and circled shape around the corner. The frontage is decorated by expensive sculpted stone architectural features that reinforce the strong character of this building. The original building possessed a dome which dominated the curved façade but this was demolished between the 1940s and the 1960s. The removal of the dome had a negative impact on the visual impact of the building. In 1983, the building was sold to Rochdale Council and became a ‘Project House’ and then housed the ‘Poll tax house’. Today, the Fashion Corner houses departments of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council. This three-storey building is a key landmark of in Drake Street and is very much part of the identity of the historic shopping street.

5.12 Water Street

5.12.1 Waterside House

Waterside House marks the entrance of the conservation area to the east. This former warehouse located in front of the river Roch possesses a high architectural value that contributes to enhance the character the conservation area.

This red brick multi storey building of traditional construction has its main entrance on Water Street but also a direct access to the Roch at the back. This link to the river is one of the most important assets of the building, witness of the flourishing industrial times or Rochdale in the textile industry. The ground floor and first floor comprise well-made windows. On the top, they are framed by white stone, that creates a contrast of style and

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contribute to the character of the building. Waterside House marks the entrance of the conservation area to the east. This former warehouse located in front of the river Roch possesses a high architectural value that contributes to enhance the character the conservation area.

This red brick multi storey building of traditional construction has its main entrance on Water Street but also a direct access to the Roch at the back. This link to the river is one of the most important assets of the building, witness of the flourishing industrial times or Rochdale in the textile industry. The ground floor and first floor comprise well-made windows. On the top, they are framed by white stone, that creates a contrast of style and contribute to the character of the building.

5.12.2 Gym Club, 10 Water Street

The building named ‘Saint Chad’s Fold’ was built in 1906 as indicated on the façade and is now a gym Club. This building located in Water Street has a substantial contribution to Rochdale urban landscape. This one-storey building was constructed in red bricks and possesses interesting architectural features. The wide windows of the façade are framed with stone. The contrast of material accentuates the character of the building.

5.13 The Rochdale Observer buildings

The former premises of the Rochdale Observer local newspaper include the main building on Drake Street and the printing works on School Lane. The Rochdale Observer newspaper was first published in 1856 during the flourishing time of the textile industry. But in 2009 the publication of the Rochdale Observer was transferred on Deansgate in Manchester, when MEN Media centralised its editorial operations.

5.13.1 The Rochdale Observer Building, Drake Street

The building was erected between 1930 and 1960, the date in which it appears in the Ordnance Survey maps. With its Art Deco style, the building has a positive contribution in the streetscape of Drake Street. The large window on the façade tells us the history of a building constructed to publish a newspaper. The premise is brick made but the façade is fully covered with white render.

5.13.2 Rochdale Observer printing works, School Lane

This building located on School Lane was built in 1925. It housed the editorial and administrative office of the Rochdale Observer newspaper and the printing works. The architecture of the building is particularly interesting

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thanks to its triangle shape. The red brick is the general material but the architectural details are highlighted with the use of stone. The doorway for instance was designed with bricks that give a strong character to the building. The windows are also framed by the stone, accentuating the style. A footway at the back links this printing works building to the Observer building on Drake Street.

5.14 Cooperative Shop, Oldham Road

This building is part of the Coop Heritage of Rochdale. It was erected on Oldham Road in 1856 as a branch shop. This premise was an extension of the first Coop shop located on Toad Lane often crowded with customers. This red-brick building plays an important role in Rochdale, because it is part of its co-operative history. Located up the hill, this building of high architectural value contributes to enhance the streetscape. This is a landmark despites its modest size.

The character of the building is given by the specific features of the windows. The blue bricks framing the windows create a contrast with the redness of the building and underline the curve of the windows. The impressive façade of the building is partly hidden by the advertising of the shops housed in the buildings. The original ground floor is not visible and that has a negative impact on the value of the building.

5.15 Corner building (16 Milnrow Road)

Facing the Wet Rake Gardens, this imposing landmark building is located at the junction with Oldham Road and Milnrow Road. The structure has a strategic position at the top of the hill up Drake Street and marks the entrance to the Town Centre Conservation to the South East. As written on the plaque attached to the façade, the building was established in 1869 and erected in 1877. Its triangle shape and its roof give the building its significant character so as to the smooth edges. Red brick is the main material used for the building, and white stone is used to frame the windows is also used for the ground floor façade. A large clock on the corner is another architectural feature that contributes to the positive image of the building.

5.16 Baron Street

5.16.1 4 Baron Street

Located at the junction with Baron Street and Water Street, this brick made building contributes to the character of the conservation area. The building is currently used as a Central Auction Room, but its architecture dates from the industrial era. A pulley is still visible at the top of the principal window on the

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first floor. That indicates that the building was probably formerly used as a warehouse. The large windows are framed by stone and that creates an interesting contrast and gives more value to the building.

5.16.2 Former Stables (24/28 Baron Street)

The enlarge Town Centre Conservation Area comprises a building of architectural significance which contrasts with the other key buildings of the area. This long red-brick building was erected between 1844 and 1930 during the flourishing times of the textile industry. A horse head visible on the façade is probably the witness of the stable function of the building. A Bulls head on the opposite door may indicate a connection to bull baiting which used to take place at the ford in the River Roch.

5.16.3 Central Auction Rooms, Baron Street/Star Court Text to be added following further rsearch

5.17 132 Drake Street

This building is located at the junction with Moore Street and Drake Street, which is the historical shopping street of Rochdale. The architecture of the building corresponds to the regency style. Constructed with red bricks, the building was built before the 1930’s according to Ordnance Survey maps. Today the building hosts the ADS Alcohol and Drug Service of Rochdale. Some interesting architectural features contribute to enhance the character of the building such as the wooden frames of the windows.

5.18 Sunday School, Moore Street

Moore Street Congregational Church Sunday School was built in 1828 in Rochdale and was a former place of worship. The school was erected during the industrial revolution in order to educate the children, mostly working in factories. The architecture of this school has a Pennine character given by the local stone used to construct the building. Moore Street British School opened in 1834. It was the first school in Rochdale to be opened under the British & Foreign School Society. Its first Superintendent was Mr. Birkby. It was a boys only school, with fees of 2d (less than 1p) per week, and was open to boys over 6 years of age. It operated until the Baillie Street School could be built in 1837. Unlike Moore Street School, Baillie Street had departments for both boys and girls.

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6. ROCHDALE TOWN HALL, SQUARE & ESPLANADE

South of the river, the Town Hall Square and The Esplanade (1864-71) was an artistic creation of the highest order with set-piece buildings in an expansive layout planned according to romantic and picturesque principles. Rochdale Town Hall and the clock tower rise sublimely from a very large plaza connected to Manchester Road by a ceremonial way, The Esplanade. The scheme is completed by romantic gardens created on the valley slopes (registered park grade II). The simplicity and the visionary scale of the scene contrast with the adjacent Old Town. Excessive parking dramatically lowers the quality of the scene and the functionality of the plaza.

6.1 Rochdale Town Hall

Rochdale Town Hall is one of the most ambitious Victorian town halls in England. In terms of vision, design and decoration only a handful of other buildings can match it, all in much larger towns or cities. In terms of Gothic design, there is only Manchester Town Hall to compare. Rochdale and its people were influential when the Town Hall was built. For example, John Bright, who laid the foundation stone in 1866, was of sufficient importance to correspond with President Abraham Lincoln. Listed Grade I, the Town Hall lies in the top two percent of all listed buildings and is of international importance. Famously Adolf Hitler singled it out for special attention had he defeated Britain. Despite this, the Town Hall has experienced a benign indifference over many decades. Recent generations have struggled to embrace the scale of its vision and many changes have been poor and demeaning. However, a change of mind and a new enthusiasm is emerging. The Town Hall is recognised as the defining building of Rochdale. It stands centre-stage in our creative thinking towards the town centre.

A competition for the design of the Town Hall was held in 1864 and won by W.H. Crossland of Leeds. The original estimate for the Town Hall was £20,000 a sum spent just on cutting out and levelling the site. The final cost was over £160,000, a vast sum but to which must also be added the costs of creating Town Hall Square, terracing the Roch, The Esplanade and Park Slopes, and the associated costs for erecting Trinity Presbyterian Church and the extensions to St. Chad's Church, including adding a new belfry to the tower. Thus the overall scheme was immensely ambitious and expensive.

The 1860s was an era of high romanticism in art, literature and music. The Gothic revival celebrated the medieval past and dreamt of a civilised future, free from grim industrial squalor. It was individual, dynamic and non- authoritarian. However, most towns conservatively chose the old classical style for their town halls but in 1864 Rochdale chose Gothic, thereby making a clear statement as to its individuality and aspiration. The Town Hall is crammed with art and design celebrating Rochdale, its people, technology,

Page 39 of 52 geography, history and industry. It was placed in a magnificent and picturesque setting - which took more than fifty years to complete.

Rochdale Town Hall is the finest expression of High Victorian aesthetics, a building of rare picturesque beauty with wonderful interior schemes and stained glass. Its quality and richness mirrors the sophistication of the underlying aesthetic theory. Romantic architecture tried to invoke emotions and associations such as longing, nobility and heroism and was a response to the hard realities of the industrial revolution. Broadly speaking, it saw national greatness, commerce and community transformed by medieval sentiment and chivalry. The roots of Victorian aesthetics lay in the theories of the “sublime” and the “beautiful”, developed in the 1750s. Sublime referred to the sensation of being overwhelmed by something huge and awesome while beautiful, its opposite, referred to the feelings created by things small, soft and feminine. In the later 1700s, theorists created a middle aesthetic, called the “picturesque”, which described feelings associated with informality, asymmetry, countryside and the seasons. In the 1830s and 40s, the picturesque was transformed into a radical architectural theory by A. W. N. Pugin, the great architect of the Houses of Parliament. At Rochdale Town Hall, all of this can be seen in the design and execution of the building.

Thus the Town Hall and its setting are given over to romanticism and architectural theatre to inspire feelings of the beautiful, picturesque and sublime. Beauty is experienced in paintings, sculpture, furniture, tiles and stained glass as well as (originally) in the sounds of 12 bells, and carillon of 14 tunes in the clock tower. Many of these works of art are inspired by the natural. The Picturesque lies in the irregular gothic shapes of the Town Hall, the remodelled Saint Chad’s Church and other buildings. It also lies in the asymmetrical layouts, planting and the design of Town Hall Square, The Esplanade and Park Slopes and (originally) in the sound of the swiftly flowing River Roch. The Sublime , the most dramatic of emotional responses, is induced by the Town Hall rising as a single mass from the middle of a flat plaza, the artificially steepened valley sides and St. Chad’s Church looming high up above the Square. However, the principal element of the sublime was the soaring verticality of Crossland’s mighty towering clock and its colourful timber spire crowned by Saint George. The clock tower was destroyed by fire in 1883. Crossland was unavailable to rebuilt the tower so the Council appointed Alfred Waterhouse to design the replacement. The use of local millstone grit in the building of the Town Hall is an ingenious choice celebrating the town’s Pennine history as the root of its wealth but also for the sublime effect it creates of a natural rock face.

The strong verticality and plain masonry of the tower is echoed in the adjacent stair turret and gable end. The angled sills of the stair windows point upwards in the direction of the tower. There is no attempt to moderate or tone down the sense of the sublime and it has not been possible to find

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another example where such a tall tower deliberately overwhelms its square quite to this degree.

The western side is very different. The architecture is broken down into a complicated elevation of buildings, roofs, chimneys and finials that merge into the picturesque landforms to the south. On Park Slopes, Crossland marked the best viewing spot with a line of ornate railings that still exist. The picturesque west elevation draws the visitor to the building along The Esplanade.

6.2 Town Hall Square

Town Hall Square is part of the Crossland master plan. Originally, Town Hall Square was a beautifully urbane and uncluttered space. It joined all four parts of Victorian Rochdale together, the north, via Yorkshire Street, the east, via The Butts, the south, via Church Steps, and the west via The Esplanade - altogether a very symbolic piece of town planning. The focus of the square was the statue of John Bright, created by the famous sculptor Hamo Thorneycroft, which could be seen from all four directions. Commercial buildings were planned and built on the eastern side of the Square. Crossland and Crowther’s enlargement of St Chad’s Church enclosed the Square from the south. Crossland also doubled the width of Rochdale Bridge, transforming it into a wide platform so people could sweep down Yorkshire Street over the river and into the Square unhindered by any obstruction. Access from the south was via the ancient Church Steps which gave excellent views across the Square.

The buildings along Packer Street form an impressive frontage, the impact of which has been obstructed by a row of mainly purple ash trees, which although attractive in their own right cut these important buildings off from the square and are damaging their stonework.

6.2.1 Empire Hall

This art nouveau building was opened as a music hall in 1904 and later became a picture house.

6.2.2 The Flying Horse Hotel

The original Flying Horse Hotel was built in the late 18 th century and has the largest assembly room prior to the building of the Town Hall. The weekly Police Court was also held there. The hotel was reconstructed to a much higher quality in 192. There is a separate entrance to the first floor.

6.2.3 The Old Post Office Now a public house, this was once Rochale’s Post Office and later still the offices of the County Court.

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6.2.4 AST Hampsons Solicitors AST Hampsons Solicitors is a good quality Victorian office building with a Venetian Gothic stylistic reference. It stands on the corner of Packer Street and South Parade. The red brick building was known as Town Hall Chambers and was also home to the post office for a period.

6.2.5 Bar 5 Bar 5 was designed by Moulds and Porritt and is a superb quality Edwardian bank. It is a tall ashlar stone building with a lead covered dome. It has an Art Nouveau inspired Mannerist style with excellent detailing and sculpture.

The adjacent 3 and 5 South Parade is a smaller Edwardian Bank in ashlar stone and many period features adjacent to which is the brick and stone end elevation of Town Hall Chambers, Rochdale’s first post office.

6.3 The Esplanade

The name, “Esplanade” means a stretch of pavement used as a promenade and was proposed by a Cllr. Taylor as an alternative to the ubiquitous “Corporation Street” . It was laid out in 1871 and formed a seamless extension of the "wrap-around" Town Hall Square. Trinity United Presbyterian Church marked the western extent, a Gothic focal point similar to St. Chad's Church. The Gothic theme was continued by the Old Grammar School, (since replaced by Broadfield Hotel) which sat atop Park Slopes overlooking The Esplanade. Behind this Sparrow Hill was alignment with Trinity Church as its focal point.

The Esplanade is the picturesque equivalent of a long symmetrical vista to a classical town hall and square. However, unlike classical design, nothing is perfectly straight, symmetrical or “on axis” and everything appears informal and accidental. For example, from the west, the gently curving Esplanade never quite frames the Town Hall.

Over the decades, the junction of The Esplanade with Manchester Road has been the principal gateway to Rochdale Town Hall and centre. After the unfortunate destruction of Trinity Church and The Angelthe gateway has been strengthened by two “Spires” that take their cue from the five picturesque fleches on the roofs of Touchstones. The Spires were created in 1997 by Jeremy Waygood and with the creation of Touchstones have helped to redress the earlier losses. They are thoroughly positive developments that have helped to recreate the gateway effect, though their general setting is compromised by the road junction that takes up most of the available space.

The fast-flowing River Roch was another element to the design that imparted a sense of wild-ness so beloved by the Romantics. The character of the river varied: at the Butts it was wider and slower and had been crossed by a bridge

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and ford for centuries but adjacent The Esplanade it was narrow and faster running. The land levels adjacent the Roch were raised thereby alluding to the cliff-like edges and foot bridges found in fantasy illustrations of the picturesque. A footbridge and cutting was also created for Bird Cage Walk where it runs through Park Slopes.

6.3.1 Library, Museum & Art Gallery (Touchstone)

Touchstones was opened as an Arts and Heritage Centre in 2002, reinvigorating the area and its surroundings. It is made up of three picturesque buildings, all listed Grade II. The library (now museum and local studies) was designed by Jesse Horsfall in 1883 in a free-Elizabethan style, after the original library in the Town Hall was damaged by the fire that destroyed the clock tower. The council decided to construct a new library on The Esplanade; Touchstones. The building today is Grade II Listed and in the same Gothic style as the Town Hall. The Museum and Art gallery were added in 1903 and 1912, again by Horsfall, and an angled extension that addressed Manchester Road was built in 1913. The six sculpted panels representing Art, Science & Literature were carved by. J. J. Millson and are particularly attractive.

6.4 Park Slopes

6.4.1 The Broadfield Hotel The hotel was built in 1904 as a residence for the District Nurses. It is on the site of the former Rochdale Grammar School.

6.4.2 Statue of John Bright The statue of John Bright by Hamo Thorneycroft was moved from the Town Hall Square to this position in Broadfield Park. John Brigth was a local mill owner and MP for Birmingham, most famously remembered in Rochdale for his campaigning for the repeal of the Corn Laws.

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7. CENTOTAPH & MEMORIAL GARDENS

7.1 Cenotaph & Post Office

Opposite the Town Hall, north of the river, Dearden’s ‘Manor House’ was redeveloped in 1922 by Sir Edwin Lutyens as a cenotaph (listed grade II) and garden formally set between two large buildings. The first of the classical buildings became the Post Office (listed grade II) completed in 1927. The second of the two white classical buildings framing the Cenotaph has yet to be built; but the site has been faithfully retained for 90 years. The 32ft tall cenotaph was unveiled by The Earl of Derby. Lutyen’s pale Cornish grey granite, white Portland stone and classical symmetry formed a brave counterpoint to Crossland’s dark asymmetric, romantic scheme.

7.2 Memorial Gardens The first formal garden was laid out as a memorial to the Great War - a symmetrical design on-axis to the entrance of the Town Hall. After the Second World War, the memorial garden was extended northwards to create the 1939-45 Gardens of Remembrance; a sunken Italian garden that creates a shaft of space framing the Town Hall when viewed from the north.

7.3 Police Station & Magistrates Court

The 1970s Police Station, Magistrates Courts and Newgate House frame the Gardens and maintain the white limestone theme. Further text to be inserted

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PROBLEMS, PRESSURES AND CAPACITY FOR CHANGE

§ Crossland designed four “picture postcard” views which show off the Town Hall at its very best. All of these views are compromised today. § Town Hall Square is dominated by cars which pushes the gardens to the periphery.

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BIBLIOGAPHY

Dixon, K. H. 2004. Top o’th’ Steps, A History of St Chad’s Parish Church, Rochdale. Rochdale: St Chad’s Educational Trust.

Kershaw, H. Unknown date. Over my Shoulder: a Backward Glace Over the Year’s of Rochdale’s Proud History from the Late 18 th Century to the Present Day.

Pevsner, N. 1969. The Buildings of England, South Lancashire. London: Penguin Books.

Rochdale Civic Trust. Unknown date. Rochdale in Focus. Rochdale: Rochdale Civic Trust.

Royal Bank of Scotland. 1994. 1819-1994 175 years of banking in Rochdale. Rochdale: RBS

Touchstone. 2006. Rochdale Heritage Trail. Rochdale MBC and Link4Life.

Whitworth, G.T. 2009. ‘Bobbins’ A Short History of Textile Industry in Rochdale. Littleborough: George Kelsall.

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APPENDIX: HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS

Bright MP, John

Byron, Lord of Rochdale The Byron Family were Lords of the Manor of Rochdale from 1400s until the poet Lord Byron, the 6 th Baron, sold the right to…in 1822

Collier, John (Tim Bobbin) Grave in St Chad’s church. Dialect poet, caricaturists and political satirist died 1786.

Crossland, William Henry (1835-1908)

Rochdale Town Hall (1866-71) was the first masterpiece of Huddersfield architect William Henry Crossland, described by John Betjeman as a “genius”. He trained under George Gilbert Scott and developed a particularly free romantic style. After 1870, he began two all-consuming commissions in Surrey, Royal Holloway College and Holloway Sanatorium. With the Town Hall, they are his most remarkable buildings. According to Betjeman, “They have to be seen to be believed, and once seen they haunt the mind like a recurring and exalting dream.” However, Crossland's commitment to the Surrey projects meant he was unavailable to rebuild the clock tower after the fire of 1883.

Drake, Thomas Local vicar and magistrate. Drake Street was named after Rev Thomas Drake who was vicar of Rochdale for 29 years and died in 1819 at the age of 71. He is remembered as being a respected and amiable Vicar and magistrate.

Iveson, Family

Rawson Family

Rochdale Pioneers

Royd, Family

Vavasour Family

Waterhouse, Alfred (1830-1905)

Alfred Waterhouse was chosen to build the new replacement clock tower which was built between 1885 and 1887. He was the most famous of all the Victorian architects

Page 47 of 52 and in the 1880s was at the height of his powers. When he designed the Town Hall clock tower, he had already completed both Manchester Town Hall and the Natural History Museum in London and was building Manchester University (Owen's College) and the Prudential Assurance building in London. Rochdale thus chose the most celebrated architect in England to replace Crossland. He did not disappoint. Waterhouse and Crossland were both brilliant architects but in different ways. The former was more rational and disciplined whereas the latter possessed great imagination and freedom of expression. Waterhouse was all-controlling down to the smallest detail while Crossland gave his artists and sculptors much more space to express themselves.

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APPENDIX: BUILDINGS AT RISK

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APPENDIX: BUILDINGS WITH POTENTIAL FOR LISTING

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APPENDIX: TIMELINE

1810 Drake Street opened & named after the Vicar of Rochdale 1856 Borough of Rochdale created 1864 Competition for Town Hall. W.H. Crossland appointed 1868 River Roch parapets and wall by W. H. Crossland completed 1869 Trinity United Presbyterian Church completed 1870 Park Slopes completed 1870 Saint Chad’s Church enlargement begun by W. H. Crossland 1871 Town Hall completed 1871 Town Hall Square and Esplanade etc. begun 1872 W. H. Crossland enlarges tower etc. of Saint Chad’s Church 1874c Broadfield Park laid out 1878 Statue to G. L. Ashworth by W. J. & T. Wills erected 1883 Clock Tower destroyed by fire 1884 Replacement Library built on The Esplanade by J. Horsfall 1885 Saint Chad’s Church further enlarged by J. S. Crowther 1886 Alfred Waterhouse designs replacement Clock Tower 1887 Clock Tower completed 1891 Statue of John Bright by H. Thorneycroft erected in Square 1893 Bandstand erected in Broadfield Park 1896 Victoria Bridge erected over Bird Cage Walk on Park Slopes 1900 Dialect Writers Memorial by E. Sykes erected on Park Slopes 1903 Art Gallery and Museum by J. Horsfall added to the Library 1904 River Roch covered over in the Butts/South Parade area 1907 Co-operative Jubilee Drinking Fountain erected in Broadfield Park 1908 May 27 th The new name of Wet Rake,f or the plot of land formally known as Halsteads Foundry decided upon. 1908c Park Slopes altered, Angel Fountain and West Entrance created 1910 River Roch covered between Yorkshire Street and Newgate 1910 Newgate constructed off The Esplanade to cater for trams 1913 Art Gallery extended by P. W. Hathaway, carvings J. J. Milson 1922 Cenotaph and garden by Edwin Lutyens creates a new axis 1923 River Roch covered over from Newgate to the Police Station 1925c St. Chad’s Gardens laid out 1926 River Roch covered eastwards from the Butts to Smith Street 1927 Post Office, one half of the Lutyens plan completed 1933 “Maybury Plan” built a traffic island and bus station on Town Hall Square 1934 John Bright Statue removed from Town Hall Square 1934 Central Corn Mill demolished and Packer Spout Gardens created 1950 Memorial Gardens created 1960s Self seeded trees begin to grow on Packer Spout 1980s Road widening destroys West Entrance to Park Slopes and The Angel 1990s Trinity Presbyterian Church demolished 1990s Park Slopes and Broadfield Park overgrow and decline 1997 Spires sculpture by Jeremy Waygood

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2003 Touchstones Art Gallery and Local Studies centre opens √ 2007 Park Slopes & Broadfield Park restored through Heritage Lottery Fund

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