Rochdale Town Hall / Training Opportunities TOWN HALL

We need you to help us bring our history to life Join us in the restoration of Rochdale’s magnificent Town Hall

R ochdale’s Grade-1 listed Town Hall has been described as a These opportunities - and more - are at the very heart of the Town masterpiece of gothic architecture and one of the finest Victorian Hall restoration project. This leaflet will describe them in more detail, town halls in the country. Designed by William Crossland, the Town as well as giving an overview of what the project aims to achieve, Hall was opened in 1871 as a symbol of the town’s cooperative and what it will mean for our community. heart and industrial strength.

And today, 150 years after it opened, it needs some tender loving Emma Robinson care. The Town Hall restoration project, fully funded by Rochdale Senior Project Office, Rochdale Development Agency (RDA) Borough Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), aims to breathe new life into the building and its surrounding public "We want young people realm. It will preserve our magnificent Town Hall for the community and others to get and the nation. involved in preserving We want young people and others from across the area to our magnificent Town be involved. As part of the project, we’re creating a range of traineeships, apprenticeships and volunteering opportunities, in Hall for the community everything from construction and project management to heritage and the nation" conservation. Rochdale Borough Council is also sponsoring a Design, Engineer, Construct (DEC) qualification for Year 9, 10 and 11 students at a local high school.

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Rochdale Town Hall: Celebrating our past, looking to our future

150 years in the making… Our ambition is to gift Rochdale Town Hall back to the people of the Borough. The building that will emerge from the restoration process will be a magnificent reminder of Rochdale’s history, but also a warm, welcoming and accessible public space. It will be a building for the local community, and the breathtaking backdrop to local celebrations and events.

History worth preserving All of this will be done with the full support of the people of Rochdale Borough, and with their full involvement. The RDA Rochdale Town Hall is widely recognised as one of the finest consulted the local population widely before formalising plans for examples of Victorian civic architecture anywhere. But more than the restoration. And at the heart of the project is the future of our that, it’s the living, working centrepiece of our town. It attracts visitors young people. The Town Hall project will offer local people unique from far and wide and from just around the corner, and we expect opportunities for work placements, apprenticeships and education it to attract many more after its restoration. Part of the aim of this in a number of areas. project is to make the building and surrounding public realm a far more welcoming visitor space.

You don’t just have to take our word for the prestige of this project. The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) regards it as one of its most vital current concerns. Rochdale Borough Council’s vision puts the restored Town Hall at the heart of a £400 million town centre revamp, which already includes a new retail and leisure complex, a new transport interchange and the opening up of the "After restoration, adjacent , to name just a few. the building will be a magnificent reminder of Rochdale’s history and a welcoming and accessible public space"

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An exciting Work is underway - but there’s much more to do

restoration project The Town Hall closed in December 2020 and work began on Phase 1 of the project in January 2021. This phase will include the essential and urgent works needed to preserve the structure of the building and prepare it for the second phase.

Phase 2 of the project, funded by NLHF, is due to start in summer 2021, and will focus on the heritage core of the building. Work What we’re doing and why includes replacing the roof, repairs to the external stonework, cleaning of the building and restoration of key historical spaces like Our Town Hall is showing its age, with a decaying drainage system, the Great Hall and Grand Staircase. a leaking roof and windows and crumbling masonry. We’re fixing what needs to be fixed and installing new electrical and water Phase 2 will also include the restoration of key decorative features systems. We’re making it safe and sustainable. and items of historical value, including windows, decorative surfaces and wooden furniture and panelling. This We’re also correcting the mistakes of the past. A digital scan provides a once in a generation opportunity to recruit and train of the building carried out by the Archaeology Department at people in these specialist areas. We aim to embed heritage skills Salford University revealed a treasure trove of forgotten rooms training into the project under the supervision of qualified and and obscured features. Previous repairs have subdivided the accredited specialists. magnificent Bright Hall with MDF partitions, and covered up historic interior decoration. Many decorative features are now in need of conservation, and restoration of key areas like the Great Hall and Grand Staircase will create pristine spaces of historical and architectural importance.

Finally, we’re making our Town Hall more accessible and welcoming, so that it can be enjoyed by every member of our community. "We’re correcting the Structural works will be carried out to create openings for a new mistakes of the past lift and access points, and visitors will be welcomed in a new glass entrance hall. The vision will extend to Town Hall Square, which will - many decorative feature new paving, seating and landscaping, enhancing its value as features are now in an attractive and inviting public space. need of conservation"

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Opportunities for WORK PLACEMENTS IN FURNITURE RESTORATION (2 positions)

Aimed at anyone with an interest in or aptitude for furniture training and development restoration, successful candidates will work with Tim Phelps Fine Furniture Restoration on the cleaning of the Town Hall’s impressive collection of historical wooden furniture.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES - CLEANING WOODEN PANELLING How you can get involved We’re also looking for several volunteers to work with Tim Phelps in cleaning the Town Hall’s decorative hand-painted wooden panelling. How to apply The Town Hall project now has the following opportunities available: To register your interest for these opportunities please email: CONSTRUCTION APPRENTICESHIPS [email protected]

STAINED GLASS TRAINEESHIP (1 position) Working with the main contractor, traditional apprenticeships are available in areas such as scaffolding, joinery, roofing and stone A traineeship aimed at university level students or people with masonry. equivalent experience working in a relevant sector, such as heritage and conservation. The successful applicant will work with York Glaziers Trust on the cleaning and minor repair of the Town Hall’s PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPRENTICESHIP (1 position) "We’re creating a range of impressive stained glass windows. A two-year apprenticeship working with the RDA Project Team and traineeships, apprenticeships studying for The Associate Project Manager Apprenticeship through and volunteering opportunities, WORK PLACEMENTS IN the University of Salford. MUSEUM COLLECTION CARE (12 positions) in everything from construction and project management to Aimed at college students but also open to anyone with an interest, this placement is an introduction to heritage conservation in a heritage conservation" museum setting. Students will work with specialists at Lancashire Conservation Studio on the cleaning of the decorative rooms in the Town Hall, including key historical spaces like the Great Hall and Grand Staircase.

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Number One Riverside, Smith St, Rochdale OL16 1XU

Tel: 01706 927000 Email: [email protected] Web: investinrochdale.co.uk