Rochdale's Most Magnificent Building

On the 15th of April 1860 the Wood Estate was selected as the site for the new Town Hall.
The purchase was completed in September 1863 and it was recommended that Rochdale should spend £25,000 on its town hall.
The cost eventually rose to over £154,000 due to many alterations, one of which was the addition of an Exchange. It was thought Rochdale needed this to prevent trade emigrating to Halifax and other towns but in actual fact the Exchange was never used as such.
By 1871 the Town Hall was completed and opened on September 27th with enormous celebration.
There was a procession about two miles long which included seven bands with a banquet held in the afternoon in the Assembly Hall attended by six hundred guests.
The Town Hall was open to the public in October and over four thousand people visited during the first  three days!