Billiard Hall (Victoria House) Greaves Street Oldham

Purpose-built as a billiard hall, the building occupies a sloping site on the corner of Firth Street and Greaves opposite the old Town Hall. The building is constructed red brick with the then fashionable olive-green faience, (a colour introduced about 1905), used in the detailing. The single-storey elevation to Greave Street square-headed windows with faience keystones separated by faience pilasters – a weaving shed with decoration. More elaborate detailing appears around the corner entrance and the return elevation to Firth Street where the change in level offered grater scope for architectural treatment. Continuous roof-lights in the red tiled roof originally provided even top-lighting to the billiard tables. The hall demonstrates the rapidity with which the core commercial and civic central areas of Victorian towns gave way to areas where lower land values allowed a greater mix of uses.  Subsequently the hall was used as council housing offices and a college before becoming vacant. Oldham Boxing moved into the building in 2011.

Reference    Hartwell/ Pevsner Buildings of England Manchester and the South-East. Page 540
Reference    Donald Insall Associates: Oldham Town Centre Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan