The Bowdon Assembly Rooms The Firs Bowdon

The Assembly Rooms were a gift to the village from the family of Spencer Henry Bickham, a wealthy silk manufacturer who lived nearby at Green Walk. A limited company was set up to manage the building called “Bowdon Assembly Rooms Limited”, which survived until 1949 when it was voluntarily liquidated. Bowdon Urban District Council then took over, and this became part of Trafford Metropolitan Borough in 1974.  The Assembly Rooms are perhaps Dunkerley’s most adventurous design. The British Architect journal described the building as "one of the best examples of assembly hall design we have met with", and mentioned the following practical features - a porte cochere large enough to provide shelter for a carriage, "a capital supper-room to seat 100 (with kitchen)", and an American maple floor laid on patent 'Valtor' springs which could be made rigid in five minutes. In style, it is reminiscent of two other buildings with similar functions – the New Earswick Folk Hall in York built in 1905 by Raymond Unwin, and the Mrs Howard Memorial Hall at Letchworth built in 1905-6 by Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin.

During the First World War, the building served as an annexe to Altrincham General Hospital for the treatment of injured officers from Britain and the Colonies, and accommodated 48 beds. Apart from that period, it has served its original function, and is now a popular wedding venue. [RF]

Reference : British Architect 22 October 1909 Page 290 - llustration of interior by T Raffles Davison