Town Hall Oldham

OLDHAM TOWN HALL - The want of a suitable and convenient building for the transaction of the public business of the town of Oldham was long felt, and ultimately the commissioners of police resolved, at a numerous meeting held March 6 1839, to erect a town hall. A committee was appointed to make the necessary arrangements, and plans being advertised for and received, the designs of Messrs Mills and Butterworth, architects of Manchester, were successful. The first stone was laid April 16^th, 1840, on the best site that could have been selected in the town, in the widest and most elevated part of Yorkshire Street, which is seen to great advantage, and corresponds admirably with St Mary=s Church, which stands opposite. The area of the edifice occupies 69 feet in front and 55 feet in depth. To the right of the entrance is an excellent room for the ordinary meetings of the commissioners, select vestry, etc; adjacent is a well-arranged overseers' office; to the left of the main door is an intended news room and the adjoining apartment forms the constable=s office; the basement story contains five cells for prisoners, a habitation for the hall keeper and the heating apparatus. The principle staircase is of stone, and is lighted by a elegant window, which contains the arms of Oldham in stained glass. In the higher story is a spacious public room for general meetings, petit sessions etc., 66 feet in length, 33 feet in width and 23 feet in height with two anti-rooms. The new overseers= office was first occupied on the 16^th ult and the constables commenced use of the hall on Saturday last. The funds for the erection have been raised by mortgages of the police rates, and the cost will be about £4,000. [Manchester Guardian 6 October 1841 page 2]

OLDHAM TOWN HALL - Workmen are at present busily engaged in preparation to form the foundations of the Oldham Town Hall. The principle contract, that of joinery, has been let to Messrs Birtwisle and Son of Bury; the masonry to Mr Joseph Scholes and the brickwork to Mr James Wrigley, both of Oldham. The structure will be from a design by Mr Joseph Butterworth, of the firm of Messrs Mills and Butterworth, architects, Manchester; and the cost of erection will be about £4,000. [Manchester Guardian 15 February 1840 page 2]

 Extended 1879-80 by George Woodhouse of Bolton and Edward Potts of Oldham

Victorian Society Buildings at Risk 2009 Oldham Town Hall, Oldham - The Town Hall's demise began as far back as 1978 when council officers moved out of Mills and Butterworth's grand classical building to a new Civic Centre. In 1995 the remaining courtroom also closed and the boards went up. Nearly fifteen years later and the boards are still there concealing an interior now riddled with wet and dry rot. The council admits that water is still seeping in, that the roof is at risk of collapse and the floors are dangerous. Inside and deteriorating by the day are the town's old courtroom and an Egyptian Room, so called because of its ornate pillars and decoration. Outside there is a blue plaque which commemorates where Winston Churchill stood on the steps when he was elected MP in 1900. In the last ten years there have been three major proposals put forward for the Town Hall, but all have come to nothing. This early Victorian building is now in desperate need of a saviour.

Reference    Manchester Guardian 11 September 1839 page
Reference    Manchester Guardian 15 February 1840 page 2
Reference    Manchester Guardian 6 October 1841 page 2