Rochdale uncovered – a SAVE walking tour and a visit to one of the finest Gothic Revival town halls
Rochdale uncovered – a SAVE walking tour and a visit to one of the finest Gothic Revival town halls
Friday, 18th October 2024 | 11:45 – 14:45 (including a c. 30 minute break)
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Join SAVE and Mike Ashworth for a guided tour of Rochdale, a former Lancashire mill town using its heritage to help drive regeneration. Rochdale, first mentioned in the Domesday Book, evolved from a medieval market town into an industrial centre. The Industrial Revolution expanded the wool and cotton industries and led to the opening of the world’s first modern co-operative shop by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in 1844. The walk takes us from the meeting place at the Railway Station past important civic buildings as well as early industrial structures that, important in their own right, add to the urban grain that helps make this a unique town as was highlighted in the recent SAVE report on Greater Manchester. The tour, taking in much of the ‘Heritage Action Zone’ (compiled by Historic England in collaboration with the council) will finish with an opportunity to visit the newly restored Grade I listed Town Hall of 1871. This building is recognised as one of the finest examples of Victorian Gothic Revival structures in the country. Our guide of the town hall will be Kate Martyn from Donald Insall Associates, the conservation architect, principal designer and lead consultant. Before our tour of the town hall, there will be time for a short independent break for a coffee / quick lunch. After today’s event there will be time to visit the Rochdale Pioneers Museum (open Wed-Fri, 10:30-16:00) independently.
Mike Ashworth, born in Rochdale, was formerly London Underground’s Design & Heritage Manager and is a regular SAVE tour guide. Since retirement he has been visiting and reinvestigating the townscapes of his childhood with a keen eye given his career and allied interests in industrial architecture, archaelogy and design.
Kate Martyn leads the Manchester office of Donald Insall Associates and oversees its Northern Historic Buildings Consultancy team. For the past seven years, she has served as a trustee of the Greater Manchester Building Preservation Trust.
Tickets: Friends & Saviours £14, General Public £16 (incl. Eventbrite booking fee)
Meet: Rochdale Train Station at 11:45am (The train from Leeds arrives at 11:13am; the train from Manchester Victoria arrives at 11:33am)
Please note last-minute room hires may limit access to certain areas of the town hall.
Images: Rochdale Town Hall [credits: James Newton], St John's & Post Office [credits: M Ashworth]