Trafford Town Hall - Talbot Road, Manchester,
UK
Architect
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Bradshaw Gass & Hope |
Date Built
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1931 - 1933 |
Location
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On the north-west
corner of Talbot Road and Warwick Road |
Description
|
Originally known as
Stretford Town Hall but in 1974, the Trafford
Metropolitan Borough was created and Stretford
Town Hall was adopted as the base for the new
council, and was renamed Trafford Town Hall.
In recent times there were plans to demolish it
but a newspaper article in 2007 suggested that it
would have a future.
Councillor Susan Williams was quoted as saying: "We
are restating our determination to preserve the
architectural and historical integrity of the
original town hall for the people of the
borough."
Councillor Matthew Colledge added: "We
are looking at two options - the refurbishment
of the building to provide town hall
accommodation for the next 50 years, or the
relocation of the council. If we do relocate,
the site will not be demolished."
The building was given Grade II listing by English
Heritage in 2007
Pevsner says this of the inside of the building, "The
entrance leads into a vestibule and on to the
main stone stair. This goes up in one
flight and divides, where on each side there are
plinths with large bronze statues by the
Bromsgrove Guild: on one side Electra holding a
globe, on the other Niord with a ship and sea
beasts. Circular domed council chamber
with a glazed oval lantern." The
book "Public Sculpture of Greater Manchester", by
Terry Wyke and Harry Cocks, explains that "Electra,
one of the seven sisters in Greek mythology,
symbolized the power of electricity controlled,
whilst Niord, the Norse god of the winds and
sea, represented Stretford's connections with
the sea."
|
Below you can see the
Town Hall in 1946. As you can see it had the
formal garden on the west side.
Close
Window
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