Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall



Richard Lane, the architect of the Friend's Meeting House on Mount Street, designed the Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall on Grosvenor Street.  It continued in  that role from 1831 until 1838 when Chorlton-on-Medlock became part of the city of Manchester.  In the years that followed it was used by the local community for a variety of functions but the redevelopment of the area meant that the local population diminshed and the building became redundant.  In 1970, the interior was removed, a new structure added to the rear and it became part of the Polytechnic which became the Manchester Metropolitan University.

A Blue Plaque commemorates Richard Lane, the architect.




A red plaque marks the fact that an important meeting was held in the building in 1945.  The Fifth Pan African Conference was held there between October 15th and 21st in 1945.

Ninety delegates from across Africa, Europe and the Caribbean, attended the meeting and among the delegates were a number of men who went on to become political leaders in their countries including: Hastings Banda, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Obafemi Awolowo and Jomo Kenyatta.

Simon Katzenellenboggen, a Manchester historian, said of the meeting:
"I’ve always seen it as a very important turning point, not just in Africa’s history, but in the European Empires too. It was an important step towards the end of those imperial powers in Africa, so it’s imperative for everyone, not just those of African descent, to be aware of the conference. In addition to knowing about our imperial past, we also need to face up to the consequences of what that rule meant to Africans."




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The images below, shown with the permission of English Heritage, give you a glimpse of the inside of the building.








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