Rochdale Town Hall was opened on September 7th, 1871 with a ceremony befitting this fine Victorian building designed by William Crossland. When proposed in 1864 it was recommended that £20,000 be spent on a suitable building. When it was completed, the remarkable building with its 240 foot high wooden spire topped by a gilded statue of St. George, cost £155,000.  Twelve years after it was opened a fire, visible 10 miles away, destroyed the tower. The building remained spireless for 4 years before Alfred Waterhouse, the architect responsible for Manchester Town Hall, completed a fine stone replacement.

The English Heritage website says that the tower is, "... a version of that at Manchester Town Hall (it) rises sheer from the plinth through three stages to the broader clock stage where gables surmount each face flanked by pinnacles. Above this a short octagonal lantern carries a stone spire."

The original tower of the townhall was destroyed by fire on the 10th of April 1883.  The first stone of this tower was laid by Alderman Tho Schofield J P.  Chairman of the General Purposes Committee on the 10th of Oct. 1885 and this tablet was placed here by the Mayor Josu Robi Heape JP Upon the completion of the tower on the 20th of June 1887 the 50th anniversary of the accession of Her Majesty Queen Victoria.

“This tablet was erected by public subscription to the memory of the men and nursing sisters of Rochdale who died in South Africa 1899-1905 vin the service of their sovereign and country”

This statue of the entertainer Gracie Fields, the world’s highest-paid female actor in the 1930s, was unveiled outside the town hall on Sunday September 18, 2016.  It was the first statue of a woman to be erected in Greater Manchester in more than 100 years.

In March of 2024 after a 4 year restoration program, Rochdale Town Hall had what they described as a "Grand Reopening",  The invitation that was issued encouraged the public to "Come along to the opening day celebrations".  "All of the historic rooms will be open to explore for the first time in history".  I didn't get to the reopening but I did take part in a tour of the building soon after.  Here are some of the things I saw.