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| ren_cost = | location = Rochdale Greater Manchester England | address = The Esplanade ROCHDALE OL16 1AB | client = | owner = Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council | current_tenants = Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council | start_date = 31 March 1866 | completion_date = | inauguration_date = 27 September 1871 | renovation_date = | demolition_date = | destruction_date = 10 April 1883 (tower) | height = | diameter = | other_dimensions = | floor_count = 3〔 | floor_area = 〔 | main_contractor = W. A. Peters and Son〔 | architect = William Henry Crossland, Alfred Waterhouse (clock tower only) | architecture_firm = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | civil_engineer = | other_designers = Rochdale Corporation | quantity_surveyor = | awards = Grade I listed building | references = 〔〔.〕 }} Rochdale Town Hall is a Victorian-era municipal building in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It is "widely recognised as being one of the finest municipal buildings in the country",〔.〕 and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The Town Hall functions as the ceremonial headquarters of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and houses local government departments, including the borough's civil registration office. Built in the Gothic Revival style at a cost of £160,000 (£ in ), it was inaugurated for the governance of the Municipal Borough of Rochdale on 27 September 1871. The architect, William Henry Crossland, was the winner of a competition held in 1864 to design a new Town Hall. It had a clock tower topped by a wooden spire with a gilded statue of Saint George and the Dragon, both of which were destroyed by fire on 10 April 1883, leaving the building without a spire for four years. A new stone clock tower and spire in the style of Manchester Town Hall was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, and erected in 1888. Art critic Nikolaus Pevsner described the building as possessing a "rare picturesque beauty". Its stained glass windows are credited as "the finest modern examples of their kind".〔 The building came to the attention of Adolf Hitler, who was said to have admired it so much that he wished to ship the building, brick-by-brick, to Nazi Germany had the United Kingdom been defeated in the Second World War. ==History== Rochdale had developed into an increasingly large, populous, and prosperous urban mill town since the Industrial Revolution. Its newly built rail and canal network, and numerous factories, resulted in the town being "remarkable for many wealthy merchants".〔.〕 In January 1856 the electorate of the Rochdale constituency petitioned the Privy Council for the grant of a charter of incorporation under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, to constitute the town as a municipal borough. This would give it limited political autonomy via an elected town council, comprising a mayor, aldermen, and councillors, to oversee local affairs. The petition was successful and the charter was granted in September 1856. The newly formed Rochdale Corporation—the local authority for the Municipal Borough of Rochdale—suggested plans to build a town hall in which to conduct its business in May 1858.〔 The site of an abandoned 17th-century house known as The Wood was proposed. Six months later, in April 1860, Rochdale Corporation arranged to buy the site on the outskirts of the town centre for £4,730 (£ in ). However, plans were shelved due to lengthy negotiations and increasing land prices. In January 1864 the scheme resumed with a new budget of £20,000 (£ in ).〔 The wood and surrounding area were cleared, but it is unknown what became of the dispossessed; there was no legal requirement for the authorities to rehouse the former inhabitants.〔.〕 A design competition to find a "neat and elegant building" was held by the Rochdale Corporation,〔.〕 who offered the winning architect a prize of £100 (£ in ), and a Maltese cross souvenir. From the 27 entries received, William Henry Crossland's was chosen.〔〔 The Rochdale-born Radical and Liberal statesman John Bright laid the foundation stone on 31 March 1866. Construction was complete by 1871 although the cost had, by then, increased beyond expectations from the projected £40,000 to £160,000 (£ in ).〔〔 The Town Hall was one of several built in the textile towns of North West England following the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, but is one of only two in Greater Manchester built in the Gothic style. Between the setting of the foundation stone and the building's completion, revisions and additions were made to the original design. Money was "lavished" upon the decor and inventory, and the extra expenditure did not escape the ire of its critics.〔 The cost of the building increased year-on-year through a combination of mismanagement, overspending and "unauthorised work".〔 Public criticism of the high cost was aimed at Crossland and the Mayor of Rochdale, George Leach Ashworth, who oversaw the work.〔 Nevertheless, Rochdale Town Hall was ultimately celebrated as "a source of pride", and its completion prompted celebration and rejoicing;〔 it transformed a "derelict and marshy riverbank in to a huge romantic Gothic plaza".〔 The opening ceremony on 27 September 1871 was performed by Mayor Ashworth, who had been instrumental in the changes made to the building's design.〔 In 1882 or 1883〔 gives the year as 1882 whereas states 1883.〕 dry rot was found in the high spire. On the recommendation of Rochdale's Borough Surveyor, contractors were engaged to rebuild it.〔〔 The spire was to be demolished to clear the way for a replacement. It was rumoured that the workmen who were dismantling the top section of the wooden spire may have tried to speed up the dismantling process with matches and, at 9:20 am on 10 April 1883, a blaze was discovered. Despite the efforts of volunteers and the local fire brigade, 100 minutes after the discovery of the fire the entire spire, including a statue of Saint George and the Dragon, had been destroyed. The cause of the fire was never established,〔 but Rochdale's fire service was criticised for taking longer to respond to the blaze than Oldham's, (based south), despite the Rochdale Fire Brigade being based in the Town Hall. Alfred Waterhouse was given the task of designing a stone replacement.〔 His work on the clock tower, which was built between 1885 and 1887〔 about further to the east than the original,〔 shows many similarities to Manchester Town Hall,〔 which he also designed. The tower was opened in 1888;〔 an inscribed plaque commemorates the fire of 1883.〔 On 15 January 1931, at the height of the Great Depression in the United Kingdom, the Territorial Army was called to guard the Town Hall during a protest against unemployment and hunger.〔.〕 In May 1938, Rochdale-born actress, singer and comedienne Gracie Fields was granted Honorary Freedom of the Borough for her contribution to entertainment. "When the ceremony was over, Gracie went onto the town hall balcony to receive the cheers and good wishes of the thousands of people who were packing the streets below."〔.〕 Although it is not fully understood how it came to his attention, Rochdale Town Hall was admired by Adolf Hitler.〔〔 It has been suggested a visit by Hitler in 1912–13 while staying with his half-brother Alois Hitler, Jr. in Liverpool, or military intelligence on Rochdale, or information from Nazi sympathiser William Joyce (who had lived in Oldham), brought the building to his attention. Hitler admired the architecture so much that it is believed he wished to ship the building, brick-by-brick, to Nazi Germany had German-occupied Europe encompassed the United Kingdom. Rochdale was broadly avoided by German bombers during the Second World War. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rochdale Town Hall」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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