Uppermill Civic Hall, also known as Saddleworth Civic Hall, is a municipal building in Lee Street,

Uppermill Uppermill is a village in the civil parish of Saddleworth in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Tame in a valley amongst the South Pennines with t ...

, a village in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

in England. The building currently serves as the offices and meeting place of Saddleworth Parish Council.

History

The building was commissioned as a

mechanics' institute Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult edu ...

. Community events intended to raise funds for the institute included a major exhibition held in 1853. The site local leaders selected was open ground near Uppermill Bridge. The building was designed by a local architect, George Shaw, in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

, built in

rubble masonry Rubble masonry or rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Some medieval cathedral walls have outer shells of ashlar wi ...

and was officially opened by

George Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle George William Frederick Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle (18 April 1802– 5 December 1864), styled Viscount Morpeth from 1825 to 1848, was a British statesman, orator, and writer. Life Carlisle was born in Westminster, London, the eldest son of ...

on 17 June 1859. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing down Court Street. The main frontage was fenestrated by a large gothic window with

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...

flanked by a pair of cusped

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

s. There was a clock with a

hood mould In architecture, a hood mould, hood, label mould (from Latin , lip), drip mould or dripstone is an external moulded projection from a wall over an opening to throw off rainwater, historically often in form of a '' pediment''. This moulding can be ...

in the centre of the gable above. In 1862, a beam gave way, and around 100 people fell from the upper room to the lower floor, resulting in several injuries but no deaths. Following significant population growth, largely associated with the number of cotton mills in the area, a

local board of health A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...

was established in Saddleworth in 1868. In 1894, the local board of health was succeeded by Uppermill Urban District Council. In 1900, this became part of the new Saddleworth Urban District Council, which used the building as its meeting place. An improved entrance hall was established in the 1930s. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

events were held during Wings for Victory Week to raise money for Spitfires for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. The district council subsequently carried out works to modernise the mechanics' institute and to make it fit for municipal use: the works included a three-bay entrance block which featured a blind wall with a

balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

above in the left-hand bay, a double-doorway with a casement window above in the centre bay, and a blind section at the right, which was projected forward. The works were completed in 1961. The district council also opened offices at St Chad's Parish Centre, further along Lee Street. The building continued to serve as the meeting place of the district council for much of the 20th century, but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Oldham Borough Council was formed in 1974. The civic hall subsequently became the offices and meeting place of the new Saddleworth Parish Council. A major brass band concert, involving the

Black Dyke Band Black Dyke Band, formerly John Foster & Son Black Dyke Mills Band, is one of the oldest and most well-known brass bands in the world. It originated as multiple community bands founded by John Foster at his family's textile mill in Queensbury ...

, the Fairey Band and the

Grimethorpe Colliery Band The Grimethorpe Colliery Band is a brass band, based in Grimethorpe, South Yorkshire, England. It was formed in 1917, as a leisure activity for the workers at the colliery, by members of the disbanded Cudworth Colliery Band. Along with the Bl ...

, was held in aid of the charity,

Help for Heroes Help for Heroes is a British charity which supports members of the British Armed Forces community with their physical and mental health, as well as their financial, social and welfare needs. The charity was founded in 2007 by Bryn and Emma Parry ...

, in January 2015. An extensive programme of refurbishment works was completed in January 2017, creating a variety of event spaces. These included a council chamber and two halls on the ground floor, a 440-capacity ballroom, bar and kitchen on the first floor, and three rooms on the second floor.

References

{{reflist City and town halls in Greater Manchester Government buildings completed in 1859 Saddleworth