| Description | The first stone for Oldham Town Hall was laid on 16 Apr 1840 and the building was completed by Aug 1841. By the 1870s this modest building was no longer adequate for the use of the civil administration, particularly the lack of suitable accommodation for magistrates courts and prisoners. In 1876 a competition was held to appoint an architect to design an extension which was eventually won by the architects Potts and Woodhouse. The extension which was envisioned to be the basis for a new Town Hall complex was opened in 1879. The wider complex was never realised but a later addition was made c.1917. For further information on the physical development of Oldham Town Hall 1840-1880 see: Oldham Town Hall by C. J. K. Cunningham in the Local Studies Collection ref: MI:K. |