Thousands pack town centre for 'Revealing the Roch' party

Thousands of people packed into Rochdale town centre for the grand re-opening of the River Roch as the ribbon was cut by the Mayor and Mayoress, Ray and Elaine Dutton with the help of one of Rochdale’s oldest residents, 101-year-old Alice Nicholson.

Alice is old enough to remember the river before it was covered in the early 1900s, and she said she was honoured to join the ribbon-cutting duties.

Skylight Circus, the M6 Theatre Company and folk singer Jenny Bailey all gave performances to cheering crowds, as children enjoyed rides, face painting and even a Punch and Judy show on Yorkshire Street.

The event, said the Mayor, marks new beginnings for Rochdale town centre. Addressing the crowds moments before declaring the bridge open, he said: “The theme of today’s celebration is heritage. We wanted to give a flavour of our strong, proud heritage, and for people to dress in Victorian costumes and enjoy what is on show.

“Street games, carousel and heritage vehicles are all on show today.

“I was asked as Mayor to emphasise our Victorian heritage. I thought long and hard about this before I looked at the Mayoress. I realised that her chain of office shows a picture of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.”

He added: “There is an old saying, something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Well for old, she’s got me. Borrowed are our chains as we are only in office for one year. New is our fantastic new bridge that we are standing on today, and blue has to be our football team.”

“In these times of uncertainty, let’s show the country how to celebrate and enjoy new beginnings.”

 

 

Council Leader, Councillor Richard Farnell said: “This bridge and river played a critical role in the development of our borough, as a pack horse bridge for merchants bringing wool over from Yorkshire to be finished in our mills.

“It was first built in the medieval period and grew with the town.”

He added: “I’m very pleased to welcome Alice Nicholson to today’s event. As a 101-year-old, Alice has seen the town centre go through more chances than most. The memories of people like her help to connect us with our past.”