Bringing the iconic Champness Hall back into public use

Date published: 10 May 2019

A group of trustees are hoping to bring one of Rochdale’s most historic, and forgotten, Art Deco buildings back into public use after restoring it.

Named after Methodist Minister Thomas Champness (1832 – 1905), Champness Hall first opened on 8 September 1925, the largest building on Drake Street and one of the most grandiose landmarks in the borough.

However, the Methodist Central Hall very nearly wasn’t built on Drake Street. With Baron Street marked as the preferable site, plans only came into fruition once a rich benefactor donated £100,000 on the insistance it be built on Drake Street.

The benefactor’s identity remains unknown to this day, with rumoured names including John Bright, one of the most prominent politicians in Victorian England.

Champness Hall included facilities for 1,000 Sunday school pupils, 20 classrooms for study, an exhibition centre and flats for the homeless, plus the largest auditorium in town.

In its heyday, the Hall hosted numerous performances from the likes of Halle Orchestra and Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Rochdale’s most famous daughter, Dame Gracie Fields, and many, many others throughout the 1940s to the 1970s, including the infamous cancelled Sex Pistols concert of 1977.

It then largely fell out of use and became forgotten, bar from several charitable organisations which used the building.

The Hall received a Heritage England blue plaque in 2013, inscribed with the following:

This hall bears the name of Thomas Champness, a Methodist minister and pioneer in lay training and community projects. His friend, Charles Heap JP founded the ‘Rochdale Mission’ which was housed in this building, so named in commemoration of Champness. Regular worship sessions were held in the Art Deco style auditorium, the centrepiece of the hall.

Now the Champness Hall Trust, set up in 2013, is aiming to restore the building and bring it back into use for the public after it was given to them by former owner David Bargh.

The Trust – Steve Duckworth, Alastair Lorimer, Barry Worrall, Paul Keeling and Callum Jones – are keen for more people to discover the hall and return it to one of the town’s most impressive places.

Currently the hall is used by the Methodist Church, New Life Christian Church, a day centre for home-schooled children, the soup kitchen, High Level (Northern Trust), Angie’s Angels homelessness group, plus several businesses, including a call centre and the vintage-inspired Lady Grace Tea Rooms.

Steve said: “We support a lot of fledgling charities, and prefer to let to them so they can flourish.”

However trustees Steve, Alastair and Barry are appealing to public to help out in any way they can, from becoming a trustee to hands-on volunteers to donating some spare time or money to help restore the iconic building.

“We need more trustees,” they said, “but we also need people that can help out in a hands-on way – people who have an interest in developing and maintaining buildings as well as managing them. We would be grateful for any companies who can assist with labour or knowledge in their spare time.”

They continued: “Champness Hall is a vulnerable building because of its size. Our greatest challenge is that whilst people over the age of 40 have fond memories of schools, galas and shows here, a lot of people under 30 just don’t know it’s here.

“We’re keen for the space to be used as it once was by the public; the auditorium is the biggest in town with 800 usable seats.”

In addition, Alastair, Barry and Steve are keen to fill in gaps in Champness Hall’s history: “We’d love to hear about people’s memories of Champness Hall and would love to see any memorabilia like old photos, ticket stubs and programmes.”

Local photographer Reece Horton, who kindly shared his images of Champness Hall with Rochdale Online for this article, said: “I hope this report helps keep this historic auditorium open for future generations.

“Thank you to Alastair and the Champness Hall Trust for having me.”

To donate and restore Champness Hall, please visit:

• www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/restorechampnesshall

Anyone wishing to volunteer their time or find out more, please contact Alastair:

Email: alastairchampnesshall@aol.com

Mobile: 07519 114 197