Friends of Rochdale Art Gallery enjoy talk by geologist Stephen Poole

The Friends of Rochdale Art Gallery are meeting at the Rochdale Music Service building while Touchstones is closed

The regular meetings of the Friends of Rochdale Art Gallery group are continuing even without a gallery to be friends of. However, the relationship between the Friends and Touchstones staff is stronger than ever whilst the building is closed for renovation.

During their continuing season of talks and visits, the Friends will be involved in the planning and development of the re-opening of Touchstones in 2025. Meanwhile, they have found a welcome temporary home for their talks programme at another arts element in the town centre, Rochdale Music Service in the Butts.

This month’s speaker was archaeologist and geologist Stephen Poole MPhil, whose 40-year enthusiasm for interesting stones was undiminished and rock solid. His illustrated talk featured the fascinating range of flints and barbs that are indicative of prehistoric human activity and found particularly in this area of Lancashire. It has been said that all archaeological research is groundbreaking and it turns out that Rochdale has played a significant part in the field. Several local and notable experts and collectors in the nineteenth century donated an impressive legacy of artefacts, now in the Touchstones collections.

Archaeology may not be a glamorous world to some, being literally down to earth. But just as humble fragments of rock and flint have added value when given context and significance, Stephen Poole’s talk turned out to be a diamond in the rough.

This flags up the convergence of FRAG’s interest in the whole of Touchstones’ arts and heritage collections. You can uncover more buried treasure at the website of the Arts & Heritage Resource Centre, itself a hidden gem: Museum Store Virtual Tour at www.yourtrustrochdale.co.uk/museum.

The Friends of Rochdale Art Gallery meet on each second Thursday in the month.
1pm for 1.30pm at Rochdale Music Service 7–11 The Butts, Rochdale OL16 1XT
Annual Subscriptions £10; entry is £4 (£3 members)
More information from 01706 648872.

Dr Joe Dawson, interim chair of FRAG