Autumn 2023Town hall restoration: new stained glass windows for Mayor’s Dining Room

Rochdale Town Hall is renowned for its beautifully decorated stained glass windows throughout the building. From the kings and queens of England in the Great Hall to the many different countries Rochdale has traded with in the Grand Staircase, each window tells a different story.

At some point in history, the round panels of glass in the Mayor’s dining room were unfortunately lost – replaced by extractor fans. Removing the fans and replacing the glass was always intended as part of the ongoing restoration made possible thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The replacement windows have been created by glass artist Louise Watson, who creates architectural and kiln-formed bespoke glass installations.

Louise was particularly drawn to, and inspired by, the structure and detailing of Rochdale Town Hall, understanding the importance of social heritage and what that brings to the local community.

Working in collaboration with Beggars Belief Collective to draw inspiration from community workshops, Louise has created two modern stained glass roundels, celebrating the restoration.

The workshops included drawing leaves, flowers, fruits and vegetables linking to the nature and decorative art motifs in the town hall. Participants were encouraged to think about composition and using lines to separate shapes and colours.

Children involved in the workshops produced bright and bold drawings which helped form the final designs.

Louise then hand-crafted the new panels, which were installed in June by York Glaziers Trust, which also restored the Great Hall’s Oliver Cromwell window last year.

The trust looks after historic buildings throughout the UK, but is mainly known for its work to care for and conserve the stained glass in the world-famous York Minster.