Page 19 - Real Rochdale Issue 10 Summer 2021

Greater manchester fire service museum

The museum, based in Rochdale’s former fire station on Maclure Road, is being
renovated to expand the space available and restoration work has included
the re-fitting of original 1930s doors to the fire engine turnout bays.

This 1940 Dennis Pump Escape fire engine has been A recent addition to the collection:
in the museum collection for several years A 1965 Bedford Water Tender fire engine from Wigan

Beautifully restored by specialist architectural The first floor space has been skilfully re-purposed as
joinery company Ramdale, of Bacup, the installation a hi-tech ‘managed workspace’ which will be available
of the period doors is a fitting return which adds to for rental by small business in IT or related sectors
the station’s charm. and a new ground floor café fronting Maclure Road
completes the layout.
The former ballroom on the first floor, affectionately
remembered by many Rochdalians, has also The £2m project was made possible through a
undergone a complete restoration. Many of the partnership between the Museum Trust, Rochdale
original art deco features on the first floor, Borough Council, Rochdale Development Agency
including the wonderful stained glass ceiling, have and the building’s previous owners Greater
The former fire station has had
replacement 1930s doors fitted been returned to their former splendour by the Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, with support
Rochdale-based Casey Group Ltd, the main from several major funders, chiefly the National
contractor of the project. Lottery Heritage Fund.
Rochdale’s iconic art deco former fire station-turned- The word fireground has been used in the fire and
museum has undergone an extensive £2m rescue services since World War Two and refers to
renovation and is due to reopen this summer. the scene of operations at an emergency incident –
the centre of all activity, as with ‘battleground’ in the
Formerly located in the rear yard of the fire station, armed forces. The 115ft (35 metre) hose tower
the museum – named ‘Fireground’ – will be found in at Fireground is one of the tallest
the main building fronting Maclure Road, more than Along with the new name, a new logo depicting the such structures in the country.
four times the size of the previous Greater iconic 1933 station will feature on uniforms,
Manchester Fire Service Museum site. stationery and the building itself. Its original function was to hang
canvas fire hose at full-length so as
The restoration sees many of the original to dry naturally after use.
architectural features uncovered or re-instated,
including the re-fitting of original 1930s doors to the The tower was specially designed
fire engine turnout bays. and built at above-average height
so as to complement the
The station’s original 1930s folding ‘engine-house’ architectural style of nearby
doors had been lost during the modernisation of the St.John’s church.
station – but a set of virtually identical doors from
the same decade have been sourced from Southport, As well as the fire station itself,
thanks to the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. the site included 32 houses for
members of the brigade and their
www.fireground.org.uk families.

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