Rochdale Town Centre, Rochdale, Greater Manchester- Desk-based Assessment

In April 2009, The Rochdale Development Agency (RDA) commissioned Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) to undertake an archaeological desk-based assessment of approximately 9ha of land on the eastern side of Rochdale town centre (centred on NGR SD 89849 13536). The aim of the desk-based assessment is to provide supporting documentation for a development brief being devised by Rochdale Development Agency for a large scale redevelopment of the area. The desk-based assessment comprised a search of both published and unpublished records held by the Greater Manchester Archaeology Unit Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) in Manchester; the Local Studies Centre at Touchstones, Rochdale, and the archives and library held at OA North. In addition, a site visit was carried out in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the study area, and assess the significance of the built heritage.
The assessment identified a total of 99 sites of archaeological interest within the study area. This included five Grade II Listed Buildings (Sites 17, 18, 20, 38 and 91), and four sites recorded in the SMR (Sites 03, 04, 90 and 92). The remaining 87 sites were identified through the consultation of historic maps. There are two Conservation Areas within the study area, Town Head, at its northern extent, and Town Hall at its western extent. Standing buildings within these areas include Sites 15, 20, 38 and 60-62 in the Town Head Conservation Area, and Sites 17, 27, 29-33, 80 and 82-88 in the Town Hall Conservation Area. The site visit confirmed that there are numerous buildings of historical interest in the study area, spanning the Georgian to Edwardian periods. The majority of these buildings lie within the two Conservation Areas, in the western part of the study area and along Yorkshire Street, although other buildings of historical importance survive on Baillie Street and Smith Street.