[143970] Rochdale Town Hall : Great Hall Window

Town Hall, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, 1866-71.

Great Hall Window.

Designed by Robert Turnill Bayne.

Made by Heaton, Butler & Bayne.

 

King Henry V & Vl.

King Edward lV.

King Richard lll.

 

The windows are filled with a pageant of kings and queens from William the Conqueror to William lV. Monarchs are depicted full length, referring to known likenesses although sometimes erring on the side of flattery, together with their arms and attributes. The artistic problem of trousers has been avoided by dressing the kings in Garter regalia. Cromwell is given full prominence, indicating Rochdale's politics as clearly as the subject of the window.

 

Heaton, Butler & Bayne.

Clement Heaton (1824-1882).

James Butler (1830-1913).

Robert Turnill Bayne (1837-1915).

 

Clement Heaton, the son of a Methodist minister in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, was in 1851 a glass painter for William Holland of Warwick. He was in London by 1853 and briefly in business alone before going into partnership with James Butler in 1855. Around 1860 the two briefly shared premises with Clayton and Bell, an association of lasting importance, as the third member of the firm, Robert Turnill Bayne, who was also from Warwick and became chief designer in 1862, was an employee of theirs. Heaton pioneered the use of softer colours, but Bayne’s advent brought the firm to widespread attention. Most of their earlier glass was gothic in style, but the firm adapted to later influences, notably that of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The firm was used widely by Sir Arthur Blomfield, but in later years less of its output was glass for churches. Heaton’s son Clement John joined for a short time, but fell out with his partners. The firm continued until 1953 under descendants of other partners, after which most of its archives were destroyed for lack of interest.

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Town Hall, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, 1866-71.

By William Henry Crossland (1835-1908).

Grade l listed.

Rochdale Town Hall is widely recognised as being one of the finest municipal buildings in the country. Architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner described the building as possessing a "rare picturesque beauty".

 

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