Work to improve the magnificent ballroom at Todmorden Town Hall is now complete, with the addition of new acoustic panels and specialist redecoration.
Todmorden Town Hall’s ballroom, with its richly ornamented ceiling and plasterwork, is one of the focal points of the Grade I listed building. The room has held a variety of impressive events over its long history, however levels of reflected noise around the large space have previously been problematic, particularly for spoken word events.
Calderdale Council, working with the Town Hall Working Group, has invested over £120,000 in a refurbishment programme. The Town Hall Working Group, including Friends of the Town Hall, Todmorden ward councillors, Todmorden town councillors, Todmorden Information Centre and Todmorden Civic Pride, have worked closely with the Council to agree a scheme that improves the acoustics whilst being sympathetic to the history of the building.
It was agreed that acoustic panels should be introduced to help absorb the sound and stop it bouncing around the space. The panels are from the specialist business, Agile Acoustics. To reflect the building’s listed status and ensure works were in-keeping with the building’s heritage features, the improvements have been planned with guidance from the Council’s conservation officers and Historic England.
A new colour scheme for the ballroom has also been introduced, based on the colours of the original Minton tiles which were rediscovered after remaining hidden beneath the ballroom’s lincrusta wallpaper for a significant time. Skilled contractors carried out the decoration, which involved fine, detailed work to pick out the features in the fabulous plasterwork. Local business LRP Fibrous Plastering carried out the fibrous plastering work, and Mitie Painting and Decorating and Crown Paints did the redecoration.
Now work is complete, the sound reverberation levels have been significantly reduced, allowing the venue to be successfully used for a wide range of events. The Town Hall is now able to take bookings for events in the beautifully refurbished ballroom and staff are happy to discuss any requirements. Visit www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/leisure-and-culture/venues/todmorden-town-hall for more information.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, Cllr Jenny Lynn, said:
“The ballroom at Todmorden Town Hall has always been impressive, with many grand architectural features. The completion of this restoration work has further enhanced the venue, not only improving the sound within the ballroom, but also the look of the room, with the new colour scheme based on original features.
“Specialist advice and contractors were used throughout, to ensure the work reflected the listed status of this important heritage building. The result is really stunning and the technical improvements support wider usage for events such as talks, comedy nights, exhibitions, and literary, musical or choral events.
“I’m delighted that we’ve now been able to reopen event bookings and look forward to welcoming more people back to this majestic building.”
In addition to the ballroom improvements, further work has also been carried out to the railings outside the Town Hall, using accelerated funding provision from the Government’s Towns Deals Fund.
Todmorden Town Deal Board allocated £44,000 funding for the restoration of the original railings around the building. The works were undertaken by specialist iron workers Topp & Co, who have previously refurbished the Piece Hall and Borough Market gates.
Following the announcement that Todmorden will receive £17.5 million from the Government’s Towns Fund, further proposals to invest in the heritage of the town are included as part of the Town Board’s Investment Plan. Find out more at www.todmordentowndeal.co.uk(external link)