Rochdale Local Studies Centre

01/06/2026

30/05/2026

A lovely little addition to the collection and let's face it we all love a Vimto hot or cold. What's your favourite?

29/05/2026

Well, it's come to the end of an era - this will be the last Pub Quiz Friday!

For the last 7 years we've ran this quiz and we sort of ran out of pubs a while back!
It's been a blast and thanks everyone for their guesses over the years, keep your eyes peeled for a new feature coming soon!

For the last time:
Pub Quiz Friday!
All these pubs from around the Borough have a fair bit of history to them!

Usual rules: Guess the pub below and where it is! For obvious reasons I've blanked the sign out (don't want to make it too easy!)

When everyone's had a guess and someone gets it I’ll post the proper photograph in the comments.

28/05/2026

Who knew you could clean paper with a sponge?!

It is special smoke sponge! Bit of a clean for one of our Castleton Township plans from 1872 today!

22/05/2026

Pub Quiz Friday!

Usual rules: Guess the pub below and where it is! For obvious reasons I've blanked the sign out (don't want to make it too easy!)

When everyone's had a guess and someone gets it I’ll post the proper photograph in the comments.

21/05/2026

We're sorry to announce that due to unforeseen circumstances we will be closed today - 21st May 2026. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

13/05/2026

The Rochdale Observer reported on the end of The General Strike with the headline 'The Aftermath of the Strike'. The news reached Rochdale via a BBC broadcast at 1.15pm on the 12th May 1926. According to the Observer report, after the announcement 'people were out and about and the streets were scenes of much animation during most of the remainder of the day. The news came as a general relief and the preponderating opnion, shared by a great many strikers, was that the TUC ought never to have called the stoppage.'

08/05/2026

Pub Quiz Friday!

Usual rules: Guess the pub below and where it is! For obvious reasons I've blanked the sign out (don't want to make it too easy!) Though this one is pretty easy..!

When everyone's had a guess and someone gets it I’ll post the proper photograph in the comments.

05/05/2026

On the 100th anniversary of the General Strike (4th-12th May) we've been looking through the Rochdale Observer to see how Rochdale faired during the strike. The strike was called by the TUC in an attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reductions and worsening conditions for locked out coal miners.
Some 1.7 million workers nationwide went out on strike. The strike was seen as a sympathy strike with many workers with no connection to the mining industry, striking to show their solidarity with the miners plight. The General Strike lasted for nine days and was one of the largest and most significant industrial disputes in British history.
It was a demonstration of working class solidarity showcasing the collective strength of organised labour to disrupt the economy.
The Rochdale Observer from May 5th dedicated a whole page to 'How Rochdale Met The Strike,' reporting that food supplies were normal with no need for the slightest panic. 300 people enrolled in the volunteer service to provide assistance in maintaining vital services across Rochdale. However there were reports of no tram services with pickets on duty in Mellor Street, there were also problems at the railway station with trains suspended from 6 o'clock in the morning. Coal was rationed just supplying hospitals and the sick and all of the local cotton mills were closed in an attempt to conserve their stocks of coal. There was no change in electricity and gas supplies in the early days....
Keep an eye out for a post later in the week to see how things changed......