Victorian Yorkshire: Visit to Leeds and Rochdale, 29th April 2026
- membership200
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Join us for an exclusive, members-only visit to two splendid Victorian interiors. This exciting day will begin and end in Leeds, with coach transport to and from Rochdale in the afternoon. Numbers are limited, so we are restricting this to members-only. Please make sure to book your place early (and check your membership is in place).
Leeds Grand Theatre was built in 1878, following an off-the-cuff remark by Prince Albert that Leeds needed a good theatre as ‘nothing was more calculated to promote culture and raise the tone of the people’. Dressed head to toe in her finest Victorian velvet, gold leaf and ornate plasterwork, and crowned with an impressive Waterford Crystal chandelier boasting some 6389 crystals, the theatre has welcomed the very best actors and entertainers to her (notoriously steep) stage since the directors of the company gathered the workforce in the orchestra pit on 28th May 1878 to raise a mug of beer, meat pie and three cheers to her success.
We will have a presentation on the history of this Grade II listed theatre and its history with a particular focus on the décor and design. On the tour we will be shown the recent renovation of the boxes and back walls decorated in Pugin Gothic wallpaper, reproduced by Anstey Wallpaper Company (part of Sanderson Design Group) along with the production rollers that printed the wallpaper. We will also view other wallpapers in the theatre and recently installed Art Deco themed Lincrusta in the Bar.
Rochdale Town Hall was designed by William Henry Crossland a pupil of George Gilbert Scott. This Grade II listed building was opened in 1871 and has been described as ‘one of the most ambitious High Victorian Town Halls of England…of rare picturesque beauty, boasting splendid interior schemes’. Between 2020 and 2023 Rochdale Borough Council and the National Lottery funded the restoration of this building to its former glory and it opened to the public for the first time in its history in 2024.
The guided tour will take in each room with stunning multi coloured stencilled walls, decorated panelled ceilings and recently installed Lincrusta x Morris & Co. Fruit to replicate the previous French leatherette paper. Also featured are the painted arches, intricate stonework, Minton tiles and exquisite stained glass windows.
