Salford Civic Centre, formerly Swinton and Pendlebury Town Hall, is a municipal building at Chorley Road, in

Swinton, Greater Manchester Swinton is a town in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. southwest of the River Irwell, northwest of Manchester city centre, adjoining the town of Pendlebury and suburb of Clifton, Greater Manchester, Clifton. In 2014, it ha ...

, England. It is the administrative headquarters of Salford City Council.

History

The Swinton and Pendlebury Urban District Council, which had been formed in 1894, had used Victoria House in Victoria Park as their meeting place. However, after the council became a municipal borough in 1934, it decided to seek larger premises. The site selected on Chorley Road in Swinton had previously been occupied by Swinton Industrial School. The foundation stone for the new town hall was laid by the mayor on 17 October 1936. The new building was designed by architects

Percy Thomas Sir Percy Edward Thomas OBE (13 September 1883 – 19 August 1969) was an Anglo-Welsh architect who worked in Wales for the majority of his life. He was twice RIBA president (1935–37 and 1943–46). Biography Percy Edward Thomas was born on ...

and Ernest Prestwich in the

neo-classical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

after they had won a national design competition. It was built by J. Gerrard and Sons at a cost of £80,000 and officially opened by the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Arthur Greenwood MP, on 17 September 1938. The most striking feature of the design was the clock tower, in height, with clock faces on each side, in diameter. Percy Thomas was awarded the

Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

Gold Medal for his work in 1939. A glass-walled computer centre was built to the south-east of the town hall, in order to cope with increased administration requirements, and completed in July 1973. Following the implementation of the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, Swinton and Pendlebury Town Hall, being one of the most modern town halls in the enlarged local authority area, became the meeting place of the enlarged local authority, known as the Salford City Council, in 1974. The council chamber was re-modelled at that time so that it was capable of accommodating a larger number of councillors. A four-story extension located to the south-west of the town hall, which was designed by Cruickshank and Sewards and built by Fairclough Fram Gerrard, was inspected by the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...

during construction and completed in the late 1970s. The City Treasury Building, also known as "Unity House", was built by John Laing Group and officially opened by the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Margaret Beckett MP, on 9 October 1991. Following the closure of Kingslea House on Barton Road in 2007, the East Wing of the civic centre became the local register office and as well a venue for weddings and civil partnerships. In July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a mural depicting Salford's key workers, which had been painted by an anonymous artist, was left on the steps of the civic centre: council officials decided that it would be put on public display.

Notes

References

External links

Salford Civic Centre
{{Salford B&S , state=collapsed Government buildings completed in 1938 Local government in Salford Buildings and structures in the City of Salford City and town halls in Greater Manchester Swinton, Greater Manchester