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Figures in tymapnum in pediment of Town Hall. "The central figure represents Bolton, with a mural crown, and holding a shield on which is emblazoned the borough arms. The figures to the right and left (of the principal figure) represent 'Manufactures' and 'Commerce'; the former holds a distaff and leans upon a bale of goods. Near her are a cylinder and wheel, symbols of machinery; a negro boy bears a basket of cotton, and 'Earth' in the angle pours her gifts from a cornucopia. On the left of the princpal figure is 'Commerce' holding he caduceus and a helm; a boy holds a boat by the bow, and in the angle is 'Ocean,' typical of the wide extent over which the manufactures of the town have spread. The figures are of Portland stone, and upon a scale of eight feet if standing."(1)

Bolton's civic motto, Supera Moras ("Overcome delays") provides an ironic comment on the building of the town hall, which, from first inception to final completion took up the best part of 77 years. The first attempt to build a new town hall in Bolton dates from 1796. In that year the Great Bolton Trustees approved a £10,000 scheme for a new building in Victoria Square. However, the funds and the will to spend them were lacking, and the project fell into abeyance propelled by threatened legal proceedings against the Trustees for exceeding their authority. In 1859 the scheme was revived by Alderman J. R. Wolfenden, who, despite often fierce opposition over the next 14 years, became the most consistent champion of the new building. New municipal offices had been a pressing concern ever since the incorporation of the town in 1838, but the cost had deterred successive administrations from making concrete plans. In August 1859 Wolfenden pointed out to the council that the finances of the borough were in a healthy state, and further outlay on a new town hall could be accomplished without addition to the rates. The scheme receded into the background in the face of the Cotton Famine of 1862-4, but even then "public conviction of its necessity was being ripened, especially among gentlemen of influence in the town." Wolfenden revived the plans in August 1863 by putting a motion to the Finance Committee which committed the council to the erection of a town hall and to the appointment of a committee to oversee the project. Wolfenden, who was already mayor, became chairman of the committee, and proposed to borrow the necessary funds from the Public Works Loan Commission. The Council agreed to seek a loan of £80,000 to cover the costs of building and site under the provisions of the Improvement Act of 1854. The committee then sent deputations to visit the town halls of other boroughs and by August 1864 a competition for designs was opened. Three criteria were laid down: that the building cover an area of 4,300 square yards; that the cost (excluding site) was not to exceed £40,000, and that the building not be in a Gothic style. However, as the implications of the cost became clear, opposition to the scheme began to coalesce, leading to "increasingly exciting and adverse discussion" both inside and outside the council. The projected cost (£80,000) was deemed "outrageous, if not absolutely ruinous", and a public meeting was held in October to protest. In November the site was valued at £28,299, bringing the total cost to over £100,000. As a result of these estimates, opposition began to grow inside the council, notably from Councillor P. R. Arrowsmith, who in December had succeeded Alderman Stockdale as chairman of the Town Hall Committee. Arrowsmith did not directly oppose the scheme but proved "at least extremely reluctant that it should proceed much further at that time." Meanwhile, designs for the new building had been sent in to be judged by T. L. Donaldson, President of the Institute of British Architects, and were also placed on public view in the Baths Assembly Rooms. The question of whether the building was to have a tower, which would increase the cost by several thousand pounds, had already been the subject of sensitive discussion. Yet Donaldson reported that the addition of a tower to the building was essential in order to make the town hall stand out in the midst of factory chimneys. Were it ommitted, he argued, "the Town Hall would shrink into insignificance, and not be seen from the surrounding heights." However, the council, under Arrowsmith's direction, refused to accept Donaldson's reccommendations and rejected his choice of architects thereby delaying the scheme further. In addition, the opposition to the town hall was gaining ground as a result of the juxtaposition of the economic distress which the town was suffering with the apparently grandiose plans of the council. Not only were they proposing to erect a costly town hall, but also to build a waterworks at a cost of £120,000, and to borrow another £25,000 to lay out a municipal park. A petition was presented to the town in January 1865, signed by some of the towns major employers and influential gentlemen, expressing alarm at the projected expenditure. Councillor Arrowsmith took heart from these new allies and finally came out against the Corporation's plans. His friends within the council also passed a resolution which sought to restrict the total expenditure on the town hall to £50,000, effectively suspending the whole project. Alderman Wolfenden, seeing his scheme running into the sand, decided to take arms against his opponents and speak again to the council on the subject of its finances. At a special meeting on 22 March 1865, he launched into a detailed statement which sought to show that Bolton could afford the projected outlay on its municipal projects. Wolfenden's presentation, which lasted for several hours, was "a masterly production", and succeeded in producing "a profound and favourable impression." Indeed, Wolfenden had singlehandedly "altered the whole tone of public opinion on the question. . .[and had] inspired confidence in the soundness of the financial position of the Borough, and the safety of the projected expenditure." In particular, he had reiterated that it could be accomplished without addition to the rates. As a result of an unconnected matter, councillor Arrowsmith resigned from the council, and Wolfenden was again appointed Chairman of the Town Hall Committee, a post he was to hold for the next five years. With Wolfenden again secure in his post, work proceeded at a greater pace, but again struck against the obstacle of the tower. Initial designs by Hill and Woodhouse did incorporate a tower, but its cost (around £7,000) aroused predicatble opposition. At a meeting of the council in January 1866 Joseph Mellor declared that when "we have no dens of disease, vice and infamy in our midst, I should, perhaps, be willing to spend money on mere ornamentation." Mellor also commented that Wolfenden had been using the press to write editorials in favour of the tower, and that appeals to public opinion on the basis that the press was favourable were therefore invalid. Public opinion in this case seemed, he said, to be representing the views of one man, councillor Wolfenden. However, Mellor was at length defeated and the tower adopted. Another competition was held to design the tympana sculpture and the entries were exhibited at the Corporation Offices in December 1868. The selection of Calder Marshall was also challenged on grounds of cost, Councillor Pilling putting the claims of Burstall and Taylor of Leeds (the sculptors of the ornamental lions either side of the entrance) whose designs came in £450 cheaper than Marshall's. Despite this, Marshall's models were judged "far superior" than any of the others and well worth the estimated cost of £1,200-£1,500.(2) The building was finally opened on 5 June 1873 by the Prince and Princess of Wales, some 14 years after it had first been suggested by Councillor Wolfenden. The central Albert Hall was destroyed by fire on the night of 14 November 1981 and restored between 1983 and 1984.(3)

Figures symbolic of Bolton's history and commerce.

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Tympanum sculpture

Portland stone

243cm high

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