Rochdale Local Studies Centre

Rochdale Local Studies Centre Discover the Local Studies Collection for Rochdale, Heywood, Middleton and Pennines. Please contact Local Studies at Touchstones Rochdale.

The strength of the Local Studies collection of the Rochdale's Arts and Heritage Service is due to the kind generosity of the people of the borough kindly donating their photographs and archives. We hope that these pages will help celebrate Rochdale Borough's unique history. Do you have photographs, maps, documents etc that you would like to donate so that future generations can marvel at the fascinating history of the Rochdale area? You can discover more by visiting the Link4Life website. New for 2017: Call in for FREE access to FindmyPast, as well as AncestryLibrary.

We absolutley love this photograph of Ashworth Fold in around 1860!Wonder what the lady is thinking about?!
02/10/2026

We absolutley love this photograph of Ashworth Fold in around 1860!

Wonder what the lady is thinking about?!

Where is it Wednesday?! Have a guess at where or what the street or building is, and if your feeling extra brainy have a...
30/09/2026

Where is it Wednesday?!

Have a guess at where or what the street or building is, and if your feeling extra brainy have a go at guessing the year the photo was taken!

30/09/2026

Have you seen the Unlocking Collections exhibition outside the Town Hall yet? There is still some time to take a look at colourful boards created by volunteers on the project.
Through Unlocking Collections, members of the local community have been involved in researching, interpreting and making the Local Studies and Co-operative Heritage Trust's archive collections more accessible to the wider community.

Working with artist and facilitator Mitch Robinson, the volunteers have used the archive materials they have been exploring to create artworks linked to the collections, which are on display throughout September on the Square Gallery.

Also, on Wednesdays to Saturdays throughout September, come down to the Local Studies Centre (formerly Sparth Community Centre) on Norman Road to discover more and see a banner created by one of the volunteers.
The Unlocking Collections project is a joint project between Your Trust and the Co-operative Heritage Trust. With thanks for funding from the Arts Council England and Central Government (via Community Regeneration Partnership Funding), and support from Your Trust, Rochdale Development Agency, Rochdale Creates.

This week we held a celebration day for our amazing volunteers from the Unlocking Collections project, with the Mayor in...
18/09/2026

This week we held a celebration day for our amazing volunteers from the Unlocking Collections project, with the Mayor in attendance!

Over the course of the project, our volunteers have explored and researched local archive collections, working with artist and facilitator Mitch Robinson to create artwork inspired by the stories they discovered.

Their work is now on display throughout September in the Square Gallery on Rochdale Town Hall Square, bringing these local stories to life for the wider community.

A huge congratulations and thank you to all our wonderful volunteers for their creativity, time and hard work! 💛👏

Whoops! Forgot to schedule a post! Apologies Folks, it's now Where is it Friday?!Where is it Wednesday?! Have a guess at...
18/09/2026

Whoops! Forgot to schedule a post! Apologies Folks, it's now Where is it Friday?!

Where is it Wednesday?!

Have a guess at where or what the street or building is, and if your feeling extra brainy have a go at guessing the year the photo was taken!

Our Unlocking Collections volunteers have been busy!Working with artist and faciliator Mitch Robinson, the volunteers ha...
01/09/2026

Our Unlocking Collections volunteers have been busy!

Working with artist and faciliator Mitch Robinson, the volunteers have used the archive materials they have been exploring and using them to create artworks linked to the collections.

These artworks will be on display very soon in an exhibition at Square Gallery opposite Rochdale Town Hall!

We are super proud of our volunteers, so make sure to check this out now! You can also read and find out more details about their creations in our Unlocking Collections blog here: https://www.yourtrustrochdale.co.uk/july-2026-artists-workshops/

Address

Norman Road
Rochdale
OL114HS

Opening Hours

Wednesday 10am - 12:30pm
1pm - 4:30pm
Thursday 10am - 12:30pm
1pm - 4:30pm
Friday 10am - 12:30pm
1pm - 4:30pm
Saturday 10am - 12:30pm
1pm - 4:30pm

Telephone

01706924915

Website

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