A Rochdale Childhood

A Memory of Rochdale.

My first memory of Rochdale town hall was seeing the King and Queen on the balcony in 1937 when they were on their coronation tour. Another visitor seen there was Gracie Fields. During my childhood, (1930-1945) I remember seeing the Pace Egging play in the Town Hall, a fascinating and traditional event. Later I took part in meetings there of the Youth Council. Only recently did I discover that my Great-grandfather moved to Rochdale from Nottingham in order to work on the staircase when the Town Hall was being built in the 1860s- 1870s. I would love to know more about him. His name was John Knighton, but he disappeared from the 1881 Census and I cannot trace him. Perhaps he went off to work on other buildings. He was a carpenter.
I was married at St. Chad's Parish Church in 1952, which overlooks the Town Hall, and I went to school on Fleece St., which is also very close to the Town Hall.