in April 1860, Rochdale Corporation arranged to buy the site on the outskirts of the town centre for £4,730 (£ in ). However, plans were shelved due to lengthy negotiations and increasing land prices. In January 1864 the scheme resumed with a new budget of £20,000 (£ in ). The wood and surrounding area were cleared, but it is unknown what became of the dispossessed; there was no legal requirement for the authorities to rehouse the former inhabitants. A design competition to find a "neat and elegant building" was held by the Rochdale Corporation, who offered the winning architect a prize of £100 (£ in ), and a Maltese cross souvenir. From the 27 entries received, William Henry Crossland's was chosen. The Rochdale-born Radical and Liberal statesman John Bright laid the foundation stone on 31 March 1866. Construction was complete by 1871 although the cost had, by then, increased beyond expectations from the projected £40,000 to £160,000 (£ in ). The Town Hall was one of several built in the textile towns of North West England following the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, but is one of only two in Greater Manchester built in the Gothic style. Between the setting of the foundation stone and the building's completion, revisions and additions were made to the original design. Money was "lavished" upon the decor and inventory, and the extra expenditure did not escape the ire of its critics. The cost of the building increased year-on-year through a combination of mismanagement, overspending and "unauthorised work". Public criticism of the high cost was aimed at Crossland and the Mayor of Rochdale, George Leach Ashworth, who oversaw the work. Nevertheless, Rochdale Town Hall was ultimately celebrated as "a source of pride", and its completion prompted celebration and rejoicing; it transformed a "derelict and marshy riverbank in to a huge romantic Gothic plaza". The opening ceremony on 27 September 1871 was performed by Mayor Ashworth, who had been instrumental in the changes made to the building's design. In 1882 or 1883 dry rot was found in the high spire. On the recommendation of Rochdale's Borough Surveyor, contractors were engaged to rebuild it. The spire was to be demolished to clear the way for a replacement. It was rumoured that the workmen who were dismantling the top section of the wooden spire may have tried to speed up the dismantling process with matches and, at 9:20 am