‘That monstrosity of bricks and mortar’: The Town Hall as a Music Venue in Nineteenth-century Stalybridge

The notion of ‘progress’ was a driving force in British culture in the nineteenth century, an age characterized by rapid change in intellectual, social, and material environments. Increasing industrialization and urbanization, linked with revolutionary developments in the textile industry, drew labour from the countryside into new and expanding towns, encouraging a developing consciousness of local and civic pride. The repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts (1828–29) made it possible for Nonconformists, many of whom were already significant members of their local community, to take part in government, and the Reform Act (1832) enfranchised even more of the new industrial elite. The Municipal Corporations Act (1835) further encouraged a change towards more democratic administration from within the town. Such civic independence encouraged town and city rivalries, normally between places that were part of a wider urban area, such as Manchester and Salford or Leeds and Bradford, but echoed in smaller communities. Politicians placed great emphasis, therefore, on community projects, buildings, and celebrations as part of the creation of local traditions that would consolidate the community, and give a sense of longevity and import.