Sowerby Bridge Town Hall
[1] Following significant population growth, largely associated with the worsted and cotton industries, a local board of health was established in the Sowerby Bridge area in 1856.[2] In response, a group of local businessmen formed a company to finance and commission a town hall for the area: the site they selected was a prominent location on the north side of the bridge across the River Calder.[4] It was designed by William Perkin and Elisha Backhouse in the Italianate style,[5] built in ashlar stone and was officially opened on 30 September 1857.[6] The design involved a symmetrical rounded frontage at the junction of Town Hall Street and Hollins Mill Lane.[7] Following the closure of the Lloyds Bank branch in 2018, the building was vacant again, until it was acquired by a restaurateur, Raj Panesar, who began work to convert it into a restaurant in March 2022.