 The Town Hall functions as the ceremonial headquarters of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and houses local government departments, including the borough's civil registration office.Built in the Gothic Revival style at a cost of £160,000 (£ in 2020), it was inaugurated for the governance of the Municipal Borough of Rochdale on 27 September 1871.The architect, William Henry Crossland, was the winner of a competition held in 1864 to design a new Town Hall.