Mechanics Hall is a Grade II listed building in the Rossendale local planning authority area, England. First listed on 30 November 1984. Public library.
Mechanics Hall
- WRENN ID
- hallowed-keystone-fen
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Rossendale
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen MP: Andy MacNae (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 30 November 1984
- Type
- Public library
- Address
- Mechanics Hall, St James's Street
- OS grid reference
- SD 868 230
- Coordinates
- 53.70346, -2.20006
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Mechanics Hall, built in 1846, originally served as a Mechanics Institute and is now a public library. The building is constructed from sandstone ashlar and features a hipped slate roof. It has a rectangular plan with three by eight bays and stands two storeys tall in a simple classical style. The symmetrical facade includes clasping pilasters, a first-floor sill band, a moulded cornice, and a plain parapet. The entrance is framed by a Tuscan doorcase, with two windows on the ground floor and three taller windows above, all of which have altered glazing. The right side wall mirrors the front but has sashed windows and features a pilaster between the sixth and seventh bays, with a door at ground floor beyond this. The interior has been altered. The Mechanics Institute was founded in 1839, and this building was constructed by local manufacturers at a cost of £1,300, officially opening in July 1846.
Local climate
Mechanics Hall sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,170 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 90% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 85% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 58 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 97% of listed buildings. Of these, 35 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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