Plans to create lasting memorial to Gracie Fields get Hollywood seal of approval

Global icon: Gracie Fields in 1934

News of plans to erect a statue in honour of Rochdale’s most famous daughter, Gracie Fields, has gone global.

The news has been picked up on news websites across the UK and in America following the announcement by Council Leader Richard Farnell.

The coverage, on websites including Hollywood.com, newslocker.com and the California-based Sky Valley Chronicle, provides further evidence of the late star’s worldwide appeal which continues to endure 35 years after her death.

The project, which is backed by the Gracie Fields Appreciation Society, Rotary Club of Rochdale East and the Rochdale Rotary Club, would see a statue of the legendary singer and actress go up on the Smith Street/Butts area in the heart of the town centre.

The plans, which went to the Rochdale Township meeting last week, also include the launch of a blue plaque trail to highlight areas of significance in the Gracie Fields story.

These include Milkstone Road, where Gracie regularly stayed while visiting her family and friends when she returned to Rochdale between the 1920s and 1950s, and Champness Hall, where she returned to the stage for the first time after World War II.

A memorial stone to Gracie is currently located on Molesworth Street, close to the place where she was born. But her many fans want greater recognition for one of Rochdale’s biggest stars and are working with the council to make it happen.

Councillor Richard Farnell, Leader of Rochdale Borough Council, said: “I’m thrilled that our plans to honour Gracie Fields have captured the imagination in this way. Gracie was an international star, known and loved across the globe, and we’re so proud that it all started here in Rochdale. She’s an important figure in the history our town and it’s about time we honoured her properly in a prominent central location where everyone can see.”

Gracie, who was born in 1898 over a Rochdale fish and chip shop owned by her grandmother, was a comedienne, singer and actress. A huge box office draw, she was the highest paid actress in Britain in the 1930s.

She was made a Dame in 1979 and died later that year on the Italian Island of Capri where she had lived since the 1950s. Fields was granted the Freedom of Rochdale in 1937 and officially opened the Gracie Fields theatre in 1978.

The council will be exploring funding options in the coming months with a more detailed report set to go back to a future meeting of the Rochdale Township.