Packer Spout fountain re-opened by Sir Cyril

Sir Cyril Smith cuts the ribbon to re-open Packer Spout with Council Leader Councillor Alan Taylor

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Local councillors and members stood behind the Town Hall, at the site of the redeveloped Packer Spout fountain in Broadfield Park, on a cold Monday 18 December afternoon as Sir Cyril Smith cut the ribbon to commemorate its re-opening.

One of the town's oldest historical features, the site holds great significance to Rochdale and to Sir Cyril himself. It was at Packer Spout that Sir Cyril took his first step on the road to becoming a politician.

In the 1940s a tradition began of General Election Candidates speaking from Packer Spout. A 16-year-old Cyril Smith, who was working for the Inland Revenue in the old Post Office building at the time, joined the Liberal candidate on the platform at the fountain in 1945.

The next morning Cyril and his mother were summoned to the office of his boss, Mr Alf North, the Chief Inspector of Taxes in Rochdale, where Cyril had to explain the previous afternoon's events which Mr North happened to watch from his office window!

"Either resign from politics or from this job - you can't do both!" exclaimed the Tax Inspector.

"Even as a 16-year-old I was determined to go into politics", explained Sir Cyril. "Even though it upset my mother I quit my job on the spot and the rest, as they say, is history. Packer Spout played a significant role in my life and that is why I am delighted to return to open this splendid restoration."

Leader of the Council, Alan Taylor said: "Sir Cyril was the obvious choice to cut the ribbon. I would like to pay tribute to the staff, who have worked so hard to finish this project. Rochdale needs to look forward but also remember its heritage and this is exactly what we have done with this project."

The Packer Spout well was the original water source for the town centre in 1760 and new gardens were installed and Packer Spout fountain created in 1935 to commemorate the spot.

By the turn of the century the site had fallen into disrepair but thanks to a 1.1 million pound grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Broadfield Park restoration project began in 2003.

Steve Croft, head of the company that undertook the rebuilding of the fountain, was pleased with the finished product, "Everything went fine. We used a simple submerged pump system and combined with the shape of the pool, this creates the wave action that makes the water 'dance', which looks impressive."

The restoration of the park does not end there as Mr. Croft continued, "There's an old drinking fountain in the park and it would be great if we could restore that to its former glory."

The new fountain contains many features significant to Rochdale's past as Council Parks and Cemeteries Manager, Derek Mack, explains, "A council workforce has been restoring and re-landscaping the original gardens and the new fountain is in the same original spot of 1935 and it is being fed by the original town well. The pillar at the head of the fountain is the old market cross which was vandalised midway through the 1900s."

Head of Environment at the Council, Peter Cunningham, hoped the fountain would become a place for the Rochdale public to enjoy once more. He said: "With the fountain and the surrounding floodlights hopefully this will become a meeting place for people like it once was."