Touchstones Rochdale

This place is great, for a small-ish town like Rochdale it really punches above its weight. I took my little girl who is about 17 months and she loved all the interactive exhibits and the arts and crafts. I came here for work to set up a live stream in the gallery several years ago too I remember the staff being very lovely and welcoming. The football exhibit was great, although some of it was a bit questionable and not sure I'd pay £6 for a zine that in all honestly looks like a bloke got a camera from Argos and took it to a footy match, but some of it was phenomenal. I took some photos of the old-timey artwork because I really liked it. Overall I'd say the people of Rochdale are spoilt to have such a lovely museum on their doorstep (as I am with Portland Basin in Ashton which is also worth a visit if you're into local social history). The art gallery is really cool, a good mix of contemporary and classical and it doesn't feel at all pretentious. We had a really fun visit so thank you.

Interesting art exhibition & Local information thoughtfully displayed in a beautiful historical building.Coffee & cake pleasantly served & bought to your table.

Beautiful old venue. Great staff. Current exhibition is Mischief by Liz Collins which is absolutely world class and a huge coup for Rochdale.

Great little museum. Interesting exhibits. Absolutely gorgeous cafe with great coffee.

Love this place. Have been many time and will be going many more. lots of informative and interesting local history. welcoming feel with friendly atmosphere. I have been to several of the exhibitions held at touchstones and loved every one. Have visited with family children, pensioner's and when friends visit from out of town. Everyone would like to return. Lots to do. Lovely gift shop and you can also get something to eat and a decent brew.

I spent an hour and a half on a inspiring adventure with a good friend, neither of us to look at would give an impression of even being slightly interested in in art and local history but we were given a tour by a wonderful staff member unfortunately the uninterested man on the till was only giving us a suspicious eye but that aside Touchstone is a must for a great afternoon in Rochdale and the cafe is a whole review on its own

The displays on the ground floor in the museum have become rather dated. There are far too many objects and displays crammed into the space, with way too much text to read. It's just overwhelming.That said, the public programme of events and exhibitions is incredibly lively, drawing in locals and visitors to the town alike. Recent temporary displays on the first floor have been very forward thinking in terms of engaging communities with their work.

Some of Rochdales Past Lies Here And It's Spacious With So much Information About Iconic Monuments of Rochdale... This is also a great place for study if your a student...Some Great Pictures of The Past which Some Fascinating Tales... Friendly staff that are always happy to help with whatever... Toilets on site and I do believe there's a cafe on site but I didn't see it .. Although I only went into the museum Part ..Some Great Information about Gracie Fields Also With Other Figures From The Past With Influential Effect on Rochdales Past

Brilliant art gallery and museum in Rochdale. Great place to learn about the local history and famous people of the area. It's also got a cafe, shop and had a craft market in one of the rooms when I was there.

I've not been here since I was a kid, so I thought I would take my kids while we were in the area. It was a pleasant way to spend an hour. It was really relaxed with lots of things to see and read. The toilets are easy to access and really clean, earning an ooh from my Mom as she opened the door. The 1st floor has a really immersive experience for children. My teen commented that we had all found our places as my son played with the eco friendly toys, she did some craft, my mom looked at the prams and I sat on my bum surveying them all. We were made extremely welcome when we entered, never felt harassed and weren't followed around or watched constantly (though I suspect we were on cctv which I'm more than happy with). For the anxiety people, there are clear directions on what to do and where to go, approachable staff members, easy to find toilets and it was clean and well organised. I felt comfortable from the second I walked through the door to the second I left. Parking is easy in the multistory car park across the road.