REPORTER Nick Jackson remembers witnessing the Town Hall going up in flames:

AGED just 21, I had been working as a journalist for just two years when Bolton Town Hall was hit by that devastating fire in 1981.

It had been a standing joke in the office when arranging time off that it would be no problem “unless the town hall burns down”.

Little did we know at the time, that’s exactly what was about to happen.

I vividly remember the smell of charred wood as I walked through the town centre on a night out following the blaze.

Smoke drifted eerily across across Victoria Square as hundreds of onlookers watched firefighters continue their outstanding work, now credited with saving the rest of the Town Hall building from almost certain destruction.

As someone born in Bolton with both sides of the family rooted here, my relatives all had stories of grand events they had attended at the magnificent old Albert Hall.

One of my great grandfathers had been an alderman on the council way back in the early 20th century.

I remember thinking: “I wonder what he would be thinking now, if he saw this.”

They did a great reconstruction job in the aftermath of the fire, creating a wonderful entertainment venue which has been regular use for the last 30-odd years. But you can’t help lamenting the loss of that wonderful old Albert Hall.