A tourist trail marking significant places in the life of the late Dame Gracie Fields opened in Rochdale on 9 September 2016.
The new purple plaques have been placed at key sites in and around Rochdale town centre, including St Chad’s Church, where she was christened, and Rochdale Town Hall, where she received the Freedom of the Borough in 1937.
The 8-plaque trail is part of a wider project to give the late Rochdale-born star greater recognition in her hometown. A statue of Gracie, designed by award winning sculptor Sean Hedges Quinn, will be unveiled outside Rochdale Town Hall on Sunday 18 September 2016, while Transport for Greater Manchester has just named one of the Metrolink trams after her.
Gracie, who was born above a fish and chip shop in 1898, went on to become the highest paid actress in the world during the 1930s and also enjoyed a long career as a singer and comedian.
Leader of the council, Councillor Richard Farnell, said: “Gracie Fields rose from humble beginnings to become an international superstar on the back of sheer talent and hard work. It’s hard to underestimate the impact she had and it’s about time she was properly recognised in her home town. This is our chance to show the world how proud we are of her.”
Other sites on the trail include Molesworth Street, where Gracie was born, and Champness Hall, where Gracie made her return to mainstream broadcasting after the second world war when she broadcasted ‘Our Gracie’s Working Party’ from here in 1947.
A weekend of celebrations to mark the unveiling of the Gracie Fields statue will take place on 16-18 September 2016.
The weekend will start with a 1950s style dinner dance at Rochdale Town Hall, with food provided by local celebrity chef Andrew Nutter, while singers are invited to rehearse 3 Gracie songs at Touchstones Rochdale on Saturday 17 September 2016, which will be sung at the unveiling on the Sunday. Free Gracie-inspired children’s activities will also take place at Touchstones on Saturday between 11am and 4pm, while the statue will be unveiled at 1pm on the Sunday.
