Oldham 's Old Town Hall is a Grade II listed Georgian neoed @-@ classical town hall built in 1841 , eight years before Oldham received its borough status . One of the last purpose @-@ built town halls in northwest England , it have a tetrastyle Ionic portico , copied from the temple of Ceres , on the River Ilissos , near Athens . Winston Churchill made his inaugural acceptance speech from the steps of the town hall when he was first elected as a Conservative MP in 1900 . A Blue Plaque on the exterior of the building commemorate the event . Long existing as the political centre of the town , complete with courtrooms , the structure have stood empty since the mid @-@ 1980s and have regularly been earmarked for redevelopment as part of regeneration project proposals , but none have been actioned .