BOLTON couples will finally have a romantic venue befitting a register office wedding from this weekend.

A race against time is going on at Mere Hall, the former derelict early Victorian mansion in Halliwell, to finish a £1 million refurbishment in time for the official opening on Friday.

It is the culmination of a four-year dream for Bolton's superintendant registrar Oliver Barton. For years he has been searching for a more suitable venue for marriages than the unpopular town centre Paderborn house office block.

At Paderborn House people waiting to register deaths and births had to wait with couples arriving to tie the knot.

"It wasn't very good for some people especially if people had to come through a noisy wedding party," said Mr Barton.

But detailed thought has gone into the design of Mere Hall so that people arriving to register deaths and births use an entrance on the opposite side of the building to joyful wedding parties.

Inside builders have eliminated the dry rot which riddled the building and restored the decorative high ceilings, which have been hung with 17 crystal chandeliers.

Interior designers have put up red and gold drapes at the function room windows and a co-ordinating carpet is being laid to complete the tasteful decor.

Alterations to the building have left it with two wedding rooms. One smaller room, which can seat approximately 40 people, is on the ground floor with French windows leading out into the gardens, which are being landscaped to make them an ideal setting for photographs.

Upstairs, the former main staircase has been removed and a smaller one installed to make room for a wedding room, dance floor area and bar.

Catering facilities are being installed so that couples can use the venue for their reception as well as marriage ceremony, with food being organised by Bolton College Consultancy.

But as well as weddings the 1830s building will have several other functions.

In an administrative area people will be able to register births and deaths and in a strong room and basement metal walls and special floors have been laid ready to house Bolton's over 2.5 million records, which date back to 1837.

A special room has also been set aside for people tracing family trees to examine records.

Mere Hall will officially be opened on Friday and the first wedding will be conducted the following morning when Bill Gandy and long time girlfriend Beverley Clair tie the knot.

Bill, aged 49, and Beverley, aged 28 of Tempest Road, Lostock, only decided to get married eight weeks ago.

"We had some work done on the house and had a bit of money floating about afterwards so we decided to tie up loose ends," said Bill.

The couple had planned to keep the event quiet with just two witnesses and their children Zoe, aged five and Nathan, aged two, present, but after learning they were to make history they let their families know.

"We are really well chuffed we are going to be the first," said Bill.

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