The Rochdale Cenotaph stands on the Esplanade in front of the town hall, a prominent memorial to the town's dead in the First and Second World Wars. It was designed by Lutyens associate Walter Marsden and unveiled in 1922. The stone obelisk and surrounding garden occupy a prominent position at the civic heart of the town.
The cenotaph is one of several memorials on the Esplanade area, which has been progressively upgraded as part of Rochdale's town centre regeneration. The combination of the cenotaph, the town hall behind it, and the restored canal alongside makes for a coherent civic landscape that gives the centre more dignity than many post-industrial northern towns have managed to retain.