THE rapid growth of East Lancashire's textile towns two centuries ago, created insanitary living conditions across communities.

Tiny, back to back housing, outside privies which served several families and the soot and grime from belching mill chimneys all added to a unhealthy environment.

Local health boards were set up in a bid to alleviate the problem, but it wasn't until our towns received their charters of incorporation that they could begin to clean up their streets.

Blackburn became a municipal borough in 1851 and newly elected councillors set about a series of public works and building to ease the plight of the working classes.

One of their schemes was a sewage works, connected to a system of pipes under the town, which was more than 30 miles long and cost around £90,000.

It was built at Wensley Fold, at the end of Pleasington Street, on a bank of the River Blakewater, for £10,000.

To keep any discharge out of the river, the corporation constructed a culvert three miles long, through parts of Witton, Livesey and Pleasington to Hoghton Bottoms, where lands had been leased from Sir Henry de Hoghton and a sewage farm had been laid out.

This photograph shows the sewage works, possibly when it was being built, if you look carefully you can see ladders disappearing down into the bottom of the 'tanks'.

It's been sent to us by Joan Hillman, one of six children of Jack and Rebecca Hillman, who was born in the house on the right, with part tiled walls, in 1933.

He father worked as a tender at the sewage works, and their address was 2, Witton Outlet, Blackburn. A relative, also employed there, lived at number 1.

Joan had three sisters, Stella, also born there in 1926, Lily, now 94 and Ivy, now 101. Her two brothers were Joe, and George, who was known as Henry and also worked at the plant.

She said: "We never thought anything of where we lived; we all played on the grass there and invited our friends from Bank Top school to join us.

"I seem to remember that in the long building, during the night, corporation workmen used to make pavement edging stones."

Joan and George stayed in the family home until 1980 when they moved to Clayton-le-Dale.

The row of houses you can see, is St Mark's Road.