In a tale of two townships...

As the 1800s became the 1900s, the first had been integrated into Blackburn and the second was known as Darwen.

The town is named after the river that runs through it but, says historian and author Martin Baggoley its growth came courtesy of the road which ran through it, to link Blackburn with Bolton.

During the 1700s an old packhorse trail was used to transport goods, but in 1797 a turnpike was built, with toll bars along it, including one at the Anchor and another at Bull Hill.

The town prospered in the early 1800s thanks to the cotton industry – from the days of handloom weavers, by 1861, the town had 33 cotton mills.

Another important employer in Darwen has been the paper industry, which was begun in 1818 by Richard Hilton, while coal and the old ironworks also provided employment, Darwen’s population in 1801 was around 3,500 – by 1901 it was 38,000, though this growth brought its own problems, with no sewerage system and only a poor water supply.

With infant mortality rates high, a Local Board of Health was created and a main sewer was laid and then 10 miles of streets paved and flagged.

Although conditions improved, it needed to be better and in 1878 a Charter of Incorporation was awarded – Darwen became a borough.

Here are some images of Darwen over the years.

Picture 1: Thousands of Darwen folk turned out to watch Andrew carnegie officially open the town’s new Free Library in 1908. Carnegie had funded its construction, as he had with numerous other libraries in East Lancashire and he was made a Freeman of the Borough in recognition of his generosity.

The first library had been established at the Mechanics Institute and it built up a collection of 4,000 volumes.

Picture 2: The reading room of the library was seen as crucial in the education of townsfolk, who are seen here poring over the newspapers and magazines that were made available.

Picture 3: The date here is June 1897 and 1,200 feet up on the moors above the town, the mayor cuts the first sod for the building of a landmark tower – local folk had raised £4,000 for the edifice, to mark Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee.

Earlier, a civic procession had paraded to Holy Trinity Church for a thanksgiving service, which was followed by a ‘feu de joie’, fired by the local Rifle Volunteers.

Picture 4: Pupils of Springbank School, in 1943.

Picture 5: 1882 and schoolchildren line up on Darwen’s new market place for the opening of the market hall, The building which, together with the site, cost £31,000, was opened with a golden key by MP Mr F Grafton and afterwards there was a public banquet in the Co-operative Hall and a ball in the new market.

Previously, the site had housed some old saw mills, a bleach works, nearly a century old, cottages and a lodge full of dirty water.

Picture 6: The old open market stalls, dating from 1967; Burton’s tailor shop is in the background,

Picture 7: We’re still on the market, this time at a tripe stall on the fish market, but we’re not sure of the date. We think, though, that this may be Phyllis Cook.

Picture 8: A rainy day and this police van is promoting Road safety week in the spring of 1946.

A grand exhibition was taking place in the old Gymnasium at the Technical School in Union Street.

The posters warned drivers with the slogans ‘Danger’s rife, take care, save life’ and ‘Before great speed you would attain, think man, think and think again’.