TWO neighbours from Tockholes who have spent 30 years researching the history of their village have created a permanent archive of photographs and articles for the residents.

Judith Jacklin and Lyn Robinson, of Rock Lane, have launched a book called 'Tockholes - A Time Warp' which gathers all the photographs, documents, newspaper reports and maps together in one place for easy access. It brings to life the passage of time in the moorland village by comparing the old with the new through more than 280 photographs, many in colour.

They produced the book, which is now on sale, as a way of preserving the village archive collection of photographs and other material collected during the past three decades.

Lyn said: "It started with an exhibition that Judith and another villager, Edna Grimshaw, organised in the 1970s which was just a collection of old photographs. My husband and our then next door neighbour took pictures of those photos on loan to the exhibition.

"We have often wondered what could be done with them because there is nowhere we could store them in the village and they would have had to go to the Preston record office. This way it keeps it local and is ideal for people interested in finding out about Tockholes.

"There are articles from the Lancashire Evening Telegraph and we went to Preston for material. In 2000 at the Tockholes Gala there was a photograph exhibition and there were some really nice ones and we said it would be nice to include them so we got permission and the picture on the front cover was the winning photograph in the competition. Judith and I also took pictures of the houses and buildings as they are now so we could compare them with the old photographs put forward by residents. We also asked people through our village newsletter to let us have any information about the houses they lived in."

The book covers many different topics including listed buildings, cottages and farms, churches and chapels, schools and education, roads and transport, employment, Hollingshead Hall, legends, curiosities and tales, as well as various news reports including court and obituaries.

It is available from The Victoria Hotel and The Rock Inn in Tockholes, Halifax plc in Borough Road, Green's Card Stall in Darwen Market and both Blackburn and Darwen Libraries, and any profits will go to benefit village organisations.

Lyn added: "We are really pleased to see it in a book form now. It has been hard work and has taken longer than we expected. Judith has done the majority of the work because she had to type it all on to her computer and did various other things but it really is great to see it in print."

Judith said: "We wanted to preserve the village archives and I just started off out of interest and the collection has grown and grown. There is a bit in there for everyone, from the school's inception up to the present day, the churches and listed buildings. It's wonderful to have completed it because it has taken a long time."

Anyone wishing to order the book can contact Judith on 01254 771367 or Lyn on 01254 704424.