AS the importance of cotton grew in East Lancashire, so did the populations of our towns.

In the early 1800s, the impact of mills and factories and foundries, had a major impact on their development.

In Blackburn, mill colonies sprung up at Brookhouse, Grimshaw Park and Nova Scotia, as well as in the Whalley Banks area, utilising either power from the river or the canal for transport.

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Already established in the hand loom business, these locations offered relatively cheap building land out of the town centre and water for raising steam as cotton spinning and weaving production gained momentum in the town.

Blackburn continued to develop in Victorian and Edwardian times, with settlements spreading out along the canal, as well as the railway, when the East Lancashire Railway Company introduced train services in the 1840s. It became a town of mill settlements, laid out in a grid pattern of streets, packed with row upon row of terraced houses built by the mill owners for their cotton operatives.

Each location had its own community identity and the social life of the people who lived in them was centred on its amenities, be it the local pub, to be found on every street corner, churches, Sunday schools, the corner sell-anything shop and the sports clubs.

The amenities of the town was growing, too, as trams and railways offered transport opportunities into the centre, where they could browse the town market and the increasing selection of shops.

As employment laws regulated their working hours and educations acts laid down school hours, families began to enjoy a little leisure time.

They could enjoy a Sunday stroll around Corporation Park or Queen's Park, or take in a variety act at the music hall.

One of Blackburn's most flamboyant buildings was the Palace Theatre on the corner of the Boulevard which opened in 1899.

Another music hall was the Theatre Royal and Opera House in Ainsworth Street, which had been built in 1816.

Corporation Park, built on a 50 acre site overlooking Preston New Road, was opened in 1857, with broad terraces and lakes, One of its most popular attractions was the conservatory, another was an ornamental fountain, presented to the town by the mayor William Pilkington, while the most unusual attraction was probably the batteries of cannon, donated to the town as a trophy of the Crimean War.

An improvement act of 1882, helped Blackburn Corporation redevelop the Salford area - as the main easterly route in and out of town, it was too narrow to take a tramway and was lined with houses and other buildings.

The bridge was demolished and the River Blakewater built into a culvert, while the rebuilding work meant pubs and shops were moved back to open up the busy crossroads.