THE statue of former Prime Minister William Gladstone is lifted into place on Northgate in 1983.

The statue had been removed from outside Blackburn Technical College on Blakey Moor.

This was the statue’s third resting place in the town centre. Originally it stood on the Boulevard.

The 12-foot statue had been unveiled in 1899 having cost £3,000.

In the background of this picture you can see the clock of Blackburn shopping centre with the town hall tower block looming over Marks and Spencer’s