THIS photo shows one of Darwen's lost industries.
In 1870 the Darwen Iron Works was built on land adjoining the railway by the Darwen Iron Company. The works at Goosehouse had its own large sidings and shunting engine and over time was owned by Storeys of Lancaster and the Darwen and Mostyn Iron Company. In 1888 it employed around 110 local people with an average wage of a pound a week. The number of employees rose to a peak of 200 just before the First World War.
The works had an impact on the whole town - not least because townsfolk would set their watches using the siren which sounded every night at 10 to denote the end of a shift.
After the First World War demand for orders reduced and there were a number of stoppages in production before, finally, in 1927 the factory closed
Demolition began in May 1936 and the 200-foot iron chimney, for so many years a local landmark, was dismantled.
When the iron works was fully operational, the glow from the chimney and from the furnaces could be seen for miles around.
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