SUNDAY will mark 125 years since Darwen Tower was officially opened.

The anniversary has been commemorated with a special book by local historian and journalist Harold Heys.

The Jubilee Tower on the moors above the town recently underwent a a £300,000 restoration lasting 14 months.

Mr Heys has also written an feature on Blackburn with Darwen Council's The Shuttle website on its early history.

It includes an account of its opening: "September 24 marks the 125th anniversary of the official opening of Darwen Tower after 16 months of hard graft by a small team on the windswept moors.

"There was one slight snag. It wasn’t anywhere near finished!

"The stone balustrade round the Tower’s ‘waist’ was perhaps three-quarters completed and a few of the eight arches had still to be topped off. Only two of the decorative shields were in place and the land around it was quite rough.

"However, the Rev. William. Arthur Duckworth, Lord of the Manor, who had given the town the land on which the landmark had been almost built and the stone from the nearby quarry, was a busy chap.

"He lived in Somerset and his office was in London and, well, he had to be there to officially hand over the key to open the heavy door to the Mayor, Charles Huntington.

"Duckworth could make Saturday, September 24, but after that it was anybody’s guess. Heavy rain in the late summer had delayed work on the structure.

"Another snag for the opening was that Darwen’s town band had arranged to play that day at Bury and the East Lancs Volunteer Band had to step in to keep the party swinging along. They played the National Anthem too early – so they played it a second time.

"More than 3,000 folk from Darwen and surrounding towns and villages turned up to join in the festivities and there was a giant bonfire close by which was blazing merrily by the late evening. Over the weekend more than 250 paid to make the climb to the top.

"Unfortunately, the autumn weather was damp and misty and the view to the Welsh hills, the southern Lakes and the Pennines was rather disappointing."