![Blackburn Lancashire Townscape](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Blackburn_Lancashire_Townscape.jpg)
Blackburn () is an
industrial town
An industrial city or industrial town is a town or city in which the municipal economy, at least historically, is centered around industry, with important factories or other production facilities in the town. It has been part of most countries' i ...
and the administrative centre of the
Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen is a borough and unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of the industrial town of Blackburn and the market town of Darwen including other villages around the two towns.
Formation
It was fou ...
borough in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, England. The town is north of the
West Pennine Moors
The West Pennine Moors is an area of the Pennines covering approximately of moorland and Reservoir (water), reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The West Pennine Moors are separat ...
on the southern edge of the
Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The total population of the non-metropolitan district at the 2011 Census was 57,132. Its council is based in Clitheroe. ...
, east of
Preston and north-northwest of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
.
Blackburn is the core centre of the wider unitary authority area along with the town of
Darwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners".
The A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the sout ...
. It is one of the largest districts in Lancashire, with commuter links to neighbouring cities of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
,
Preston,
Lancaster,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
and
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
.
At the
2011 census, Blackburn had a population of
117,963,
whilst the wider borough of Blackburn with Darwen had a population of
150,030. Blackburn had a population of 117,963 in 2011,
with 30.8% being people of ethnic backgrounds other than white British.
A former
mill town
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe
Italy
* ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...
, textiles have been produced in Blackburn since the middle of the 13th century, when wool was woven in people's houses in the
domestic system
The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote ...
.
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
weavers who settled in the area in the 14th century helped to develop the woollen cottage industry.
[Burrow, J. & Co. (Eds.) (1960), p. 8.] The most rapid period of growth and development in Blackburn's history coincided with the industrialisation and expansion of
textile manufacturing
Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...
.
Blackburn's textile sector fell into decline from the mid-20th century and subsequently faced similar challenges to other
post-industrial
In sociology, the post-industrial society is the stage of society's development when the service sector generates more wealth than the manufacturing sector of the economy.
The term was originated by Alain Touraine and is closely related to s ...
northern
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ra ...
towns, including deindustrialisation, economic deprivation and housing problems. Blackburn has had significant investment and redevelopment since 1958 through government funding and the
European Regional Development Fund
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...
.
History
Toponymy
![BlackburnClockTower1906](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/BlackburnClockTower1906.jpg)
The origins of the name has been suggested that it may be a combination of the River
Blakewater, and an
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
word "burn", meaning stream. Local author William Abram cited the ancient name as Blake Burne in his 1877 book, ''Parish of Blackburn, County of Lancaster: A History of Blackburn, Town and Parish''. Abram also confirms that the region, later known as the
Blackburn Hundred
Blackburn Hundred (also known as Blackburnshire) is a historic sub-division of the county of Lancashire, in northern England. Its chief town was Blackburn, in the southwest of the hundred. It covered an area similar to modern East Lancashire, in ...
, was known as Blakeburneshyre. Blackburn was recorded in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
as Blacheborne in 1086.
By the time of John Speed's map of 1610, the spelling of the town was Blackburn, while the region was Blackburne. There is anecdotal speculation that the name of the town may simply mean "black burn", or "black stream".
[Beattie (1992), p. 11.]
Prehistory
There is little evidence of prehistoric settlement in the
Blakewater valley, in which Blackburn developed. Evidence of activity in the form of two urn burials has been discovered from the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
in the hills around Blackburn. In 1879, a
cinerary urn
An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...
was discovered at a
tumulus
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...
at Revidge, north of the town; another was excavated in 1996 at Pleasington Cemetery, west of the town, by gravedigger Grant Higson. The presence of a
sacred spring
A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its gua ...
—perhaps in use during the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
—provides evidence of prehistoric activity in the town centre, at All Hallows Spring on Railway Road.
Roman era
Blackburn is located where a
Roman military road
Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
crossed the river Blakewater. The road linked
Bremetennacum Veteranorum (
Ribchester
Ribchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston.
The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze ...
) and
Mamucium
Mamucium, also known as Mancunium, is a former Roman fort in the Castlefield area of Manchester in North West England. The ''castrum'', which was founded c. AD 79 within the Roman province of Roman Britain, was garrisoned by a cohort ...
(a major Roman
fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
that occupied
Castlefield
Castlefield is an inner-city conservation area in Manchester, North West England. The conservation area which bears its name is bounded by the River Irwell, A34 road, Quay Street, Deansgate and A56 road, Chester Road. It was the site of the Roma ...
in Manchester). The route of the road passed east of
Blackburn Cathedral
Blackburn Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral Church of Blackburn Saint Mary the Virgin with St Paul, is an Church of England, Anglican (Church of England) cathedral situated in the heart of Blackburn town centre, in Lancashire, England ...
and probably crossed the river in the Salford neighbourhood just east of the modern town centre. It is not clear whether the road predated the settlement.
[Lancashire County Council (2005), ''Lancashire Historic Town Survey: Blackburn'', p. 16.]
George C. Miller, in his ''Blackburn: The Evolution of a Cotton Town'', says:
The ancient military way from Mamucium
Mamucium, also known as Mancunium, is a former Roman fort in the Castlefield area of Manchester in North West England. The ''castrum'', which was founded c. AD 79 within the Roman province of Roman Britain, was garrisoned by a cohort ...
(Manchester) to (Bremetennacum
Bremetennacum, or Bremetennacum Veteranorum, was a Roman fort on the site of the present day village of Ribchester in Lancashire, England (). (Misspellings in ancient geographical texts include ''Bremetonnacum'', ''Bremetenracum'' or ''Bresneten ...
) (Ribchester), passing over Blacksnape, plunges on its unswerving course through Blackamoor, over the scarp at Whinney Heights, to pass across the Blakewater in the vicinity of Salford. This fact alone presents a reasonable argument for the existence of a British oppidum or walled village on the site, it being customary for such primitive communities to cluster in the vicinity of a ford or bridge.
According to William Abram (1877):
The Parish of Blackburn contains many interesting vestiges. Three of the four principal roads constructed by the Romans in Lancashire traversed some portion of the Parish : —I. The lower road from the south to Carlisle, intersected the township of Walton-in-le-Dale. 2. The road from Manchester to Overborough crossed the Parish at its broadest part. 3. The road from the sea to the interior, which formed the conmiunication between the "Sistuntian Port" (on the Wyre) and Ribchester, Ilkley-in-Wharfedale, Aldborough andYork, enters Blackburn Parish at Ribchester, by a ford over the Ribble. The late Rev. E. Sibson, in a paper on the Roman Roads of the Wigan district, speaks of a road of this kind which branched off eastward from Blackrod, "Street-fold and Water-street, near Rivington, and by White Hough, in Tockholes, to the small Roman station at Blackburn, near the new road to Preston."
Roman temple spring at All Hallows
All Hallows Spring was excavated by
Antiquarians
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic si ...
in 1654 and found to contain an inscribed stone commemorating the dedication of a temple to
Serapis
Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian deity. The cult of Serapis was promoted during the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his r ...
by Claudius Hieronymus,
legate
Legate may refer to:
*Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class
:*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period
*A member of a legation
*A representative, ...
of
Legio VI Victrix
Legio VI Victrix ("Victorious Sixth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in 41 BC by the general Octavian (who, as Augustus, later became Rome's first emperor). It was the twin legion of VI ''Ferrata'' and perhaps held vete ...
.
Middle Ages
![StrikingMillWorkersBlackburn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/StrikingMillWorkersBlackburn.jpg)
Christianity is believed to have come to Blackburn by the end of the 6th century, in either 596 (as there is a record of a "church of Blagbourne" in that year) or 598 AD.
[Lancashire County Council (2005), ''Lancashire Historic Town Survey: Blackburn'', p. 17.] The town was important during the
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
era when the
Blackburnshire Hundred came into existence as a territorial division of the kingdom of
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
.
The name of the town appears in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
as ''Blachebourne'', a royal manor during the days of
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066.
Edward was the son of Æth ...
and
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
. Archaeological evidence from the demolition of the
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
on the site of the cathedral in 1820 suggests that a church was built during the late 11th or early 12th century.
A market cross was also erected nearby in 1101. The manor came into the possession of Henry de Blackburn, who divided it between his two sons. Later, one half was granted to the monks of
Stanlow Abbey
The Abbey of St. Mary at Stanlaw (or Stanlow as it has been posthumously known since a Victorian cartographical error), was a Cistercian foundation situated on Stanlaw - now Stanlow - Point, on the banks of the River Mersey in the Wirral Peninsula ...
and this
moiety
Moiety may refer to:
Chemistry
* Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule
** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species
Anthropology
* Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...
was subsequently granted to the monks of
Whalley Abbey
Whalley Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in Whalley, Lancashire, England. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the abbey was largely demolished and a country house was built on the site. In the 20th century the house was modified ...
. During the 12th century, the town's importance declined as
Clitheroe
Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...
became the regional centre.
In addition to a settlement in the town centre area, there were several other medieval domiciles nearby.
Industrial Revolution and textiles
![MakingShuttlesBlackburn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/MakingShuttlesBlackburn.jpg)
Textile manufacturing in Blackburn dates from the mid-13th century, when wool produced locally by farmers was woven in their homes. Flemish weavers who settled in the area in the 14th century developed the industry. By 1650 the town was known for the manufacture of blue and white "Blackburn checks", and "Blackburn greys" became famous not long afterwards.
By the first half of the 18th century
textile manufacture
Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...
had become Blackburn's main industry. From the mid-18th to the early 20th century Blackburn evolved from a small market town into "the weaving capital of the world", and its population increased from less than 5,000 to over 130,000.
''John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles'' provides a profile of Blackburn in 1887:
Blackburn. parl. and mun. bor., parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
and township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
, NE. Lancashire, E. of Preston and NW. of London by rail – par., 48,281 ac., pop. 161,617; township, 3681 ac., pop. 91,958; bor., 6974 ac., pop. 104,014; 4 Banks, 2 newspapers. Market-days, Wednesday and Saturday. It is one of the chief seats of cotton manufacture, besides producing calico
Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...
, muslin
Muslin () is a cotton fabric of plain weave. It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. It gets its name from the city of Mosul, Iraq, where it was first manufactured.
Muslin of uncommonly delicate handsp ...
, &c., there being over 140 mills at work. There are also factories for making cotton machinery and steam-engines. Blackburn has been associated with many improvements in the manufacture of cotton, among which was the invention (1767) of the "spinning jenny
The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 or 1765 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill ...
" which was invented in nearby Oswaldtwistle
Oswaldtwistle ( "ozzel twizzel") is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England, southeast of Blackburn, contiguous with Accrington and Church. The town has a rich industrial heritage, being home to James Hargreaves, inventor of the s ...
by James Hargreaves
James Hargreaves ( 1720 – 22 April 1778) was an English weaver, carpenter and inventor who lived and worked in Lancashire, England. He was one of three men responsible for the mechanisation of spinning: Hargreaves is credited with inventing ...
, who died in 1770. There are several fine churches and public buildings. A Corporation Park (50 ac. in area) is on the outskirts of the town. Several lines of railway converge here, and pass through one principal station belonging to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Ry. Co. B. returns 2 members to Parliament.
![Weaving shed, Queen Street Mill - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Weaving_shed%2C_Queen_Street_Mill_-_geograph.org.uk_-_680867.jpg)
From around 1750, cotton textile manufacturing expanded rapidly. Supplied with cotton by merchants, and paid by the piece, cottagers spun cotton into thread and wove it into cloth. The merchants arranged for cloth to be bleached and dyed.
After 1775,
spinning
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
mills were built in the town. Early mills were warehouse conversions; the first purpose-built spinning mill was constructed in 1797 and by 1824 there were 24. The number of
spindles reached 2.5 million by 1870 and spinning mills were constructed up to that time – 24 since 1850. Spinning declined between 1870 and 1900 as the sector transferred to south Lancashire.
In 18th-century Blackburn,
weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...
was primarily undertaken by
handloom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...
weavers working from their own cottages. However, as powerlooms were introduced into the mills after 1825, the percentage of handloom weavers began to decline and this occurred more rapidly in areas closer to the town. Handloom weavers continued to make up a sizable portion of the workforce in outlying rural areas. The last handloom shop in Blackburn closed in 1894.
1800s
In 1807, the
Daniel Thwaites & Co brewery was established; the company is still in business today and is now based at Sykes Holt in Mellor.
Improvements to the
power loom
A power loom is a mechanized loom, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. The first power loom was designed in 1786 by Edmund Cartwright and first built that same year. ...
in the early 1840s, and the construction of a railway line in 1846, led to greater investment in power looms in Blackburn in the second half of that decade. The railway brought opportunities for expansion of the cotton trade, and in subsequent decades many new mills were constructed: between 1850 and 1870, sixty-eight weaving-only and four combined weaving/spinning mills were built and nine weaving mills were built per decade between 1870 and 1890.
Improvements in power loom efficiency meant that weaving, the primary source of wealth and income for handloom weavers, began to transfer from the cottage industry to factories. This led to high rates of unemployment: according to figures published in March 1826, some 60 per cent of all handloom weavers in Blackburn and
Rishton
Rishton is a town in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire, England, about west of Clayton-le-Moors and north east of Blackburn. It was an urban district from about 1894 to 1974. The population at the census of 2011 was 6,625.
History
Its ...
,
Lower Darwen
Lower Darwen is a village in the unitary borough of Blackburn with Darwen, contiguous with the town of Darwen, in the county of Lancashire. It is located between the towns of Blackburn and Darwen. Nearby places include Ewood and Blackamoor. ...
and
Oswaldtwistle
Oswaldtwistle ( "ozzel twizzel") is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England, southeast of Blackburn, contiguous with Accrington and Church. The town has a rich industrial heritage, being home to James Hargreaves, inventor of the s ...
were unemployed. High unemployment led to the
Lancashire weavers' riots. At 3:00 pm on 24 April 1826, a mob arrived in Blackburn after attacking power looms in
Accrington
Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...
. Proceeding to Bannister Eccles' Jubilee Factory on Jubilee Street, the mob destroyed 212 power looms in the space of 35 minutes. They then turned their attention to John Houghton and Sons' Park Place factory, located nearby, and destroyed another 25 looms, before seeking more machinery to attack. The crowd began to disperse at around 6:00 pm, troops having arrived at 3:30 pm to try to quell the rioting.
20th-century decline of the cotton industry
In 1890, Blackburn's
Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...
had recognised that the town was overly dependent on the cotton industry, warning of the dangers of "only having one string to their bow in Blackburn". The warning proved prophetic when, in 1904, a slump hit the cotton industry and other industries dependent on it, such as engineering, brewing and building. In 1908, another slump saw 43 mills stop production and a quarter of the town's looms lay idle.
![Albion Mill Blackburn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Albion_Mill_Blackburn.jpg)
During the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
suspension of trade with India resulted in the expansion of colonial British India's cotton industry at the expense of Britain's,
[Taylor (2000), pp. 47–55.] and the imposition of an 11 per cent import tariff by the colonial British Government led to a dramatic slump in trade in 1921, a situation which worsened in 1922 after the Indian Government raised the tariff to 14 per cent. This caused the number of stopped mills to increase to 47, with 43,000 looms lying idle. Two years into the slump, Foundry and Limbrick Mills became the first to close permanently.
Not long afterwards, in 1926, the
General Strike
A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
saw production suspended at half the town's mills and 12,000 unemployed.
In 1927,
Matthew Brown & Co. relocated to the town's Lion Brewery, on Coniston Road, following their acquisition of local brewer Nuttall & Co, later the subject of a hostile takeover by
Scottish & Newcastle Breweries in 1987, ceasing brewing in 1991.
In 1928, there was another slump in textile production, and another strike in 1929 after employers requested a 12% wage cut; 40,000 cotton workers struck for a week and eight mills closed, making 28 closures in six years.
By the start of 1930, 50 mills had shut and 21,000 people were unemployed.
A financial crisis in 1931 led to 24,000 unemployed, with 1,000 houses and 166 shops lying empty in the town. A total of 26 mills closed down between 1930 and 1934.
1948 mass fingerprinting
Blackburn became the first town to undertake the mass fingerprinting of people following the murder of
June Anne Devaney
June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summ ...
in May 1948. June Anne Devaney was a three-year-old patient at Queens Park Hospital when she was abducted from her cot and murdered in the hospital grounds on 15 May 1948. Fingerprints on a bottle underneath her cot led the police to fingerprint every male over the age of 16 who was present in Blackburn on 14 and 15 May 1948. After taking over 46,500 sets of fingerprints, a match was made with Peter Griffiths, a 22-year-old ex-serviceman. Griffiths admitted his guilt and his trial ascertained if he was sane or not. After deliberating for 23 minutes, the jury found him sane and he was hanged at
Liverpool Prison
HM Prison Liverpool (formerly Walton Gaol) is a category B local men's prison in Walton, Liverpool, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
History
Liverpool Prison (originally known as Walton Gaol) was constructed between 184 ...
on Friday 19 November 1948. After his conviction, the police destroyed all fingerprints they had taken.
1948–1999
Between 1948 and 1950 the textile industry experienced a short post-war boom, during which sales increased, industry training methods improved and automatic looms were introduced, which allowed a single weaver to control 20 to 25 looms. Loom sheds were rebuilt to house new, larger looms. Despite the post-war boom, the cotton industry continued to decline and only 25 per cent of the town's population were employed in textiles by 1951; this figure had stood at 60 per cent up to the beginning of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
in 1929. In 1952 the number of weavers fell from 10,890 to 9,020.
By 1955 more cloth was imported from India than was exported
and between 1955 and 1958 another 16 mills closed. In 1959, due partly to the re-organisation of the textile industry as a result of the
Textiles Act, another 17 mills closed. By 1960 there were 30 mills operating in Blackburn.
Closures continued in the 1960s with The Parkside, Fountains, Malvern and Pioneer Mills shutting in 1964. In 1967 the Eclipse Mill at Feniscowles closed, unable to compete with imported cloth sold at nine pence cheaper per yard than the mill could produce. By the end of that year there were 26 mills operating.
The 1970s saw further closures, and the number of textile workers in Blackburn reduced to 6,000 by January 1975, the year in which the Albion and Alston mills stopped production with the loss of 400 jobs.
In 1976 there were 2,100 looms in operation in the town, compared with 79,405 in 1907.
21st century
Governance
:''This section describes the organisation of government in the area. For information on party politics and local issues see the section on
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
below''
Blackburn is administered by
Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen is a borough and unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of the industrial town of Blackburn and the market town of Darwen including other villages around the two towns.
Formation
It was fou ...
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
, which encompasses Blackburn and the small town of
Darwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners".
The A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the sout ...
to the south. The town sends one Member of Parliament (MP) to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
.
Local government
The council has been elected "by thirds" since 1996 In its 2007
Comprehensive Performance Assessment In the United Kingdom, the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), conducted by the Audit Commission, assessed the performance of every local authority
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within ...
(CPA), the
Audit Commission described the council as "improving well" and gave it the highest "four star" overall performance rating.
[Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) scorecard 2007](_blank)
, Audit Commission, Retrieved 5 July 2008.
Although children's services, adult social care and
GCSE
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
results were praised, the commission highlighted "significant health problems" and increased "levels of repeat victims of domestic violence" as causes for concern.
Despite generally good performance, overall user satisfaction levels with the council are below average and not improving.
The borough has
Beacon Council status and shares its best practice in education policy with other councils as part of the scheme.
Parliamentary representation
The
historic constituency of Blackburn was created for the
1832 general election and sent two
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MPs) to Westminster until it was abolished in
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...
and replaced for one parliamentary term by two new single-member constituencies,
Blackburn East
Blackburn East was a parliamentary constituency in the town of Blackburn in Lancashire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post
In a fir ...
and
Blackburn West. At the
1955 general election, Blackburn East and Blackburn West were merged into the
modern-day constituency which is relatively tightly formed and returns a single
MP.
Coat of arms
![BlackburnCoatOfArms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/BlackburnCoatOfArms.jpg)
The
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
of the former Blackburn Borough Council has many distinctive emblems.
[The Crests of Blackburn and Darwen](_blank)
, Blackburn with Darwen Council
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is the local authority of Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. From 2020 to 2021, the Mayor of Blackbu ...
, Retrieved 16 April 2008 The
blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
of the arms is: ''Argent a Fesse wavy Sable between three Bees volant proper on a Chief Vert a Bugle stringed Argent between two Fusils Or. On the
crest
Crest or CREST may refer to:
Buildings
*The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York
*"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York
*Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
, a Wreath of the Colours a Shuttle Or thereon a Dove wings elevated Argent and holding in the beak the Thread of the Shuttle reflexed over the back and an Olive Branch proper.'' The
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
of the town is , correctly translated as 'By art and by labour' but often translated as 'By skill and hard work'.
The motto, granted on 14 February 1852 to the former Borough of Blackburn, is poignant, as Blackburn, once a small town, had risen to importance through the energy and enterprise of her spinners and manufacturers, combined with the skill and labour of her operatives. The Borough of Blackburn was formed by the amalgamation of the County Borough of Blackburn, the Borough of Darwen, part of the
Turton Urban District
Turton Urban District was, from 1873 to 1974, a local government district centred on the historical area of Turton in the administrative county of Lancashire, England.
History Background
Turton was a township and chapelry of the civil and ec ...
and the parishes of
Yate and Pickup Bank
Yate and Pickup Bank is a civil parish in the borough of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the census of 2011 was 366. The parish contains two hamlets, Bank Fold and Pickup Bank and par ...
,
Eccleshill,
Livesey
Livesey is a civil parish in the unitary borough of Blackburn with Darwen, in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 6,202.
Etymology
Its name likeliest came from Old English ' ...
,
Pleasington
Pleasington () is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England. It had a population of 467 in the 2001 census, reducing to 446 at the 2011 Census.
It is a rural village set on a hillside above the Riv ...
and
Tockholes
Tockholes is a village and civil parish which forms part of the Blackburn with Darwen unitary authority in the English county of Lancashire, England. Tockholes consists of the village of Tockholes itself and the hamlet of Ryal Fold, and has a p ...
from the
Blackburn Rural District
Blackburn was a rural district in Lancashire from 1894 to 1974.
It was named after, but did not include Blackburn, which was an independent county borough. It surrounded Blackburn on the north and western sides, and also included an exclave on ...
.
Politics
Blackburn council and its successor have been predominantly controlled by the
Labour Party since 1945 and continuously for 19 years until May 2007 when it fell into
no overall control. UKPollingReport characterises the constituency of Blackburn as "a mix of deprived inner-city wards dominated by Muslim voters, white working class areas and
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
voting suburbs". Until 2015, the MP was the former Secretary of State for Justice and former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. Previous MPs for Blackburn include the former Labour cabinet minister Barbara Castle from 1945 to 1979. The distribution of seats as of May 2018 was 44 seats for the Labour Party, 17 for the Conservatives and 3 for the Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats.
;Far-right
In the 1970s Blackburn experienced its first significant wave of Asian immigration and became a focus for far-right politics. In 1976, two National Party (UK, 1976), National Party councillors were briefly elected, including John Kingsley Read.
In July 1992, white and Asian youths rioted for several nights in Blackburn, with incidents taking place including an arson attack on a café which had allegedly been a meeting place for local Asians involved in organised crime.
Although some towns in the Northern England, North of England suffered race riots in the summer of 2001, the streets of Blackburn were undisturbed and the disturbance of the Summer 2011 riots was minimal.
The next resurgence of support for the far right came in 2002; The incumbent Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats were pushed into third place behind Labour Party (UK), Labour. Commenting on the elections, Blackburn MP Jack Straw said: "It is very sad. We had the far right in Blackburn 26 years ago when they won two seats in Shadsworth. But there the whole community decided they wouldn't have it. You can never say they won't put candidates in Blackburn but we will work hard on community relations."
;Nationalists / Localists
The council until prior to 2008 had two members for the England First party, Mark Cotterill for Meadowhead ward and Michael Johnson for Fernhurst. Mark Cotterill has since stood down and Michael Johnson joined the For Darwen party. Members of the British National Party, BNP won a council seat in the town in November 2002 following elections in May which saw three of their colleagues elected in nearby Burnley. The BNP's Robin Evans secured a 16-vote majority in Mill Hill ward with two recounts following a campaign using pub meetings and leafleting. Robin Evans resigned from the party in October 2003.
Geography
At (53.7449°, −2.4769°), and north-northwest of London, Blackburn stands above sea level, east of
Preston and north-northeast of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. The Ribble Valley and
West Pennine Moors
The West Pennine Moors is an area of the Pennines covering approximately of moorland and Reservoir (water), reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The West Pennine Moors are separat ...
lie to the north and south respectively. Blackburn experiences a temperate Oceanic climate, maritime climate, like much of the British Isles, with relatively cool summers and mild winters. There is regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year.
Although the city of Preston, the administrative centre for Lancashire, is located about west, Blackburn is the largest municipality in East Lancashire. The town is bounded on other sides by the towns of Accrington, Lancashire, Accrington to the east and Darwen to the south. The village of Wilpshire is north of Blackburn, and is partly wikt:contiguous, contiguous (development-touching) however in the Ribble Valley local government district. Other nearby villages are Langho, approximately northeast, and Mellor, Lancashire, Mellor to the northwest.
The towns of
Rishton
Rishton is a town in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire, England, about west of Clayton-le-Moors and north east of Blackburn. It was an urban district from about 1894 to 1974. The population at the census of 2011 was 6,625.
History
Its ...
, to the east, and Great Harwood, to the northeast, are both in the local government district of Hyndburn. further east lies the town of Burnley.
Geology and terrain
![BlackburnViewFromTank](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/BlackburnViewFromTank.jpg)
Located in the midst of the East Lancashire Hills, some areas of the town are characterised by steep slopes. The town centre centres in a plain of Above Ordnance Datum, above sea level surrounded by hills. The Revidge to the north can be reached via a steep climb up Montague Street and Dukes Brow to reach a peak of above sea level.
[Blackburn](_blank)
Ordnance Survey Get-a-map, Retrieved 27 October 2006
To the west, the wooded Billinge Hill in Witton Country Park is high, while Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital is situated to the east of the town at a vantage point of .
These figures can be considered in the context of other hills and mountains in Lancashire, including Great Hill at , Winter Hill (Lancashire), Winter Hill at , Pendle Hill at and Green Hill (Lancashire), Green Hill at .
The River Blakewater, which gives its names to the town, flows down from the moors above Guide, Lancashire, Guide and then through the areas of Whitebirk, Little Harwood, Cob Wall and Brookhouse to the town centre. The river is culverted and runs underground in the town centre, under Ainsworth Street and between
Blackburn Cathedral
Blackburn Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral Church of Blackburn Saint Mary the Virgin with St Paul, is an Church of England, Anglican (Church of England) cathedral situated in the heart of Blackburn town centre, in Lancashire, England ...
and the Boulevard. On the western side of the town centre the Blakewater continues through the Wensley Fold area before joining the River Darwen outside Witton Country Park; the Darwen flows into the River Ribble at Walton-le-Dale.
The geology of the Blackburn area yields numerous resources which underpinned its development as a centre of manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution. mining, Mineable coal seams have been used since the mid-late 16th century. The Coal Measures in the area overlie the Millstone Grit which has been quarry, quarried in the past for millstones and, along with local limestone deposits, used as a construction material for roads and buildings. In addition, there were deposits of iron ore in the Furness and Ulverston districts.
The Blackburn area was subjected to glaciation during the Pleistocene, Pleistocene ice age, and the sandstone-and-shale bedrock is overlain in much of the area by glacial deposits called till (which is also called "boulder clay") of varying thickness up to several tens of feet. Glacial outwash (sand and gravel) also occur in small patches, including along Grimshaw Brook.
Green belt
Blackburn is within a Green belt (United Kingdom), green belt region that extends into the wider surrounding counties, and is in place to reduce urban sprawl, prevent the towns in the nearby Greater Manchester Built-up Area, Greater Manchester and Liverpool Urban Area, Merseyside conurbations from further convergence, protect the identity of outlying communities, encourage brownfield reuse, and preserve nearby countryside. This is achieved by restricting inappropriate development within the designated areas and imposing stricter conditions on permitted building.
Sizeable areas of green belt exist within the borough, west and south of Blackburn surrounding Witton Country Park and Pleasington parish, with other parishes in the borough containing portions of green belt, Tockholes, Eccleshill, Yate and Pickup Bank parish, Livesy, Darwen, with North Turton largely covered. The green belt was first drawn up in 1982 under Lancashire County Council,
and the size in the borough in 2017 amounted to some .
Demography
At the time of the HM Government, UK Government's United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census, Blackburn, defined as an urban area, had a population of 105,085 and a population density of .
According to further statistics from the same census, this time defining Blackburn as a United Kingdom constituencies, Westminster parliamentary constituency, the population was 69.22 per cent White British (national average for England 89.99 per cent) with significant Indian (14.31 per cent) and Pakistani (11.45 per cent ) ethnic minorities.
[2001 Census: Key Statistics, Ethnic Group (KS06)](_blank)
Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 March 2008. 12.33 per cent of the population was born outside the European Union.
[2001 Census: Key Statistics, Country of Birth (KS05)](_blank)
Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 March 2008. In terms of religion, 57.53 per cent of residents were Christian (average for England 71.74 per cent), 25.74 per cent Muslim (average for England 3.1 per cent) and 15.98% no religion or not stated.
[2001 Census: Key Statistics, Religion (KS07)](_blank)
Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
With regard to the economic activity of those aged 16–74, the 2001 Census indicates that 33.93 per cent were full-time employees (average for England 40.81 per cent), 11.72 per cent part-timers, 5.97 per cent self-employed (average for England 8.32 per cent), and 4.5 per cent unemployed (average for England 3.35 per cent).
[2001 Census: Key Statistics, Economic Activity (KS09A)](_blank)
Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
The 2001 census also records the social grade of the constituency's 72,418 people aged 16 and over: using the NRS social grades system, 10,748 were classed as AB (higher and intermediate managerial/administrative/professional), 17,514 as C1 (supervisory, clerical, junior managerial/administrative/professional), 11,691 as C2 (skilled manual workers), 19,212 as D (semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers), and 13,253 as E (on state benefit, unemployed, lowest grade workers).
[2001 Census: Key Statistics, Approximated Social Grade (UV50)](_blank)
Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
Additionally, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council manages a site for Gypsies and travellers, in the Ewood area of the town.
The 2011 census showed that there was an increase in the number of people of ethnic minorities living within the Blackburn with Darwen area. Results showed that 31 per cent of people in the area were of an ethnic minority background, with 66.5 per cent defined as white British. This equates to roughly 45,500 people within Blackburn with Darwen being of a minority ethnic group – a level three times greater than the average across Lancashire and the rest of the region.
In 2011 Blackburn had 117,963 residents, of whom:
[
*62.7% White (60.0% White British)
*34.3% Asian
*0.7% Black
There is a distinct contrast between different areas with ethnic groups due to segregation. Areas south and west of the town centre such as Ewood have an indigenous majority, with all wards in the area being more than 85 per cent White British. In contrast, most wards north and east of the town centre have an Asian majority, but also a small but increasing community of people from mainland Europe.
]
Economy
As of 2007, the town centre was subject to a multimillion-pound investment, and Blackburn with Darwen Council
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is the local authority of Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. From 2020 to 2021, the Mayor of Blackbu ...
have already made some refurbishments and renovations of key public places, notably the Church Street area with its Grade II listed Classical architecture, classical style Waterloo Pavilions complemented by street furniture and sculptures. As of 2006, The Mall Blackburn (formerly known as Blackburn Shopping Centre) was the main shopping centre in Blackburn with over 130 shops and 400 further outlets close by. in June 2011, Blackburn Market opened in a new site under the shopping centre and opened six days a week (Monday–Saturday). The previous market was based on the other side of Ainsworth Street. It first opened on this site in 1964, where there was a three-day market (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) and the Market Hall (Monday–Saturday).
The town centre was expanded by construction of the Grimshaw Park retail development (including Blackburn Arena) in the 1990s. The adjacent Townsmoor Retail Park and Peel Group, Peel Leisure and Retail Park are more recent developments.
in May 2008, one of the town's most well-known shops, the shoe store Tommy Ball's, closed due to administration (insolvency), insolvency. The town's oldest store, Mercer & Sons, also closed after a decline in sales blamed on the Late 2000s recession, credit crunch. It opened in 1840 and was originally an ironmonger, but it converted to selling toys, household goods and hardware. In January 2009 the directors of the company announced that the shop would close after a 30-day statutory consultation, unless they changed their minds or a buyer was found.
Markets continue to offer a wide range of local produce, such as Lancashire cheeses, tripe, Bowland beef and lamb. Walsh's Sarsaparilla (soft drink), Sarsaparilla stall decided not to join the move into the Mall shopping centre in 2011, and opens six days a week.
Major employers in Blackburn include: Blackburn College, Thwaites Brewery, BAE Systems (Samlesbury Aerodrome site, located at Samlesbury, northwest of Blackburn); Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council; and the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (based at the Royal Blackburn Hospital).
''Drumstone Trade Park'' near the town centre has trade outlets.
Numerous business parks exist in and around the town.
Transport
Railway
Blackburn railway station is sited in the town centre and is managed by Northern Trains, who also operate all of its passenger services. It is on the Ribble Valley line between Clitheroe railway station, Clitheroe and Manchester Victoria; trains to Manchester typically take around 50 minutes and continue on to Rochdale railway station, Rochdale. The station also hosts East Lancashire Line services eastwards to Burnley railway station, Burnley, Colne railway station, Colne, Leeds railway station, Leeds and York railway station, York; services westwards go to Preston railway station, Preston and Blackpool North railway station, Blackpool.
Buses
Blackburn's new bus station in Ainsworth Street opened in May 2016. A new interchange was built outside the station as part of the Cathedral Quarter redevelopment, where all buses continue to the bus station.
Air
Manchester Airport, the busiest airport in the UK outside London, provides scheduled flights. It is located about south-east of the town.
Waterways
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal runs through Blackburn from Feniscowles in the south-west to Whitebirk in the north-east, skirting the town centre to the east of Blackburn railway station. This important early industrial artery arrived in 1810 and became the chief focus for industrial growth in the 19th century, with raw cotton imported via Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. While it suffered neglect in the wake of the area's industrial decline, the Blackburn stretch has benefited from a number of regeneration projects since the 1990s. British Waterways residential moorings are to be found at Finnington Lane Bridge on the western edge of the borough.
Roads
The M65 motorway passes to the south of Blackburn. It runs from Colne, about north-east of Blackburn, to a point close to the village of Lostock Hall near Preston, about west. Junction six of the motorway is located at the eastern edge of Blackburn, near the Intack area; junctions five and four are located to the south, near the village of Guide, Lancashire, Guide and the Lower Darwen
Lower Darwen is a village in the unitary borough of Blackburn with Darwen, contiguous with the town of Darwen, in the county of Lancashire. It is located between the towns of Blackburn and Darwen. Nearby places include Ewood and Blackamoor. ...
area, respectively; and junction three is located at the south-western edge of the town, close to the Feniscowles area. The M65 links Blackburn to the national motorway network, connecting to junction nine of the M61 motorway, M61 and junction 29 of the M6 motorway, M6.
Other major roads in and around Blackburn include the A666 road, A666 and the A677 road, A677. The A666 runs from the A59 road (Great Britain), A59 near the village of Langho, some north-west of Blackburn. It passes through the town centre and continues south through the towns of Darwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners".
The A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the sout ...
and Bolton, then south-west to the town of Pendlebury, near Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, where it joins the A6 road (Great Britain), A6 at Irlams o' th' Height. The A677 runs from the east part of Blackburn, about from the centre. It passes through the centre of the town and continues to the western outskirts. It then heads north-west to the village of Mellor Brook before continuing west towards the city of Preston. It joins the A59 about west of Blackburn, about halfway between Blackburn and Preston. Barbara Castle Way, named after the former local MP, runs from Montague Street to Eanam Roundabout; it passes close to the town centre as part of the A6078 town centre orbital route.
Landmarks
Cathedral
Blackburn Cathedral
Blackburn Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral Church of Blackburn Saint Mary the Virgin with St Paul, is an Church of England, Anglican (Church of England) cathedral situated in the heart of Blackburn town centre, in Lancashire, England ...
was formerly Mary (mother of Jesus), St Mary's Parish Church. It was reconsecrated in 1826 on the site of a previous church that had stood for several hundred years. In 1926 the Diocese of Blackburn was created and the church gained cathedral status. Blackburn was selected above other locations for the new wave of Archbishop Temple's cathedrals because of its then excellent public transport infrastructure – the cathedral stands next to the bus and railway station. Between the 1930s and 1960s an enlarged cathedral was built using the existing building as the nave. Six of the cathedral's bells were cast in 1737 and are claimed to derive from even older bells. An image of the cathedral is used behind BBC interviews filmed at BBC Radio Lancashire in Darwen Street, opposite the cathedral.
Ewood Park
The ground was opened in AprIl 1882. Work on the redeveloped, all-seater stadium got underway in February 1993 when the old Darwen End stand was demolished. This stand, with the old Blackburn End stand, was redeveloped before the Nuttall Street stand was also demolished ready for redevelopment in January 1994. Almost two years later, on 18 November 1995, the new Ewood Park was officially opened. With a capacity of 31,367, it consists of four sections: the Darwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners".
The A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the sout ...
End, Riverside Stand (so named as it stands on the banks of the River Darwen), Blackburn End, and Jack Walker Stand, named after a Blackburn industrialist and club supporter. The stadium also has conference and banqueting facilities.
Queen Victoria's statue
Blackburn's statue of Queen Victoria stands next to the cathedral grounds overlooking the Cathedral Square. Victoria's fourth daughter, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, unveiled the statue on 30 September 1905. It was sculpted by the Australian Sir Bertram McKennal out of white Sicilian marble and stands on a grey granite plinth. It is high and weighs , while the plinth is high and weighs .
Town Hall
The construction of Blackburn's original, renaissance architecture, Italian Renaissance style Blackburn Town Hall, Town Hall was completed in 1856 at a cost of £35,000, equivalent to about £1.5 million as at 2008. The architect was James Paterson and the contractors were Richard Hacking and William Stones. It originally housed a police station with 18 cells, a large assembly room, and a council chamber. A tower block extension was constructed in 1969 at a cost of £650,000, equal to about £6.6 million as at 2008. The tower block is not strictly an extension to the earlier building: the two buildings are connected only by an elevated, enclosed footbridge. The tower block was high and the top was above sea-level when built, although it has since been re-clad and these figures may have altered slightly. The two buildings are known locally as the ''New Town Hall'' and ''Old Town Hall'' respectively.
Technical School
The school was built in the Northern Renaissance style and has a slate roof, an attic, a basement and two intermediate storeys. Made mainly of red brick and yellow terra cotta, it is profusely decorated. There are ornate gables, a round-arched entrance with angled Turret (architecture), turrets and balcony above; in addition, there is a frieze below the top storey with panels depicting art and craft skills. A Grade II listed building, it is now part of Blackburn College (Blackburn with Darwen), Blackburn College. The Prince of Wales placed a time capsule in the wall of the college during his visit. The college celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2013.
Other landmarks
![Wainwright Bridge, Blackburn, Lancashire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Wainwright_Bridge%2C_Blackburn%2C_Lancashire.jpg)
The Wainwright Bridge was opened in June 2008. The £12 million bowstring arch bridge crosses the East Lancashire Line, East Lancashire and Ribble Valley Line, Ribble Valley railway lines west of the town centre and forms part of the A6078 Town Centre Orbital Route. The bridge is named after Alfred Wainwright, after a vote by the townspeople. Blackburn Arena, opened in 1991, houses an ice rink and is home to the Blackburn Hawks ice hockey team.
Blackburn railway station features a mural by the Ormskirk-based artist Stephen Charnock. It shows eight famous faces associated with the town, including Mohandas Gandhi, who visited nearby Darwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners".
The A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the sout ...
in 1931. The station was renovated in 2000. BBC Radio Lancashire has its studios in Darwen Street in the town centre. Thwaites Brewery, which produces cask ale, has had a position in the centre of the town since 1870. There is also King George's Hall, Blackburn, King George's Hall, which is an arts and entertainment centre and Thwaites Empire Theatre. A section of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal runs through the town. St Anne's Church, Blackburn, St Anne's Roman Catholic Church is also situated in the centre of the town, is a Lombard Romanesque church, built in 1926, destroyed by arson in 2002 and rebuilt in 2004.[Blackburn – St Anne]
from English Heritage, retrieved 14 February 2016 The Canterbury Street drill hall, Blackburn, Canterbury Street drill hall was completed in 1870.
Parks
Corporation Park, north-west of the town centre, was built on of land bought from Joseph Feilden, lord of the manor, for in 1855. It opened on 22 October 1857, with shops and mills closing for the day, church bells ringing and flags flying from public buildings. Railway companies claimed 14,000 people travelled to the opening. A conservatory was opened on 16 May 1900. Corporation Park contains the Blackburn War Memorial which commemorates those who lost their lives in the two World Wars.[Corporation Park.]
East Lancashire Memorials. Retrieved 17 August 2012. The town's annual Armistice parade concludes at the war memorial.
The town's Queen's Park was opened in June 1887, having been laid out at a cost of £10,000 on land acquired by Blackburn Corporation from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1882. It originally had two bowling greens, two tennis courts, a lake of over , a children's paddling pool, a bandstand, and a refreshment room. Two additional bowling greens and a pavilion were added in 1932.
Witton Country Park is a space to the west of the town. The land was purchased in 1946 and was the ancestral home of the Feilden family. It is larger than all the town's other parks and playing fields put together.[Duckworth (2005), p. 79.] Witton Park High School is located within the park, as are three astroturf football pitches and a full-size athletic track, which is home to the Blackburn Harriers. The Blackburn model aircraft club also uses the park for radio-controlled aircraft. Pleasington cemetery and crematorium lie on its edges.
Roe Lee Park, in the north of the town, opened on Wednesday 30 May 1923 to commemorate a visit by George V. It was originally a site with five tennis courts and three bowling greens. The borough council website describes it as a "urban fringe park with bowling greens, kick around area and children's playground". In 2007, all four parks described here were winners of Green Flag awards.
Blackburn Cemetery is located to the north of the town centre in Roe Lee.
Libraries
Blackburn Central Library, located in the town centre close to the Town Hall, is described as "the seventh most visited library in England". The library has various sections and facilities, including: an information and reference section, a media section, a community history section, a children's library, and a creche. An ICT training suite at the library has been named the "Bill Gates Room". Blackburn has smaller libraries for the Mill Hill, Livesey and Roman Road parts of the town, and a mobile library service.
Education
:''See List of schools in Blackburn with Darwen''
Secondary education in Blackburn is provided by nine state-funded schools (England), state-funded schools and one private school. In 2005, Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School became the first Muslim state school in the North West. It had previously been an independent school. Since then Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School has been established and Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn, Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School joined the state-funded sector.
The town also has a few special schools. St Thomas's and Sunnyhurst Pupil Referral Unit educates children unable to attend mainstream school for health reasons or other difficulties.[Blackburn with Darwen Schools](_blank)
, Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen is a borough and unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of the industrial town of Blackburn and the market town of Darwen including other villages around the two towns.
Formation
It was fou ...
, Retrieved 14 April 2008
Over £25 million was invested in educational initiatives in Blackburn with Darwen in the late 2000s, including new schools, city learning centres and children's centres. Over 11,000 adults take part in some form of educational programme. Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen is a borough and unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of the industrial town of Blackburn and the market town of Darwen including other villages around the two towns.
Formation
It was fou ...
council has twice had Beacon Status for education in the "Fostering School Improvement" and "Transforming the School Workforce" categories.[Education and lifelong learning](_blank)
, Blackburn with Darwen Council
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is the local authority of Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. From 2020 to 2021, the Mayor of Blackbu ...
, Retrieved 14 April 2008 Compared with 56.5 per cent nationally, 51.3 per cent of pupils in Blackburn with Darwen achieve grades A*–C.[Key Figures for Education, Skills and Training](_blank)
Office for National Statistics, Retrieved 14 April 2008 The average GCE/VCE A/AS and Equivalent Point Score per Student is 649.7, compared with 716.7 nationally.
Although the town's proportion of ethnic minorities is below 25%, in some schools the vast majority of pupils are from the ethnic minority population, whilst other schools are almost entirely white. This has been identified as a problem to racial integration in the town.
The independent school sector is represented by Westholme School and Jamiatul Ilm Wal Huda.
The two further education colleges in the town are Blackburn College (Blackburn with Darwen), Blackburn College and the sixth-form St. Mary's College, Blackburn, St. Mary's College. The town does not have a university, but some higher education courses for over-18s are provided by the East Lancashire Institute of Higher Education (ELIHE).
Sport
Football
EFL Championship side Blackburn Rovers F.C., Blackburn Rovers is based at the Ewood Park stadium. It was established in 1875, becoming a founder member of The Football League in 1888. In 1890 Rovers moved to its permanent home ground at Ewood Park. Until the formation of the FA Premier League, Premier League in 1992, most of Blackburn Rovers' success was pre-1930, when they won the league twice and FA Cup six times. After finishing runners-up to Manchester United F.C., Manchester United in 1993–1994, Rovers won the Premier League, English Premier League the following year. In 2002 they won the Football League Cup, League Cup.
Ice hockey
Blackburn has an Olympic-sized ice rink housed at the 3,200-seat Blackburn Arena. The arena is the home of the Blackburn Hawks and Lancashire Raptors ice hockey teams, both of which play in the English National Ice Hockey League.
Cricket
Although Lancashire County Cricket Club play inter-county Cricket (sport), cricket at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, the town club at Alexandra Meadows on Dukes Brow is the East Lancashire Cricket Club.
Blackburn Northern Cricket Club states it has recently leased the Ribchester
Ribchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston.
The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze ...
Cricket Ground for its matches.
Cultural references
Blackburn is mentioned in The Beatles' song "A Day in the Life".
:I read the news today—oh, boy
:4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
:And though the holes were rather small
:They had to count them all
:Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
The title of the unofficial fanzine of the town's football club, Blackburn Rovers F.C., Blackburn Rovers, is ''4,000 Holes'', and the 1968 Beatles film ''Yellow Submarine (film), Yellow Submarine'' has John mentioning the lyric as well in the "Sea of Holes".
In 1975, documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield made ''Juvenile Liaison'' about a juvenile liaison project in the town. It examines a series of children and their run-ins with the law, including minor wrongdoings such as theft, truancy and being abusive to parents. After its production, the film was banned by the British Film Institute for many years; ''Juvenile Liaison'' revolved mainly around the activities of Sergeant Ray, whose preventive measures for dealing with young troublemakers fell mainly in the strong-arm category. In 1990, Nick Broomfield returned to Blackburn to film a follow-up. ''Juvenile Liaison 2'' revisits some of the residents from the first film, in some attempt to measure the success of the scheme.
The 1994 TV film ''Pat and Margaret'' starring Victoria Wood and Julie Walters was partly filmed in Blackburn.
The TV show ''Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'', screened on BBC One from 1996 to 1998, included many scenes shot in Blackburn.
The 2005 British film ''Love + Hate (2005 film), Love + Hate'', directed by Dominic Savage, was shot in Blackburn.
The film-makers Mitchell and Kenyon were based in Blackburn in the early 20th century. Much of their film stock, some 800 negatives, was found in their old premises on Northgate in 1994 and is now in the safekeeping of the aforementioned British Film Institute.
St Peter's Burial Ground
During late 2015, work done on St Peter's Burial Ground in advance of road construction involved disinterring the remains of nearly 2,000 individuals buried there during the cemetery's period of operation (1821–1945). The burial ground had been connected with the former St Peter's Church, a large one that seated some 1,500 people, which was demolished in 1976. Archaeologists found that nearly half of the bodies were those of young children, who appeared to have died quickly during the mid-19th century from illnesses affected the lungs and gastrointestinal system. The numbers are taken as reflecting the massive increase in the city's population during that period due to its booming textile industry, which led to unhealthy living situations among the working classes.
The remains were to be relocated to another section of the cemetery. A memorial service conducted by Julian Henderson, the Bishop of Blackburn, for those being re-buried was scheduled to be held during the summer of 2016.
Notable people
Politics and industry
Jack Walker, steel baron and once owner of the local steel company Walkersteel, was born in the town in 1929 and lived locally until he moved to the Channel Islands in 1974. He was a former owner of Blackburn Rovers.
In politics, William Henry Hornby (1805-1884), William Henry Hornby, a leading industrialist, the first mayor of Blackburn, and Chairman of the Conservative Party was born in the town in 1805. John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn, Order of Merit, OM, Privy Council, PC, Liberal statesman, writer and newspaper editor was born in the town in 1838. The town had close links with Barbara Castle, an MP in Blackburn for 34 years (1945–1979) and holder of the positions of Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity, First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Social Services under Labour governments of the 1960s and 1970s. Sajjad Karim (born 1970) served as a Member of the European Parliament for the North West England between 2004 and 2019.
Mohsin Issa and Zuber Issa are owners of EG Group.
Arts and music
*Tony Ashton (1946–2001), rock musician
*Michael Billington (actor), Michael Billington (1941–2005), actor, star of ''UFO (TV series), UFO''
*William Billington (poet), William Billington (1825–1884), writer, known as the "Blackburn Poet"
*Josephine Cox (1938–2020), fiction writer
*Ross Eccles (born 1937), contemporary artist; many of his paintings feature scenes and landmarks of Blackburn and Lancashire
*Kathleen Ferrier (1912–1953), contralto
*Michael Gibson (TV presenter), Michael Gibson (born 1980), television presenter and documentary director
*Barry Gray (1908–1984), composer
*Kathleen Harrison (1892–1995), actress
*Tez Ilyas (born 1983), stand-up comedian
*Russell Harty (1934–1988), broadcaster
*Ethel Carnie Holdsworth (born Ethel Carnie; 1886–1962), writer and feminist
*Lee Mack, (born 1968), actor/comedian
*Grace Davies (singer), Grace Davies, (born 1997), singer/songwriter
*Sarah Martin (musician), Sarah Martin (born 1974), musician, member of Belle and Sebastian
*Ian McShane (born 1942), actor
*Tony O'Neill, (born 1978), author
*Steve Pemberton (born 1967), actor
*Wendi Peters (born 1968), actress
*Ronald Stevenson (1928–2015), Scottish composer
*Jeanette Threlfall (1821–1880), Christian hymnist and poet
*Debbie Travis (born 1960), television host
*Anthony Valentine (1939–2015), actor
*Diana Vickers (born 1991), singer and actress
*Alfred Wainwright (1907–1991), guidebook author
*Jon Walmsley (born 1956), musician and actor
*Michael Winterbottom (born 1961), film maker
*William Woodruff (1916–2008), historian and author
* AJ Odudu (born 1988), television host
Sport
*Gareth Ainsworth (born 1973), footballer and football manager
*Farakh Ajaib (born 1991), snooker player
*Iain Balshaw (born 1979), England rugby union player
*Bernard Cafferty (born 1934), chess player, author and translator
*Albert Clough (1901–1957), professional footballer
*Matt Derbyshire (born 1986), footballer for AC Omonia
*Anastasios Donis (born 1996), footballer for Stade de Reims, Stade Reims and Greece national football team, Greece
*Keith Duckworth (1933–2005), motor-racing engine designer
*David Dunn (born 1979), footballer for Blackburn Rovers and England, then football coach
*Russell Edmonds (born 1977), former cricketer
*Frank Fielding (born 1988), footballer for Millwall F.C.
*Carl Fogarty (born 1965), four time motorcycle World Superbike champion
*Joe Garner (born 1988), footballer for APOEL FC
*Will Greenwood (born 1972), England rugby union player
*Connor Mahoney (born 1997), footballer for Millwall F.C.
*Oliver Newby (born 1984), cricketer for Lancashire County Cricket Club, Lancashire
*Geoffrey Phillips (born 1931), England cricketer
*Anthony Pilkington (born 1988), footballer for Cardiff City F.C.
*John Sumner (climber), John Sumner (1936–2004), rock climber
*William Townley (1866–1950), footballer and coach
Sciences
*Timothy Leighton (born 1963), Ultrasonics and Underwater Acoustics professor, Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, University of Southampton
*Barbara Mawer (1936–2006), biochemist and medical researcher
*Noel Slater (1912–1973), mathematician and astronomer
*Eric Fawcett (1927–2000), professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto, credited with discovering the Hall effect in type-II superconductorsEric Fawcett obituary
– Science for Peace
Twin towns
See also
*Listed buildings in Blackburn
Notes and references
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Bibliography
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External links
Blackburn with Darwen Council The Shuttle: News for Blackburn with Darwen Council Photographic history of Blackburn with Darwen as influenced by the development of the cotton trade.
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Blackburn,
Towns in Lancashire
Towns with cathedrals in the United Kingdom
Unparished areas in Lancashire
West Pennine Moors
Geography of Blackburn with Darwen