Lower Darwen is a village in the

unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...

borough of Blackburn with Darwen, contiguous 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 s ...

, in the county of

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 Lancash ...

. It is located between the towns of

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

and

. Nearby places include Ewood and Blackamoor. It is situated in the valley of the

River Darwen The River Darwen runs through Darwen and Blackburn in Lancashire, England, eventually joining the River Ribble at Walton le Dale south of Preston on its way to the Ribble Estuary. Course Originating at Jack's Key Clough where Grain Brook and Gra ...

. The former

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, C ...

of Lower Darwen, abolished in the 1890s, extended south to Earnsdale Brook, and included areas now in the town of Darwen.

History

Until the end of the eighteenth century, Lower Darwen was a farming area. The first cotton mill in the village of Lower Darwen was built about the year 1774, by Mr. Thomas Eccles, yeoman and manufacturer. Although this did not have a major impact on the village at first, by the 1820s, the majority of the village was involved in the

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...

. Lower Darwen is on the Blackburn to Bolton railway line, and the line through the village was opened in 1847. Lower Darwen formerly had a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

, however, this closed in 1958. There was also a

motive power depot The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine she ...

north of the station, which closed in the 1960s. Since the 1980s, the village has expanded rapidly, with many new houses being built, including one large estate on the site formerly occupied by ROF Blackburn. It is not far from junction four of the

M65 Motorway The M65 is a motorway in Lancashire, England. It runs from just south of Preston through the major junction of the M6 and M61 motorways, east past Darwen, Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Brierfield, Nelson and ends at Colne. History The ...

. A new road was built when the M65 was extended and the junction four created. Originally named Eccleshill Road, the road was renamed to Paul Rink Way in September 2008. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has stated it chose this road for the renaming because it would not affect anyone, as there are no houses or business directly on the road. On this road is a new housing estate, along with a

Premier Inn Premier Inn is a British limited service hotel chain and the UK's largest hotel brand, with more than 72,000 rooms and 800 hotels. It operates hotels in a variety of locations including city centres, suburbs and airports competing with the like ...

and

Brewers Fayre Brewers Fayre is a licensed pub restaurant chain, with 161 locations across the UK as of August 2018. Owned by Whitbread, Brewers Fayre restaurants are known for serving traditional British pub food and for their Sunday Carvery. History The f ...

Notable people

* Ronald Haworth

References

Geography of Blackburn with Darwen Villages in Lancashire Darwen {{Lancashire-geo-stub