Darwen St looking into King William St - 1963

 

Looking along Darwen St and into King William St, with the junction of Church St to the right and Higher Church St to the left. The Old Bank, pretty central in this photograph, dominates the scene and just in the centre of the crossroads, you can see the policeman in his white coat, directing the traffic.

The building on the other corner of Higher Church St was originally the Prince of Wales Hotel, but by the time this photo was taken in 1963, it had long been an outlet of Burton's (gents outfitters).

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston

Victoria St viewed from Church St - 1963

Looking along Victoria St from Church St, with the Littlewoods store on the left, the junction of Lord St, the open market, market buildings and the rear of the Town Hall in the distance.

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston

Darwen Street looking towards Church Street - 1963

Looking along Darwen St from the junction of Mill Lane and towards Church St in the distance. 

Dominating the right hand side of the street is the General Post Office, which is now the Postal Order pub. On the extreme right of the picture, you can see a couple of the windows on The Merchants pub, now The Last Orders.

If you look closely, way off in the distance, over the roof line of the properties on the top of Church Street, you can see the top of the market hall clock tower.

Sadly these days, the shops on both sides of the street are all fast food places, pizza bars, a chip shop, kebab houses etc. Back then (1963) there was a tobacconist, confectioner, florist, stationers, a printers and much more besides. A different world really.

What have they done to John Eddleston's Blackburn, my Blackburn ?

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston

Salford viewed from Church St - 1963

Salford with the Bay Horse pub dominant, viewed from the lower end of Church St. The Woolworth's (1930's) store to the left and the railings of the underground toilets in front of it.

As far as I can see, every building and structure in this view has now gone, including the properties off in the distance.

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston

Astley Gate viewed from Cardwell Place - 1963

This is Astley Gate viewed from Cardwell Place. The street to the left where the light coloured car is, is Corporation St which is still with us. A little further on, beyond the line of cars, is the corner of Northgate and Higher Church St. 

On the right is The Swan Hotel and the premises next door to it (where the William Younger's advertisement is), was for many years I believe a tripe dealers.

If today you stood where the photographer was standing, you wouldn't see any of the above. The ramp up to the Mall car-park would be where the car and building to the left are, that corner beyond the cars is where Debenhams' store and the pedestrian walkway up to the shopping centre is now. The Swan disappeared a few years ago, replaced by a three or four storey glass and brick folly and the tripe shop and adjoining buildings went a few decades ago (early - mid 1970's?).

You would still see cars driving down the street though. Traffic of one sort or another has passed through there for centuries, along the ancient route from Blackburn centre to Preston.

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston.

Higher Church St / Astley Gate - 1963

Looking up Higher Church St into Astley Gate from the side of the Old Bank (Lloyds), with the junction of Northgate further up on the right hand side and in the centre distance, a glimpse of Corporation St.

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston 

Higher Church St viewed from Astley Gate - 1963

Higher Church St looking down towards the junctions of King William St, Church St and Darwen St.

Northgate is off to the left and the photographer would have been stood on Astley Gate outside of  The Sun and/or The Swan pubs.

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston

Church St (upper section) - 1963

The upper part of Church St, looking towards the Old Bank and the junction of Darwen St, with Higher Church St veering off towards the right of the bank. A couple of the Georgian pavilions are in view on the left, the upper one with the 'Snack Bar' sign was the Palatine Cafe. On the right hand side of the street, facing the cafe, was Thwaites Arcade.

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston

King William St / Church St - 1963

Looking towards King William St and the top part of Church St from Darwen St, with the familiar sight of the policeman on duty, directing the traffic.

If today, you stood where the photographer was standing, you would see the monstrous Debenhams store dominating the view and probably a dozen skateboarding Goths where Sagars the jewellers is. The Goths are fine, but the jury is still out with regards the Debenehams store. 

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston

Thwaites Arcade - 1963

Thwaites Arcade viewed from the Church St end and looking in the direction of Lord St.

Courtesy of John Eddleston

King William St viewed from Church St - 1963

King William St viewed from the corner of Church St, looking north. 

In the distance, on the corner of Lord St, is the magnificent National Provincial Bank, which was built on the site of the St Leger Hotel. The St Leger was the hotel, where back in 1875, John Lewis, Arthur Constantine and a couple of others met, with a view to forming a football team, which indeed they did. That team became The Rovers.

If anyone has a photo of the St Leger, I would love to see it.  I have a couple of old postcard images, where it is seen in the distance, but both are so indistinct, you would never know it was a hotel / pub.

Courtesy of John Eddleston

Thwaites Arcade - 1963

Thwaites Arcade viewed from the Lord St entrance, with Church St visible at the opposite end.

Courtesy of John Eddleston

Darwen St - c1904

A lovely 108 year old view of Darwen St, looking in the direction of King William St.

Those working chaps on the right hand pavement, had earlier been into the Prince of Wales pub on the corner of Higher Church St and also had a few beers in the Legs O Man and The County, which they've just left. They were heading for the Postal Order, but as you can see, taking their time, as it hadn't yet been built and wouldn't become a pub for another 3/4 of a century, so there was no push.

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Stephen Horsfield - Local Artist / Local Scenes

Stephen Horsfield is a locally based artist with an interest in the history of the area, particularly his home town Blackburn. His paintings of our Victorian and Edwardian past portray the times well, while still managing to retain the earthy grittiness and even the gloom of the original photographs.

Below are three examples of his work, Victoria St, Church St (both Blackburn) and Bolton Rd in Darwen.

If you like what you see and would be interested in owning a print, Stephen can be contacted via e-mail at  horsy282@msn.com 

I think the prints come in two different sizes 12 x 16 inches and 20 x 24 inches and are on canvas.

I believe he will also do commissioned work, so if you have a favourite image / photograph (Notre Dame Convent maybe? The old market clock tower?, the Vulcan pub?), then contact Stephen and he will advise on time scale, delivery / collection and costs.

DISCLAIMER :  I must stress here, that any transaction is strictly between yourself and the artist and vice versa. Neither myself or the site will become involved in any disputes, financial or otherwise. 

Please click on the images to expand them a little.

Victoria Street by Stephen Horsefield

Church Street by Stephen Horsefield

Bolton Road, Darwen by Stephen Horsfield

Images courtesy of and with the permission of S. Horsfield

Church Street viewed from Salford (again).

Church Street again, looking towards The Old Bull.

Note the lack of signage on The Golden Lion. Quite unusal to see it like that. In fact I think this is the only photo I've ever seen where the name isn't clearly visible.

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Church St looking towards Darwen Street - c1913

A quaint scene from 1913, looking up Church Street towards the Old Bull and the Old Bank, from just below the Ainsworth Street junction. This sepia image is from a postcard, but as Cottontown also have the same image (in black & white), I'm going to credit them, as that's where I got the info.

COURTESY OF COTTONTOWN AND THE COMM. STUDIES DEPT. BLACKBURN LIBRARY.  

Church Street looking towards Salford Bridge

This photograph would have been taken from the corner of Church Street and Victoria Street, the corner that Littlewoods would eventually occupy. Looking towards Salford Bridge, with Railway Road to the right, just beyond the tram. The Bay Horse is clearly visible on the left of the image. Note the white telephone kiosk by the underground toilets.

I'm unsure of the era, but at a guess, I would say the 1930's or 40's.

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Church Street from Salford - c1900

Lovely old coloured (hand tinted probably) postcard of Church Street, with the Golden Lion on the right and Beatty Bros, the tailors / outfitters, on the corner of Victoria Street also prominent. Top centre is The Old Bank and to the left of that, the outline of The Old Bull. Very early 20th century, I would think.

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Church Street c1930

Following on from the last posting, here's yet another photo of Church Street looking towards Salford. This one dates from 1930 (approximately) and is taken from slightly further up the street. Interesting to see how far forward the shops on the lower side of Shorrock Fold (where the two women are) came out, before that block was redeveloped in the late 40's / early 50's.

Once the Littlewoods building and adjoining properties were built, the shop fronts were set back quite a few yards, leaving quite a wide pavement area at that point of the street.

Lovely photo this one, just look at those cars and the fashions of the time. If there were skyscapers on either side of the street, it could quite easily be Chicago we're looking at.

(Enlarges great this photo, just click on it and see the detail) 

PHOTO COURTESY OF COTTONTOWN & THE LOCAL STUDIES DEPT. BLACKBURN LIBRARY

Church Street looking towards Salford

Looking down Church Street towards Salford, with both the Bay Horse and the Lord Nelson visible. Not sure of the year, but at a guess, I would say 1950's or maybe early 1960's.

The colour postcard below is a far earlier shot (c1900) looking in the same direction.

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