Brookhouse Lane - A St Alban's Procession - c1963

Of all of John Eddleston's photographs of Blackburn, well the ones that have been published (about 200 of them in total), this is the only known coloured photo (though it appears in the book in Black & White).

Taken in 1963, as far as we know, it shows one of the processions from St Alban's Church, as they make their way up Brookhouse Lane.

The caption in the book reads  ''The Polish community of St Alban's Parish, in procession along Brookhouse Lane''  The traditional dress of the ladies and the children certainly looks Eastern European.

I attended St Alban's School and took part in similar processions (well at least one) when I was about 6 years old.

This procession is going in the opposite direction to the route we took. We left the church / school, walked up Whalley New Rd to Bastwell, turned left along Whalley Range and then left again down Brookhouse Lane and back to the starting point.

Lots of these processions used to take place each year, most churches and their associated schools had them. 

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston

Penny St / Brown St / Lark Hill - 1963

Penny St, and again looking towards Lark Hill. The street to the left, which the couple have just crossed was Brown St. That street is still with us, but doesn't follow the exact line of the original street. They kind of moved it slightly to accommodate the 3 day market and the wholesale market, back in the 1960's when both were built.

The premises on the upper corner of Brown street, with the doorway angled towards us, was The Ship Inn. The taller buildings a little further on, are the start of Lark Hill. 

The higgledy piggledy look, with the varying roof levels, gives us an indication that the various shops along this stretch were built at different times, in different periods. Darwen St, King St and Church St were (to some degree still are) also like this.

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston 

Penny St / Lark Hill - 1963

This is where Penny St became Lark Hill. If you look closely, you can see both street signs to the left of the photo.

The first property on Lark Hill (the three storey buildings) was the Post Office that my mum used to use. I'm not sure what the next shop was, but the next along was Gleave's chippy (Cose Cafe) and then on the corner of Regent St was Holt's Chemist. On the opposite corner was Ramskill's tobacconists, who also sold sweets and then midway up the next block was Seddon's clothes shop. You can also just see a glimpse (towards the top) of The Lark Hill Tavern on the corner of Blakewater St and across the road, the walled embankment of Lark Hill Terrace and the large property on the corner of Primrose Bank (near to St Alban's Junior School and the church).

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston 

Lark Hill & Lark Hill Terrace - 1963

Lark Hill, with the elevated Lark Hill Terrace dominant. That wall looks much the same today, fifty years on from this photo, although the houses have gone, replaced by modern town houses, which have the front doors on the opposite side, facing the flats.

I have vivid memories from childhood of standing at those railings in front of the terrace and looking down into Blakewater St / Anvil St.

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston

Penny St looking towards Lark Hill - 1963

Looking along Penny St towards Lark Hill in the distance. Old Chapel St (in the previous photo), is on the left, just after the two parked vans. 

Note Reidy's old shop on the left.

Courtesy of John Eddleston

Old Chapel St viewed from Penny St - 1963

Grays outfitters on the corner of Penny St and Old Chapel St, with St John's church in the distance. The pub on the end of the block is the old Regent, replaced by the 'new' Regent, further up Penny St, after all these properties in the foreground were demolished to build the 3 day market. The 'new' Regent has also gone now, replaced by the Job Centre, or whatever it's called.

Courtesy of John Eddleston

Larkhill & Larkhill Terrace - 1913

This is Larkhill, at its junction with Regent Street, in 1913. I was born on Caton Street, which backed onto the shops on the left, in January 1958.  Although this photograph was taken a good 45 year before I was born, it doesn't look much different to the Larkhill that I remember as a young child. The awnings outside the shops, the wide pavement, the elevated properties of Larkhill Terrace on the right hand side, looked just the same in the early 1960's. There would have been a few motorcars parked by the kerbside maybe, by the sixties, but not too many. I can even remember posters being pasted to that long wall at times. 

COURTESY OF THE CP COLLECTION

The photo below is for the anonymous finder of the diary (please see the comments). Sadly it doesn't show the property that would have been 98 Lark Hill Terrace, as it would be just behind the photographer. This photo is courtesy of Richard, a volunteer in the textiles display dept at Blackburn Museum.