Royal Vist - King George V - 10th July 1913

A royal visit to Blackburn.

King George V and his entourage were here on 10th July 1913 to lay the foundation stone of the public halls, now better known to us as King George's Hall. Here the cavalcade can be seen crossing the Boulevard in the direction of the Railway Station.

It would be October 1921 before the halls were finally opened, the main delay being the Great War of 1914 - 1918.

Sadly I would estimate that a proportion of the people in this crowd, especially the men, would not have survived to see the completion of the halls. Although many would do and as with future generations of Blackburn folk, they would in later decades have attended ceremonies, dances, concerts, pantomimes, plays and a variety of other performances, functions and events held there.

Courtesy of the CP Collection

Mellor Brook - The Bridge Inn

The Bridge Inn at Mellor, with a nice advertisement painted on the gable for Whewell's High Class Ales & Special Nourishing Stout.

Thomas Whewell's Victoria Brewery was on Adelaide St (Montague St area) in Blackburn.

Courtesy of the CP collection

Mellor Church Cricket Club - 1929

As you can see from the text, this is the Mellor Church Cricket Team in 1929.

It's a photo from an old book I used to have from that year. Sadly I can't remember the title or the author, so this one will have to go uncredited until I can find out :-)

Corporation Park - c1890

The postmark on this card was 1904, but I think the image is from around 1890.

It's a pretty good depiction, when you think that the artist couldn't have ever seen it from this angle. If you study it, you can pick out the features, like the fountain inside the main gate, the smaller one midway up the carriageway, the fountain in the smaller lake and the large lake to the right of that. On the left is the bandstand and 3/4 way up the image, running across left to right, the tree lined Broad Walk. I think that clearing in the trees on the right, a little higher is possibly The Devil's Rock and pretty central towards the top, the battlements (or whatever they're called) that the cannons were once on.

I'm not too sure about the very large property on the horizon, but it's situated right where the Corporation Park pub is, so I'm guessing it supposed to be that, though it's a bit out of proportion.

Note the horse drawn trams on Preston New Rd at the bottom. They were introduced in 1888, I believe.

Courtesy of the CP collection

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

The Bowling Green Inn - Eanam

The Bowling Green Inn on the corner of Eanam and Syke St.

The pub probably takes its name from a bowling green that was once on Cicely Hill. In fact I think it was where the Blackburn Subscription Bowling Club was based before they moved to the bottom of Shear Bank Rd (based at the green I mean, not based at the pub).

Next door to the pub, just lower down, is the premises of what was a pawn shop, where in February 1960, 56 year old pawnbroker Frederick Bridgewater Gallagher was murdered by 25 year old Hungarian refugee Milhaly Polce.

Polce was traced after he sold a yellow banded wristwatch (which he had taken from the body of Mr Gallagher) in South Wales. He was sentenced to death for his crime in June 1960, but this was later commuted to life imprisonment.

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston.

Murder info courtesy of Christine Wilks. 

Glendene and the church / chapel in Wilpshire - 1907

Just for a break from the John Eddleston photos from the 1960's, here's a couple of postcard images of Wilpshire from 1907.

The upper photo is of Glendene, which stands towards the Ribchester Rd end of Knowsley Rd and was built and lived in by a local (Blackburn) mill owner, whose name escapes me at the moment and the lower photo is of the little church / chapel, which stands almost opposite Glendene on the other side of Knowsley Rd (though its front is on Ribchester Rd).

Neither of these buildings has changed much in appearance over the 106 years since the photos were taken.

Courtesy of the CP collection. 

Whalley Banks looking towards King St - 1963

Looking down Whalley Banks into King St, with the old Roxy Cinema on the right. Nice lamp post on the left, possibly adapted from one of the old tram standards (or whatever they were called), as this was one of the tram routes that radiated from the town centre. The Cherry Tree route, I think it was called, as that is where it terminated.

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston

King William St - Looking South - 1963

Looking south along King William Street, towards the bend where Lord Street crosses. The dark edifice on the extreme right of the photo is the entrance to what is now the Nat West Bank, so the photographer would have been level with New Market Street as he took this view.

Photo courtesy of John Eddleston.

Northgate - 1963

Looking  along Northgate from the entrance of the old Police Station, towards Sudell Cross, Limbrick and the Shear Brow area beyond that. You can see the tower of St James's church above the roof of The Grapes Hotel.

Also note the statue of Hornby still in situ on Limbrick.

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

The Easter Fair - 1963

Following on from the previous photo, this is the same part of the Easter Fair, only viewed from the opposite end, from King William St and looking down towards Victoria St. The photographer would have been stood outside of what is now the Nat West Bank, on the corner of New Market St and K.W. St.

Courtesy of John Eddleston

The Easter Fair - 1963

The Easter Fair. 

For anyone unsure of the location (younger folks), the two buildings in the background are still with us today on King William St, the Nat West Bank to the left and what was until a decade or so ago, Burtons the Tailors, with New Market St running between them. Through the spokes of the big wheel, you can just see the pitched roof of the fish market and part of the old clock tower.

The area where the crowds are, is marked on maps from the past as Market Place.

Courtesy of John Eddleston

Queens Park & the flats (Hi-Rise & Deck Access) - 1974

I think this is a superb photo of the lake and the flats at Queens Park. Nice colours, it almost looks like a watercolour painting and great reflections on the lake. 

The photo was taken in 1974 by Nick Clare when he was living in the hi-rise blocks. 

A native of Devon, Nick came to Blackburn for a visit to his wife's parents in 1972. During his visit, he applied for a job here, was successful and they ended up living in Blackburn for the next 12 years or so. 

There's only a handful of photos of the Queens Park hi-rise that I'm aware of, mainly in black & white and even fewer of the deck-access flats that are in the background.

Courtesy of Nick Clare 

Happy New Year for 2013

A Happy New Year to all the visitors to this blog / site.

Thank You for your contributions over the last 12 months.

(PS  -  This photo enlarges a bit, just click on it) 

St Paul's School - St Paul's Street

A nice old photo of St Paul's School (for Alan H), with New Park St running up the left hand side and Alma St to the right. I'm unsure of the year, but looking at the cars, I'm guessing it was the mid 1960's?

One of the few schools with it's own clock tower I would have thought. I can't think of any others in Blackburn with a clock tower.

If anyone knows when it was eventually demolished, I would be interested to know.

For anyone unsure of where this school was located, below is a 1907 postcard of 'The Tech' (Victoria Centre as it now is) and if you look to the right of the card, you can clearly see the clock tower.

The photo below the postcard, is prior to the construction of The Technical School / Victoria Centre and as you can see, the school and clock were there back then too.

PHOTO COURTESY OF COTTONTOWN / BLACKBURN LIBRARIES REFERENCE DEPT.

POSTCARD COURTESY OF THE CP COLLECTION

1887 IMAGE COURTESY OF THE BLACKBURN TIMES & COTTONTOWN

East Park Lodge / Gates - Corporation Park - c1908

I think I've a few pictures of the West Park Lodge on here, but this is probably the first of the East Park Lodge.

The rooftops at the top of the park, will be the houses and cottages on Revidge Rd and that gap between them is probably where the path that led up to the 'Tank' is.

Uncertain of the date of this photo, but the attire looks very Edwardian.

COURTESY OF THE CP COLLECTION

Feniscowles - Rose Cottage - c1900

All I know about this photo, is what it has printed on it, Rose Cottage, Feniscowles.

Does anyone recognise the house, know where it is and if it's still standing?

My date is only an estimation, based on the clothes the women are dressed in.

COURTESY OF THE CP COLLECTION 

Cuckoo Hall - Lammack Road

Last weekend someone asked me about Cuckoo Hall (sorry, I accidentally deleted your comment instead of publishing it). I think you were asking how large it was and where it was or something along those lines ???

Well as far as I'm aware, there was never a hall as such, it was just a name given to a row of four cottages that were just off the sharp bend, towards the top of Lammack Rd.

The top photo here, is the only one I know of, that shows the cottages. It dates from 1907. 

To give you some perspective, the photographer would have been stood on the bottom slopes of the huge embankment that takes you up to the 'Tank'.  The cottages fronted / faced the hill that the 'Tank' is at the top of (Revidge Hill is it?). If you could see through the trees above the rooftops in the old photo, you would probably be able to see the QEGS playing fields and Mellor / Ramsgreave beyond.

The lower photo is one I took back in May 2010 for a Facebook group (the 'name this place' group). When taking my photo, I was stood on the bend of Lammack Rd, looking  into Cuckoo Hall (I would be to the far right, just out of view in the older photo). The cottages would be on the right hand side of my view. The gatepost you can see in my photo, would be one of the posts in the wall to the right of the cottages in the older image. 

Robin Whalley and Peter Worden, in their postcards book, tell us that between the Jolly Dragoon at Four Lane Ends (opposite side to the Sportsman's) and the Hare & Hounds (facing Whinney Lane), these cottages were the only houses in 1848. Either side of them, in either direction, there would just have been fields. In fact, as you can see from the OS map, even as late as the 1930's, there was only the farmer's field between Cuckoo Hall and the cottage on the corner of Whinney Lane.

I used to deliver newspapers along both sides of Lammack Rd around 1970 - 71, when I was 12 or 13 years old and the site of the old cottages wasn't as overgrown, as they had only been demolished a couple of years earlier. Nowadays, there's virtually nothing left to see.

But sorry to disappoint you 'anonymous', as there wasn't a ''hall'' in that sense of the word (unless someone else knows differently).

This small section of an early 1930's map shows you exactly where the cottages were. The 'Res' (marked on the map) just over Revidge Rd from the tennis courts is the 'Tank' and as you can see, Cuckoo Hall was at the bottom of the same hill (just off Lammack Rd).

TOP PHOTO COURTESY OF COTTONTOWN.

LOWER PHOTO COURTESY OF CP.

MAP SECTION COURTESY OF THE ORDNANCE SURVEY. 

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