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

Preston New Rd / Limefield - c1910

Not the best quality image, but a pleasant view, from a more tranquil time, of the top stretch of Preston New Road, looking towards Billinge End in the far distance. I think the photographer would have been stood at the top of Saunders Road. 

As with a lot of these old postcard images, the lack of traffic is a noticeable feature, with just a couple of horse drawn vehicles in the distance. You can just imagine the clip clop of the horses passing your house and the rumbling, trundling of the occasional tram.

This was quite a well heeled part of town back then (see Matthew Cole's book 'Blackburn's West End') and many of those large properties would have been inhabited by some of  our leading citizens, as would the roads and streets on either side, Crosshill Rd, Granville Rd and St Silas's Rd etc.
Below is another view of part of the same section, but looking in the opposite direction, towards town.

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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.

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Preston New Rd - Lower Section x 3

Three similar shots of the same section of Preston New Rd, all taken from just below Strawberry Bank and showing the properties between Alma Street and New Park Street.

The top image is the earliest one and dates to approximately 1895. The middle image is just prior to the First World War and the bottom image, an unusual night time shot, dates to around the same time, possibly a little earlier (1912 or so).

St Georges Church is long gone, but the large villa type houses on the far left of the pictures are still there, as is the one on the right, on the corner of Strawberry Bank, as well as the others further up the road on the same side.

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Preston New Road x 3 - c1906

Three views of Preston New Road dating to around the same time, early in the 20th century. The two horizontal shots have been taken from approximately the same spot, at the foot of Shear Bank Road and the vertical image a little higher up, probably close to the Adelaide Terrace junction.

The church in the upper two images is St George's and the one in the bottom photo is the Trinity Wesleyan Chapel, on the corner of Montague Street.

The lower photo is probably earlier than the other two, possibly the late 1800's.

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Lynwood Rd in the Preston N. Rd area - 1905

This is Lynwood Road, which runs down from Revidge Rd to below Granville Rd. This photo would have been taken from just below the junction of St Silas' Rd. My mum & dad used to live further up than here on the same side the kids are on, but behind the photographer. 

Kathleen Ferrier (famed contralto) also lived on this street at number 57, just a little further up than Sacred Heart School. There's a blue plaque on her house to this day. Kathleen moved into Lynwood Rd when she was just 18 months old (1914), when her father was appointed as headmaster at St Paul's School. Both her parents were Blackburnian's, but had lived in Higher Walton (where Kathleen was born) when her father was headmaster at the school there.

This image of Lynwood Rd dates to around 1905.

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KATHLEEN FERRIER ALBUM SLEEVE

( COURTESY OF THE INTERNET )

Azalea Rd in the Preston New Rd area of town. - c1900

Azalea Road, looking over St Silas's Road and down onto Granville Road at the bottom. Not a car in sight. Today there's usually just a narrow gap down the centre, with cars parked at either side. Photo taken around 1900, I think, perhaps a decade later.

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Preston New Rd - Lower section - c1905

Quite a busy Preston New Rd. This is the lower section just above Sudell Cross.

Judging by the large collars on the lads with the pushbike, it's an Edwardian scene and at a guess I would date it to around 1905.

I reckon that is the butcher on the right, cleaning and hosing down the pavement outside his shop.

The church steeple, is again St Georges, on the corner of New Park Street.

(This photo enlarges great - Apologies for the ink blob at the top of the lamp.)

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Preston New Road near the park entrance c1920

Looking down Preston New Road, with the main entrance to the park on the left and the junction of East Park Road just a little further down.

Unsure of the year, possibly the second or third decade of the 20th century, looking at the clothes on the gent.

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Preston New Rd - Looking towards West Park Rd / Dukes Brow

A very similar shot to the last posting, again showing the main entrance to Corporation Park. Strange how they refer to it as just 'New Road', as by the time this photo was taken, early in the 20th century, it wasn't exactly new anymore. I suppose it's just as we do today, a way of distinguishing it from Preston Old Rd.

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Down by the Park Gates - c1910

 A busy Edwardian scene, probably dating to around 1910.

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Preston New Rd - Spot the difference.

This is the bottom section of Preston New Rd, just up from Sudell Cross. The tram is passing the junction of Alma Street and the church beyond it is St George's, which was on the corner of New Park Street. At a guess, I would say the date is circa 1910.

These two images are obviously the same photograph, but please notice how in the coloured postcard, the step ladder on the extreme right of the image has been conveniently omitted.

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The lower part of Preston New Road (x2) - Early 20th century

Two images showing the lower part(s) of Preston New Rd. The coloured postcard shows the Aspden Buildings to the left. They are still standing today, but the smaller properties next door, have been replaced by the new Capita Building and of course,  Barbara Castle Way now cuts across the road, where the junction of Alma Street can be seen in this old image. Just further on, can be seen the steeple of St Georges Church, which stood on the corner of the next street, New Park Street.

The second postcard, shows the same church and the properties to the left of it a little more clearly and in the distance, can be seen the swerve of the road, where the entrance to the park is, on the right hand side.

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Preston New Road - Near St Silas Church

A similar shot to the colour postcard, elsewhere on the blog (see PRESTON NEW ROAD under Labels). The pillar post box and chap, are stood at the junction of Granville Road and a little further on, is the junction of St Silas Road. You can see part of the church through the trees.

Looking at the pedestrians clothes, the image probably dates to the early 1900's.

Below, an image of St Silas's Church, dating from approximately 1905.

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High School For Girls - Preston New Rd

This is a drawing from 1895. It is the architects vision of how the proposed Girl's High School on Preston New Road would look. I don't recall the tower like structure myself, but the actual building, was pretty much like the drawing, once built. For those unaware, this building stood on the left of the road, just a little higher than the Montague Street junction. It was the Girls' High School right through to the 1950's, possibly even beyond then, but in later years, it operated as the Curriculum Centre. It was demolished about 9 years ago (approximately 1999 - 2001) and a complex of 3-4 storey flats now occupy the plot.

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Preston New Rd viewed from Limefield c1910

Another section of Preston New Road. This postcard dates from approximately 1910. The street to the right, in the foreground, is Saunders Road (Saunders Street, back then). On the left, just below the ivy clad property, where the second pedestrian is, stands the Fox and Grapes Inn.

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St George's Presbyterian Church on Preston New Rd

The same image, one in sepia and the other coloured.

St Georges Presbyterian Church, which stood on the corner of New Park Street and Preston New Rd.

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Tram on Preston New Road x 3

 

Another three images of Preston New Road.  I'm not 100% certain which part of the road this is, but I think that is Granville Road on the right, where the people are standing. I can't think of any other part of the road, where it levels out like this and it does look like Billinge End / Revidge Road crossroads in the far distance.

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