Terrace Archaeology 🐾

Terraced houses were built by mill owners during the 19th century as a place for their workers to live. They were built for convenience and practicality, not comfort and personality. Blackburn passed a local act in 1954 to ensure decent living standards - in terms of size and space.

Early versions were described by some people as warehouses for workers. For those used to weavers cottages these must have been quite a culture shock. Thankfully these were all demolished early in the 20th century.

Mill owners meanwhile lived in more extravagant houses with the likes of Henry Sudell and William and Henry Feilden building large estates in Mellor, Feniscowles and Witton respectively. Ironically these houses have fallen in to disrepair and even completely demolished while the terraced houses continue on. Strength in numbers perhaps.

Recent terraced houses to the south of the town proudly displaying their name plaques...

Set at corners of a triangle, three more plaques remain on houses to the east, south-west and north-west of town

Six terrace rows diagonally starting in the north at Roe Lee to the south-east at Guide and a parallel row of three from Witton to Moorgate. Built between 1915-1910 and still sporting their badges.

In the early 20th century a significant number of terraced houses were built with concentrations around Roe Lee (8), Corporation Park (8) and Mill Hill (10) areas.

A crescent of four rows were build to the south-west between 1909-1908

Between 1907-1904 three more rows appeared in the Brownhill area; three between Brookhouse and Little Harwood; three close to Witton; and two on the stretch between Audley Range and Accrington Road

1903 was a big year for terraced houses, with at least fifteen built during the year. The different styles of plaque point to a number of different builders all busily preparing houses for mill workers. Whalley New Road was a very busy area.

Between 1902-1900 saw a scattering of terrace house builds. Preston Old Road was growing to Witton in the north and Mill Hill, Moorgate and Ewood in the south plus builds in Audley and Intack.

1899 - 1895 and terraced houses sprang up in Wensley Fold, Revidge and Shear Brow and urbanising of parts of Feniscowles and Pleasington along Preston Old Road.

1894 - 1890 had large terrace houses in Lancaster Place on Preston New Road, and on Whalley Old and New Roads, with older terraces in Queen's Park.

1889 - 1887

15 terrace rows can be traced back to the late 1880s with concentrations around Revidge, Shear Brow, and Guide. Longshaw Lane, Accrington Road and Queen's Park continued to grow.

1886-1884

Houses had sprung up in a ring around the town as growth continued during the mid-1880s.

1880-1883

There are a number of houses still remaining from the early 1880s, hill top locations Revidge, Guide and Shear Brow, with Audley, Longshaw, and Ewood forming a line of terrace rows to the South of the centre.

Between 1870 and 1878 houses had grown outwards from the town centre, with a mix of larger and more modest sized terrace rows as more workers had migrated to the town.

In the mid-1860s, Revidge had a concentration of terraced houses. Larger houses to the West of Corporation Park were larger in size and likely homes of early wealth from the era.

Two terraces survive today from the late 1850s and at opposing sides of the town, along roads to the East on the lower end of Shadsworth Road to the South-West on the Moorgate end of Livesey Branch Road.

In 1811, Bog Height Road is one of the very oldest terrace rows and survives over 200 years later. These were handloom cottages - an augur to the future of a cotton town.