Darwen is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Blackburn with Darwen Blackburn with Darwen is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, North West England. The borough includes the towns of Blackburn and Darwen plus a wider rural area which includes the villages of ...

borough in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners". The A666 road passes through Darwen towards

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

to the north,

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

to the south and

Pendlebury Pendlebury is a town in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,069. It lies north-west of Manchester, north-west of Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford and south-east of Bolton. Histori ...

where it joins the A6, about north-west of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. The population of Darwen stood at 28,046 in the 2011 census. The town comprises four wards and has its own town council. The town stands on the River Darwen, which flows from south to north and is seen in parks in the town centre and next to Sainsbury's located in the town centre.

Toponym

Darwen's name is

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in origin. In Sub Roman Britain it was within the Brythonic kingdom of

Rheged Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ('Old North'), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and bardic sources, ...

, a successor to the

Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geog ...

tribal territory. The Brythonic language name for oak is ''derw'' and this is etymologically linked to ''Derewent'' (1208), an ancient spelling for the River Darwen. Despite the area becoming part of the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

Kingdom of Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

by the mid-8th century, its Brythonic name was never supplanted by an

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

place name.

History

The area around Darwen has been inhabited since the early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, and the remains of a

round barrow A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...

from approximately 2000 BCE have been partially restored at the Ashleigh Barrow in Whitehall. The barrow had ten interments, nine of which were Collared Urn burials. As well as human remains, items found at the barrow included a bronze dagger some 7.5 inches in length, a flint thumb scraper, a sub-plano-convex knife and a clay bead. Copies of the Collared Urns may be seen at the Darwen Library. The Romans once had a force in Lancashire, and a

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

is visible on the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

map of the area. Medieval Darwen was tiny and little or nothing survives. One of the earliest remaining buildings is a farmhouse at Bury Fold, dated 1675. Whitehall Cottage is thought to be the oldest house in the town, and was mostly built in the 17th and 18th centuries but contains a chimney piece dated 1557. Like many towns in Lancashire, Darwen was a centre for

textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution Textile manufacture during the British Industrial Revolution was centred in south Lancashire and the towns on both sides of the Pennines in the United Kingdom. The main drivers of the Industrial Revolution were textile manufacturing, iron foundi ...

. Samuel Crompton, inventor of the

spinning mule The spinning mule is a machine used to spin cotton and other fibres. They were used extensively from the late 18th to the early 20th century in the Cotton mill, mills of Lancashire and elsewhere. Mules were worked in pairs by a minder, with th ...

, lived there for part of his life. Rail links and the

Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

arrived in the mid-19th century. The most important textile building in Darwen is India Mill, built by Eccles Shorrock & Company. The company was ruined, however, by the effects of the Lancashire Cotton Famine of the 1860s. Cotton manufacture was an important industry, and by 1907, the Darwen Weavers', Winders' and Warpers' Association had more than 8,000 members in the town. In the early 1840s Eccles Shorrock created a large mill lodge (industrial reservoir) in what is now the lower part of Bold Venture Park by constructing a dam where Inverness Road now runs across the valley cut by Bold Venture Brook. In 1848, during a night of heavy thunder storms and torrential rain, water rushed down from the moors and the dam failed catastrophically. The water level dropped by 40ft almost instantly, and a wall of water swept down into the town centre, doing considerable damage and drowning a number of poor people who slept in cellars under shops and houses in the Market Street area. Much of the town was built between about 1850 and 1900; placenames, date stones in terraces, and the vernacular architecture of cellars, local stone, locally-made brick, pipework and tiles and leaded glass, the last now mostly gone, reflect this. It was one of the first places in the world to have steam trams. Gandhi at Darwen

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

financed a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

here; the town also had an art and technology college and a grammar school. In 1931, Darwen was visited by

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

, he had accepted the invitation from Corder Catchpool, Quaker manager of the Spring Vale Garden Village Ltd, to see the effects of India's boycott of cotton goods. India Mill is now home to many companies, including Brookhouse (producers of

aeroplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

parts) and Capita Group, which runs TV licensing. Since the 1950s, the textile industry has strongly declined in the region, although many industrial buildings from the period survive, now used for other purposes. India Mill and its chimney have been sold in a £12 million deal. Among Darwen's other notable industries are

Crown Paints Crown Paints is a major paint manufacturer based in Darwen, Lancashire. It is owned by Hempel Group. History The origins of the business lie in the history of paint making in Hollins Road Darwen, which can be traced back to the late 1850s. I ...

, formerly Walpamur Paints, the earliest British paint manufacturer, which named one of its paints 'Darwen Satin Finish'. Crown Wallpaper manufactured wallpaper, Lincrusta and Anaglypta in the town. ICI Acrylics (now called Lucite International) was where

acrylic glass Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a synthetic polymer derived from methyl methacrylate. It is a transparent thermoplastic, used as an engineering plastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and bran ...

(Perspex for windows and signage, and Sani-ware or Lucite used for the manufacture of baths and shower trays) was invented; it is still manufactured in two separate plants within the town.

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

canopies and (later) coloured polythene washing-up bowls were first made here.
Heritage Centre
opened in 2016

Governance

The

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

of Darwen existed for ninety-six years, from 1878. The borough was merged with Blackburn in 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. The town became part of the Lancashire non-metropolitan district of Blackburn, which was renamed

in 1997, shortly before it became a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

. The population of the town declined from 40,000 in the 1911 census to 30,000 in the 1971 census. Locally, Darwen has been represented by Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors in the main council wards for the town. In the 2008 local elections, the For Darwen Party picked up the majority of the wards in the town to put pressure on Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council for Darwen to have its own council again. In April 2009 Darwen Town Council was formed. There are five council wards within Darwen out of the 23 in the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen. These are: * Earcroft * Marsh House * Sudell * Sunnyhurst * Whitehall Darwen had its own parliamentary constituency until 1983 when it became part of the present Rossendale and Darwen constituency. This seat is currently held by Member of Parliament Andy MacNae.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

for Darwen should not be confused with the coat of arms used by the unitary authority of

, which is the coat of arms for Blackburn. Darwen Coat of Arms

Darwen was granted its coat of arms on 7 August 1878. At the foot of the coat of arms is the town motto in Latin ''Absque Labore Nihil'', which translates as "Nothing without labour". The arms depicts three cotton bolls and the River Darwen which runs through the town. The cotton represents the cotton industry in which the town grew and prospered during the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

and the three bolls to represent the three main areas of Darwen – Over Darwen, Lower Darwen and Hoddlesden. At the helm of the coat of arms is a barred

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

representing nobility, and above it the torse in the town colours of blue and gold. At the crest a man stands shouldering a

pickaxe A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for Leverage (mechanics), prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly ...

, which refers to the town's motto and also represents the mining industry that was present to the east of the town at that time.

Education

After the passing of the Education Act 1870, many schools were established to serve the ever-growing population. Many were later demolished. Darwen Aldridge Community Academy opened in September 2008 at the premises of the former Darwen Moorland High School on the outskirts of the town, which had closed in July 2008 to reopen as the

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

after the summer holidays. All pupils from Darwen Moorland transferred to the academy. Pupils have subsequently moved down to the new site, into a state-of-the-art £49m academy, with sixth form and modern facilities. Darwen Vale High School was temporarily moved to the old Moorland site whilst a new build was completed on the original site. The original school façade was incorporated into the new build, and Darwen Vale transferred back to the original site in 2012. However, the move had caused major issues with the management at the school, which led to the head leaving and a new head taking over in 2013. Later in 2013,

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

ruled that the school was failing and the government ordered the school's conversion to academy status, sponsored by the Aldridge Foundation, despite teaching staff and parents protesting governmental imposition on the school's management. In September 2013 Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio opened and in 2014 the school moved to its permanent home in the renovated former Model Lodging House on Police Street. In January 2022 Crosshill School completed a £2million move from Blackburn Central High School to the vacant Sunnyhurst Centre on Salisbury Road, with the move adding extra places at the school, Crosshill is part of the Champion Education Trust.

Geography

Location

Darwen is located amid the

West Pennine Moors The West Pennine Moors is an area of the Pennines covering approximately of moorland and Reservoir (water), reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The West Pennine Moors are separa ...

south of

, it stands within a valley with the River Darwen flowing at its base. The river passes through the town from south to north, subsequently joining the River Ribble, which flows into the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

between

Lytham St Annes Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population of the built-up area at the 2021 United Kingdom census, ...

and

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

. The

A666 road The A666 is a major road in Greater Manchester and Lancashire, England. Route The road runs from its junction with the A6, and A580 at the Irlams o' th' Height boundary with Pendlebury near Manchester, through Pendlebury, Clifton, Kea ...

follows the valley through the town centre as part of its route from the

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe, the largest town. The borough also includes the town of Longridge and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. ...

, north of Blackburn, to

and the boundary between

and

Irlams o' th' Height Irlams o' th' Height is a suburb of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, on top of the Irwell Valley, on higher ground than Pendleton, Greater Manchester, Pendleton, hence the name. The first part of the name derives from the Irlam family t ...

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

. The town's weather conditions made it perfect for cotton weaving and as a result it became one of the largest

mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more List of types of mill#Manufacturing facilities, mills or factories, often cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe ...

s in Lancashire. The

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

records that Darwen had one of the largest

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash f ...

s in the United Kingdom, in 1848; 12 people died. See 'History' above.

Landmarks

Darwen Jubilee Tower

In 1897 the town council met to deliberate how best to celebrate

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

. The idea of building the Jubilee Tower, in conjunction with public access to the moors, was put forward. A competition to design the tower was won by Ralph Ellison from the borough engineer's department and on 22 June 1897 work began. On 24 September 1898 the opening ceremony was held, attended by over 3,000 people. Present at the ceremony were Councillor Alexander Carus, Mayor Charles Huntington, the

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient office, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanca ...

and

Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

Rev. W.A. Duckworth. The tower, which is open to the public, overlooks the town from the

moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

and stands at an altitude of 1,227 ft (374m) and has a height of 85 ft (26m). A spiral staircase leads to the top from where, on a clear day,

Blackpool Tower Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man-made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in P ...

, the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

and the Furness Peninsula can be seen. In November 2010 the dome of the tower was blown off by strong winds. The dome was restored in January 2012.

Darwen Library

Originally situated in the Peel Street, the library was transferred to the new technical school building in 1895. Today, Darwen Library stands at the corner of Knott Street and School Street to the north of the Circus. It was commissioned by

, a Scottish migrant to the USA who made his fortune as a producer of iron and steel. He donated £8,000 in response to a speculative appeal for funds by the Library Committee. The opening took place on 27 May 1908 and was attended by Mayor Councillor G.P. Holde, Councillor Ralph Yates and Carnegie himself. The library has served the town ever since, with the original lecture hall being transformed into the Library Theatre in June 1971. On 27 April 2017 the library and theatre were designated as a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Darwen Town Hall

Darwen Town Hall was opened on 11 July 1882 and the clock tower was added in 1899 when Dr. James Ballantyne became mayor. In the 1920s part of the market ground was made into the town's bus station which still remains today. Although local government proceedings were transferred to Blackburn in the 1970s, the council chambers remained in the building, and were used by the

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) ...

from 1983 until 1992. The town hall currently houses offices of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and the local

Neighbourhood Policing Team A neighbourhood policing team (NPT), also sometimes known as safer neighbourhood team (SNT), is a small team of police officers and police community support officers (usually 3-10 strong) who are dedicated to policing a certain community or are ...

, and is a venue for meetings of the Darwen Town Council established in 2009. Five shop units opened in 2011.

Parks

Darwen has four parks. Three of the parks in Darwen are on the west of the main road through the town, with paths leading to countryside and to Jubilee Tower. The fourth, and newest park, is Ashton Park, which is on the east side of Bolton Road, just behind the Spinners Arms public house.

Bold Venture Park

Bold Venture Park stands to the west of the town, at the foot of the moors and the path which leads to the Jubilee Tower. The land in which the park lies was bought by Darwen Corporation from Rev. W.A. Duckworth. It was designed by R. W. Smith-Saville, the borough engineer, and opened in 1889.

Sunnyhurst Wood

Sunnyhurst Wood was originally owned by the Brock-Hollinshead family and used for hunting stag. The area was later sold to Eccles Shorrock. To commemorate the coronation of Edward VII the land was turned into a public park on 2 July 1903.

Whitehall Park

Whitehall Park is a park in the south of the town. It was opened in 1879 on land acquired from John Adamson.

Transport

Darwen sits in a large valley strung along the

along the valley floor. It is connected to the motorway system at Junction 4 of the M65 at Earcroft, on the town's northern boundary, and considerable traffic passes through the town centre along the A666, causing high levels of air pollution. The local council has recently attempted to address the situation by adding a new road layout to the town centre, with public transport and junction improvements to reduce traffic. Darwen stands along the Ribble Valley railway line, operated by Northern. Darwen railway station has up to two trains per hour between

and

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

(via

and

); one train per hour continues beyond Blackburn to

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for to ...

. Darwen's bus terminal (Darwen Circus) hosts buses up to every 12 minutes to Blackburn/Accrington on weekdays. There is also a service, every 20 minutes on weekdays and hourly on Sundays, to Bolton and Clitheroe, but the Bolton service terminates at 7:00pm. Both services are operated by Blackburn Bus Company. In 2008 the "Pennine Reach" scheme, to improve public transport between Darwen, Blackburn and Hyndburn, was proposed by

and

councils, including plans for the addition of

bus lane A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, generally to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadway completely dedicated for use by buses, whilst ...

s to the A666. However, it has been controversial, with some residents placing "Say no to Bus Lane, we don't want it" signs in their windows, and the neighbouring district of

Hyndburn Hyndburn is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington, the largest town, and the borough also covers the outlying ...

pulled out of the scheme. The scheme was put on hold in 2010 as local authorities reviewed their spending after their budgets were cut, before being abandoned later in the year due to lack of government funding, and the councils are now looking at other ways to improve public transport. In 2004 Crown Wallcoverings, previously one of the biggest businesses in the town, closed with the loss of more than 200 jobs. The Crown building was a large redbrick ten-storey building with numerous chimneys. In 2006 the empty building and the 200 foot (60 m) chimney was demolished.

Culture and community

The Darwen News published a Maudley Medley on 9 March 1878:

'Tween two hillsides, both bleak and barren,
Lies lovely little "Dirty Darren"

The locals refer to themselves as ''Darreners''. They are generally resistant to any attempts at submerging the identity of the town within Blackburn. A

motorway service area Motorway service areas (MSA) also known as services or service stations, are rest areas in the UK and Ireland where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop, use the toilet or stay in an on-site overnight hotel ...

at junction 4 of the

M65 motorway The M65 is a motorway between Preston, Lancashire, Preston and Colne in Lancashire, England. It runs from Bamber Bridge just south of Preston, through major junctions with the M6 motorway, M6 and M61 motorways, east past Darwen, Blackburn, Ac ...

lies within the town, and was originally named "Blackburn Services". Following local protests it was renamed "Blackburn with Darwen Services". The town is the home of the Darwen Library Theatre (an extension to the library), and the TV show '' Hetty Wainthropp Investigates''. Darwen has a few footnotes in entertainment history: its theatre (now demolished) had appearances by

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

, and it featured in the film, '' There Was a Crooked Man'', which starred

Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010), was an English actor, comedian, musician, and singer, best known for his series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966, in which he portrayed the endearingly inept charact ...

and Alfred Marks.

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

played in Darwen on Friday 25 January 1963, at the Co-operative Hall. They headlined "The Greatest Teenage Dance" which was commissioned by the Darwen Baptist Youth Club. Support acts included the Electones, the Mike Taylor Combo and the Mustangs with Ricky Day.

Religion

The Parish Church of Darwen is St Peter's, a large and active Anglican church consecrated in 1829. Further Anglican Churches in Darwen include St Cuthbert's (consecrated in 1878) serving the north of the town, and St Barnabas' (built 1884) serving the south. Darwen Methodist Church meets on two sites in the town, at Bright Street and Spring Vale. The Medina Mosque and Islamic Centre, Darwen's first

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

, is located on Victoria Street. Faizaan e Jamal e Mustafa, Darwen's second

, is located on Railway Road. It was opened in 2018.

Music

Darwen has its own music school, Darwen School of Music (formerly Elite School of Music), situated on Blackburn Road. The school has a majority focus on popular music. Darwen Live (formerly Darwen Music Live) is a free two-day music festival held each year over the second bank holiday in May. The main stage is built outside the town hall, and other smaller music stages are usually based around the town in pubs and bars. The festival has attracted artists such as

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...

, China Crisis, Toyah, The Hoosiers and Paul Young, as well as being a showcase for local bands. It currently holds the title of "the biggest free music festival in the UK" by attendance, with its crowd of roughly 35,000-40,000 in 2024 even leading to the claim that it could be the largest in Europe. Record label ''Sunbird Records'' (no connection to the American label) and an associated venue/recording studio of the same name are based in Darwen, established by locals Steven Lindley and Ian Almond. Following the label's closure in 2013, the venue was opened in the town centre in 2016 by Steven's son Jonathan Lindley to "provide a performance space, recording studio and record label all under one roof", "investigate whether post-subcultural discourse factors in the design of an independent record label", "drive to launch new alternative music and culture" and has been described as "built by local musicians for musicians", catering to both local bands and DJ's sets. The brand has additionally included a podcast for local artists, and academic research that can be found on the ''Sunbird'' website. The venue is notable for being saved from closure in 2023, during a campaign which was supported by

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

and Music Venue Trust, and for being one of the remaining UK music venues to have doubled up as a record label during its run. Two labels associated with the donk genre of music, ''Bad Records'' and ''Bncy Music'', are based in Darwen. The group Bad Behaviour (DJ Greenie and Bon Lee), founders of ''Bad'', are also known for appearing on major labels such as

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...

. Bncy Music is associated with the local YouTube channel and podcast series ''Flexxed TV''. Darwen has one of the oldest

brass band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

s in the country. Now named Blackburn and Darwen Band, its roots can be traced back to 1840. Another brass band, Darwen Brass, was formed in 2007 and under MD Steve Hartley has enjoyed many notable competition successes, including 4th section wins throughout the North West. In 2012 Darwen Brass qualified for the National Brass Band Championships, finishing 5th. The band was promoted to the 3rd section from the start of 2013.

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by

BBC North West BBC North West is the BBC English Regions, BBC English Region serving Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, as well as parts of North Yorkshire (western Craven District, Craven), Derbyshire (western High Peak, Derbyshire, High ...

and

ITV Granada ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill and the local relay transmitters. Local radio stations are

BBC Radio Lancashire BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lancashire. Originally launched as BBC Radio Blackburn, in 1981 it expanded to cover the whole county and was renamed BBC Radio Lancashire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB ...

, Heart North West, Smooth North West, Capital Manchester and Lancashire, Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire, and Central Radio North West, a community based station. The Lancashire Telegraph is the local newspaper that covers the town.

Sport

The town was the home of Darwen Football Club, formed in 1870 and the world's first football club to have paid professional players. The team reached the semi-final of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

in 1880-81 and played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

at the Barley Bank ground between 1891 and 1899. The club was wound up at the end of the 2008–09 season and replaced almost immediately by A.F.C. Darwen. The new club plays in the First Division North of the

North West Counties Football League The North West Counties Football League is a association football, football league in the North West England, North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, ...

and is based at the Anchor Ground. The town has a strong cricketing tradition and Darwen Cricket Club was originally founded in the late 1800s as Darwen Etrurians CC playing at Barley Bank. The current club was constituted in 1911 and since 1920 has been based at Birch Hall Cricket Ground. The club was a founder member of the Northern League in 1951 winning that competition five times before successfully applying to play in the Lancashire League from the 2017 season. This change heralded a golden era for the club and within 5 seasons, it had won every club competition in the county. Twice holders of the Worsley Cup (2017 and 2019), T20 champions in 2021 and LCF Knockout Cup winners in 2018 with the set completed when crowned 2022 Lancashire League champions after defeating Greenmount by 13 runs on 4 September 2022. Past Professionals include David Wiese, George Linde (SA) Keith Semple (WI) and Scott Hookey (AUS). Following a successful debut season, Punit Bisht (IND) has been retained as the club's paid man for 2024 and 2025. To the north-west of the town lies Darwen Golf Club. The characteristics of the course have changed little since the club was established in 1893. Due to its geographical location within the moors, the course is regarded as a tough test of golfing ability. Until the sports centre was demolished, Darwen was home to the North West Open Karate tournament, which hosted many national and world champions. Tower Shukokai Karate Club was resident at the sports centre from 1988 and remains active. Tower's instructors, Andy Allwood, 5th Dan and Martyn Skipper 4th Dan, both won this tournament in their respective weight categories (Allwood, heavyweight, in the 1990s and Skipper, lightweight, in 2006 after the tournament had moved to Bury). In 2013 Martyn Skipper won the WUKF European Veterans' title when the European Championships were held in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

Notable people

* Neil Arthur, lead vocalist of 1980s group

Blancmange Blancmange (, from , ) is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream, and sugar, thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Chondrus crispus, Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured wit ...

* Alan Bolton, Lancashire county cricketer (1939–2003) * Brian Booth, Lancashire and Leicestershire county cricketer (1935–2020) * Dick Burton, golf's Open champion, 1939 (who went on to hold the Claret Jug for seven years after the Championship was suspended because of the Second World War) * Ed Chapman (artist) born at Bull Hill, in Darwen, went to St. Cuthbert's Primary School 1975–81. * Margaret Chapman (née Duxbury), illustrator and painter (1940–2000) * Samuel Crompton, inventor of the

Spinning Mule The spinning mule is a machine used to spin cotton and other fibres. They were used extensively from the late 18th to the early 20th century in the Cotton mill, mills of Lancashire and elsewhere. Mules were worked in pairs by a minder, with th ...

built and lived at Low Hill House, Bury Fold Lane in Darwen. * Alex Davies, cricketer (born 1994) * Travis D. Frain (born 1998), counter-extremism campaigner * Charles Fletcher-Cooke, MP for Darwen from 1951 – 1983, was responsible for the Suicide Act (1961), which decriminalised the act of suicide in the UK. * Edward Harwood, composer (1707–1787) * Bryn Haworth, British singer-songwriter and acclaimed slide guitarist and mandolin player was brought up in Darwen (born 1948) *

Alan Kendall Alan Kendall (born 9 September 1944) is an English musician and was the lead guitarist for the Bee Gees, in an unofficial capacity from 1971 until 1980, and again from 1987 until 2001. Career His first recording was " Don't Play That Song (Yo ...

Lead guitarist with the Bee Gees between 1971-1980 and 1987-2001(born 1944) *

Timothy Marsden Timothy Marsden (1865–1932) was an English footballer who played in the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is ...

(1865–1932), footballer * Mark Patterson, Premiership football player for Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers. Born 1965 * Harold Readett (1910–1990), football player in the 1930s. *

Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel (6 November 1870 – 5 February 1963) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was the party leader from 1931 to 1935. He was the first nominally-practising Jew to serve as a Cabinet mi ...

(1870-1963), MP for Darwen, during which time he was leader of the Liberal Party and Home Secretary in the National Government. * Fergus Suter, footballer. Joined Darwen F.C. (1870) in 1878 from Partick and is widely regarded as the world's first professional footballer (1857–1916) * Kimmie Taylor (born 1989), English fighter with the Kurdish Women's Protection Units * Richard Thornber (1866–1911), footballer * Sam Wadsworth, England international footballer 1922–26, was captain of the England team and a member of the

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

team which won a hat-trick of

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

s in 1923–24, 1924–25 and 1925–26. *

James Watson James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biology, molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper in ''Nature (journal), Nature'' proposing the Nucleic acid ...

, award-winning author (born 1936) * Doreen Massey, Baroness Massey of Darwen, Peer in the House of Lords, educator, public servant, born 1938. * Gary Aspden (born 1969) Consultant and designer. Chief curator of

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

Spezial line, which he created in 2013.

Twin towns

Darwen is twinned with

Lamin Lamins, also known as nuclear lamins, are fibrous proteins in Intermediate filament#Type V – nuclear lamins, type V intermediate filaments, providing structural function and Transcription (biology), transcriptional regulation in the cell nucle ...

, Gambia.

Photo gallery

File:Darwen-Countryside.jpg#file, Darwen countryside File:Darwen-Countryside-2.jpg#file, Darwen countryside File:Tower View from Weasel Lane.jpg#file, Tower view from Weasel Lane

References

External links

Photographs showing the history and heritage of Darwen

"India Mill, Darwen" Frank Wightman (1980) Manchester Archives+
{{authority control Market towns in Lancashire West Pennine Moors Geography of Blackburn with Darwen Towns in Lancashire