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News2008 Sudell Appealing for information  Sudell Primary School is appealing for any photographs or information on the schools history which will go towards it 100yr Celebration next year. Mr David Milner is asking for anything related to the school, which will contribute to this exciting event It would be fascinating for the current children to discover how much their school has changed, especially with the centenary celebration coming-up. If you were a former pupil and have memories or photographs to share, then you can contact Mr Milner at sudellcentenary@btinternet.com. Library Centenary Launch  The Library Centenary Celebrations that have been running all week have been a great success. The celebrations were launched on Tuesday with Councillor Paul Brown making a short introductory speech followed by the official opening by the new Blackburn with Darwen Mayor Councillor Khan, who in his opening spoke of knowing the importance of libraries and how when he goes home to his own country, Pakistan, he regularly contributes £50.00 to a man who maintains a small lending library. This was followed by poetry from Jim Atherton, who had composed two poems written for the event and he was, as usual excellent!     Alan Duckworth Author & Historian launched his new booklet 'A Never to be Forgotten Day'. the event was followed by a buffet in the Library Theatre Bar. The library staff are to be congratulated for all their hard work. Darwen Local History Society, Deposit Historic Documents at Lancashire Records Office. DLHS recently deposited some documents at the Lancashire Records Office at Preston under 'Darwen Local History Society Collection'. The documents were given to the society by Diane Beaton, founder of Darwen Centenary Society and most of the documents were from their archives. As we are dedicated to the conserving/preserving of historic documentary evidence, and have no permanent facilities for doing this, we felt the best place for these items was at the LRO Preston. The list of documents we deposited at the Records Office can be found in the May edition of the LRO newsletter. Bob Waters, talks to Sudellside residents about DLHS. Monday, May 12th. I was invited to speak about Darwen Local History Society to the Sudellside Residents Association, around twenty Officers and residents were in attendance. I spoke of how and when DLHS was formed, described our aims and talked of some of the many and varied projects we become involved with. I made particular mention of "Dig Darwen", yes most people had heard about it, but hadn't realised this was a project which everyone was welcome to become involved with. In addition to giving details of our meetings I promised to keep the residents appraised of how arrangements for the dig were progressing. Finally I spoke of the pleasure and enjoyment I have derived from being a member of DLHS. I was thanked by Sudellside Chairman David Jackson who told me my talk had been interesting and was well received. Bob Waters (Joint Chair DLHS) Darwen Library Celebrates 100yrs of Service to Darreners.   Darwen Library celebrates its Centenary 1908-2008 with a number of events from 'Down Memory Lane' where you can contribute your own history to the 'Cotton Town' archives or you might want to 'Walk this way' with Geoff Tolley & Gordon Holden leading the Darwen Heritage Trails on the 28th of May(Town Centre Trail) & 31st of May (the Green Trail,). Also on the 28th the library are holding a 'Book and Printed Materials Valuation' between 2:00 & 4:00pm. The 30th of May at 7:00pm a Slide Show of 'Old Darwen' will be presented by Jim Halsall. All Events are FREE. Posters for all events can be downloaded and for more information on any of the celebrations contact (01254) 706021 The first library in Darwen was in a room above a tea merchants shop in Market St, it was established in 1839 by the Mechanics Institute. From Market St the library moved to premises on Church St, where the first public library was established in 1871 with Darwen being one of the first local boards to adopt the Free Libraries Act, the library then moved to the Technical School in 1895. As Darwen Library grew the need for a purpose built premises was evident Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish born and self-made American millionaire, offered £8,000 towards the cost of a new library. Messrs Haywood & Harrison of Accrington were the architect’s and the work began in 1904 at the School St premises, four years later under the American flag, Darwen Free Library was opened by Mr Andrew Carnegie on 27th May 1908. On the open day a silver casket & key was presented to Andrew Carnegie making him a ‘Freeman of the borough’ The Carnegie Casket and key was made in the Art Nouveau style with inscriptions on each side and an enamelled picture of the library. The lid bore the Darwen coat of arms along with the American & British flags. The inscriptions on the ribbons were ‘Industry’, ‘Philanthropy’, ‘Art’ ‘Literature & Science’. The casket was made by Mr E Grimshaw a local silversmith, who had premises on Market St. His shop also sold wedding/ birthday gifts and watches, clocks and electro plate goods of a very high standard.   Where are Town's Historic Documents?   Where are Darwen’s historical documents? As reported in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph in December 2006 http://archive.thisislancashire.co.uk/2006/12/29/956901.html Darwen documents had been abandoned, covered in asbestos dust under Darwen Town Hall. Following this report a few months later all the documents had disappeared, where to, no one seems to know or more likely they are just not saying. I know for a fact that some of the B With D Council employees where afraid to voice there objection at the way the council handled the treatment of a TOWN’s historical documentation, for fear of losing their jobs. Whilst I can understand their position I think it is about time someone spoke out and told the people of Darwen what has happened to their documents. I know that some have gone to the Museum and some are at the moment being stored at Blackburn Library, awaiting shipment to the Lancashire Records Office. This only accounts for around 5% of the documents, so what has happened to the other 95%? Have they been shredded? Dumped? Burnt or sold? Below is an inventory of documents removed by the council and if compared to the photographs the quantity of documents far exceeded this inventory (Inventory sent to Jayne Waring via email, if anyone knows of an official inventory JW would like a copy) These are questions that I want answering, so if anyone knows anything about the documents please let us know. If you take a look at the gallery you will see the amount of documentation I am talking about and its not just a few hundred, it is thousands, all pertaining to Darwen before its merger with Blackburn. Jayne Waring Inventory of Records within the Basement of Darwen Town Hall Room 51:- 2 books containing Committee of Education Minutes Dating 1923-1945 17 books containing Board of Committee Minutes (all Committee minutes within these dates are signed) Dating 1923-1963 Room 52:- Annual health reports for Darwen Dating 1895-1906, 1922-1957 Corporation account books for Darwen Dating 1904-1957 Room 53:- Registration of development of lower class properties (This book was written and signed but didn’t get dates From and to) Registration of planning acceptance to out buildings i.e. Coal sheds, outside toilets (This book was written and Signed but didn’t get dates from and to) Local land charges Dating 1970-1971 Local government purchases Dating 1933 Declaration of acceptance of office 2 books signed Council committee minutes (printed) Dating 1968-1972 Corporation purchase files (housing the corporation has Purchased back off private home owners dating within The 60’s) Health committee reports (printed but didn’t get dates) Room 54:- Council committee minutes (all these books are Printed) Dating 5th May 1948-6th May 1963  Darwen Library Centenary 1908-2008 celebrated by 'Tram Man' 'Tram Man' Jim Halsall, from Blackburn, will be celebrating Darwen Library Centenary 1908-2008 with a slide show of 'Old Darwen'. The slide show will include detailed history of various parts of Darwen and anyone that has attended Jim's shows before will know how entertaining they are. The event is being held at The Darwen Library Theatre on Friday the 30th of May at 7.00pm. Admission is FREE. Hoddlesden's Graveyard Clean-up. Volunteers Needed!  St Paul's Church graveyard in Hoddlesden are holding a clean-up day and are requesting volunteers to bring along petrol strimmers as there is no electricity on site. They also need people who are handy with secateurs and anyone with wall building skills. Sylvia Robinson, Church warden, has said ‘they hope that the scheme will encourage people to adopt a grave and maintain its up-keep throughout the year’ Many of the graves are over 100yrs old and have been neglected and need individuals to take care of them. The old Church of St Pauls was built by Lancaster architect G E Paley with Rankin family payning the £4,000 cost of building the church. Its foundation stone was laid on 27th July 1861 and Consecrated in June of 1863, St Pauls was demolished in the 1970's when dry rot was discovered, only the graveyard now remains. The first meeting is on Saturday, May 17th, but people can go down whenever they want, for as long as they want, any offer of help will be gratefully accepted. For more information on the project and to volunteer their services please contact 01254-873138. David Trippier 'Old Mills' 21st April David Trippier gave a talk to 75 members & visitors. The meeting was a great success and generated an excellent response from the audience with questions and queries. Lets hope that more of our meetings are this well attended and we would like to thank everyone for their continued support. see you all at the next meeting. meetings gallery ‘Roman Altar Stone’ Darwen Local History (Archaeology) Society members visited the site of former ‘Tom Garner Motors’ to view the recently discovered 2,000 year old ‘Roman Altar Stone’. The excavations have been on going since February by Pre-Construct Archaeology (PCA) and are now in their final week. The 1-metre high grit stone column was found just before Easter weekend on the 20th March, by 23 yr old Sarah Duffy from Bolton who was on the Castlefield site on behalf of PCA. Sarah stated, "It was really exciting. It was lying face down when I found it but it wasn’t until I saw the inscriptions that I realised it was something special and to find something so important on my second dig is just unbelievable, it’s my claim to fame." The site also revealed a number of ditches and pits of varying sizes possibly used to extract gravel or as refuse disposal sites, many of the pits have produced roman pottery and other assorted debris. It was in one of these large pits that the ‘alter stone’ was found, its good condition was due to it being face down and has suffered little weathering enabling archaeologist to decipher the inscription on it, which reads: ‘DEABVS MATRIBVS HANNANEFTIS ET OLLOTOTIS – AELIUS VICTOR VSLLM’ When translated reads: "Dedicated To the mother goddesses Hananeftis and Ollototis, Aelius Victor gladly, willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow" Norman Redhead Assistant County archaeologist confirmed it was a major find "It’s the first Roman stone inscription to be found in Manchester for 150 years and records only the second known Roman from Manchester. So we’re all very excited by it." He also added "The preservation of the stone is remarkable. On top of the stone is a shallow bowl which was used for offerings of wine or blood or perhaps to burn incense." Mr Redhead explained "These goddesses are quite rare” , “They seem to originate from the Rhineland area of Germany and it’s possible that Aelius Victor was a centurion posted to Manchester from that area. "In terms of our understanding of Roman Manchester, it’s hugely important. We’ve never had an excavation on this side of the river and we’re finding out a new dimension on the origins of Roman Manchester." Archaeologists have long believed that the Roman Rd’s that passed through Manchester (Mamucium) close to the roman fort would have been scattered with roadside shrines and mausoleums, these excavations near the former Roman road and fort have confirmed their predictions with the discovery of the alter stone. General Julius Agricola (40-93AD), the commander of the invading legions, first founded a Roman settlement at the meeting point of the Rivers Irwell and Medlock. He called the place Mamuciam - meaning 'breast-shaped hill' because of the shape of the outcrop. Other significant finds on the site include a Samian bowl c. 150 AD inscribed with a hunting scene showing men hunting boars with spears and dogs, these along with the ‘Roman altar stone’ will be transferred to Manchester Museum to be included in a larger exhibition on Manchester’s Roman Treasures. For more information www.museum.manchester.ac.uk Gallery. February 'DIG DARWEN' On Monday the 18th Darwen Local History Society was host to Norman Redhead, the County Archaeologist from Manchester University when he gave his presentation on ‘Community Digs’. Although only a fraction of those who were invited turned up for the event, but the evening was well received by an enthusiastic audience of around 30, which included Councillors, DLHS members, Civic Society members and visitors. The evening was an introduction those wishing to become involved in Darwen’s own community event ‘Dig Darwen’ planned for 2009. Mr Redhead presented to the group his own experiences of being involved in Community Archaeology at various places across Lancashire which include the Mellor dig, this later evolved into the Mellor Archaeological Trust http://www.mellorarchaeology.org.uk/ and gives a taster of what ‘Dig Darwen’ can achieve, with the right support. The talk also highlighted the importance of archaeological digs and what they could offer communities and use it, as a way of bringing together people that would not consider archaeology as something that would be of interest to them. Manchester University did this by incorporating all sorts of other activities not normally associated with archaeology and ranged from painting, sketching and various craft activities. Recording the events by using photography, oral recordings and other media. Teaching people how to research areas and buildings, families and objects, all of which have been used by the Manchester Team to expand on what was once thought of as an elite field. Norman Redhead’s experience in community digs was clearly a positive one, Darwen and its residents now have an opportunity to become involved in creating something positive for the town as well as adding to it history. Dig Darwen will be taking place within Sunnyhurst woods, one of Darwen’s beauty spots, on the former bowling green at the lower end of the wood. If anyone is interested in becoming involved in the ‘Dig Darwen’ or would like more information on archaeology or local history please get in touch. We thank everyone who attended the meeting and those that couldn't but support the project. Dig Darwen Funding DLHS have been awarded £4,500 towards their community dig scheduled for 2009. ‘Dig Darwen’ project has been Part funded by Blackburn with Darwen Council and European Regional Development Fund, the money is to go towards the desk assessment which will be completed by Manchester University later this year. Prior to this Darwen Local History Society have invited Norman Redhead Greater Manchester Archeaologist to its next meeting on the 18th February to explain to members and guests what they can expect when hosting a community dig. The evening is an introduction to the ‘Dig Darwen Project’ which is to take place at the former bowling green site ‘the dingle’ in Sunnyhurst Woods. It has the full backing of Friends of Sunnyhurst and St Regis. Dot Waring, project organiser, has highlighted the fact that it is a community dig and will be open to the public for them to engage in archeaology, history and other exciting events that will be on offer throughout the project. ‘the project is to bring together people from the community and people who possibly would never have considered these subjects to be interesting to them, our aim is to promote this interest to people from all walks of life including those on the fringes of society’ Gallery Edward Thornley 1907-2008 It is with great sadness that the family of Eddie announce that he passed away peacfully at the Royal Blackburn Hospital on February 23rd, aged 100. Eddie was a gentleman and will be missed, our thoughts go to his family at this sad time. He will be remembered for his kindness and willingness to help others and the insrpiration he gave to so many.  'Eddie' with (Son-in-Law) Dennis Cook and Sir Tom Finney 2007 January Darreners ‘First Football Memories’ go down in history.  Darwen football fanatics are making history themselves by sharing their football memories. Bert Entwistle, David Foster, John Waring, Nicholas Holt and Vince Sherry have contributed their memories of the 'beautiful game' to an exhibition done by three Preston University students. Naomi Etchells, Martin Walker and Jayne Waring have collected recordings of peoples first football memories and collated them along with photographs of the participants and some of their memorabilia as part of their history degree course at the University of Central Lancashire. As well as the Darwen Fans that have participated their is 'Eddie' Thornley, from Blackburn, who was 100yrs old in 2007 and whose memories span a century, Steve Williams ex-ref and professional linesman, Brenda Pearce who remembers the Munich air crash very clearly and Gail Newsham ex ladies football professional and author of a book about 'Dick Kerrs' ladies football team. The exhibition was opened on the 10th January by Derek Stanton ,dialect poet from Withnell, with a ditty 'Up fo't Cup' to an audience of around 40 visitors which included Sir Tom Finney. The exhibition entitled 'First Football Memories' is being staged at the International Football Museum at Deepdale, Preston for one month until the 10th of February. |
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| Darwen Local History Society Bridge Street Sport & Social Club (Former ICI club)
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