Local history & heritage

Our community history collections are all about the history of Blackburn with Darwen.  Anyone with an interest in the area can access a wide range of material on all aspects of our cultural heritage.  Resources include cemetery and burial records, street and surname indexes, electoral registers and the war graves register.  These are also useful for anyone researching their family history. 

The Cotton Town website is an enormous archive of historical material including photographs, maps, posters and newspaper articles.  The website enables you to find out what life was like in the early days of the cotton industry and provides an overview of local communities.

Blackburn and Darwen’s building heritage is highlighted in a pack of walks, available, free of charge, from all our libraries and the borough’s visitor centres.  There are four trails, covering Blackburn town centre north and south, Darwen town centre and green trail, being an extension from the town into the countryside.  Online versions are now also available, with an audio file that can be listened to or downloaded.

If you need help with research, or wish to contribute to Cotton Town, please e-mail community.history@blackburn.gov.uk