Rawtenstall Through Time

This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Rawtenstall has changed and developed over the last century.

In the early Industrial Revolution, the small settlement of Rawtenstall became a crossroads for trade routes and steadily grew into a thriving town. It became a borough in 1891, taking in many of the much older hillside villages around, although they managed to retain their individual pride and character. Rawtenstall itself had great aspirations, and although these failed to develop, many of the fine buildings of the Victorian and Edwardian periods are still with us today. This book records many older corners and buildings, some forgotten, some still fondly remembered, and more than a few still with us. Much was swept away in the 1960s, and in preparation for the motorway that never came. Farmland and industrial scenes have been replaced by housing estates and superstores, and village corners have been lost for road widening. Seeing them here together brings them back into context - to be understood and appreciated by all.