Other Industry
There were two other cotton mills in the village, the first Charnley’s Newfield Mill, a weaving shed built in 1850 by the side of Highercroft brook almost at the bottom of Stopes Brow. The mill started with 280 looms and about 100 workers. It was sold during the Cotton Famine, buildings and machinery included for £500. The new owner John Ingram hoping for better times increased the number of looms to 438. Good times never came, and after losing £9,753 in five years, the firm became bankrupt in 1869. A new firm took over Bradley’s, but they could not get enough water to make steam power, and they abandoned the building in 1879, it was demolished in 1892. The second mill still stands in Kingston Place but no longer produces textiles. Built in 1906 the mill was leased to J. & L. Ward. Ltd. At first the mill contained 640 looms and employed 250 people, more looms were introduced in 1908 and 1911 bringing the total up to 1022 looms worked by 350 employees. Two paper mills now come into the story, the first ‘Scotshaw Brook’ is to be found on Branch Road, and is still producing paper, for the Sanderson group. Built in 1867, it was first powered by water; the mill race can still be seen running from a lodge on the opposite side of the road. Steam power took over, and the mill produced boards, browns, and blue papers. Our second paper mill was built on Greenbank Terrace, Lower Darwen Paper Mill was owned by the Co-operative movement. It had two paper machines in 1873 producing wrappings for the home trade; the work force was then no more than a hundred. Expansions were made to both mill and workers until the end of the Second World War. It was then taken over by the Reed Group production was changed to envelope paper, boards, both brown and coloured coated paper, and wallpaper bases. At the end of the war 190 people were employed, but in 1991, the mill closed and these jobs were lost. The mill buildings have since been demolished.
By far the largest single employer the village ever had was the 'Fuse Factory', otherwise the Royal Ordnance Factory. Built at the top of Stopes Brow at the end of 1938, it produced fuses for anti-aircraft shells. During the Second World War 2,000 people were employed at the factory. After the war production was diversified, but was gradually run down. In the early 1990s most of the factory was closed, a smaller Royal Ordnance Plc was formed and most of the factory land sold for housing. In 1881 the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway opened an engine shed, just outside Lower Darwen Station in the Blackburn direction. It had eight roads, and a turntable, 32 locomotives were housed there. By 1934 the locomotives housed were increased to 44. Just before it closed down on the 14th February 1966 these had been reduced to 20. As with the station the buildings were demolished and the site returned to nature. Some quarrying was carried out in the area, some quarrymen are to be found n the 1951 census, there was coalmining in the township. A pit named the Lower Darwen Colliery was opened in the mid 1800s, but this closed in 1918. The village seems well off for employment today, and there are industrial estates close to it.
Gerald Schofield
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