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And so in the light of examining the available sources and considering the evidence which has been discovered, what was Blackburn actually like in the 1850s? There is little doubt that it was a smoky place. The fact that there was so many mills is without doubt testimony to this. But with industry being located to the east of the centre of Blackburn so that the prevailing west wind would blow the exhalations from the cotton mills away from the town centre, the air here and in those areas to the west of Blackburn. Photographic evidence coupled with the fact that it is possible still to observe that in some places the town centre almost had an air of elegance about it; the west side of King William Street, Richmond Terrace, the upper part of King Street and the Railway Station which all have stood the test of time albeit in a most discreet manner and all demonstrating evidence of at least some kind of town planning. However, by no means does this planning appear to be the norm throughout the borough. The fact that there was some planning with regard to building does not necessarily mean that this was true throughout Blackburn since in very close proximity to these places there existed some of the worst cases of housing and overcrowding. As stated earlier, even the trade directories write of the "little regularity of streets", informing the reader that in the areas were this was true is illustrative of this lack of planning, a fact which is proved by map evidence, which show those infamous blind court yards a feature of those years throughout Britain.

As with many examinations and investigations, the ultimate goal is to provide the truth by questioning everything. All sources here have been inspected, questioned, scrutinised and tested in order to attempt to achieve this favourable end. The size of such a project as this is immense and undoubtedly here there will be some vital piece of information or snipped of evidence that has been overlooked which may have the ability to prove without doubt that the in the light of the evidence the findings here are accurate. There is still a lot of further research to be done here which time has applied its own constraints to in order to reach that ultimate goal - the truth. However this is as accurate a picture of Blackburn during the early 1850s as is allowed by time at this point, the final conclusion being that the town at Blackburn at that time possessed favourable features and possessed unfavourable elements, but as time has moved on although the emphasis on good and bad may have changed, they are still apparent in Blackburn 150 years on. On the back of the Health Report action must have been taken, for many of the dwellings that Withers' describes and also detailed on the large scale Ordnance Survey maps have been cleared to make way for the improved housing which appeared in the latter half of the nineteenth century, with running water, water closets and as time moved on more and more space, so from this point of view, Withers' Health Report had done its job. By the close of the nineteenth century the population of Blackburn had grown and with it trade and industry, therefore it could be said that the Trade Directories also had done their duty to bring trade into the town since Blackburn by the turn of the century had grown to become the recognised weaving capital of the world (3), with the textile industry dominating the scene but which also brought about the growth of ancillary industries such as engineering, building and the growth in the town's commercial sector as a consequence. In many ways there have been many favourable advances following in the wake of technology yet over 150 years on the situation has still to be reached where there are no poor conditions and only perfect ones exist in Blackburn.