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Industrial Heritage

Lancashire was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, which in the space of a century, between 1750 and 1850, transformed the life of England and in turn the rest of the world.

The county is traditionally associated with cotton and it was here that major advancements were made in the production of cotton, enabling manufacturing to be moved from houses to factories. Lancashire cotton masters claimed that they satisfied the home market before breakfast and catered for the rest of the world afterwards.

The Lancashire Cotton Industry

Lancashire did not survive on cotton alone, it needed coal also and mining flourished as it never had before or since. A single horse could pull at least twenty times as much in a barge as in a wagon and it was cheaper, despite the fact that the journey was twice as long as travelling by road.

Earby Lead Mining Musuem

Today, Earby Lead Mining Museum, boasts one of the most comprehensive collections of historical mining artefacts in the UK.

Until 1849, a daily waterbus service ran between Kendal and Preston and the journey took a staggering 14 hours! In 1833 this was reduced to 7 hours 15 minutes in order to compete with stagecoaches.

From then on the railway was here to stay and its engineers used the achievements of the canal-builders as a starting point.

As you may expect from a county such as Lancashire that has built its wealth on large scale Victorian spinning and weaving mills, the region is rich in industrial heritage. Whilst many mills are still in operation today, others have been transformed into fascinating working museums. Lancashire boasts what is probably the biggest concentration of factory and mill shops in the country.

The Helmshore Mill Museum

The Helmshore Mill Museum provides a remarkable insight into Lancashire's Industrial Heritage. Made up of two museums, Higher Mill was built in 1789 as a woollen finishing plant powered by a huge, water wheel, which has now been restored to working order.

Queen Street Textile Museum

Once the cotton has been spun into yarn, the next stage is weaving and visitors can see Britain's only surviving steam-powered cotton mill in action at Queen Street Textile Museum in Burnley, where 300 looms were driven by a single steam engine ironically named Peace!

Bancroft Mill Steam Engine Museum

Bancroft Mill Steam Engine Museum in Barnoldswick continues the steam theme, with special 'steaming days' and weaving displays.

The Weaver's Triangle

The Weaver's Triangle Visitors Centre in Burnley is housed in the former Wharfmaster's House and Canal Toll Office. The centre has a basement room set out as a weaver's dwelling, as well as displays about the development of the Weaver's Triangle, the manufacture of cotton and the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

An inevitable result of the Industrial Revolution was the creation of large industrial towns, with urban amenities. Markets developed in a number of towns, which stretched across the Pennines from Preston through to Colne via Blackburn.

Lancashire's Industrial Heritage is rich and colourful for it was here that drove the nation's economy with the birth of the country's cotton industry. The county spawned such great inventors and innovators. Richard Arkwright, the world's first great industrialist was born in Preston, who together with John Kay produced a machine able to spin yarns at faster speeds before a twist was imparted.

To fully appreciate the Lancashire of today, you must fully appreciate its past. No visit to the county would be complete without understanding the role it played in what is arguably the most single significant event in history...the Industrial Revolution.