Best Places to Live in Lancashire

History of Darwen

Darwen is also located within Lancashire . It has seen much less development than its neighbour since it was not among townships founded by the Earl of Derby in the 12th century. Darwen was not always part of Lancashire, and it has been around for hundreds of years too! It became an industrial town in 1787 when cotton mills were built there by Sir Richard Arkwright, and now they are some of the most important landmarks in it. Darwen is a town with about 120,000 inhabitants and at this time it has an area of 11 square kilometres (2012). The population density is therefore 115 people per hectare. Darwen can be reached by train from Blackburn via Preston or Clitheroe.

Darwen’s main claim for fame is being home to Bentley cars, one of the world’s most esteemed car manufacturers.

Darwen is an industrial town with a number of textile mills and engineering firms, but nowadays it also has shops, restaurants and pubs as well as other facilities for entertainment.

The Earl of Derby founded the town in 12th century which was significantly more developed than its neighbour since it had a castle and an abbey.

In the town centre, there is Darwen Library which was built in 1878 by W J Barratt for about £8000 with money from public subscription to replace its predecessor of 1793.

The library has been extended and refurbished since then but it still retains some original features including carved oak. The town is also home to a number of schools, including St Chads Catholic High School and Darwen Vale Academy which have served as very successful breeding grounds for upcoming talent such as Dafydd James who went on to play professional rugby before going into TV punditry. The town is famous for making Darwen Tower, a local landmark and one of the tallest structures in England . It has been described as “perhaps Lancashire’s most important historic building” by John Morrisroe, architecture specialist at English Heritage.

Darwen is a popular destination for families too, with hundreds of restaurants and shops as well as places to visit like the Darwen Tower or Blackburn Rovers Football Club Museum. Plus there are plenty of outdoor activities from walking through parks all year round or in the summer at one of their many farmers’ markets, where you can pick up some of the yummiest produce. Darwen is a hub for all kinds, and it’s easy to see why locals love it as much as tourists do.

Darwen is famous for being one of the first English townships to be electrified which was completed on November 11th 1882 when it became an example for other areas around Britain.

Football in Darwen

Football was the most popular sport in both Blackburn and Darwen towns with both teams being founder members of the Football League. One thing that most people know about Darwen is its association with footballing legend Sir Tom Finney who was born in the district. The area is still home to a football team, Darwen F.C., that is nicknamed “The Dazzlers.”

Football in Darwen includes amateur side AFC Darwen based out of Wood Street while there are two football clubs in close proximity: Rovers F C playing their games at Ewood Park about ten miles away and Darwen F C playing their games at the Darwen Football Club about five miles away. Football in Blackburn/Darwen: The Lancashire Association Football League consists of four divisions which cover the towns of Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bury FC, Blackburn Rovers F.C., Burnley FC (Burnley), Blackpool FC (Blackpool), Preston North End F.C.(Preston), Rochdale FC (Rochdale), and Southport F.C., making it the biggest league in Lancashire with a total of seventy-two teams split over four divisions, including Blackburn Rovers F.C., who play at Ewood Park about ten miles away from Darwen.

Transportation in Darwen

Public transportation options are fairly limited outside of town so it’s best to rely on taxis or buses. The bus system is operated by the Darwen First Bus company and they operate about 18 routes around the town, providing connections with Blackburn. The city is served by two railway stations, Blackburn station which provides services to Manchester via several routes; and Darwen Parkway railway station providing trains into Preston or Clitheroe via the Ribble Valley line.