Rawtenstall became a Local Board on 6th August 1874 and was extended on 29th September 1883 by provisional order, so as to include the villages of Newchurch , Waterfoot, Whitewell Bottom, Water, Cloughhold, Crawshawbooth,  and Goodshaw. The first municipal election was held  in June 1891 with the first meeting of the council being held on the 9th June 1891 when the first Mayor William Lord Esq, of  Cowpe was chosen. A borough school board was formed at the time of incorporation  and continued until 1904.

 

 

In 1893 the Manchester and County bank was erected followed two years later by the Lancashire and Yorkshire bank. Like many other towns and villages in Lancashire Rawtenstall grew rapidly with the coming of the industrial revolution. One of the major employers in the area being the Whitehead Brothers who built Lower Mill, Holly Mount House and school about 1839.

 

 

Today the area is more familiar as home of the new Asda superstore. The school was built to educate the mill workers children for a fee of 2d per week gas lit and  with central heating it must have been a treat for the many children educated there. The school eventually became a British School and was eventually closed in 1882. The Fold pictured above was one of the oldest areas and was an area of courts and alleyways. This area was demolished during the 1960's to make way for the new bypass.

 

 

Baines directory of 1825 list four Inns and taverns in Rawtenstall these were  the Rams Inn, the White Horse, the Bishop Blaize and the Wheatsheaf. By 1849 the Queens Hotel had appeared.

At one time there was a  high iron horse trough outside the Rams Head  and underneath this a smaller one for dogs. The roads here formed and crossroads and this area was lit by a four armed gas standard. It is said the horse trough was often the recipient of  locals who had taken to much drink.

 

Bank Street was the main shopping thoroughfare however in 1825 Baines directory listed only five businesses all of which were tailors or drapers. By 1899 these had increased to 150 in the various parts of town.

 

 

On August 3rd 1901 Whitaker Park was opened the donor of the park Richard Whitaker was also made a Freeman of the Borough at the same time. The library was opened 1st June 1906 funded by millionaire Andrew Carnegie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As with other boroughs Rawtenstall had its share of disease one of the most prevalent in  was Smallpox and so Rawtenstall had built its own Smallpox hospital. Known as the Ridge it was built at Hareholme to hold 20 to 22 patients. Built on the hillside about 200 yards away from the main road between Bacup and  Rawtenstall. The hospital consisted of male and female wards a room for the doctors, matron and caretaker. The main structure was made of corrugated iron and additional buildings consisting of a disinfecting house, mortuary, wash house, coach house and stables stood about thirty to forty yards from the main building. At the end of each ward was a bathroom and toilet for use by the patients which in 1902-1903 were mainly lodging house residents.

 

 

The first case was from Stotts lodging house, Bridleway, Newchurch on 3rd November 1902

sadly the patient died. The next case was a man called Edward Goring from Prospect Hill, he was successfully treated and returned home. January 1903 saw a new epidemic with 20 cases occurring within a few months. In February 1903 Mrs Mary Ann Worthy of St James Street was admitted  her son John Charles Grainger already a in patient. Another son William Grainger aged 21 was taken to the hospital with her suffering from the disease himself.  One of the first sufferers in January 1903 was a Mr James Tatersall of 10 Victoria Street, Cloughhold he recovered after treatment.

 

Newhallhey House was built about 2600 by a man named Nuttall from Ramsbotton in 1915 the house was converted into a auxiliary hospital with sixty beds. A resident cook was employed and paid for by Carrie Whitehead . A the time of its closure in 1919 700 patients had been treated there.

 

Extract from the diary of James Thomas Melia 1898-1919

At the Tup Bridge end of Market Street, known to most people of the day as the Fold, stood a blacksmiths shop. It was known as Kidd's Smithy, and we used to watch the men shoeing horses. and adjoining was a wheelwright, who put iron hoops around cart wheels and made new wooden wheels and attached iron hoops. It fascinated us bys to see the man haul, push and hammer these things into shape. They were always busy, the roads were paved with square blocks of granite, very hard to stand up to the wear of the iron hooped wheels of the vehicles that passed over them. As we watched the blacksmiths using their heavy hammers and sending sparks in all directions, we were nicely told to get out of the way as the sparks were dangerous. Further down the Fold was Myerscoughs smith in later years, and as the motor car was taking the place of the horse he began to sell cars and closed his smithy. There was Owd Hartley, he and his wife had a rag and bone cart with a donkey in the shafts. Hartley had a wooden leg and used to sit on the cart even when going up a hill.

 

Rawtenstall  like other towns had its fair share of characters and one of these was Moses Ballaper, a big broad shouldered Irishman the complete bully, who walked into various public houses, and this is the story told of his programme. Any person drinking who didn't hold on to his glass, and out the lass holding beer on to the table, Moses picked up the glass and drank the beer and challenged to fight  if his actions were questioned. Brawling and fighting on Tup Bridge was his usual weekend entertainment, and once when a new policeman told him to go home, he picked up the policeman and threw him over the wall of the bridge into the river. Footpaths were very narrow and if Moses walked along one of them everybody had to make way for him. One story was told of a policeman walking towards Moses on the same footpath who refused to on to the roadway, they both stopped dead in front of each other with Moses snarling " get out of my way" the policeman stood his ground and to everybody's amazement it was Moses who went reeling to the ground. The Heavyweight Police Boxing Champion had been brought from Liverpool to Rawtenstall for a few days. Another story is told of how one time Moses had been fighting and creating a disturbance, that the police roped him fast to a lorry and dragged him to the police station. Then no-one dared cut the rope so they banged him on top of the head and rolled him inside the station.

 

To be awakened at 5.15 every morning six days a week, dress which was quickly done, a pair of stockings shirt, trousers and scarf thrown round my neck and a cap on my head and clogs on my feet. Then breakfast, a mug of tea and a slice of bread and margarine, dozing over this I was brought to my senses by the factory hooters. The first went with a long howl, and once could heat those who worked a little distance from home banging the house door, then a clattering of clogs on the stone pavement. Later another factory whistle, this time screeching in the early hours to waken the late sleepers then a quicker movement of clogs outside. The one I was waiting for sounded it

 foreboding of doom. Hoo ah, hoo ah, hoo ah, continuously for a full five minutes. This was Jim Harrys cotton factory and the the final ah, it meant I had less than five minutes to get from Springside to David Whiteheads cotton mill and be ready for work. At thirteen years I began working at David Whiteheads, 6am till 8am then a break for half hour for breakfast, then on again till 12.30, then 1.30, till 5.30. Saturday 6am till 12, o'clock with half hour for breakfast. I worked like a fool and received 10/6 per week. I worked in my bare feet in the spinning room, then i was transferred to a job weighing out the work for the winders.