Memory Lane

Actually, it's Fairfield Street!

I take this shortcut home from work every Monday, and have been meaning to blip it for a while.

It looks like a nothing street; perhaps a little rundown, but it holds great memories for me.

The building on the right is what I knew as 'Platts'; I can't quite remember if the outbuildings on the left were also part of it too, but the archive piece I've added below mentions Charter Street premises and that's where the left hand buildings lead onto.

This street holds a lot of history for me.

A right turn up the street in the distance of the photo leads to the first house we (Mum & I, after she left my Dad) lived in. I was only 2 years old.
6 years later, my sister was born so we moved to a bigger house on the street behind where I took this photo from. (A blip for another day perhaps?)

We stayed in this house a while, so much of my childhood was spent on this street.
I learned to roller skate on here; the tarmac road was fab for whizzing along and there wasn't much traffic to disturb me! There's various bits of my skin embedded in that tarmac; safety wasn't an issue in those days! It wasn't far from home either so I could always hear when my Mum called me in for tea!

I had to walk along this street to get to my best friends house & we rode our bikes here too. As we got older, we would loiter with my ghetto blaster c'mon.....it was the 80's! in the loading bay around the corner of this photo.

Most days, the ventilation windows would be open in the factory, so we would shout up to the workers to heckle them (no reason!), or they might be leaning out the windows to have a fag so we would say hi.

I don't know what the building is used for now; the units on the left are owned by independent businesses.

It looks such a sad place now, but I always smile when I drive past....thanks for the memories Platts!


The Globe Works of Howard and Bullough in Scaitcliffe, Accrington, were to grow from small beginnings in Victorian Lancashire to gigantic proportions by the early twentieth century.

Started in 1853 by two men from Bury, Mr Howard and Mr Bleakley, the works manufactured machinery and parts for supply to the huge Lancashire textile industry, and indeed across many parts of the world. In August 1853, the company's staff consisted of just four workers but rapidly expanded along with premises during the early years. Soon, forty staff were employed when new buildings were erected along Fountain Street; comprising a smith's shop, moulding and grinding places and a turning shop.

The real boom began when co-founder Mr Bleakey pulled out of the business, leaving way for inventor James Bullough to take his place in 1856. At this time, the company employed 150 people, and under Bullough's guidance the firm prospered, concentrating its manufacturing efforts on making looms. By 1864 staff numbers had doubled and a series of extensions was undertaken.

Premises were built in Charter Street for the manufacture of spindles, in buildings covering some four acres in area. By 1930, total floor space amounted to fifty acres, with almost all the older building having been re-built to give greater lighting, ventilation and heating. The main building was complete with train lines and turn tables for serving out the hot metal from furnaces.

At its height, Howard and Bullough employed over 6000 people from Accrington and surrounding areas. During World War II, production was dedicated to manufacturing shells, gun carriages, aircraft components and the like for the war effort.

The name Howard and Bullough disappeared from the works in 1970 when the name became Platt International, after its then owners. An additional name change came in 1975, when the Scaitcliffe works became known as Platt Saco Lowell. Production was greatly reduced during these times and the workforce a shadow of its former strength.

The Globe Works closed its doors for business in 1993, 140 years after the company was first founded.