Blackburn was incorporated in 1851, when it was given a corporation and a Mayor. To mark the event, a new Town Hall was to be built in the town centre on King William Street. The Town Hall was completed and opened in October 1856. At that time, the Cotton Exchange was still operating from rooms…
Having bought land on the corner of Church St and Darwen Street, the Exchange committee sought to raise £20,000 to fund their new building. However, an update in the Blackburn Standard on the 15th February 1851 informed readers that the properties on the proposed site were to be sold as the project had failed, raising…
The plans to build an Exchange on the corner of Church Street and Darwen Street had been put on hold for a number of years due to the state of the economy at the time. By late 1849, things were improving and the plans for the Exchange were back on! On the 20th April 1850,…
Thirty entries were received in the competition to design a new Cotton Exchange building. The designs were put on public display and judged by the respected Charles Robert Cockerell, surveyor to the Bank of England. The winning entry was from William Brakspear and Thomas Dickson of Manchester. The Exchange Committee aimed to raise £20,000 through…
In 1846, mill owners and traders used to meet at the Bull Inn Hotel on Church Street, Blackburn to buy and sell cotton for use in their mills. As the traders grew in numbers, they decided it was time for their own dedicated Cotton Exchange building. They bought land at the top of Church Street…