TAKEN in the 1930s, this picture depicts a scene from St. James’s Street in Burnley.
Only one building in this picture of Burnley town centre before the turn of the century still stands today, St. James’s Hall, the tall building with the clock tower on the left side.
The Bull Hotel at the corner of Manchester Road was demolished to make room for Burton’s tailors, which was listed as a site of an inn as early as 1760.
The gas lamp in the middle of the street was nicknamed ‘The Gawmless’ a pun referring to its alleged dimness, and it was removed in 1920.
St. James’s Street was part of Burnley’s original main street, and has since had many changes.
Its origins are believed to go back to pre-Roman times when the street would have been a locally-used route determined by two crossing places on local rivers, the Brun and Calder.
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