A NEW development which is now taking shape in Preston New Road, Blackburn, hides almost 200 years of history.

Work is under way on the site of the former Blackburn High School For Girls.

The memory of the former school was honoured last we understand in 1983 when a number of 'old girls' (and a few old boys!) celebrated with a dinner and an evening of reminiscences the centenary of the founding of the school at the Trafalgar Hotel, Samlesbury.

In the early 1800s a young doctor arrived in Blackburn and settled in Bank House on Adelaide Terrace. His name was James Barlow.

In 1793 at the age of 26 he had had the "singular honour of being the first medical practitioner to perform the Caesarean operation successfully".

This was followed by a successful operation for "Lithotomy or cutting for the stone".

By 1812 he had performed 20 such operations and had only lost five patients.

But what's the connection with the girls' high school?

Well, when Preston New Road was constructed, Dr Barlow had a house built called Spring Mount, just above the junction of Preston New Road and Montague Street.

A stone tablet above the front door carried his initials J.B and the date 1826.

A map of 1848 shows the house with a pond and beautifully laid out garden stretching as far as Montague Street and down to what is now Devonport Road.

People complained he kept a peacock in the grounds which screamed day and night.

In 1883 Spring Mount was acquired and extend and became Blackburn High School For Girls.

It was condemned as a school in 1962 but had a resurrection as an educational establishment when it became an annex of Chorley Training College and later as a curriculum and professional centre.

The building was demolished a couple of years ago and a new development is now rising on the site.