End of an era as chimney felled
STEFAN JAJECZNYK
AFORMER Victorian mill chimney has been demolished - marking ‘the end of an era’ for the borough’s industrial history.
Around 30 spectators watched as the chimney at the former Duckworth Mill on Kirk Road in Church was demolished on Thursday, March 29.
The former mill site, which dates back to 1881, is owned by developers, Gleeson Homes, and will be used to build 48 new houses.
Darren Sagar captured the dramatic moments the chimney was dismantled during a trip out with his eight-year-old son, Bailey, during the Easter break.
Darren, 45, says the day was both sad and exciting, and that the demolition marked an ‘end of an era’.
He said: “I knew it was going to be demolished because I know someone who works for the demolition company.
“It was sad to see it go - it was part of our history and industrial heritage.
“I’ve been told that it’s the last chimney of its kind in the area - there are no more, apparently.”
Darren says that the site operated as a mill until the 1960s and went on to be managed by Mastabar Mining Equipment - more recently it had been left in a state of disrepair.
He said: “I was standing on the far side of the canal bank and I went with my eight-year-old boy.
“It took just over ten minutes to come down. It was quicker than I expected, given the size of it.
“Once it started, it seemed to come down quite quickly.”
Darren, who lives with wife Pennie on Spring Street, says his son will be telling all his friends and teachers at Rishton Methodist Primary about what he saw and learned on their day out.
Darren says he often walks past the site, along the canal that runs adjacent. He said: “I do a lot of walking and you could see it for quite a distance but it’s quite strange now - it doesn’t look the same.”
A spokesperson for Gleeson Homes said the company were looking forward to starting on work on their latest development - which they have named ‘St James’ Court’.
They said: “We will be looking to employ local people and we would like to invite building workers, subcontractors and young people looking for apprenticeships to contact us.
“We also offer sponsorship to junior sports teams and hope that a local one contacts us so that we can provide some sponsorship.” ACCRINGTON and Rossendale College students will present a self-produced digital project to try to win £2,000.
Twenty BTEC Level 2 Media and ICT students learned the skills and knowledge needed to successfully plan, produce and present a creative or digital project at workshops in February.
They created an app called Socs allowing consumers to find clothes they would like to order online at the cheapest price, with the guarantee of being in stock.
Groups were delegated specific roles that allowed everyone to contribute to the finished product.
Students created a mock design of the app, it was marketed on social media, costs of authentic creation were predicted, a website was built for advertising purposes and a final video was made, to show what students had created.
The finished product and video will be presented at the Digital Advance Graduation and Competition Prize Day event on April 13.
Kris Leeson, computing programme leader, said: “I’m really proud of the initiative the students have shown throughout this experience.”