Given that the town is not on a mainline, it might be surprising to some that, in Burnley, there once existed a surprisingly large number of railway stations, goods yard and railway halts. This may be because of the merger of two lines at Gannow and I suspect there was a time when the commercial success of Burnley was both a product of, and a reason for, the extensive railway operations in town.

Many of you will recall that little station at Holme in Cliviger and the larger one at nearby Towneley. Others will know about the former station at Thorneyholme and the one at Reedley Halt, in Barden Lane. Indeed, I can remember single-decker buses on their way to the latter and being surprised to find the tiny station, although it was closed by the time I knew where it was, had been in Reedley for only a few years until the land on which it stood was incorporated into Burnley.

We still have five stations in the borough; Manchester Road, Hapton, Barracks, Burnley Central (Bank Top, to use its other name) and last – but certainly not least – Rosegrove. In fact, to many Burnley people, Rosegrove, despite its position some distance from the town centre, holds the prize as the town's main station. They recall Rosegrove's extensive sidings; the fact the station served both of Burnley's lines and they remember, with fondness, the famous engine sheds at Rosegrove which, if I recall correctly, were among the very last in the country to work on steam locomotives.

Rosegrove has a very special place in local railway history in the way, though on a smaller scale, that Crewe and Swindon rose to prominence. Rosegrove was merely indifferent agricultural land before the coming of the station and its goods yards. Early industrial development had taken place in nearly Lowerhouse where there was an extensive cotton spinning mill and a large calico printing works, these businesses date back to the late 18th Century, but in Rosegrove, although the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was opened by 1801, industrial development came later.

The railway itself was the product of the East Lancashire Railway Company which was founded in 1840. The work on the section which includes Rosegrove was undertaken between 1846 and 1848 by the contractors William and Richard Hattersley who, incidentally, gave their name to Hattersley Street which is off Westgate, in Burnley.

Unfortunately, there was no "Burnley Express" in those days to record the achievement of the engineers who worked on the project, but the "Blackburn Standard" made some interesting comments. The line approached Rosegrove by means of an embankment at Bentley Wood and a bridge over the canal after which the line enters the cutting in which Rosegrove Station was built. The paper adds: "In the centre of this cutting is Rosegrove Station, for the accommodation of the inhabitants of Padiham, and for the convenience of the large number of persons connected with the extensive printworks and the mills of Messrs Dugdale of Lowerhouse, Padiham is rather less than, and Lowerhouse about half a mile from this station."

The reporter from Blackburn appears to have his distances incorrect but you will note there is no mention of development at Rosegrove village. This is, essentially, because at this time there was no such village. It, more than anything else, was a product of the railway and in this part of Burnley the streets were populated by a high proportion of railway workers and their families. Jack Nadin, in his excellent booklet "Old Rosegrove", mentions platelayers, engine men, railway guards, porters and firemen, workers which, in an old cotton town, are not entirely expected, at least in the numbers given.

Turning to the photo which may have been taken in October 1896, it is likely the photographer was standing on the Rosegrove Lane Bridge when he was at work. Centre right, notice the old station buildings. The larger, lighter coloured structure is the early goods shed. Opposite, you can see what I take to be the waiting rooms, etc. on the platform which served the line up from Burnley.

All of these station buildings did not last very long because Rosegrove expanded rather rapidly into a significant operation handing vast amounts of industrial goods, particularly coal. The passenger facilities moved nearer to the road bridge and the goods yards were developed extensively on either side of the lines shown here.
The houses on the left are possibly those of Woodsley Street though there is also Leaver Street in this area. Lastly, it is something of a pity that on such an evocative picture, the only thing that is missing is a steam locomotive.