Do you rermember Nelson’s 14 pubs in 1955?

On a recent journey into the centre of Nelson, an old pal from my Primet Secondary School days asked me just where did the now long-gone Railway Hotel stand?

Well, looking at this week’s column picture from 1955, with the Railway Hotel in the centre, gives us no clue whatsoever! Every single building seen here has been knocked to the ground and this Victorian built corner of Nelson is no more.

The answer is that if you stand at the entrance to today’s Pendle Rise Centre you are on the exact site of the 1848 built Railway Hotel.

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Back in the year of our 1955 street scene, Nelson had a grand total of 14 pubs and nearby Brierfield tallied a further 10.

Today you can count the two town’s hostelries on one hand! Who can remember the Borough Hotel, the Engineers Arms and the General Gordon Hotel, all part of Nelson’s history?

Brierfield’s past pubs include the Lane Ends Inn, the Greyhound Hotel and the Wigglesworth Arms, once a thriving trio of welcoming inns. Today they are just fond memories of an era that has sadly gone forever.