The heydey of cotton weaving in Nelson

It’s a scene from over a century ago this week as we gaze at Nelson’s Manchester Road as it looked in the Edwardian era.
TRAM CARS: Nelson in the Edwardian era. (S)TRAM CARS: Nelson in the Edwardian era. (S)
TRAM CARS: Nelson in the Edwardian era. (S)

The town back then had a population of over 40,000 inhabitants.

And by the year 1914 Nelson had, running round the clock, 36 huge cotton mills.

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Between them they housed 130 companies with 55,000 looms bringing the sound of clog irons on stone flags, as thousands of local mill workers toiled to the deafening sound of loom and shuttle.

This was truly Nelson’s cotton weaving heyday and as seen in our picture it was also the age of the tram.

These electric tramcars had a top speed of 15mph and fares were half-a-penny to Barrowford, one penny to Colne and three pence to Burnley.

By the year 1934, all the much-loved trams (deemed by now far too slow) had been replaced by the new, far faster omnibuses.

See also on our street scene from yesteryear in the centre, far distance, the now demolished, once mighty congregational church, which seated 750 worshippers.

Today it is the site of Lidl supermarket.