Darwen

(Madeleine Slade)]] The area around Darwen has been inhabited since the early Bronze Age and the remains of a round barrow from approximately 2000 BCE have been partially restored at the Ashleigh Barrow in Whitehall. The barrow had ten interments, nine of which were Collared Urn burials; as well as human remains, items found at the barrow included a bronze dagger some 7.5 in in length, a flint thumb scraper, a sub-plano-convex knife and a clay bead. Copies of the Collared Urns may be seen at the Darwen Library. The Romans once had a force in Lancashire and a Roman road is visible on the Ordnance Survey map of the area; medieval Darwen was tiny and little or nothing survives. One of the…

The TV series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates was filmed in the town. Darwen has a few footnotes in entertainment history; its theatre (now demolished) had appearances by Charlie Chaplin and it featured in the film, There Was a Crooked Man, which starred Norman Wisdom and Alfred Marks. The Beatles played in Darwen on 25 January 1963, at the Co-operative Hall. They headlined "The Greatest Teenage Dance" which was commissioned by the Darwen Baptist Youth Club. Support acts included the Electones, the Mike Taylor Combo and the Mustangs with Ricky Day.