End of the road for Blackburn Boulevard
Work has now started on Blackburn’s new Cathedral Quarter. It brings to an end over a century of use by Blackburn Boulevard as the town’s main bus station. All that is left of our old bus station is a building site, surrounded by wooden boards. But we have been told a phoenix will soon be rising from its ashes.
Station Square, as it was originally called, was actually triangular. But this just about sums up Blackburn town centre – it’s never been known for getting its geometry right. At least it was right in the centre though. Even better, it was adjacent to our railway station, making Blackburn one of few large towns and cities with its own transport interchange. Unfortunately, things were spoiled by it having a trunk road running through. This often brought traffic to a standstill at peak times.
Our old Bouly was never a place for the faint-hearted. I can remember it being populated by skinheads in the late 60’s. Punk Rockers in the 1970’s and beggars and winos up to its final closure. It also saw many a fracas between Rovers fans and visiting supporters from other football clubs.
Rowdy and violent behaviour will hopefully be a distant memory for this new cloistered enclave. Ceremonial wine will be far more appropriate in the Cathedral Quarter than White Lightning and Frosty Jack cider. Although the Adelphi will be keeping its eye on building work and hoping to benefit from any spin-offs from a new clerical community.
No doubt the finished product will be captured on film. In 1905, pioneering Blackburn film makers: Mitchell & Kenyon caught the unveiling of Queen Victoria’s statue. This was probably much to the bemusement of WE Gladstone nearby. His statue had already been there 6 years before her arrival. They famously detested each other and the ‘Grand Old Man’ was subsequently shunted off to Blackburn College, before ending up in his present Blakey Moor home. He has been climbed on many occasions over the years, having bottles and cans of beer placed in his outstretched hand and Rovers scarves draped around his neck.
Queen Vic seems to have got off lightly, only being left to the mercy of passing graffiti artists. No doubt she would have banned the felt-tip pen and aerosol spray if they had been around in her day. Let’s hope the new Cathedral Quarter will meet the Royal Approval and Blackburn’s people don’t end up saying: “We are not amused!”