Littleborough - Its Industrial History

Littleborough in the 21st Century is a different place than 50 or 100 years ago. Gone are most of the large mills and their chimneys, the Chemical works which were scattered around the town from Summit, to Hollingworth Road, Dearnley and Smithy Bridge. Of the larger metal working trades Corrosion Resistant Products is one of a few exemptions. Gone completely are the Brickworks and the Coal Mines, often inter-related. At the time of publishing most of the larger food and drink businesses have gone or in some cases, with only a limited future in the Town.

Bearing in mind the numerous truck movements seen on local roads, the distance and time taken to access the Motorway Network is apparently a big problem. Looking back on transport developments:

Romans Roads

Turnpike Roads

Canals

Railways

perhaps the lack of better accessibility to the Motorways has sealed the towns industrial future.

Below are links to pages covering Littleborough’s Industrial Past

Chemical Works

Textiles

Mills

Lancashire Tannery LANCTAN

Phoenix Iron Works

Schofield Foundry at Durn

Brick and Pottery Works

Coal Mines

In many instances individual companies are detailed on separate pages under the main titles page (eg textiles) but links are provided.

If you have information on Littleborough’s Industries the please email     lborohist@gmail.com.

Todmorden Road Industrial Estate

There have been numerous companies occupying the site and one of those was Portakabin. It is understood it originally had a place on Ebor St. Having been a common feature in the town, the factory closed around 1982, Storage area pictured above