Lancashire Record Office - Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council

__________________________________________________________________________Lancashire Record Office: What’s in it for Blackburn with Darwen?Official RecordsLocal Government RecordsThe catalogues for many of these records are available on LANCAT (theLancashire Record Office catalogue):http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/education/record_office/services/catalogue.aspLancashire County CouncilThe county of Lancashire was formally created in 1182 and in the mid-14 th centurywas granted palatine status (that is, it had its own local courts and administration).The County Palatine of Lancashire covered the area from the central Lake Districtsouthwards to the River Mersey – the traditional ‘Red Rose’ county. Until 1889 thiswas the administrative area of the county.In 1889 county councils were established under the Local Government Act of 1888.The councils, among them Lancashire County Council, were democratically electedand took over the administrative duties of the quarter sessions (see page 30). After1889 they steadily acquired further powers.However, under the 1888 Local Government Act many larger towns were grantedcounty borough status, which meant that they were fully self-governing and notunder the control of the county council. County borough councils exercised all thepowers of county councils. In Lancashire 17 towns and cities acquired countyborough status, among them Blackburn. From 1889, therefore, Lancashire CountyCouncil administered the area of the ancient county palatine minus the 17 countyboroughs.In 1974, under the Local Government Act of 1972, county boroughs were abolishedand extensive reorganisation of local government took place. The area governedby Lancashire County Council was greatly reduced by the creation of GreaterManchester, Merseyside and Cumbria, and by the extension of Cheshire. Theformer county borough of Blackburn was amalgamated with the borough of Darwenand became a district council within the new Lancashire County, under the controlof the county council.In 1998, however, Blackburn with Darwen was given unitary status, meaning that itwas separated from Lancashire County Council and once more became fully selfgoverning.Lancashire Record Office holds the archives of the County Council which contain awealth of information relating to health, welfare, transport, education, planning andpolicing within the Blackburn and Darwen areas.22