Few people in Blackburn realise where they live was once a centre of coal mining. This was one reason why the Leeds Liverpool Canal was routed this way, connecting these latter large cities with mining towns such as Wigan, Burnley and our own Blackburn.
Due to the Industrial Revolution, coal was needed on a vast scale and this led to most of Blackburn’s mines being worked until their black gold was either exhausted or they became economically unprofitable. It created a problem of what to do with these empty coal mines. Some were able to become quarries, providing valuable building material to construct cotton mills and housing for our town’s expanding population. But with so many redundant mines, various uses of them were put into place, including dumping building spoil and other waste material. After all, out of sight, into mine.
Sadly during these changing times, many people became victims of this Industrial Revolution. Death and disease were an occupational hazard, almost as a way of culling Britain’s expanding population when their usefulness had run its course. Many people came and died in Blackburn. Those who died of infectious diseases, such as fever, or could not be identified, were laid to rest in these redundant coal mines. They became known as fever pits.
This seems a convenient solution, but nature is not as simple as that. These bodies decomposed and returned to earth. But not everything went back to nature so easily. Due to these corpses’ reasons for expiring, no scavenging was allowed to be carried out because of a risk of catching and spreading fever and diseases.
Normally gold teeth would have been prised from corpses’ mouths, along with removal of rings, ear rings, chains etc. This was not allowed in fever pits and gold items passed into the soil along with their hosts. Gold, unlike other metals, does not corrode and can lay in the ground until it is eventually discovered by treasure hunters or metal detectorists.
One such fever pit was believed to have been in a redundant mine in Blackburn. It was somewhere near what is now Shadsworth Industrial Estate. But records have been lost over time pinpointing its exact location. Local folklore tells of this particular mine being very difficult to work due to Knuzden Brook, which goes on to become the River Blakewater, causing subsidence and making it very dangerous for miners. This led to its closure even though coal reserves were not totally exhausted.
Unconfirmed reports have been received recently of discoveries of gold in the Knuzden Brook. This has not only led to an influx of metal detectorists, but gold panners too, although permission needs to be granted before treasure hunting is permitted. We might find ourselves in a situation where Blackburn could be a new Klondike. After all, both the Klondike River and Knuzden Brook both begin with the letter K, as in knife.
It would be strange if one form of fever could lead to another – here in Blackburn. This might create a situation of Fever Pit to Gold Fever.
