Darwen Heritage Centre

Darwen Heritage Centre is a small registered charity housed in Holker House, a building in the centre of the old cotton-mill town of Darwen. Its rooms are all on the ground floor and hold a permanent display on the town's past, a changing exhibition that is refreshed several times a year, and a meeting room full of local photographs, maps, models and artefacts that visitors are free to browse. Volunteers are on hand to answer questions, which suits children who like to ask about old objects and the people who used them. The centre also runs regular illustrated talks, and a small shop sells books and gifts about Darwen. Teachers and youth groups can arrange visits, and staff have given talks to primary schools and Guides, Scouts and Brownies. Tea and coffee are available in the sitting room, where there is also a photo library to look through. It works well as a rainy-afternoon stop or as a short add-on to a walk around the town centre.