THIS has to be one of the older photographs from our archives showing Blackburn’s Market Square as it was then known around 1900.

The market was held on Wednesdays and Saturdays and more than 350 traders would set up stalls on the cobbles allowing the town to boast that it had the “finest open retail market in the country”.

The vast open space also hosted the traditional Easter fair and on Sunday,s preachers and politicians would address the public.Victoria Street is in the background and sadly all the fine buildings lining the square disappeared to make way for the town’s shopping precinct.

To the left you can just see the hot potato vendor’s cart which was a popular stall.