The real-life 'history boy' who helped save a town's textile heritage

Born on Cotton Street in Blackburn close to nine decades ago, it was written in the stars that Richard Croasdale would go into the town's famous textile industry. He was just 15 when he proudly joined the British Northrop Loom Company Ltd – an engineering firm based in his hometown.

The company manufactured machinery for producing textiles – particularly the Northrop Loom – and was a key player in the town’s booming cotton industry. And it was the skills that Richard learned there that would eventually bring him to Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery many years later - where he would play a key part in restoring a treasured piece of industrial history.

Now, as the museum marks its own landmark anniversary - 150 years - bosses are also celebrating the work of their oldest and longest-serving volunteer. Richard turns 90 next year - and he has been, in his own humble words, ‘doing his bit’ at the museum for the last 17 years. He nearly turned down the opportunity to help out at the museum - having just retired himself and already being busy with other volunteering jobs. But his friend and local historian Jim Halsall insisted this was just the job for him.

“My friend Jim rang me telling me he had a job for me to do," said Richard. "“While I was retired, I was already busy volunteering and so told Jim: ‘I have enough of those, thank you very much’. But, he insisted this was a job I’d absolutely want to do – re-building a loom that had been donated to the museum in bits – being dropped off in boxes.”

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Richard could not wait to get started and what others thought would take him months, actually took just a couple of days.
Once that was done, he moved on to carefully restoring and maintaining the looms which are part of the Lewis Textile Collection, celebrating the borough’s rich links to the cotton industry. The great-grandfather has been at the museum ever since as a much-valued volunteer for the last 17 years, earning himself a British Museum Award.

“There is so much history here in Blackburn," he added. "It was the once the weaving capital of the world, and I love to share my stories with our visitors, including the schoolchildren. I feel like it’s better than them just reading about it in a book.

“We have people come from around the world to visit the museum. I love to volunteer – it feels like I’m giving something back to the place I’ve lived all my life. I love Blackburn – to me it’s a fantastic place, it’s home. The whole team at the museum is brilliant and they all take such good care of me. I’ll be here for as long as they have me.”

Rebecca Johnson, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s arts and heritage manager, said: “Richard has dedicated the last 17 years to volunteering here at the museum and he’s hugely popular – sharing his fascinating stories of Blackburn through the years and his knowledge of the cotton industry. The museum relies on volunteers like Richard.”