THIS week we delve into the Lancashire Telegraph archives to learn about a major house building project.

Home building took on a whole new meaning for 57 couples on Oswaldtwistle, as seen in this photo taken on February 18, 1980.

House building is what these people did each weekend and during their spare time.

Shopkeepers, white collar workers, brickies, electricians and a host of other professions were all working on the self-help housing estate in Fern Gore, Oswaldtwistle, and the final phase was nearly finished.

And at those prices, the homebuilders saved at least £10,000 on each of the three bedroomed dormer bungalows by building them themselves.

"It's more like a hobby for those of us who are not in the building trade, but I don't think anyone has got bored," said Gordon Holland, secretary of the government financed Birch Crescent Housing Association, which was responsible for the project.

Work on the six-acre site started four years prior and the final 14 homes phase was set to be completed by April 1981.

The housebuilders worked in teams and built about 14 houses at a time with one of them taking charge.

"About 40 per cent are in the building trade," said contract manager James Hartley.