THE existence of the overhead tram cables in this view of St James' Street, Burnley, tells that the picture was taken some time after 1901.

This is when the corporation began electrification of the steam tramways system they had bought for £25,000 from its private operators.

This short, 100-yard length of the town's main street contained no fewer than five pubs, with the Old Red Lion and the Swan, just out of camera shot at the right competing with the Clock Face Inn, the White Lion and the Boot Inn for customers.

Squeezed in between the pubs were Easton's store - later the location of the highly popular Lubeck cafe - and, next door, Slater's Tripe, Hot Pies and Pudding Saloon.

In addition to its ales, the White Lion advertises good stabling while the typical weaver's cottage windows of the Clock Face, which closed in 1960, point to an ancestry in the hand-loom era.

About the time this picture was taken, Burnley had some 300 licensed premises.