Cobblestone scheme gives Blackburn a bumpy ride

Councillors in Blackburn could be forgiven for assuming that a ready team of proud British artisans would be available for work when they decided to build one of northern England's most enduring symbols – a cobbled street.

But, in an example of how historic crafts are dying out, they have belatedly discovered the only way their project can go ahead is to ship in a team from Portugal, after finding the expertise of British workmen was not up to the job.

Indeed, English Heritage observes that the news is a sad indication of the decline in Britain's traditional skills.

The new cobbles, or setts, are small stones from northern Italy that will be laid in intricate patterns between granite blocks. Six local workmen were initially employed to complete the project but, when site managers examined their work, they realised it wasn't good enough and a team of Portuguese craftsmen, whose ancestors acquired their skills from their country's Moorish occupiers, was brought in.

Chris Cox, managing director of George Cox and Son, which was awarded the contract for the scheme, said: "There are 222 cobbles to every square metre. Each has to be laid by hand and tapped in.

"What we needed was someone who could produce high- quality work in a relatively short time. Not many people in this country can do that." Consequently, the British workmen are concentrating on laying the larger stones, while the Portuguese lay the setts.

Charles Wagner, a pavements expert at English Heritage, said: "We have lost these techniques in our dash to have a cheap labour force. Most apprenticeship schemes have been dropped and no one is encouraged to learn these skills."

Northern England was by no means groundbreaking in its use of cobbles. The craft was initiated in ancient Babylon and later taken up by the Romans, who also used setts. The Moors were the first to develop sophisticated techniques and took them to Mediterranean cities 1,000 years ago. Lisbon, home to the team now working in Blackburn, has some fine examples.

During the Industrial Revolution, when mill owners needed tough, clean roads to replace traditional muddy lanes, cobbles made their mark. They were introduced across the north and did not begin to be replaced by cheaper surfaces till the 1950s.

Blackburn played a part in confirming the stereotype when its cobbled streets were used in Hovis advertisements for a time, but, 15 years after the Victorian terraced houses in Kidder Street featured in an advert for Hovis crackers, they vanished as developers converted and expanded Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park stadium.