A series of portraits of former Oswaldtwistle councillors have been unearthed after gathering dust for decades.
The framed pictures of councillors from the days when Oswaldtwistle was an urban district council, date more than 150 years back, as far as 1864.
Gayle Knight, from the Civic Arts Centre, said the historic portraits were discovered recently during a clear out.
She explained: “We were sorting through cupboards at the back of the Arts Centre, and they’ve been there all the time that we have but we’d never looked in them.
“We discovered these portraits of the former heads of the council when Oswaldtwistle was an urban district council.
“We’ve found a little piece of history.”
Gayle added: “The oldest one we have dates back to 1864 but some of them go up to the early 1900s.”
The oldest portrait belongs to Thomas Simpson JP, who was chairman of the local board.
Gayle said they’d be interested to find out if any relatives of the former councillors still lived in the area.
She said: “There’s about 25 portraits and I never remember seeing them. They’ve probably been in the cupboard for about 40 years since the urban district council ceased to be.
“It would be interesting to see if there are any descendants of these men in the area.”
Gayle said they are trying to decide what to do with the portraits.
She said: “They’re not in keeping with the current building and its use as an arts centre.
“They’re not in brilliant condition so what to do with them is a big question. It would be interesting to find one of their great-grandchildren or great, great-grandchildren.”
