For 800 years the Leylanders had clustered around their medieval village cross but all this changed rapidly after 1870 when the town embarked on nearly a century of phenomenal growth. One of the stars of the Second Industrial Revolution Leyland became a world leader in both the rubber & motor vehicle industries & -- prospering through two world wars -- full employment was the norm. Optimism peaked in the post-war years but the 1970s saw the beginning of the collapse of large scale industry in Britain the half century of inertia which choked town centre development plans & led to the progressive & irreversible demolition of the district. By 1990 Leyland Cross was presiding over a semi-derelict wasteland before the investment & redevelopment of the mid 1990s began a steady recovery from the days of stark economic re-adjustment. Leyland Then & Now traces the story of these developments through a wonderful collection of old photographs which are compared & contrasted with modern equivalents unveiling amazing changes & unexpected similarities.