The former residential suburb of Blackburn grew from a small hamlet to the north of this polygon, probably inhabited by the smiths of the nearby Blackburn wheel. These early cottages were joined by grid iron terraced housing at the start of the twentieth century. The construction of the M1 in 1968 seems to have resulted in the depopulation of the area with surviving historic fabric restricted to a handful of pubs, a school and the former Meadowhall and Wincobank station. These scattered Edwardian and earlier buildings allow for partial legibility of this former industrial community.