Accrington, a manufacturing town of Lancashire, incorporated as a municipal borough in 1878. It lies in a deep valley, surrounded by hills, 22 miles N. of Manchester, and 5½ miles E. of Blackburn. The oldest church dates from 1554, and was rebuilt in 1763. The town-hall (1857) is a handsome building, and there is a neat market-hall.
The industries are mainly calico-printing, Turkey-red dyeing, iron-founding, with coal-mining in the neighbourhood, and chemical works. Pop. (1841) 8719; (1891) 38,603; of whom 6000 are employed in the cotton manufactures.