Burnley

Burnley, a thriving town of Lancashire, in a narrow vale on the banks of the Brun, near its influx to the Calder, 21 miles E. of Preston, and 27 N. of Manchester. A great seat of the woollen and then of the cotton manufacture, it is a modern, well-built place, with a literary institute and exchange (1855), a market-hall (1868), the Victoria Hospital (1886), a grammar-school (temp. Edward VI.), and an ancient parish church, restored in 1856. Besides numerous cotton-mills, it has calico-printing works, iron and brass foundries, machine-shops, breweries, tanneries, and rope-works. There are collieries in the vicinity. Burnley was created a municipal borough in 1861, a parliamentary borough (returning one member) in 1867, and a county borough in 1888. Pop. (1871) 44,320; (1881) 63,638; (1891) 87,016. A Roman way passed through the town, and Roman remains have been found.