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the group of buildings still standing. One was John Howard's, 

 a clothier's shop, and another the residence of Mr. John Spencer, 

 who ran the factory directly opposite. Another private house, 

 two shops, and a few cottages reached to Brown Street — to 

 Hopwood's factory. This factory has undergone a change some- 

 what similiar to the one on the opposite side of the way, except 

 that Spencer's mill has been completely absorbed, and Hopwood's 

 mill only adapted. Beyond, where the Commercial Inn is, was 

 a square piece of open ground with a few scattered trees growing. 

 Here the sweepings from the neighbouring factory were brought 

 - — there were several such elegant "open spaces" for the same 

 purpose in different parts of the town. These sweepings were 

 allowed to " rot " sufficiently to make them useful as manure — 

 and sometimes this process was hastened by the outbreak of fire 

 from spontaneous combustion in the summer time. A few low 

 houses bring us to Veevers's Factory, now becoming a thing of 

 the past by successive removals and renovations, and presently 

 we reach the bridge over the Calder at the Cross Keys. The 

 bridge was but a narrow one, and near it was Crow Nest, one of 

 the most aristocratic parts of the town. Mr. John Moore at one 

 time lived there, so did the Beanlands. Mr. Buck — Anthony 

 Buck — lived here when he first came to this town. John 

 Stansfeld and his nephew did not go so far along Cheapside as 

 the Cross Keys to night. They turned to the left past Spencer's 

 Mill, and crossing a temporary bridge, where now is Newtown 

 Bridge, crossed the rippling river, clear and sweet, and wended 

 their way slowly up the lane in the direction of Manchester Koad. 

 The road was not much better tlian a country lane. The bridge 

 to Newtown was but lor foot passengers. A dozen or so cows were 

 being driven down the lane on their way to a croft near the Club- 

 houses ; they made their way through the water as the cowboy 

 somewhat gloomily sang a tune which had been composed by a 

 famous Burnley singer not then forgotten — " Eobiu o'Creen." 



The travellers passed along Cow Lane into Manchester Koad, 

 and from the top of Hammerton Street looked over the site of 

 Hargreaves Street and the busy offices and workshops near it, 

 and saw the outline of St. James's Street, with nought but fields 

 and meadows and gardens reaching to the river at their feet. 

 Thu'ty years later every yard of the land and all around had been 

 covered with buildings, except the vacant land above the 

 Mechanics' Institute, where our new Municipal Palace now rears 

 its fine and imposing frontage against the sky. 



Our travellers walked slowly back to their hotel, as evening 

 was rapidly hasting to darkness. They passed down the left side 

 of the road — a low wall separated the road from old Jolm Green- 

 halgh's garden, with gooseberry bushes down the slope from the 

 road — and by the Bull Croft — meadow-land mainly — occupying 



