A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



not extend to Pendle Water, p.irt of New Laund and 

 Rceiicy in Pendle Foren intervening. The boundaries 

 have been greatly altered recently, as will be recorded 

 in the account of the borough. 



Roads from Padiham and Accrington join outside 

 the west boundary, cross the Calder by the bridge, 

 and go east through the centre of the town as 

 St. James's Street ; after passing through the town the 

 road divides again, one branch going east into York- 

 shire and the other south-east to Todmorden and 

 Rochdale. A cross road from Bury and Rawtenstall 

 unites with the other at the centre of the town, turns 

 north as Church Street, and after crossing the Brun 

 proceeds to Brierfield, Nelson and Colne.' As in 

 other towns there are numerous minor roads and 

 streets to serve the populous area, which had in the 

 last century extended itself on all sides. The 

 Accrington and Colne branch of the Lancashire and 

 Yorkshire Railivay Company passes north through 

 the western side of the town, where there is a station 

 (Bank Top) ; it was opened 1 8 September 1 848, 

 and in 1 849 another branch was formed from Burnley 

 to Todmorden, but this lies south and outside of the 

 Old township. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal goes 

 north through the town on the eastern side, crossing 

 the Calder and Brun by aqueducts. A tramway 

 s}stem with electric traction connects Burnley with 

 Nelson, Padiham and suburban district^.' There 

 are also mineral r.iilw.iy tracks. The population of 

 Burnley proper in 1901 was 44,045 ; that of the 

 enlarged township was 97,043. 



In .iddition to the churches and municipal build- 

 ings there are several noteworthy buildings, as the 

 Mechanics' Institute and Exchange (1851-^5), some 

 banks and the Church Institute. The \'ictoria 

 Hospital on the north of the town was built 18S4-6 

 and enlarged in I 890. The workhouse is near it ; 

 it has an infirmary attached. 



The \\e.ning of cotton go ds is the staple industry 

 of the town ; there is a little spinning. There are 

 also important manufaLturcs of weaving machinery 

 and other mill requisites, some iron foundries, p.ipcr 

 work>, breweries and brick-making works in the town 

 itself or the immediate neighbourhood. Coal, ^tone 

 and slate are found in and around Burnley. 'l\\'i 

 newspapers are issued on Wednesday and Saturd.iy 

 each week, the Express and the Gazette. The 

 barracks are outside the township. There arc a 

 Territorial Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment 

 and also Territorial Artillery. 



Though a church existed in 1120 and a market 

 and fair were established at Burnley in 1294, its 

 history till recent times has been the uneventful one 

 of a small country town. The neighbourhood con- 

 tains many remains of the ancient inhabitants, such 

 as the earthworks and burial mounds at Cliviger and 

 Worsthorne.* Roman interments and coins have 

 been discovered at Burnley and places to the east and 

 south.' The ancient cross testifies to the introduc- 

 tion of Christianity, possibly in the 7th century." 

 The church was probably a parish church, which w.is 

 reduced to a parochi.il chapel in the 12 th century. 

 The Reformation,' Civil War and Revolution affected 

 the place chiefly through the fortunes of the great 

 Towneley family, who adhered to the proscribed 

 causes in religion and politics. Three Burnley men 

 were executed in I 7 16 for having taken part in the 

 Jacobite rising of the previous year, their names being 

 William Harris, Joseph Porter and Stephen Segar. 

 Burnley had some woollen trade, which has died out. 

 Then about 1780 the cotton manufacture was intro- 

 duced ' and made rapid progress, the population of 

 the town doubling between 1 801 and 1 82 1, and 

 requiring the changes in the government of the 

 town which are related below. Apart from the 

 manufactures, the land is mostly occupied for 



^ The Bury or Manchester road has 

 been continued north, crossing the Br^n 

 and going on as Bank Parade or Kcghiey 

 Green, along the right bank of the stream, 

 to join the church road later. Cluirch 

 Street was formerly called Fmkcl 

 Street. 



The lane called Godley Lane led from 

 the church eastward, but has been re- 

 placed by modern streets. The ancient 

 cross stood in it. 



The following account of the bridge is 

 of interest. It is taken from the Folds 

 MSS. : * The old bridge in Burnley was 

 pulled down 29 June 1736, being Peter's 

 Day, at f past 2 in the afternoon. 

 M!":Sm that there is to be built at the 

 upper end of Burnley over the River 

 Burn, otherwise Br..n, [a bridge] direct 

 from Fenkell Street to the end of the 

 house belonging to the late Sir Nicholas 

 Shireburne, facing the upper cross ; the 

 arch to contain 1 6 yds. in length hollow 

 between butment and hutment, in breadth 

 between battlements on the inside 4 yds., 

 the length of the battlements in a direct 

 line 40 yds. each j one wing wall at the 

 north end of the said bridge up the said 

 river containing 15 yds. in length, and 

 another wing wall up the said river at the 

 south end of the said bridge of 10 yds. in 

 length i the height of the battlements of 

 the said bridge to be 4 ft. ; the length of 

 the pavement over the said bridge to 

 contain So yds. The undertakers to find 

 all manner of things whatsoever for the 



building and erecting the said bridge, and 

 to make and pave a way close adjoining 

 to the south-east end of the said bridge 

 into the said river, necessary and con- 

 venient for persons of the said town of 

 Burnley to water their cattle and to fetch 

 water \ the same way to be levelled, 

 paved, done, and performed according to 

 the direction and good liking of John 

 Hadocke, esq. And to pull up the inner 

 church wall between the old Naylor 

 house end and Crossley's dunghill, and 

 with the stone that arises therefrom raise 

 the wall next the water 2 ft. higher from 

 Crnsslcy's stable end to the old Naylor 

 house end ; and to pull up the pavement 

 that now it between the church walls, 

 and make the same level with and lay 

 the same to the churchyard, and to sait 

 the channel out of the street into the 

 river.' 



'The tramway was opened in 1881 

 and worked by steam traction till 1902, 

 when the Nelson line was opened with 

 electric traction. The other parts were 

 opened in 1903-4. 



* t'.C.H. I. ami. ii, 553-5. 



' W. T. Watkin, Roman Lanes. 86, 

 210 ; traces of a road, coins, fragments 

 of Roman pottery and funeral urns with 

 burnt bones have been found at Burnley 

 itself, and Ringstones Camp in Wr.rs- 

 thorne shows remains of a walled station 

 with a Roman road leading ^o it. 



* I'.C.H, Land, i, 265 J Lanes, and 

 Ches. Anti'^. Soc, xviii, 50. 



442 



7 It was proposed to summon the 

 people of Colne and Burnley to join the 

 Northern rising of 1536-7, but nothing 

 seems to have been done ; A. and P. 

 Hen. VIU, xii (i), 1020. 



8 The following is Dr. Aikin's descrip- 

 tion, published in 1795 : * Burnley has a 

 market on Mondays, chiefly for corn. Its 

 trade was formerly only in woollen or 

 worsted goods, but the cotton manufac- 

 tures are now introduced in it. Some 

 fulling mills for woollens are still kept up, 

 and there arc many cotton machines and 

 printing works about the town' ; Country 

 round Manch. 278. 



Bainet in 1836 described Burnley as 

 'seated in a narrow, fertile, woody vnlc,' 

 the town consisting * chiefly of stone 

 houses, erected principally within the last 

 forty years'; Lana. (cd, i), iii, 246. 

 The solitary fulling mill left in 1824 hnd 

 di63ppeared ; ibid. 251. It is added: 

 * Owing to the extensive excavations for 

 coals made under the town a number of 

 buildings near its centre, extending wcnt- 

 ward, have sunk several inches, and there 

 are many good houses to be seen with a 

 rent down the front, and where the roofs 

 and flooring ha\c separated from the 

 walls.' 



The ordnance map of 1848 shows coal- 

 pits at the entrance of Yorkshire Street 

 and in the present Red Lion Street and 

 GucrJen Street ; others were to the 

 east of the canal and the west of ibe 

 r:iilway. 



