BURNLEY, a manufacturing town and municipal and parliamentary borough of England, 22 miles N. of Manchester, in a valley on the River Burn, from which it derives it name, and in the immediate vicinity of the Leeds and Liverpool canal. Its streets are well paved, and there is an abundant supply of water. Among its buildings of note are the frequently restored church of St Peter’s; a market hall, erected in 1866; and a literary institution and exchange. It also possesses a Church of England institute, with a considerable library, a free grammar school, and several charities. Its staple manufacture is cotton, which in 1872 gave employment to 7972 men and 8267 women of twenty years of age and upwards. Worsted, which was formerly the chief article, is still manufactured to a considerable extent. Calico-printing, machine-making, brewing, tanning, and several other important industries are carried on in the town; and in the neighbourhood there are iron mines and stone quarries, which gave employment in 1872 to 1376 and 360 workmen respectively. From the number of Roman remains found at various times on the spot, Burnley seems to be the site of some Roman station; and it has also been suggested that it may coincide with Brunnanburh, the famous battle-field of the Saxons. There are but few facts of importance in its history. During the cotton famine it suffered severely, and the operatives were employed in an extensive system of improvements, to which the present satisfactory condition of the town is mainly due. In 1861 it was incorporated by royal charter, the government being placed in the hands of a mayor, eight aidermen, and twenty-four councillors; and in 1867 it was entrusted with the right of electing one member of Parliament. The population of the parliamentary ...