Burnley is best known as an industrial town, but it is surrounded by beautiful Pennine moorland and it is here that the remains left by the first, prehistoric inhabitants of the area are to be found. The town itself had its origins in a Saxon settlement and in 1994 it celebrated the 700th anniversary of the granting of its market charter. However, the old town was transformed during the 19th century into a major centre of industry.
By the turn of the century, Burnley could claim to be the cotton-weaving capital of the world, with 100,000 looms in the area producing a greater length of cloth each year than in any other place.
The past two centuries have seen innumerable and dramatic changes in the town and the lives of it people, vividly recorded in the superb collection of illustration in this book. The authors, both born and bred in the town, have researched its history for many years and have made skilful use of their extensive knowledge to provide a very readable yet remarkably informative account of Burnley's part, especially of those two hundred years of industrial transformation.
Modern residents or historians will find this story compelling and the illustrations fascinating - they will also gain new insight into the making of the present environment and population.
Contents:
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Before Burnley
Top o' th' Town
The Town Centre
Buying and Selling
Earning a Living
Somewhere to Live
Public Houses
Church and Chapel
Civic Affairs
Education
Transport
Sports and Pastimes
Townley and Gawthorpe
Burnley at War
Round and About
People and Places
Bibliography
