Burnley

A Lancashire town with a rich industrial heritage and a reputation for manufacturing excellence.

Burnley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is 21 miles (34 km) north of Manchester and 20 miles (32 km) east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun.

Quick Facts

First meeting: 1890s (Early Football League era)
Geographic proximity: Approximately 35 miles apart
Shared status: Founding members of the Football League
Historic significance: One of the oldest continuous rivalries in English football

Lore & Background

The name Burnley is believed to have been derived from Brun Lea, meaning 'meadow by the River Brun'. Stone Age flint tools and weapons have been found on the moors around the town, as have numerous tumuli, stone circles, and some hill forts. Limited coin finds indicate a Roman presence, but no evidence of a settlement has been found in the town. Following the Roman period, the area became part of the kingdom of Rheged, and then the kingdom of Northumbria.

There is no definitive record of a settlement until after the Norman Conquest of England. In 1122, a charter granted the church of Burnley to the monks of Pontefract Abbey. In its early days, Burnley was a small farming community, gaining a corn mill in 1290, a market in 1294, and a fulling mill in 1296. During the Industrial Revolution it became one of Lancashire's most prominent mill towns; at its peak, it was one of the world's largest producers of cotton cloth and a major centre of engineering.

Reader's Guide

Burnley has retained a strong manufacturing sector, and has strong economic links with the cities of Manchester and Leeds, as well as neighbouring towns along the M65 corridor. In 2013, in recognition of its success, it received an Enterprising Britain award from the UK Government as the Most Enterprising Area in the UK. For the first time in more than 50 years, a direct train service now operates between the town's Manchester Road railway station and Manchester's Victoria station and onward to Headbolt Lane via the restored Todmorden Curve, which opened in May 2015.