is a small former
Mill town in
Lancashire ,
England ; situated in the
North West . Accrington is commonly abbreviated to "'''Accy'''".http://www.accringtonobserver.co.uk/sport/s/226/226734_nish_back_for_accy.html
The 2001 census gave the population of Accrington town as 35,203. The figure for the urban area, which includes
Accrington Town,
Church ,
Clayton-le-Moors ,
Great Harwood and
Oswaldwistle ), was 71,224, up 1.1% from 70,442 in 1991. For comparison purposes that is approximately the same size as
Aylesbury ,
Carlisle ,
Guildford or
Scunthorpe urban areas.
There is a sizeable shopping area and precinct in Accrington, with a selection of major chain stores such as
Marks And Spencer ,
JJB Sports and
Boots .
The town is linked to
Burnley and
Blackburn by railway and by the
M65 Motorway . There was once a rail link south to
Manchester via
Haslingden and
Bury , but this was closed in the 1960s as part of cuts following the
Beeching Report . The trackbed from Accrington to Baxenden is now an attractive treelined cycleway / footpath. The section from Rising Bridge to Carr's Industrial estate at Haslingden is now the
A56 Dual Carriageway road, which provides a link to the
M66 Motorway . There is now a regular bus service from Accrington to Manchester, via Haslingden.
The name Accrington derives from anglo saxon ton is a distortion of town or enclosure of, ring means "the people of" and accr is a distortion of a family called alker. However there is little evidence of this and it would have been the chief or land owner in the area.
The kings highway which passes above the town was at one time used by the kings and queens of England when they used the area for hunting.
For many decades, the textile industry was the central activity of the town.
Mill s and
Dye works provided work for the inhabitants, but often in very difficult conditions. There was regular conflict with employers, most famously in the 1842 'Plug riots' where a general strike spread from town to town, as thousands of strikers walked over the hills from one town to another to persuade people to join the strike. It was a marvel of robust Accrington spirit, that has been remembered through the years as Accrington D-Day. The deliverance of a better working environment for all. 'Hip-hip Horray'. The strike joined up with the
Chartist movement, but was not successful in its aims.
The town is famed for manufacturing allegedly the hardest building bricks in the world, "The Accrington NORI" Which is IRON spelt backwards.
Accrington became incorporated as a
Municipal Borough in 1878. Under the
Local Government Act 1972 , since 1974, the town has formed part of the larger borough of
Hyndburn , also including
Oswaldtwistle ,
Church ,
Clayton-le-Moors ,
Great Harwood and
Rishton .
The Haworth Art Gallery in Accrington contains an outstanding collection of Tiffany glassware presented to the town by Joseph Briggs, an Accrington man who had joined Tiffany’s in the late 19th century and eventually became art director and assistant manager. The Art Nouveau vases are considered to be the most important such group in Europe. One of the most striking items is a glass mosaic exhibition piece, designed by Briggs himself and entitled Sulphur Crested Cockatoos.
One well-known association the town has is with the ',
Blackburn , and
Chorley .
The Pals' first day of combat, Saturday 1st July 1916, took place in Serre in the north of
France . It was part of the 'Big Push' (later known as the
Battle Of The Somme ) that was intended to force the German army into a retreat from the
Western Front , a line they had held since late 1914. The German defences in Serre were supposed to have been obliterated by sustained, heavy, British shelling during the preceding week; however, as the battalion advanced it met with fierce resistance. 235 men were killed, and a further 350 wounded — more than half of the battalion — within half an hour. Similarly desperate losses were suffered elsewhere on the front, in a disastrous day for the British army.
Later in the year, the East Lancs Regiment was rebuilt with new volunteers — in all, 865 Accrington men were killed during World War I. All of these names are recorded on a war memorial, an imposing white stone cenotaph, which stands in Oak Hill Park in the south of the town. The
Cenotaph also lists the names of 173 local fatalities from
World War II .
After the Great War and until 1986, Accrington Corporation buses were painted in the Regimental Colours of Red and Blue with Gold lining. Mudguards were painted black as a sign of mourning.
