Burnley

The name Burnley is believed to have been derived from Brun Lea, meaning "meadow by the River Brun".[3] Various other spellings have been used: Bronley (1241), Brunley (1251) and commonly Brumleye (1294)[4]

Stone Age flint tools and weapons have been found on the moors around the town,[3] as have numerous tumuli, stone circles, and some hill forts (see: Castercliff, which dates from around 600 BCE). Modern-day Back Lane, Sump Hall Lane and Noggarth Road broadly follow the route of a classic ridgeway running east–west to the north of the town, suggesting that the area was populated during pre-history and probably controlled by the Brigantes.

Limited coin finds indicate a Roman presence, but no evidence of a settlement has been found in the town. Gorple Road (running east from Worsthorne) appears to follow the route of a Roman road that may have crossed the present-day centre of town, on the way to the fort at Ribchester. It has been claimed that the nearby earthworks of Ring Stones Camp (53.793°N 2.174°W / 53.793; -2.174),[5] Twist Castle (53.800°N 2.171°W / 53.800; -2.171)[6] and Beadle Hill (53.803°N 2.169°W / 53.803; -2.169)[7] are of Roman origin, but little supporting archaeological information has been published.

Following the Roman period, the area became part of the kingdom of Rheged, and then the kingdom of Northumbria. Local place-names Padiham and Habergham show the influence of the Angles, suggesting that some had settled in the area by the early 7th century;[3] sometime later the land became part of the hundred of Blackburnshire.

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.[3] In its early days, Burnley was a small farming community, gaining a corn mill in 1290,[8] a market in 1294, and a fulling mill in 1296. At this point, it was within the manor of Ightenhill, one of five that made up the Honor of Clitheroe, then a far more significant settlement, and consisted of no more than 50 families. Little survives of early Burnley apart from the Market Cross, erected in 1295, which now stands in the grounds of the old grammar school.[3]

Over the next three centuries, Burnley grew in size to about 1,200 inhabitants by 1550, still centred around the church, St Peter's, in what is now known as "Top o' th' Town". Prosperous residents built larger houses, including Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham and Towneley Hall.

In 1532, St Peter's Church was largely rebuilt. Burnley's grammar school was founded in 1559, and moved into its own schoolhouse next to the church in 1602. Burnley began to develop in this period into a small market town, with a population of not more than 2,000 by 1790.[9] It is known that weaving was established in the town by the middle of the 18th century, and in 1817 a new Market House was built. The town continued to be centred on St Peter's Church, until the market was moved to the bottom of what is today Manchester Road, at the end of the 19th century.[3]

In the second half of the 18th century, the manufacture of cotton began to replace wool. Burnley's earliest known factories – dating from the mid-century – stood on the banks of the River Calder, close to where it is joined by the River Brun, and relied on water power to drive the spinning machines. The first turnpike road through the area now known as Burnley was begun in 1754, linking the town to Blackburn and Colne eventually leading to the area of Brun Lea developing into a town, and by the mid 19th century, there were daily stagecoach journeys to Blackburn, Skipton and Manchester, the latter taking just over two hours.[3]

The 18th century also saw the rapid development of coal mining on the Burnley Coalfield: the drift mines and shallow bell-pits of earlier centuries were replaced by deeper shafts, meeting industrial as well as domestic demand in Nelson, Colne & Padiham, and by 1800 there were over a dozen pits in the modern-day centre of the town alone.[3]

Burnley wharf on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal

The arrival of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1796 made possible transportation of goods in bulk, bringing a huge boost to the area's economy and the town of Burnley was born. Dozens of new mills were constructed, along with many foundries and ironworks that supplied the cotton mills and coal mines with machinery and cast and wrought iron for construction. The town became renowned for its mill-engines, and the Burnley Loom was recognised as one of the best in the world.

A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of Burnley Barracks in 1820.[10]

Disaster struck the town in 1824, when first its only local bank (known as Holgate's) collapsed,[11] forcing the closure of some of the largest mills. This was followed by a summer drought, which caused serious problems for many of the others, leading to high levels of unemployment and possibly contributing to the national financial crisis of 1825.

By 1830, there were 32 steam engines in cotton mills throughout the rapidly expanding town,[3] an example of which, originally installed at Harle Syke Mill, is on display in the Science Museum in London.[12]

Around 1840, a traveller described the town as ugly, stating that: "parts of it were so situated that good architectural effects might have been obtained had the disposition and the resources co-existed".[9]

The Great Famine of Ireland led to an influx of Irish families during the 1840s, who formed a community in one of the poorest districts. At one time, the Park District (modern-day town centre, around Parker St.) was known as Irish Park.

In 1848, the East Lancashire Railway Company's extension from Accrington linked the town to the nation's nascent railway network for the first time. This was another significant boost to the local economy and, by 1851, the town's population had reached almost 21,000.[3]

The Burnley Building Society, incorporated in Burnley in 1850, was, by 1911, not only 'by far the largest in the County of Lancashire... but the sixth in magnitude in the kingdom'.[13]

The Cotton Famine of 1861–1865, caused by the American Civil War, was again disastrous for the town. However, the resumption of trade led to a quick recovery and, by 1866, the town was the largest producer of cotton cloth in the world.[14] By the 1880s, the town was manufacturing more looms than anywhere in the country.[15]

In 1871, the population was 44,320, and had grown to 87,016 by 1891.[9] Burnley Town Hall, designed by Holton and Fox of Dewsbury, was built between 1885 and 1888.[9]

The Burnley Electric Lighting Order was granted in 1890, giving Burnley Corporation (which already controlled the supply of water and the making and sale of gas) a monopoly in the generation and sale of electricity in the town. The building of the coal-powered Electricity Works, in Grimshaw Street, began in 1891, close to the canal (the site of the modern-day Tesco supermarket) and the first supply was achieved on 22 August 1893, initially generating electricity for street lighting.[16]

The start of the 20th century saw Burnley's textile industry at the height of its prosperity. By 1901 there were 700,000 spindles and 62,000 looms at work in the textile industry. Other industries at that time included: brass and iron foundries, rope works, calico printing works, tanneries, paper mills, collieries and corn mills and granaries.[9] By 1910, there were approximately 99,000 power looms in the town,[17] and it reached its peak population of over 100,000 in 1911.[18] By 1920, the Burnley and District Weavers', Winders' and Beamers' Association had more than 20,000 members.[19] However, the First World War heralded the beginning of the collapse of the English textiles industry and the start of a steady decline in the town's population.[18] The Bank Parade drill hall was completed in the early 20th century.[20]

There is a total of 191 Listed buildings in Burnley – one Grade I (Towneley Hall), two Grade II* (St Peter's Church and Burnley Mechanics) and 188 Grade II.[21]

Over 4000 men from Burnley were killed in the First World War, about 15 per cent of the male working-age population.[22]

250 volunteers, known as the Burnley Pals, made up Z Company of 11th Battalion, the East Lancashire Regiment, a battalion that as a whole became known by the far more famous name of the Accrington Pals. Victoria Crosses were awarded to two soldiers from the town, Hugh Colvin and Thomas Whitham, along with a third to resident (and only son of the chief constable) Alfred Victor Smith. In 1926 a memorial to the fallen was erected in Towneley Park, funded by Caleb Thornber, former mayor and alderman of the borough to ensure the sacrifice of the men lost was commemorated. The local school of art created pages of vellum with the names of the fallen inscribed. These were framed in a rotating carousel in Towneley Hall for visitors to see. There were 2000 names inscribed – less than half the number of actual casualties.

During the Second World War, Burnley largely escaped the Blitz, with the only Luftwaffe bomb to known to have fallen within the town landing near the conservatory at Thompson Park on 27 October 1940.[23] In early 1941 a network of five Starfish site bombing decoys were established in the rural areas near Burnley, designed to protect Accrington. A site was located near Crown Point in Habergham Eaves with two on Hameldon Hill, and others in Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood and near Haslingden.[24]

On 6 May 1941, a stick of eight bombs straddled houses around Rossendale Avenue on the southern edge of town, causing only minor damage. On the night of 12 October the control shelter at the Starfish site near Crown Point suffered a direct hit, killing Aircraftman L R Harwood, and severely injuring four other men.[25][26]

Although the blackout was enforced, most of the aircraft in the sky above the town would have been friendly and on training missions, or returning to the factories for maintenance. Aircraft crashes did occur, however: In September 1942 a P-38 Lightning from the 14th Fighter Group USAAF crashed near Cliviger, and Black Hameldon Hill claimed a Halifax from No. 51 Squadron RAF in January 1943, and also a B-24 Liberator from the 491st Bombardment Group USAAF in February 1945.[27] Lucas Industries set up shadow factories, producing a wide range of electrical parts for the war effort. Notably they were involved with the Rover Company's failed attempts (and Rolls-Royce's later successful ones) to produce Frank Whittle's pioneering jet engine design, the W.2 (Rolls-Royce Welland) in Barnoldswick. Magnesium Elektron's factory in Lowerhouse became the largest magnesium production facility in Britain.[28] An unexpected benefit of the conflict for the residents of Burnley occurred in 1940. The Old Vic Theatre Company and the Sadler's Wells Opera and Ballet Companies moved from London to the town's Victoria Theatre.

For their actions during the war, two Distinguished Service Orders and eight Distinguished Conduct Medals, along with a large number of lesser awards, were awarded to servicemen from the town. Burnley's main war memorial stands in Place de Vitry sur Seine next to the central library.

The Queen, together with Prince Philip, first visited the town as well as Nelson and the Mullard valve factory at Simonstone near Padiham in 1955.[29]

There were widespread celebrations in the town in the summer of 1960, when Burnley FC won the old first division to become Football League champions.

The Queen paid a second official visit to the town in summer 1961, marking the 100th anniversary of Burnley's borough status. The rest of the decade saw large-scale redevelopment in the town. Many buildings were demolished including the market hall, the cattle market, the Odeon cinema and thousands of mainly terraced houses. New construction projects included the Charter Walk shopping centre, Centenary Way and its flyover, the Keirby Hotel, a new central bus station, a large scale housing development known as Trafalgar Gardens, and a number of office blocks. The town's largest coal mine, Bank Hall Colliery, closed in April 1971 resulting in the loss of 571 jobs. The area of the mine has been restored as a park.[30]

In 1980 Burnley was connected to the motorway network, through the construction of the first and second sections of the M65. Although the route, next to the railway and over the former Clifton colliery site, was chosen to minimise the clearance of occupied land, Yatefield, Olive Mount and Whittlefield Mills, Burnley Barracks, and several hundred more terrace houses had to be demolished. Unusually this route passed close to the town centre and had a partitioning effect on the districts of Gannow, Ightenhill, Whittlefield, Rose Grove and Lowerhouse to the north. The 1980s and 1990s saw massive expansion of Ightenhill and Whittlefield. Developers such as Bovis, Barratt and Wainhomes built large housing estates, predominantly on greenfield land.

In summer 1992, the town came to national attention following rioting on the Stoops and Hargher Clough council estates in the south west of the town.[31]

The millennium brought some improvement projects, notably the "Forest of Burnley" scheme,[32] which planted approximately a million trees throughout the town and its outskirts, and the creation of the Lowerhouse Lodges local nature reserve.[33]

In June 2001, during the 2001 England riots, the town again received national attention following a series of violent disturbances arising from racial tensions between some of its White and Asian residents.[34]

Burnley Town Hall on Manchester Road

Burnley Borough Council is currently governed by a multi-party coalition. The role of mayor is a ceremonial post which rotates annually and for 2020-21 is Wajid Khan[36] (Labour Party).

The borough comprises 15 wards, 12 of which – Bank Hall, Briercliffe, Brunshaw, Coal Clough with Deerplay, Daneshouse with Stoneyholme, Gannow, Lanehead, Queensgate, Rosegrove with Lowerhouse, Rosehill with Burnley Wood, Trinity, and Whittlefield with Ightenhill – fall within the town itself. The remaining three – Cliviger with Worsthorne, Gawthorpe, and Hapton with Park, cover the neighbouring town of Padiham and a number of villages.[37]

Lancashire County Council is currently controlled by the Conservative Party and has been since 2017. They have had only one other term in power between 2009 – 2013, the rest of the time from 1981, the council has been under Labour control. The borough is represented on the council in six divisions: Burnley Central East, Burnley Central West, Burnley North East, Burnley Rural, Burnley South West, and Padiham & Burnley West.[38]

The constituency of Burnley elects a single member of Parliament (MP). Since the general election in 2019, the town has been represented by Antony Higginbotham, its first Conservative Party MP in over 100 years.[39] The constituency had been represented by MPs of the Labour Party since 1935, apart from 2010 – 2015, when it was represented by Gordon Birtwistle, a Liberal Democrat. Richard Shaw was the town's first MP in 1868. Arguably its most notable MP was former leader of the Labour Party and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Arthur Henderson.

Along the Burnley section of the canal are a number of notable features. The 3,675-foot (1,120 m) long and up to 60-foot (18.25 m) high almost perfectly level embankment, known as the Straight Mile, was built between 1796 and 1801 (before the invention of the steam shovel), to avoid the need for locks. It is regarded as one of the original seven wonders of the British waterways.[94] The much more modern (1980) Whittlefield motorway aqueduct is believed to be the first time a canal aqueduct was constructed over a motorway in the UK.

The Weavers' Triangle is an area west of Burnley town centre, consisting mostly of 19th-century industrial buildings, clustered around the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The area has been identified as being of significant historical interest as the cotton mills and associated buildings encapsulate the social and economic development of the town and its weaving industry. From the 1980s, the area has been the focus of major redevelopment efforts.

The Singing Ringing Tree, overlooking Burnley

The Singing Ringing Tree is a wind powered sound sculpture resembling a tree, set in the landscape of the Pennines, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Burnley town centre.

Completed in 2006, it is part of the series of four sculptures within the Panopticons arts and regeneration project created by the East Lancashire Environmental Arts Network (ELEAN). The project was set up to erect a series of 21st-century landmarks, or Panopticons (structures providing a comprehensive view), across East Lancashire as symbols of the renaissance of the area.

Designed by architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu of Tonkin Liu, the Singing Ringing Tree is a 9.8-foot (3 m) tall construction comprising pipes of galvanised steel, which harness the energy of the wind to produce a slightly discordant and penetrating choral sound covering a range of several octaves. Some of the pipes are primarily structural and aesthetic elements, while others have been cut across their width enabling the sound. The harmonic and singing qualities of the tree were produced by tuning the pipes according to their length by adding holes to the underside of each.

In 2007 the sculpture was one of 14 winners of the National Award of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for architectural excellence.

Towneley Hall in Towneley Park on the eastern edge of town

Towneley Hall was the home of the Towneley family for more than 500 years. Various family members were influential in the scientific, technological and religious developments which took place in the 17th and 18th centuries. The male line of the family died out in 1878 and in 1901 one of the daughters, Lady O'Hagan, sold the house together with 62 acres (25 ha) of land to Burnley Corporation.[95] The hall contains the 15th-century Whalley Abbey vestments and has its own chapel, which contains a finely carved altarpiece made in Antwerp in about 1525.

On the outskirts of the town there are galleries in two stately homes, the Burnley council-owned Towneley Hall and Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham, which is owned by Lancashire County Council and managed by the National Trust. There are also two local museums: the Weavers' Triangle Trust operates the Visitor Centre and Museum of Local History in the historic surroundings of the Weavers' Triangle, while the Queen Street Mill Textile Museum is unique as the world's only surviving steam driven cotton weaving shed.

Mid Pennine Arts were instrumental in the Panopticons project and run exhibitions and creative learning projects across the town and wider area.[122]

There are several large parks in the town, including Towneley Park, once the deer park for the 15th century Towneley Hall, and three winners of the Green Flag Award, Queens Park which hosts a summer season of brass band concerts each year, and Thompson Park which has a boating lake and miniature railway.[123] The other parks include Scott Park, Ightenhill Park and Thursby Gardens. A greenway route linking Burnley Central Station along a former mineral line and incorporating the former Bank Hall colliery and reclaimed landfill site at Heasandford extends out of the town towards Worsthorne at Rowley Lake. The lake was constructed in the 1980s as a means to divert the river Brun away from former mine workings that were causing significant pollution of the river.

Burnley Mechanics Theatre, originally a Mechanics' Institute

There is a modern 24-lane ten pin bowling centre on Finsley Gate, operated by 1st Bowl. A 9-screen multiplex cinema opened in 1995 (with 3 3D screens as of 2010), operated by Reel Cinemas. The town's theatre, named after its former use as a Mechanics Institute,[124] hosts touring comedians and musical acts and amateur dramatics. In 2005, Burnley Youth Theatre moved into a second, purpose-built £1.5 million performance space next to Queen's Park, one of only two purpose-built youth theatres in the UK.[125]

Each year Burnley hosts the two-day Burnley International Rock and Blues Festival, which started as the Burnley National Blues Festival in 1988.[126] The renamed festival moved from Easter to the early May Bank Holiday. The festival introduced a new logo, website and branding in a bid to attract new and younger audiences, and to encourage cross-town participation with a 'Little America' theme. It is one of the largest blues festivals in the country, drawing fans from all over Britain and beyond to venues spread across the town. In the 1970s the town was also an important venue for Northern soul[127] and several local pubs still hold regular Northern soul nights. In recent years the town has also hosted the annual Burnley Balloon Festival in Towneley Park and a science festival at UCLan's local university campus. A funfair is usually held around the second weekend in July at Fulledge Recreation Ground, which is also the venue for the town's main Guy Fawkes Night celebration.

Hammerton Street, one of Burnley's main areas for nightlife

Major bars and nightclubs in Burnley include Panama's, Genesis, Projekt, BB11, Koko's, the Mix, Pharaoh's, The Jungle, Mr Green's, Mojitos, Remedy, Smackwater Jack's Bar, Inside-Out and Sanctuary Rock Bar. There are also chain-owned bars, such as Wetherspoons and Walkabout. Lava & Ignite, which was a leading nightclub, closed in 2014.[128]

Curzon Street in Burnley was also the site of the legendary Angels nightclub.

Burnley has a small gay scene, centred on the Guys as Dolls showbar in St James Street.[129] In 1971 the granting of a licence to the town's first gay club, The Esquire, caused considerable controversy, with Tory deputy council leader, Alderman Frank Bailey, suggesting that the building be bought by the corporation to stop the plan.[130] A rainbow plaque was unveiled at Burnley Library on 30 July 2021 marking the 50th anniversary of a meeting organised by the Campaign for Homosexual Equality regarding the gay club.[131]

Bénédictine and hot water, known locally as "Bene 'n' Hot" is a popular drink in east Lancashire, after soldiers stationed in Normandy during the First World War brought back a taste for the drink. The Burnley Miners' Club is the world's largest consumer of the French liqueur, and has its own Bénédictine Lounge.[132][133][134][135]

Local radio for Burnley and its surrounding area is currently provided by Capital Manchester and Lancashire (formerly 2BR) and BBC Radio Lancashire.

Local television news programmes are BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada Reports.

There are two local newspapers: the Burnley Express, published on Tuesdays and Fridays, and the daily Lancashire Telegraph, which publishes a local edition for Burnley and Pendle. Two free advertisement-supported newspapers, The Citizen[136] and The Reporter, are posted to homes throughout the town.

Burnley was one of seven sites chosen to be part of Channel 4's The Big Art project in which a group of 15 young people from all over the town commissioned artist Greyworld to create a piece of public art. The artwork, named "Invisible", is a series of UV paintings placed all around the town centre displaying public heroes.

Parts of the 1961 British film Whistle Down the Wind, and the two BBC television series All Quiet on the Preston Front and Juliet Bravo, were filmed in the town. Burnley Fire Station was the location of Social Services in the first series of Juliet Bravo, and Burnley Library was used for exterior shots of the magistrates' court in the series. Numerous locations in the town were used in the 1996–1998 BBC comedy drama Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. Ashfield Road, which runs between the Burnley College and DIY superstore, was used as a film location in the 1951 film The Man in the White Suit.[137]

Queen Street Mill textile museum was used for a scene in the 2010 Oscar-winning film The King's Speech,[138] and for scenes in the 2004 BBC dramatisation of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South, as well as Life on Mars (S1 E3; 2006). It has also featured in the following BBC documentaries: Fred Dibnah's Industrial Age (E2; 1999), Adam Hart-Davies' What the Victorians Did for Us (E1; 2001), and Jeremy Paxman's The Victorians (2009), as well as Who Do You Think You Are? (Bill Oddie episode), Flog It and UKTV History's The Re-Inventors (2006).

Towneley Hall featured in the BBC comedy drama Casanova (2005) and the BBC antiques quiz Antiques Master is currently filmed there.[139]

The canal embankment featured in the 2007 ITV documentary Locks and Quays (S2 E9) and two families in Burnley have been featured in the ITV series 60 Minute Makeover (S6 E28 and S7 E70).

In 2023 Netflix released a comedy "Bank of Dave" billed as a true-ish story of a Burnley's businessman David Fishwick, who in 2011 opened 'Burnley Savings & Loans' trading under the slogan 'Bank on Dave'.

The town's educational attainment has continued to improve over the last few years. In 2012, 82% of children at the end of Key Stage 2 achieved Level 4 or above in English and 81% in Mathematics.[147]

In 2012 59% of students at the end of Key Stage 4 achieved A*-C grades or above at GCSE[148] and in 2012 Burnley College reported a 99.8% A Level pass rate and a record number of A and A* grades.[149][150]

Keith Coventry, the winner of the 2010 John Moores Painting Prize, was born and educated in the town. The watercolourist Noel Leaver studied and also taught at the former Burnley School of Art, later attended by Greta Tomlinson.

Possibly the best-known Burnley figure in the field of entertainment is actor Ian McKellen, who was born in the town in 1939. There is a blue plaque on the house where he lived, but where he says he was not born.[151] Other actors born in the town include J. Pat O'Malley, Mary Mackenzie, Irene Sutcliffe, Julia Haworth, Richard Moore,[152][153] Jody Latham, Kathy Jamieson, Hannah Hobley, Natalie Gumede and Lee Ingleby. Coronation Street regular Malcolm Hebden grew up in the town. Screenwriter Paul Abbott, creator of Shameless, and television producer and executive Peter Salmon were also born here.[154]

Burnley rock band Chumbawamba in 2012

Musicians born in the town include Danbert Nobacon, Alice Nutter, Lou Watts and Boff Whalley (all of Chumbawamba),[155] Eric Haydock (bassist in The Hollies), classical composer John Pickard,[156] the DJ Anne Savage, Record Producer Ady Hall of Sugar House, young soprano Hollie Steel.[157] and singer Cody Frost.[158]

The 19th-century author and clergyman Silas K. Hocking[159] wrote his most famous work, Her Benny (1879), while living in Burnley. Crime writer Stephen Booth is another native of the town,[160] as are journalist and broadcaster Tony Livesey and author and documentary maker Stewart Binns.

David Waddington, Lord Waddington of Read (former Conservative Home Secretary and former Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords), Phil Willis, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate & Knaresborough,[161] and the diplomat Sir Vincent Fean were born in Burnley, as was the 16th-century Catholic martyr Robert Nutter,[162] and the 17th-century Catholic martyr Thomas Whittaker.[163] Suffragettes Margaret Aldersley was born in Burnley in 1852 while Ada Nield Chew died in the town in 1945.

James Yorke Scarlett, commander of the Heavy Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava, was married to a Hargreaves coal heiress and lived at Bank Hall. 2nd Lieutenant Hugh Colvin VC and Private Thomas Whitham VC both served during World War I.

Engineer Sir Willis Jackson[164] was born and educated in the town. James Drake, a pioneer of British motorways, was also born here. 17th-century mathematician Sir Jonas Moore was from Higham but is believed to have been educated at the Grammar School. Moore's contemporary, Richard Towneley, pioneered many scientific and technological developments at Towneley Hall. Scottish cardiology pioneer Sir James Mackenzie lived and practised medicine in the town for more than a quarter of a century. The Lasker Award-winning molecular biologist Edwin Southern, inventor of the Southern blot, was born and raised in Burnley.[165]

Burnley's sporting figures include England and Lancashire cricketer James Anderson,[166] former England international footballers Jimmy Crabtree,[167] Billy Bannister,[168] and Jay Rodriguez, Northern Ireland international Oliver Norwood,[169] Pakistan international Adnan Ahmed, former England Women's goalkeeper Rachel Brown,[170] ex-Manchester United player Chris Casper,[171] Commonwealth Games Gold Medal-winning gymnast Craig Heap.[172] Supercars Championship driver Fabian Coulthard, second cousin of Formula One driver David Coulthard, was born in Burnley along with Neil Hodgson, 2003 World Superbike champion. Also long-time Burnley F.C. chairman Bob Lord, football pioneer Jimmy Hogan (who grew up in the town), football manager Harry Bradshaw,[173] handball player Holly Lam-Moores,[174] middleweight boxer Jock McAvoy, World Rally Championship navigator Daniel Barritt,[175] and hammer thrower Sophie Hitchon.

A panoramic image showing the town of Burnley from Crown point road. To the far top left of the image is the imposing Pendle Hill, with the Yorkshire Dales visible in the top central background. In the left of the image shows the town centre of Burnley and Turf Moor can be seen in the very centre of the picture. To the right the areas of Brunshaw and Pike Hill can be seen.

• Burnley Borough Council Official council site
• Visit Burnley Official tourism site

• Ordnance Survey Map of Eastern Burnley in 1890
• Ordnance Survey Map of Western Burnley in 1890
• Ordnance Survey Map of Burnley in 1910
• Ordnance Survey Map of Burnley in 1953–55
• Photographs of Burnley at Geograph (UK)
• Burnley in 2007 | Photographs of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Burnley
• Image Burnley