Burnley is a market town in the Burnley (borough) of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, at the confluence of the River Calder, Lancashire and River Brun.
It began life in the early medieval period as a number of farming Hamlet (place) surrounded by Manorialism houses and royal forests, gaining a market over 700 years ago. Its main period of expansion came during the Industrial Revolution, when it grew into one of Lancashire's most prominent Mill towns. At its peak, it became one of the world's largest producers of cotton cloth and a major centre of engineering.
Today, Burnley has a post-industrial economy and landscape, and is increasingly a dormitory town for Manchester, City of Leeds and the M65 motorway corridor.
