Burnley
Burnley's origins lie in at least 1122 when the parish church of St Peter was first mentioned but probably goes back further. The town was granted a market over 700 years ago.Burnley grew up as an industrial town in the 19th century, with its economy being based upon
textile manufacturing (cotton spinning and weaving),
coal mining, and
engineering. Most of the cotton mills, all of the coal mines, and some of the engineering firms have now closed, although some mills remain as a reminder of Burnley's industrial history. It has recently emerged that there were plans made by the German Army to invade the town during the
Second World War due to its industrial might.
[Burnley Express Newspaper - September 2005]Burnley received national attention in June 2001 due to disturbances arising from social problems - mainly racial tensions but also social deprivation in White and Asian Communities. See the
Burnley Task Force report (
pdf) for more information. The population of Burnley includes around 5,500 people of South Asian heritage. Daneshouse, is in the top 1% of the most deprived wards in Britain. The town has also seen growing success of the far
right-wing British National Party in local elections in the
borough.
Main article: Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club, nicknamed the Clarets, are founder members of
The Football League, have played at
Turf Moor since
1883 and currently compete in the English Championship (previously Division 1). There is a rivalry between Burnley and
Blackburn football clubs.
Burnley has a lively nightlife, drawing clubbers from all over the North-West. The town is dominated by the club Lava-Ignite; Lava is usually an over-25s only bar, however, with Ignite being over-18s.
Other major bars and nightclubs include XS - a large club usually associated with dance, Calamity Jane's (
cowboy themed), Smackwater Jacks (known as Smacks), Posh, Hellbound@Graffiti and Sanctuary (associated with the
alternative music scene). There are two main pubs for gay people to relax without prejudice, The Garden Bar and The Plane Tree. There are also chain-owned bars, such as
Wetherspoons and
Walkabout.
Burnley is also a venue for one of the UK's largest
Blues festivals. This two day event occurs annually, and takes place across the many pubs in Burnley, with the festival drawing many Blues fans from all over the country. For more info see
Burnley National Blues Festival - 14/4/2006 - 16/4/2006Burnley along with
Blackburn,
Preston and
Blackpool is one of the main shopping centres in Lancashire. The town has a market open six days a week, a large shopping centre called Charter Walk which is light and airy with big name shop ranging from
River Island and
Miss Selfridge to
Toni & Guy and
Argos. There are also several retail parks including a large
Tesco store built on stilts (with a car park underneath). Future developments include 'The Oval' a large shopping centre with 32 large new shops expected to include Debenhams, GAP, H&M and others.
Burnley has four railway stations,
Manchester Road station,
Central Station,
Barracks station and
Rosegrove station. Manchester Road station is the best served with routes to
Preston and
Blackpool in the West and
Leeds and
York in the East. it also serves well for away football supporters as it has direct links into the town centre.
The town also has good bus links into
Manchester: the Witch Way service runs from
Nelson to Manchester, stopping at Burnley. The bus station is located in the town centre. It is a new structure made out of steel and glass, which has won awards for design. These awards include the prestigious Bus Industry Award for Infrastructure, won in 2003.
*Queen Street Mill and the Weaver's Triangle
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Towneley Hall*
Turf Moor*
Pendle Hill*
Gawthorpe HallSome of the secondary schools in Burnley are listed below.
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St. Hildas (Girls)
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St. Theodores (Boys)
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Gawthorpe, (
Padiham)
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Ivy Bank*
Habergham*
Towneley*
BardenOne of the outcomes of the Burnley Task Force report as the finding that the schooling system in Burnley could be partially to blame for many racial problems and ultimately the 2001 disturbances. In the end it was decided that new "super schools" should be built to replace all 7 of the current schools.
This work is due to begin in September, with
Gawthorpe High school being the first school to be demolished and will last approximately 3 years. The 7 schools will be compressed into 5 super schools overall and they will be unlike normal high schools. The 5 schools will actually be like one school but separated into 5 evenly spread out schools, in effect they will be like a university, each school will have its own specialised area of teaching and students wanting to study certain subjects may move about within the 5 schools. Each school will still have its own ethos and uniforms to keep them individual but will overall offer more to students as they can learn what they want to from an early age.
Overall the project is expected to cost upwards of £50 million and is unique to Burnley though it is expected the idea of uni-high schools will catch on and more will be built.
For more detailed information, including artist impressions and the phases of transition see
http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/education/bsf/index.asp*
Paul Abbott British television scriptwriter of
Channel 4's popular comedy drama,
Shameless.
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James Anderson England and Lancashire Cricketer.
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Jim Bowen, presenter of popular 1980's television game show, Bull's Eye.
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Chris Casper, ex-football player and current manager of
Football League Two side
Bury.
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John Falconer, professional
poker player.
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Ron Greenwood (dec'd), previous manager of the
England National Football Team.
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Malcolm Hebden, actor who plays
Norris Cole in
ITV's popular soap opera,
Coronation Street*
Neil Hodgson -
2003 World Superbike champion
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Lee Ingleby, actor, who's appeared in films such as
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, also appeared in TV programmes such as "Early Doors" and an episode of "
Hustle"
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Sally Jacks A Touch of Frost, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks.
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Tony Livesey, editor of
The Daily Sport and also has a show on
BBC Radio Lancashire*
Sir Ian McKellen, famous actor well know for playing
Gandalf in
The Lord of the Rings.
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Richard Moore Jarvis - Emmerdale
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Daniel Elliott Th'elliott - Pro Evo Champ
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Stella Reid-Star of American TV show Nanny 911.
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Peter Salmon, television producer and executive.
In various
Len Deighton thrillers the hero is unnamed and comes from Burnley. In the film version of
The Ipcress File, however, he is called Harry Palmer and is played by
cockney Michael Caine.
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Burnley.gov.uk*
Burnley Football Club Official Site*
Burnley, Padiham and Pendle Discussion Forum
