Haslingden in 1839
Haslingden is in the lower division of Blackburn hundred, 18 miles from Manchester and 204 from London. It is in Whalley parish, and constitutes a chapelry containing 4,420 acres, with a population in 1831 of 7,776. The older part of the town is on the declivity of a hill, on which the church, a neat substantial edifice, rebuilt in the latter part of the last century, stands. The introduction of the cotton manufacture has led to the enlargement and improvement of the town : a new square and many new buildings have been erected in the present century, chiefly at the base of the hill. The woollen manufacture, formerly the staple of the town, is still carried on to some extent : but the chief manufacture is that of cotton. The market is on Saturday : and there are several yearly fairs, chiefly for cattle and horses. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese and archdeaconry of Chester, of the clear yearly value of £176. with a glebe-house. There are several dissenting places of worship. There were, in 1833, in the township, one school with a small endowment, with 48 children: nine other day-schools, with 310 children ; and six Sunday-schools, with 1,736 children. |