Burnley Inns and Taverns: Images of England

A history of Burnley inns & taverns

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The Industrial Revolution borough tens of thousands of rural folk into Burnley from Yorkshire Dales and Derbyshire. In just a few decades, the town became the 'Cotton Capital of the World', with more than 100,000 looms in operation. The price of such fame came at a cost - to cope with the influx of workers, low-class slum housing was built, row upon row in the smoke-blackened streets. Poverty was rife, and strikes and famine common - it was not the 'New Jerusalem' that many had hoped for. Often workers turned to drink, and their need to ale was satisfied and quenched by hundreds of beerhouses and taverns, often unlicensed. By 1881, Burnley was known as 'The Most Drunken Town in England'. Illustrated with more than 70 archive photographs, this book tells the histories of many of the 300 beerhouses, pubs and inns which were in the town. Snippets from the local newspapers of the day add to the interest, with tales of violence, robbery, drunkenness, street crime, rape, and even murder. This is an essential guide to the inns and taverns of Burnley.