Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire. It lies about 6 km east of Blackburn, and is situated on the mostly culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to “Accy” the town is a former centre of the cotton and textile machinery industries.
The town is famed for manufacturing the hardest and densest building bricks in the world, “The Accrington NORI” (iron), which were used in the construction of the Empire State Building and for the foundations of Blackpool Tower. It is also famous for Accrington Stanley F.C. who were amongst the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888, and the Haworth Art Gallery which holds Europe’s largest collection of Tiffany glass.
Places to visit
Public Library – this library was built after an offer of £7,500 by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and opened in 1908. The library has a Local History Room which offers information about the history of Accrington and the surrounding areas.
St. James’ Church – a 5 minute walk from the station is Grade 2 listed
Market Hall – just a 5 minute walk from the station this is a true Victorian market, the corner stone being laid in May 1868. In 2010 the market hall underwent a £2 million refurbishment and today fresh meat, vegetables and a host of other local goods are available.
Haworth Art Gallery – a 30 minute walk from the station or there are regular buses from the bus station (5 minutes from the railway station). The Haworth Art Gallery is a public art gallery located in Accrington, Lancashire, northwest England, and is the home of the largest collection in Europe of Tiffany glass from the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Discover Amazing Women by Rail
Discover Amazing Women by Rail is a project initiated by the Mid Cheshire Line CRP and invites people to leave their car at home and use the train (along with buses and trams) to explore the fascinating, and often hidden, histories of women who lived and worked in areas along the Mid Cheshire and Calder Valley railway lines, including the Blackburn to Manchester via Todmorden route.
The project is supported with a website (www.amazingwomenbyrail.org.uk) by an A5 booklet available from local stations, tourist information offices and libraries. The booklet can also be downloaded using this link: Amazing Women by Rail