Place Information
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Bacup is a town within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England. It is located between Burnley, Todmorden, Rochdale and Rawtenstall, near the border with West Yorkshire. According to the 2001 census, Bacup had a population of 12,763. Having previously been a mill town of the Industrial Revolution, Bacup was once described by English Heritage as the best preserved cotton mill town in England.
History
Early historyBacup is mentioned in a charter by Robert de Lacey in 1200 where a small village named "Fulebachope" is described. The Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names translates this as "muddy valley by a ridge", which remains a recognisably accurate description. It makes it one of the oldest settlements in the Rossendale Valley. Another, oft quoted (although grossly unreliable) explanation for the name is that farmers from the nearby Deerplay Farm would order the deer 'backup' the hill from Bacup (which is, however, pronounced 'bay-cup'). Deerplay is now the name of a pub, and the source of the River Irwell. Bacup was a small settlement throughout the Middle Ages and only began to grow during the Industrial Revolution when, along with the rest of the East Lancashire area, it grew in size as the textile industry developed rapidly and many cotton mills and associated houses were built in the area. Recent historyBacup began to decline during the 20th century as an industrial settlement, a process not helped by the closure of its rail link. The population of Bacup declined from 22,000 in the 1911 census to 15,000 in the 1971 census. There are on-going attempts to halt the decline with substantial government/EU inspired investment and development schemes. Research Tips
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