a large market-town in the hundred of the same name, in the county of Lancaster, 204 miles from London, on the river Derwent, over which there are four stone bridges. The town has taken its name from the colour of the river. It owes a great portion of its prosperity to the extension of canals, which give a facility of intercourse with all the northern and middle parts of the kingdom. The rapid increase of the cotton trade has produced the greatest local effect in Blackburn, in the increase of houses and inhabitants, and in the ornaments and conveniences of the place. The parish of Blackburn contains fifteen townships and eight chapelries, and in 1821 numbered 53,350 inhabitants. The population of the town of Blackburn has increased considerably, amounting in 1801 to 11,980, in 1811 to 15,083, and in 1821 to 21,940.