Accrington is a town in Lancashire, within the borough of Hyndburn.

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 ; famous for its football team and for having Europe's largest collection of Tiffany Glass.

Accrington is commonly abbreviated by locals to " Accy ".

What is known is that there was a chapel in Accrington prior to 1553 where the vicar of Whalley was responsible for the maintenance of divine worship.

One well-known association the town has is with the ' Accrington Pals ', the nickname given to the smallest home town battalion of volunteers formed to fight in the first world war.

Strictly speaking, the ' Accrington Pals ' battalion is properly known as the ' 11th East Lancashire Regiment ': the nickname is a little misleading, since of the four 250-strong companies that made up the original battalion only one was actually composed of men from Accrington.

The town's shopping centre is called the Accrington Arndale Centre.

Accrington is a hill town located at the western edge of the Pennines within a bowl and largely encircled by surrounding hills to heights of 300-400m.

The trackbed from Accrington to Baxenden is now a linear treelined cycleway / footpath. As of November 2011 Hyndburn borough council has plans to re-open the rail link to manchester.

Accrington is represented in parliament as a part of the constituency of Hyndburn.

Due to its size Accrington is represented by a number of wards in the Borough of Hyndburn.

* Accrington and Rossendale College ( also known as Across ) is a further education college for 14 – 19 year olds.

The local hospital is Accrington Victoria Hospital however, as it only deals with minor issues, A & E is provided by the Royal Blackburn Hospital.

The town's other famous association is with Accrington Stanley F. C., the butt of many ( largely affectionate ) jokes.

One of the most important pieces of the regeneration jigsaw for the Borough is reviving Accrington town centre.

The major towns of Burnley and Accrington are to the north and northwest respectively ; Todmorden, Walsden and the county of West Yorkshire are to the east ; Rochdale and the county of Greater Manchester are to the south ; Rawtenstall, from where Bacup is governed, is to the west.

Accrington Stanley Football Club is an English football club based in Accrington, Lancashire.

Manchester raised fifteen specific ' Pals ' battalions ; one of the smallest was Accrington, in Lancashire, which raised one.

The town we now call Accrington covers two townships which were established in 1507 following disafforestation ; those of Old Accrington and New Accrington which were merged in 1878 with the incorporation of the borough council.

There have been settlements there since the medieval period, likely in the Grange Lane and Black Abbey area, and the King's Highway which passes above the town was at one time used by the kings and queens of England when they used the area for hunting when the Forest of Accrington was one of the four forests of the hundred of Blackburnshire.

The Industrial Revolution, however, resulted in large changes and Accrington ’ s location on the confluence of a number of streams made it attractive to industry and a number of mills were built in the town in the mid-eighteenth century.

The 2001 census gave the population of Accrington town as 35, 203.

As well as motor dealerships from Ford ( Greyhound ), Vauxhall & Chevrolet ( Accrington Garages ), the town was home to a Arnold Clark car dealer which closed down in 2010.

The Hyndburn or Accrington Brook flows through the centre of the town.

The town has strong local travel links as Accrington railway station lies on the East Lancashire Line serving trains running locally and trains running from Blackpool to York.

Accrington Stanley Football Club has officially had its own pub in the town, the Crown, since July 2007.

The town of Accrington thus has the unique " distinction " of having lost two separate clubs from league football.

The Haworth Art Gallery in Accrington contains an outstanding collection of Tiffany glassware presented to the town by Joseph Briggs, an Accrington man who had joined Tiffany ’ s in the late 19th century and eventually became art director and assistant manager.

The Council using funding from the Single Regeneration Budget appointed URBED ( Urban, Built, Environment Design ), consultants based in Manchester to help the Council, our partners and the local community develop a new vision for Accrington town centre.

* Accrington Web Accrington forum and town information

* A 3D map of Accrington You can see the town of Accrington and parking

Industrialisation resulted in rapid population growth during the nineteenth century, as people moved from over north-west England to Accrington, with the population increasing from 3, 266 in 1811 to 10, 376 in 1851 to 43, 211 in 1901 to its peak in 1911 at 45, 029.

* Accrington St Christopher's C of E High, a Church of England secondary school which holds specialist Technology College status.

The Haworth Art Gallery in Accrington, England contains a collection of over 140 examples of the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany, including vases, tiles, lamps and mosaics.

Between these two seasons, Bradman seriously contemplated playing professional cricket in England with the Lancashire League club Accrington, a move that, according to the rules of the day, would have ended his Test career.

Jon Anderson was born John Roy Anderson in Accrington, Lancashire, England, to Albert and Kathleen Anderson.

Mina Anwar ( born 20 September 1969 in Church, near Accrington, Lancashire, England ) is an English actress.

* Haworth Art Gallery, Accrington, Lancashire, England

It also shows that the land was held directly by King Edward, After the Norman conquest of England, much of the great forest was established as royal hunting grounds, and divided into the four forests of Accrington, Pendle, Trawden and Rossendale.

William Bury Westall ( 7 February 1834 – 1903 ) was an English novelist born in Old Accrington, Lancashire, England.

* St Mary Magdalene Church of England Primary School and Church, Accrington, Accrington

Albeit they were part of the Lord Derby scheme which introduced ' the Pals ' Battalions which was a name and system peculiar to north England and in particular the cities of Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Barnsley, the best known Pals Battalions being the Accrington Pals about which a play and TV documentary have been written.

Charlotte Coleman starred as Jess, a girl growing up in a Pentecostal evangelical household in Accrington, Lancashire, England in the 1970s, who comes to understand that she is a lesbian.

The Football League was open to clubs all over the United Kingdom, but the first twelve entrants ( Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke ( now Stoke City ), West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers ) were all from the Midlands or North of England ( in later years the competition became the de facto English league, though some clubs from outside England still compete in it ).

Graeme " Foxy " Fowler ( born 20 April 1957, Accrington, Lancashire ) is a former English professional cricketer, who played for Lancashire, England, and later for Durham.

Accrington railway station serves the town of Accrington in Lancashire, England.