What is "bacup"

Bacup is a town in Lancashire, England, in the South Pennines close to Lancashire's boundary with West Yorkshire. The town is in the Forest of Rossendale and the upper Irwell Valley, east of Rawtenstall, north of Rochdale, and east of Preston. At the 2011 Census, Bacup had a population of 13,323.

Bacup emerged as a settlement following the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the Early Middle Ages. For centuries, it was a small and obscure centre of domestic flannel and woollen cloth production, and many of the original weavers' cottages survive today as listed buildings. Following the Industrial Revolution, Bacup became a mill town, its landscape dominated by distinctive and large rectangular woollen and cotton mills. Bacup received a charter of incorporation in 1882, giving it municipal borough status and its own elected town government, consisting of a mayor, aldermen and councillors to oversee local affairs.

In the late 20th century, Bacup became part of the borough of Rossendale. Bacup's historic character, culture and festivities have encouraged the town's suburbanisation and redevelopment as a more cosmopolitan commuter town for Manchester and other North West towns and cities, whilst English Heritage has proclaimed Bacup as the best preserved cotton town in England, and its town centre is designated as a conservation area for its special architectural qualities.