Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Bacup

BACUP, a town of England, in Lancashire, 20 miles N. from Manchester. It is situated in a beautiful valley on the River Speddon, and is a station on the East Lancashire railway. It is chiefly important for its factories, foundries, and mills, as well as for the coal-mines in the neighbourhood. Since 1841, when the population of the chapelry was only 1526, Bacup has rapidly increased, and its sanitary condition has been greatly improved by the exertions of a local board. The river has been deepened for a mile above the town, and a water supply has been secured by means of a reservoir at Higher Stacks. There are two Episcopal churches and several dissenting places of worship, a mechanics institute and library, and various other institu tions. A new market-hall was built in 1867. Population of local board district in 1871, 17,199.