Chorley

Chorley is a market town in Lancashire between Blackburn and Wigan, where the center is marked by former cotton mills and buildings made of traditional Lancashire stone. The main street leads to the marketplace, where narrow lanes and low stone facades create the typical appearance of northern English industrial towns.

Henry VII granted the settlement market rights in 1498, setting Tuesday as the weekly market day. In the following centuries, the place developed into an important center for the cotton industry in northern England.

The market town takes its name from Old English words referring to grazing land, pointing to the agricultural roots of the area. Today locals still gather around the central marketplace, where shops and pubs maintain the rhythm of weekly trading.

Chorley Interchange connects the town with regional bus routes, while the railway station offers direct trains to Manchester and Preston. The town center is easy to walk around, and benches are available along the main street.

A large munitions factory near the town employed thousands of people from the region during World War II. The facilities have long since disappeared, but local museums keep the memory of that time alive.