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Welcome to the Accrington Stanley Official Supporters Club website.

Information For Supporters Travelling To Accrington:

History of Accrington

Accrington is currently the largest town in the borough of Hyndburn.  It has a population of around 35000 and is nestled between Blackburn and Burnley amongst the hills of East Lancashire.  The town has a rich history in the manufacturing age of the 1800’s and early 1900’s.  Since the disappearance of the mills and factories the population of Accrington have found work in many other industries as the area is popular with Industrial Estates and commuters owing to its excellent motorway links.


Famous for?

Accrington Pals - One well-known association the town has is with the 'Accrington Pals' - the smallest home town battalion of volunteers formed to fight in World War I. Lord Kitchener believed that it would help recruitment if friends and work-mates from the same town were able to join up and fight together. The Pals' first day of combat, Saturday 1st July 1916, took place in Serre in the north of France. It was part of the 'Big Push' (later known as the Battle of the Somme) that was intended to force the German army into a retreat from the Western Front, a line they had held since late 1914. The German defences in Serre were supposed to have been obliterated by sustained, heavy, British shelling during the preceding week; however, as the battalion advanced it met with fierce resistance. 235 men were killed, and a further 350 wounded — more than half of the battalion — within half an hour. Similarly desperate losses were suffered elsewhere on the front, in a disastrous day for the British army.  Later in the year, the East Lancs Regiment (official name of the Pals regiment) was rebuilt with new volunteers — in all, 865 Accrington men were killed during World War I. All of these names are recorded on a war memorial, an imposing white stone cenotaph, which stands in Oak Hill Park in the south of the town. The cenotaph also lists the names of 173 local fatalities from World War II.  After the Great War and until 1986, Accrington Corporation buses were painted in the Regimental Colours of Red and Blue with Gold lining. Mudguards were painted black as a sign of mourning.

Nori bricks - It is perhaps no surprise that brick making is still practiced in Hyndburn, with Marshall’s Clay Products, who make the world famous red Accrington NORI bricks, being based nearby in Altham, the red colouring coming from iron oxides in the clay. The name 'NORI' is said to have come about during construction of the factory chimney, when the builders accidentally reversed the letters.

Tiffany glass - The Haworth Art Gallery was originally called ‘Hollins Hill’ and was built for William Haworth and his sister Anne in 1909 by Walter Brierley, FSA of York. The gallery is home to Europe’s largest public collection of Tiffany glass and consists of over one hundred and forty vases, tiles and mosaics together worth millions of pounds.

Spinning Jenny - James Hargreaves was born near Blackburn in about 1720. Hargreaves received no formal education and was unable to read or write. He worked as a carpenter and weaver but had a strong interest in engineering. By the 1760s Hargreaves was living on the outskirts of Accrington and was one of the many weavers who owned his own spinning wheel and loom. It is claimed that one day his daughter Jenny accidentally knocked over the family spinning wheel. The spindle continued to revolve and it gave Hargreaves the idea that a whole line of spindles could be worked off one wheel. In 1764 Hargreaves built what became known as the Spinning-Jenny. The machine used eight spindles onto which the thread was spun from a corresponding set of rovings. By turning a single wheel, the operator could now spin eight threads at once. Originally Hargreaves produced the machine for family use but when he began to sell the machines, spinners from Lancashire, fearing the possibility of cheaper competition, marched on his house and destroyed his equipment. Hargreaves did not apply for a patent for his Spinning Jenny until 1770 and therefore others copied his ideas without paying him any money.

Famous residents – Julie Hesmondhalgh and Vicky Entwistle, (Hayley and Janice from Coronation St) Dominic Brunt (Paddy in Emmerdale) Mike Duxbury, (ex- Man United and England right back) Jon Anderson (YES band), David Lloyd and Graeme Fowler, (ex- England cricketers) Jeanette Winterson (author of Oranges are not the Only Fruit) and Ronnie Baxter (professional darts player).