Bury, a parish, parliamentary borough, and manufacturing town of Lancashire, England, between the Roche and the Irwell, 8 m. N. of Manchester, with which city it communicates by railway and canal; pop. of the borough in 1871, 41,517. It is an ancient town, but its importance is of modern date. Since 1846 the streets have been paved and widened, gas and water introduced, sewers constructed, and many handsome buildings erected. The principal edifices are the parish church, with a beautiful tower and spire; a town hall, in the Italian style, built by the earl of Derby; a Gothic church, with a spire 130 ft. high, erected in 1868; an athenaeum, a mechanics' institution, a model barrack, and a savings bank. There are many excellent schools. The manufacture of woollens was introduced here in the reign of Edward III., and is still prominent. The cotton manufacture is extensively prosecuted in all its branches; several important improvements in it originated here, and among others that of employing various colors in weaving one piece of cloth. The first Sir Robert Peel established his extensive print works on the Irwell, near this town; and at his residence, Chamber hall, in the immediate vicinity, his son, the celebrated statesman, was born; a bronze statue of him stands in .the market place.

Bury also contains several bleaching and dyeing establishments, paper mills, logwood-grinding mills, and iron foun-deries. It is governed by the county magistrates, who hold petty sessions twice a week. There are extensive coal mines in the vicinity.