​NELSON, a municipal borough in the Clitheroe parliamentary division of Lancashire, England, 32½ m. N. from Manchester by the Lancashire & Yorkshire railway. Pop. (1891) 22,754, (1901) 32,816. It is of modern growth, possessing a town hall, market hall, free library, technical school, pleasant park and recreation grounds, and an extensive system of electric tramways and light railways, connecting with Burnley and Colne. Its chief manufacture is cotton. It was incorporated in 1890, and the corporation consists of a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors. Area, 3466 acres.