Heywood, mun. bor., Bury, Middleton, and Rochdale pars., SE. Lancashire, 3 miles E. of Bury by rail, 4 miles SW. of Rochdale, and 9 miles N. of Manchester, 3496 ac., pop. 22,979; 2 Banks, 1 newspaper. At the beginning of the century it was a small and little-known village, but, through the extensive coal mines in the vicinity, and the rise of the cotton mfr., it has attained a high position as a centre of industry. Large cotton and woollen mills are here. Weaving machinery and railway plant are made in considerable quantities; there s also boiler-making, iron and brass founding, chemical works, &c. The seat of Heywood Hall is adjacent.

(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))