LEIGH  , a

market town and municipal borough in the Leigh parliamentary division of Lancashire, England, 11 m . W. by N. from Manchester by the London & North-Western railway . Pop . (1891) 30,882, (1901) 40,001 . The ancient parish church of St Mary the Virgin was, with the exception of the tower, rebuilt in 1873 in the Perpendicular style . The grammar school, the date of whose foundation is unknown, received its principal endowments in 1655, 1662 and 1681 . The staple manufactures are silk and cotton; there are also glass works, foundries, breweries, and flour mills, with extensive collieries . Though the neighbourhood is principally an industrial district, several fine old houses are left near Leigh . The town was incorporated in 1899, and the corporation consists of a mayor, 8 aldermen and 24 councillors . Area, 6358 acres .