1. a heavy barrier of artillery fire to protect troop movements or to stop an enemy advance. 2. an overwhelming quantity or explosion, as of words, blows, or criticisms: a barrage of questions. 3. an artificial obstruction in a watercourse to increase the depth of the water, facilitate irrigation, etc.
Blackburn /ËblÃ¦kbÉrn/ is a medium-sized town in Lancashire, England. It lies to the north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, 9 miles (14 km) east of Preston, 20.9 miles (34 km) NNW of Manchester and 9 miles (14 km) north of the Greater Manchester border.
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester in North West England. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th century, introducing a wool and cotton-weaving tradition. The urbanisation and development of the town largely coincided with the introduction of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. Bolton was a 19th-century boomtown, and at its zenith in 1929 its 216 cotton mills and 26 bleaching and dyeing work