Haslingden appears to have held markets during the sixteenth century, with the first reference in a Court Roll of 1555 where it records a John Radcliffe being fined for being a 'forestaller of the lords market of Haslyngden'. There are later references to markets and fairs in The Shuttleworth Accounts (1582-1621) and the map-maker Richard Blome writing in 1673 describes Haslingden as originally having 'a small Market-town on Wednesdays', and later, at the time of Charles 1st, the market had been moved to Saturday. The market continued to grow and Haslingden was designated a Market Town in 1676. It became a coaching station and a significant industrial borough during the Industrial Revolution. Haslingden benefited in particular with the mechanisation of the wool and cotton spinning and weaving industries from the 18th to the 19th centuries, and the development of watermills, and later steam power. By the final half of the nineteenth century, the diversity and wealth of industry earned the area the name 'The Golden Valley'.