Blackburn is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is …Blackburn is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, 8 mi east of Preston and 21 mi north-northwest of Manchester. Blackburn is the core centre of the wider unitary authority area along with the town of Darwen. It is the second largest town in Lancashire.