St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000 of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 census. Historically a part of Lancashire, the area grew during the 18th and 19th century as a significant centre for coal mining and glassmaking. Both prior and during this time it was also home to a cotton and linen industry  that did not last through the mid 19th century as well as salt, lime and alkali pits, copper smelting, and brewing. The town and borough is notable for being the site of the first fully man made canal opened in autumn 1757, and also the first competition for steam locomotives (in Rainhill Trials). Today, St Helens is very much a commercial town. The main industries have since left, become outdated, or have been outsourced leaving the float and patterned rolled glass producer Pilkingtons, a world leader in their industry, as the town's one remaining large industrial employer. Previously the town had been home to Beechams (now part of GlaxoSmithKline), Ravenhead glass (bought out by the Belgian nationalised Durobor), United Glass Bottles (U.G.B.), Triplex (owned by Pilkington, farmed out to India), Daglish Foundry (closed and demolished 1939), and Greenall's (now located in nearby Warrington). More on St Helens