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Lancashire

Geography
Status	Ceremonial & (smaller) Non-metropolitan county
Origin	Historic
Region	North West England
Area - Total - Admin. council - Admin. area	Ranked 17th 3,075 km² Ranked 16th 2,903 km²
Admin HQ	Preston
ISO 3166-2	GB-LAN
ONS code	30
NUTS 3	UKD43
Demographics
Population - Total (2022) - Density - Admin. council - Admin. pop.	Ranked 8th 8th 506 / km² Ranked
Ethnicity	93.4% White 5.3% S. Asian
Politics
Arms of Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/
Executive
Members of Parliament	Janet Anderson David Borrow Rosie Cooper Nigel Evans Mark Hendrick Lindsay Hoyle Joan Humble Michael Jack Gordon Marsden Greg Pope Gordon Prentice Geraldine Smith Jack Straw Kitty Ussher Ben Wallace
Districts
West Lancashire Chorley South Ribble Fylde Preston Wyre Lancaster Ribble Valley Pendle Burnley Rossendale Hyndburn Blackpool (Unitary) Blackburn with Darwen (Unitary)

Lancashire is a county in North West England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Its county council is based at Preston. Commonly, Lancashire is referred to by the abbreviation Lancs, originally used by the Royal Mail. People from the county are known as Lancastrians. The historic county boundaries and the County Palatine of Lancaster, additionally include the city of Liverpool and most of Manchester, and most of their surrounding conurbations, which now form part of Merseyside and Greater Manchester.

Divisions and environs

The area under the control of the county council, or shire county, is divided into a number of local government districts. They are Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, the Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire, and Wyre.

Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen are unitary authorities which form part of the county for various functions such as Lord Lieutenant but do not come under county council control. The Lancashire Constabulary covers the two unitary authorities. The ceremonial county, the area including the unitary authorities, borders Cumbria, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and the metropolitan counties of Greater Manchester, and Merseyside and forms part of the North West England region.

Lancashire County Council

The county council, serving the shire county, is based in County Hall in Preston, built as a home for the Lancashire county administration (including the Quarter Sessions and Lancashire Constabulary) and opened on September 14, 1882.

Local elections for 84 councillors from 28 divisions are held every four years. The council is currently Labour Party controlled.

Physical geography

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County top

The highest point of the geographical county is Gragareth, near Whernside, which reaches a height of 627 m (2,057 ft). However, Green Hill near to Gragareth has also been cited as the county top. The highest point within the historic boundaries is Coniston Old Man in the Lake District at 803 m (2,634 ft).

Rivers and lakes

The major rivers which discharge into the sea are the Mersey (which forms the historic border with Cheshire and is now located entirely outside the geographical county), Ribble and Wyre. Now located in Cumbria are Lune, Leven and Duddon (which forms the historic border with Cumberland). Major tributaries of these rivers include the Calder, Crake, Darwen, Douglas, Hodder, Irwell, Roch, Tame and Yarrow.

Within the historic boundaries are the lakes of Windermere, Coniston Water and Esthwaite Water in the Lake District, which now form part of Cumbria. Windermere forms the traditional border with Westmorland, as does the River Brathay which feeds the lake at its northern end and the River Winster and flows into the Kent estuary to the south-east.

History

Main article: History of Lancashire

The county was established in 1182 and later than many other counties. In the Domesday Book, its lands between the Ribble and the Mersey had been part of Cheshire and the territority to the north formed part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It bordered on Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, and Cheshire.

The county is traditionally divided into the six hundreds of Amounderness, Blackburn, Leyland, Lonsdale, Salford and West Derby. Lonsdale was further partitioned into Lonsdale North, which was the detached part north of Morecambe Bay (also known as Furness), and Lonsdale South.

The Red Rose of Lancaster is the traditional symbol for the House of Lancaster, immortalized in the verse "In the battle for England's head/York was white, Lancaster red" (referring to the 15th century War of the Roses).

Lancashire is now much smaller that its historic extent due to a local government reform. In 1889 an administrative county of Lancashire was created, covering the historic county except for county boroughs such as Liverpool and Manchester. The area covered by the Lord-Lieutenant (termed now a ceremonial county) continued to cover the entirety of the administrative county along with the county boroughs, and thus was expanded slightly whenever boroughs annexed areas in other neighbouring counties. Examples of this include Wythenshawe (an area of Manchester south of the River Mersey and historically in Cheshire), and southern Warrington. This area also did not cover the western part of Todmorden, where the traditional border between Lancashire and Yorkshire runs through the middle of the town.

During the 20th century the county became increasingly urbanised, particularly the southern part. To the existing county boroughs of Barrow-in-Furness, Blackburn, Bolton, Bootle, Burnley, Bury, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale, Salford, St Helens and Wigan were added Blackpool (1904), Southport (1905), and Warrington (1900), and saw many boundary expansions. The borders around the Manchester area were particularly complicated, with narrow protusions of the administrative county between the county boroughs - Lees urban district formed a detached part of the administrative county, between Oldham county borough and the West Riding of Yorkshire.

By the census of 1971 the population of Lancashire (including all its associated county boroughs) had reached 5,129,416, making it then the most populous geographic county in the UK. The administrative county of Lancashire was also the most populous of its type outside of London, with a population of 2,280,359 in 1961.

On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the administrative county of Lancashire was abolished, as were the county boroughs. The urbanised southern part largely became part of two new metropolitan counties. The south-western part became part of the Merseyside, the south-eastern part was incorporated into Greater Manchester. The new county of Cumbria took the Furness exclave. The boroughs of Liverpool, Knowsley, St Helens and Sefton were entirely from Lancashire. In Greater Manchester the successor boroughs were Bury, Bolton, Manchester, Oldham (part), Rochdale, Salford, Tameside (part), Trafford (part) and Wigan.

Warrington and Widnes, south of the new Merseyside/Greater Manchester border, rather than become part of Greater Manchester or Merseyside were instead made part of the new non-metropolitan county of Cheshire.

The urban districts of Barnoldswick and Earby, the Bowland Rural District and the parishes of Bracewell and Brogden and Salterforth from the Skipton Rural District from the West Riding of Yorkshire became part of the new Lancashire.

One parish, Simonswood, was transferred from the borough of Knowsley in Merseyside to the district of West Lancashire in 1994.

In 1998 the county borough system re-appeared in all but name, when Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen became independent unitary authorities.

Northern England referendums, 2004

In 2004 the Boundary Committee for England published recommendations for a new systems of unitary authorities in the North West. A referendum in the North East rejected a similar reform there and plans to hold a further reform in the North West, including Lancashire, were cancelled.

Local identity

A pressure group, the Friends of Real Lancashire, seek to promote use of the historic borders, and raised a petition in 1994 with 30,000 signatures calling "for the restoration of Lancashire's historic boundaries" - the petition requested that the "Metropolitan Counties of Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cumbria be abolished and the real and historic county of Lancashire be restored". There is also a long-running campaign for Southport to be removed from Sefton in Merseyside. Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).

Greater Manchester was never adopted as a postal county by the Royal Mail, and so places in Greater Manchester retained their Lancashire and Cheshire addresses. Other changes to the administrative borders were reflected in the postal counties.

Duchy of Lancaster

The Duchy of Lancaster is one of two remaining duchies in the United Kingdom. It has large landholdings throughout the region and elsewhere, and operates as a property company, but also excercises the right of the crown in the County Palatine of Lancaster, which has the same borders as the ancient county . There is no separate Duke of Lancaster, the title having merged in the Crown many centuries ago - but the Duchy is administered by the Queen in Right of the Duchy of Lancaster. A separate court system for the county palatine was finally abolished by Courts Act 1971. A particular form of the The Loyal Toast is still in regular local use: 'The Queen, Duke of Lancaster'.

Industry and commerce

Lancashire in the 19th century was a major centre of industrial activity and hence of wealth. Activities included mining and textile production (particularly cotton), though on the coast there was also fishing. Historically, the docks in Preston were an industrial port, though are now disused for commercial purposes. Lancashire was historically the location of the Mersey Ports (now on Merseyside) while Barrow-in-Furness (now in Cumbria) is famous for shipbuilding.

Today Lancashire is home to firms such as BAE Systems (which has four factories in Lancashire including Warton and Samlesbury, major centres of production for the Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter), Heinz, TVR cars, Leyland Trucks and Marconi telecoms.

Economic output

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Template:Fnb includes hunting and forestry Template:Fnb includes energy and construction Template:Fnb includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured Template:Fnb Components may not sum to totals due to rounding

Transport

Lancashire has a well-developed transport infrastructure with an extensive network of motorways covering the county. The West Coast Main Line provides direct rail links with London and other major cities, with stations at Preston and Lancaster. The county is served by Blackpool Airport, however Manchester International Airport in Greater Manchester is the main airport in the region. Liverpool John Lennon Airport, on Merseyside is also nearby.

Heysham and Fleetwood offer ferry services to Ireland and the Isle of Man. As part of its industrial past, Lancashire gave rise to an extensive network of canals, which extend into neighbouring counties. These include the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Lancaster Canal, Bridgewater Canal, Rochdale Canal, Ashton Canal and Manchester Ship Canal.

Demographics

The major settlements in the geographic county are concentrated on the Fylde peninsula (the Blackpool Urban Area), and a belt of towns running east-west along the M65 - Preston, Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Nelson and Colne. South of Preston are the towns of Leyland and Chorley - the three formed part of the Central Lancashire New Town designated in 1970. The north is generally sparsely populated, with Morecambe and Lancaster forming a small conurbation.

Settlements

covering the ceremonial county

Some settlements which were historically part of the county now fall under the counties of West Yorkshire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cumbria:

Note: Cities are in bold
† - part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974

Boundary changes to occur before 1974 include:

• Todmorden (split between Lancashire and Yorkshire) entirely to West Riding of Yorkshire in 1889
• Mossley (split between Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cheshire) entirely to Lancashire in 1889
• Stalybridge, entirely to Cheshire in 1889
• the former county boroughs of Manchester and Warrington both extended south of the Mersey into historic Cheshire (areas such as Wythenshawe and Latchford)
• correspondingly, the former county borough of Stockport extended north into historic Lancashire, including areas such as Reddish and the Heatons (Heaton Chapel, Heaton Mersey, Heaton Moor and Heaton Norris).

Sport

Lancashire is one of Britain's most successful sporting counties.

Cricket

Lancashire County Cricket Club, based at Old Trafford, Manchester , has been one of the most successful county cricket teams, particularly in the one-day game. It is home to England cricket team members Andrew Flintoff, James Anderson and Sajid Mahmood.

Historically important local cricket leagues include the Lancashire League and the Central Lancashire League, both of which were formed in 1892. These league clubs hire international professional players to play alongside their amateur players.

Football

Six of the twelve clubs which founded the Football League were from Lancashire. Based in Lancashire are Premiership team Blackburn Rovers, Championship teams Burnley and Preston North End from League One: Blackpool and from League Two: Accrington Stanley.

Teams based in other counties, which originated from Lancashire include Bolton Wanderers, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Wigan Athletic, Oldham Athletic, Bury and Rochdale.

Together these teams have achieved 51 Football League/ Premier League titles, 7 European Cups and 42 F.A. Cups.

Rugby

Several successful rugby league teams are based within the historic boundaries of Lancashire, mainly in the south of the county:

• Super League: Salford City Reds, St Helens, Warrington Wolves, Widnes Vikings, Wigan Warriors
• National League One: Leigh Centurions, Oldham Roughyeds, Rochdale Hornets
• National League Two: Barrow Raiders, Blackpool Panthers, Swinton Lions

Of these only Blackpool Panthers are based within the ceremonial county.

Rugby union teams include Fylde, Orrell R.U.F.C. and Preston Grasshoppers.

Other

Two of the nine golf courses on the Open Championship rota are in historic Lancashire: Royal Lytham & St Annes at Lytham St Annes and Royal Birkdale near Southport.

Lancashire has a long history of wrestling with many clubs that over the years have produced many renowned wrestlers. Some of these have crossed over into the mainstream world of professional wrestling, including Billy Riley, Davey Boy Smith, and The Dynamite Kid.

Cuisine

Lancashire is widely-known for its eponymous Lancashire Hotpot, a casserole dish traditionally made with lamb and for Lancashire cheese, reputed to be the best toasting cheese in the world. Other traditional foods from the area include:

• Black Pudding: long associated with the town of Bury.
• Bury Simnel: cross between a fruitcake and a biscuit. Eaten on Simnel or Mid-Lent Sunday.
• Butter Cake - slice of bread and butter.
• Clapbread: oatcake
• Chorley cakes: from the town of Chorley.
• Ducks: faggots as in savoury ducks.
• Eccles cakes: from the town of Eccles.
• Fag Pie: pie made from chopped dried figs, sugar and lard. Associated with Blackburn and Burnley where it was the highlight of Fag Pie Sunday (Mid-Lent Sunday).
• Fish and Chips: fish and chip shop claimed to have been invented in Oldham in 1870.
• Frog-i'-th'-'ole pudding: now known as toad in the hole.
• Frumenty: sweet porridge. Once a popular dish at Lancashire festivals like Christmas and Easter Monday.
• Goosnargh Cakes: Small flat shortbread biscuits with corriander or caraway seeds pressed into the biscuit before baking. Tradionally baked on feast days like Shrove Tuesday.
• Jannock: cake or small loaf of oatmeal. Allegedly introduced to Lancashire (possibly Bolton by Flemish weavers.
• Nettle Porridge: a common starvation diet in Lancashire in the early 1800s. Made from boiled stinging nettles with perhaps a handful of meal.
• Ormskirk Gingerbread: local delicacy which were sold all over South Lancashire
• Pobs, Pobbies: bread and milk.
• Potato Hotpot, a variation of the Lancashire Hotpot without meat also known as fatherless pie
• Ran Dan: barley bread. Food of last resort for the poor at the end of the 18th Century and beginning of the 19th Century.

Famous Lancastrians

As one of the most populous counties Lancashire has produced many famous names. See Natives of Lancashire.

Places of interest

Key
	Abbey/Priory/Cathedral
	Accessible open space
	Amusement/Theme Park
	Castle
	Country Park
	English Heritage
	Forestry Commission
	Heritage railway
	Historic House
	Places of Worship
	Museum (free/not free)
	National Trust
	Theatre
	Zoo

The following are places of interest in the geographic county:

• Arnside and Silverdale AONB
• Astley Green Colliery Museum, Tyldesley
• Astley Hall
• Blackburn Cathedral
• Blackpool Pleasure Beach
• Blackpool Tower
• Blackpool Zoo
• British Commercial Vehicle Museum, Leyland
• Camelot Theme Park
• Clegg Hall
• East Lancashire Railway
• Forest of Bowland: Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• Gawthorpe Hall, Padiham
• Harris Museum
• Helmshore Textile Museum
• Hoghton Tower
• Irwell Sculpture Trail
• Lancaster Castle
• Lancaster Cathedral
• Lathom Park Chapel, site of Lathom Hall, seat of the Earls of Derby
• Leighton Moss nature reserve, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
• Martin Mere, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust nature reserve, Burscough
• Morecambe Bay
• Museum of Lancashire
• National Football Museum
• Pendle Hill
• The Pennines , provide great opportunity for Mountain Biking
• Rock Climbing is popular with the area having some 6,600+ routes to climb many of which are in disused quarries.
• Rufford Old Hall
• Samlesbury Hall
• St Walburge's Church
• Towneley Hall, Burnley
• West Lancashire Light Railway
• West Pennine Moors
• Williamson Park and the Ashton Memorial
• Witton Country Park
• Yarrow Valley Park

References

1. Vision of Britain - Lancashire
2. The Duchy of Lancaster - Boundary Map
3. ^ George, D., Lancashire, (1991)
4. ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972, c. 70
5. Vision of Britain - Divisions of Lancashire
6. Lancashire County Council - Lancashire districts
7. OPSI - The Lancashire (Boroughs of Blackburn and Blackpool) (Structural Change) Order 1996
8. Lancashire County Council - Map of Lancashire (Unitary boundaries shown)
9. Government Office for the North West - Local Authorities
10. Opening of the new Town-Hall at Preston. The Times. September 15, 1882.
11. Lancashire County Council - County Councillors by Area
12. BUBL Information Service - The Relative Hills of Britain
13. Historic County Tops
14. Cumbria County Council - Discover Cumbria
15. Her Majesty's Stationary Office, Aspects of Britain: Local Government, (1996)
16. Booth, P. cited in George, D., Lancashire, (1991)
17. Vision of Britain - Lancashire ancient county divisions
18. Berrington, E., Change in British Politics, (1984)
19. ^ Vision of Britain - Lancashire ancient county boundaries Cite error: The named reference "lancs_ancient_boundaries" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
20. Lord Redcliffe-Maud and Bruce Wood. English Local Government Reformed. (1974)
21. ^ Jones, B. et al, Politics UK, (2004)
22. OPSI - The Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside (County and Metropolitan Borough Boundaries) Order 1993
23. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199596/cmhansrd/vo951204/debtext/51204-30.htm. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 4 December 1995. col. 116. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
24. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199394/cmhansrd/1994-04-21/Debate-13.html. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 21 April 1994. col. 1146. {{cite book}}: |chapter-url= missing title (help)
25. Lancashire County Council - Local Transport Plan
26. Transport for Lancashire - Lancashire Inter Urban Bus and Rail Map (PDF)
27. Vision of Britain - Lancashire boundaries 1974
28. Chandler, J., Local Government Today, (2001)
29. ^ Youngs. Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Volume 2. Northern England.
30. LCCC contact details

External links

• Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 1 (of 2), by John Roby
• Lancashire Lantern, The Lancashire Life and Times E-Resource network
• MARIO - Maps & Related Information Online

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Template:England traditional counties

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