Lancashire

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Lancashire
Flag of Lancashire[1]
Geography
Status	Ceremonial & (smaller) Non-metropolitan county
Origin	Historic
Region	North West England
Area - Total - Admin. council - Admin. area	Ranked 17th 3,079 km2 (1,189 sq mi) Ranked 16th 2,903 km2 (1,121 sq mi)
Admin HQ	Preston
ISO 3166-2	GB-LAN
ONS code	30
NUTS 3	UKD43
Demography
Population - Total (2008 est.) - Density - Admin. council - Admin. pop.	Ranked 8th 1,451,700 472 /km2 (1,222/sq mi) Ranked 4th 1,169,100
Ethnicity	89.7% White British 6.0% S. Asian 2.1% Other White 0.9% Mixed 0.7% E.Asian and Other 0.5% Black 2005 Estimates
Politics
Lancashire County Council http://www.lancashire.gov.uk
Executive	Conservative
Members of Parliament	Janet Anderson (L) David Borrow (L) Rosie Cooper (L) Nigel Evans (C) Mark Hendrick (LC) Lindsay Hoyle (L) Joan Humble (L) Michael Jack (C) Gordon Marsden (L) Greg Pope (L) Gordon Prentice (L) Geraldine Smith (L) Jack Straw (L) Kitty Ussher (L) Ben Wallace (C)
Districts
West Lancashire Chorley South Ribble Fylde Preston Wyre Lancaster Ribble Valley Pendle Burnley Rossendale Hyndburn Blackpool (Unitary) Blackburn with Darwen (Unitary)

Lancashire (pronounced /ˈlæŋkəʃər/ or, less commonly, /ˈlæŋkəʃɪər/) is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster.^[2] Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town. Lancashire is sometimes referred to by the abbreviation Lancs, originally used by the Royal Mail. The population of the county is 1,449,700. People from the county are known as Lancastrians.

The history of Lancashire is thought to have begun with its founding in the 12th century. In the Domesday Book (1086), some of its lands had been treated as part of Yorkshire. The area in between the rivers Mersey and Ribble (referred to in the Domesday Book as "Inter Ripam et Mersam") formed part of the returns for Cheshire. Once its initial boundaries were established, it bordered Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire and Cheshire.

Lancashire emerged during the Industrial Revolution as a major commercial and industrial region. The county encompassed several hundred mill towns and collieries. By the 1830s, approximately 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire.^[3] Accrington, Blackburn, Chorley, Darwen and Burnley were major cotton mill towns during this time. Blackpool was a major centre for tourism for the inhabitants of Lancashire's mill towns, particularly during wakes week.

The county was subject to a significant boundary reform in 1974,^[4] which removed Liverpool and Manchester with most of their surrounding conurbations to form part of the metropolitan counties of Merseyside and Greater Manchester.^[5] At this time, the detached Furness Peninsula was made part of Cumbria. Today the county borders Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and North and West Yorkshire. The Duchy of Lancaster exercises the right of the Crown in the area known as the County Palatine of Lancaster.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early history 1.2 Modern history 2 Geography 2.1 Divisions and environs 2.2 Geology, landscape and ecology 3 Politics 3.1 Duchy of Lancaster 4 Economy 4.1 Economic output 5 Education 6 Transport 7 Demography 8 Settlements 9 Symbols 10 Sport 10.1 Cricket 10.2 Football 10.3 Rugby 10.4 Archery 10.5 Other 11 Cuisine 12 Places of interest 13 Notes and references 14 Bibliography 15 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Early history

The county was established in 1182^[4] and later than many other counties. In the Domesday Book, its lands between the Ribble and the Mersey were known as "Inter Ripam et Mersam"^[6] and were included in the returns for Cheshire.^[7] Although some have taken this to mean that south Lancashire was, at that time, part of Cheshire,^[6][8] it cannot be said clearly to have been part of Cheshire.^[9][10][11] It is also claimed that the territory to the north formed, at that time, part of the West Riding of Yorkshire.^[8] It bordered on Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, and Cheshire. The county was divided into the six hundreds of Amounderness, Blackburn, Leyland, Lonsdale, Salford and West Derby.^[12] Lonsdale was further partitioned into Lonsdale North, which was the detached part north of Morecambe Bay (also known as Furness), and Lonsdale South.

[edit] Modern history

Lancashire is now much smaller than its historical extent, following a major reform of local government.^[13] In 1889 an administrative county of Lancashire was created, covering the historical county except for county boroughs such as Blackburn, Burnley, Barrow-in-Furness, Preston, Liverpool, Manchester.^[14] 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 ancient 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). The county boroughs also had many boundary extensions. The borders around the Manchester area were particularly complicated, with narrow protrusions 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.^[15]

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 Merseyside, the south-eastern part was incorporated into Greater Manchester.^[16] The new county of Cumbria took the Furness exclave.^[4]

Lancashire in 1961
	Burnley Preston Rochdale Barrow-in-Furness Blackpool Blackburn Southport Bury Bolton Oldham Wigan Manchester Salford Bootle St Helens Liverpool Warrington

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.^[5] One parish, Simonswood, was transferred from the borough of Knowsley in Merseyside to the district of West Lancashire in 1994.^[17] In 1998 the county borough system re-appeared in all but name, when Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen became independent unitary authority areas. The Wars of the Roses tradition continued with Lancaster using as its symbol the red rose and York the white. Pressure groups, including Friends of Real Lancashire and the Association of British Counties advocate the use of the historical boundaries of Lancashire for ceremonial and cultural purposes.^[18][19]

[edit] Geography

[edit] 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.^[20][21]

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.^[22] The Lancashire Constabulary covers the two unitary authorities.^[23] The ceremonial county, the area including the unitary authorities, borders Cumbria, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, and forms part of the North West England region.^[24]

[edit] Geology, landscape and ecology

The highest point of the ceremonial county is Gragareth, near Whernside, which reaches a height of 627 m (2,057 ft).^[25] However, Green Hill near Gragareth has also been cited as the county top.^[26] The highest point within the historic boundaries is Coniston Old Man in the Lake District at 803 m (2,634 ft).^[27]

Lancashire drains west from the Pennines into the Irish Sea. Rivers in Lancashire include the Ribble, Wyre and Lune. Major tributaries of these rivers include the Calder, Crake, Darwen, Douglas, Hodder, Irwell and Yarrow.

[edit] Politics

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 14 September 1882.^[28]

Local elections for 84 councillors from 84 divisions are held every four years. The council is currently controlled by the Conservative Party.^[29]

[edit] Duchy of Lancaster

The Duchy of Lancaster is one of two remaining royal duchies in the United Kingdom. It has large landholdings throughout the region and elsewhere, and operates as a property company, but also exercises the right of the Crown in the County Palatine of Lancaster,^[30] which includes areas that were removed from Lancashire as part of the 1974 boundary changes.

High Sheriffs for Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside are appointed "within the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster".^[31]

The Duchy administers bona vacantia within the County Palatine, receiving the property of persons who die intestate, and where the legal ownership cannot be ascertained.

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 Loyal Toast is still in regular local use: 'The Queen, Duke of Lancaster'.

[edit] Economy

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 port of Liverpool while Barrow-in-Furness is famous for shipbuilding.

Today the largest private industry in Lancashire is the defence industry with BAE Systems Military Air Solutions division based in Warton on the Fylde Coast. The division also operates a manufacturing site in Samlesbury. Other defence firms include BAE Systems Land Systems which operates a site at Chorley, Ultra Electronics in Fulwood and Rolls-Royce Plc in Barnoldswick.

The Nuclear Power industry has a major presence with the Springfields plant at Salwick operated by Westinghouse and Heysham nuclear power station operated by British Energy. Other major manufacturing firms include Leyland Trucks which is a subsidiary of Paccar and builds the DAF truck range.

Other companies with a major presence in Lancashire include:

• Airline Network, an internet travel company with its headquarters in Preston.
• BAXI, a heating equipment manufacturer which was established in Preston and which has a large manufacturing site in Bamber Bridge.
• Crown Paints, a major paint manufacturer based in Darwen.
• Enterprise Plc, one of the UK's leading support services based in Leyland.
• Hanson plc, a building supplies company which operates the Accrington brick works.
• National Savings and Investments, a state owned savings bank with major operations and the headquarters of the Premium Bond Lottery Bond in Blackpool.
• Thwaites Brewery, a regional brewery founded in 1807 by Daniel Thwaites in Blackburn.
• Xchanging, a company that provides business process outsourcing services, with operations in Fulwood.

[edit] 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.

Year	Regional Gross Value Added[32]	Agriculture[33]	Industry[34]	Services[35]
1995	13,789	344	5,461	7,984
2000	16,584	259	6,097	10,229
2003	19,206	294	6,352	12,560

[edit] Education

Lancashire has a mostly comprehensive system with four state grammar schools. Not including sixth form colleges, there are 77 state schools (not including Burnley's new schools) and 24 independent schools. The Clitheroe area also has secondary modern schools. Sixth form provision is limited at most schools in most districts, with only Fylde and Lancaster districts having mostly sixth forms at schools. The rest (most schools) depend on FE colleges and sixth form colleges, where they exist. South Ribble has the largest school population, with Fylde the smallest (only three schools). Burnley's schools have had a new broom and have essentially been knocked down and started again in 2006. There are many Catholic secondary schools in Lancashire.

Lancashire is home to four universities; Lancaster University, University of Central Lancashire, Edge Hill University and the Lancaster campus of The University of Cumbria. Additionally there are also seven colleges which offer higher education courses.

[edit] Transport

Lancashire has an extensive network of motorways covering the county and the West Coast Main Line provides direct rail links with London and other major cities, with stations at Preston and Lancaster. The county has many other railway stations. The county is served by Blackpool International Airport, however Manchester 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.^[36] 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.

[edit] Demography

The major settlements in the ceremonial county are concentrated on the Fylde coast (the Blackpool Urban Area), and a belt of towns running west-east 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 of the county is generally sparsely populated, with Morecambe and Lancaster forming a small conurbation. Lancashire is home to a significant Asian population, numbering over 70,000 and 6% of the county's population, and concentrated largely in the former cotton mill towns.

[edit] Settlements

The table below has divided the settlements into their local authority district. Each district has a centre of administration; for some of these correlate with a district's largest town, while others are named after the geographical area.

Ceremonial county	Administration borough/district	Centre of administration	Other towns, villages and settlements
Lancashire	Blackburn with Darwen Borough (Unitary)	Blackburn	Belmont, Chapeltown, Darwen, Edgworth, Tockholes
	Blackpool Borough (Unitary)	Blackpool	Bispham, Layton
	Burnley Borough	Burnley	Harle Syke, Padiham, Rose Grove, Worsthorne, Cliviger.
	Chorley Borough	Chorley	Adlington, Clayton-le-Woods, Coppull, Croston, Eccleston, Euxton, Whittle-le-Woods
	Fylde Borough	Lytham St Annes	Freckleton, Kirkham, Warton, Wrea Green
	Hyndburn Borough	Accrington	Altham, Church, Clayton-le-Moors, Great Harwood, Oswaldtwistle, Rishton
	City of Lancaster	Lancaster	Bolton-le-Sands, Carnforth, Heysham, Morecambe,
	Pendle Borough	Nelson	Barnoldswick †, Barrowford, Brierfield, Colne, Earby †, Foulridge, Trawden
	City of Preston	Preston	Barton, Broughton, Fulwood, Goosnargh, Grimsargh, Whittingham
	Ribble Valley Borough	Clitheroe	Bolton-by-Bowland, Chipping, Hurst Green, Longridge, Read, Ribchester, Slaidburn, Whalley, Wilpshire,
	Rossendale Borough	Rawtenstall	Bacup, Chatterton, Edenfield, Haslingden, Helmshore, Whitworth
	South Ribble Borough	Leyland	Bamber Bridge, Farington, Longton, Lostock Hall, Penwortham, Samlesbury, Walton-le-Dale
	West Lancashire Borough	Ormskirk	Appley Bridge, Aughton, Banks, Bickerstaffe, Burscough, Downholland, Great Altcar, Halsall, Lathom, Parbold, Rufford, Scarisbrick, Skelmersdale, Tarleton, Upholland
	Wyre Borough	Poulton-le-Fylde	Churchtown, Cleveleys, Fleetwood, Garstang, Pilling, Preesall, St Michael's On Wyre, Thornton

This table does not form an extensive list of the settlements in the ceremonial county. More settlements can be found at Category:Towns in Lancashire, Category:Villages in Lancashire, and Category:Civil parishes in Lancashire.

Some settlements which were historically part of the county now fall under the counties of West Yorkshire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cumbria:^{[4][5][14][16][37][38][39]}

Greater Manchester	Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, Bury, Chadderton, Denton, Eccles, Farnworth, Heywood, Horwich, Hindley, Irlam, Kearsley, Leigh, Little Lever, Manchester, Middleton, Oldham, Prestwich, Radcliffe, Rochdale, Salford, Swinton and Pendlebury, Tyldesley, Urmston, Westhoughton, Whitefield, Wigan, Worsley.
Merseyside	Bootle, Crosby, Formby, Huyton, Kirkby, Liverpool, Maghull, Newton-le-Willows, Prescot, St Helens, Southport
Cumbria	Barrow-in-Furness, Coniston, Dalton-in-Furness, Grange-over-Sands, Ulverston
Cheshire	Warrington, Widnes
West Yorkshire	Todmorden

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

Boundary changes to occur before 1974 include:^[39]

• 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).

[edit] Symbols

The Red Rose of Lancaster is a symbol for the House of Lancaster, immortalised in the verse "In the battle for England's head/York was white, Lancaster red" (referring to the 15th century War of the Roses). The traditional Lancashire flag, a red rose on a white field, was never officially registered. When an attempt was made to register it with the Flag Institute it was found that this flag had already been officially registered by the town of Montrose, Scotland, several hundred years earlier with the Lyon Office. As the Flag Institute will not register two flags of the same design (within the UK) Lancashire's official flag is now registered as a red rose on a gold field.

[edit] Sport

[edit] Cricket

Lancashire County Cricket Club 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. Due to changes in the county boundaries, the club's home ground, County Ground, Old Trafford,^[40] is now outside the county of Lancashire, being in the metropolitan borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester.

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.

Since 2000, the designated ECB Premier League^[41] for Lancashire has been the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition.

[edit] Football

Football in Lancashire is governed by the Lancashire County Football Association. Due to the County Football Associations being aligned roughly along historic county boundaries, the Lancashire County FA contains members which were founded within Lancashire as it was in the late 19th Century, but which now lie outside the county borders, such as Manchester United and Liverpool. However, the Manchester Football Association and Liverpool County Football Association operate in Greater Manchester and Merseyside respectively.

The six professional league teams based in Lancashire, as of the start of the 2009/10 season, are:

• Premier League: Blackburn Rovers and Burnley
• Championship: Blackpool and Preston North End
• League Two: Accrington Stanley and Morecambe

[edit] Rugby

Lancashire used to accommodate a substantial number of Rugby League teams who now fall in other counties. The county was a focal point for many of the sport's professional competitions including the Lancashire League competition which ran from 1895 to 1970, and the Lancashire County Cup which was abandoned in 1993. Rugby League has also seen a representative fixture between Lancashire and Yorkshire contested 89 times since its inception in 1895.

Currently several rugby league teams are based within Lancashire including Blackpool Panthers, East Lancashire Lions and Blackpool Sea Eagles.

Rugby union teams include Fleetwood Rugby Club, Fylde and Preston Grasshoppers.

[edit] Archery

There are many archery clubs located within Lancashire.^[42]

In 2004 Lancashire took the winning title at the Inter-counties championships from Yorkshire who had held it for the past 7 years. The win received much media attention as the team consisted of 3 archers from the same family. One of these being 5 times World Record holder and Lancashire Sports Personality of the year in 2004 and Lancashire archery squad member Melissa-Jane Daniel from the Bowmen of Skelmersdale.^[43]

Lancashire archery records can be seen here.^[44]

Another notable Archer based in Lancashire is Richard Priestman of the Burscough Archers Archery Club.^[45] Richard and his wife Vlada are both former international archers, with Richard winning an Olympic bronze medal at both the Seoul and Barcelona Olympic games in 1988 and 1992. In 2009 Richard signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bangladesh Archery Federation (BAF) and will train the national archery team for the upcoming 11th South Asian Games to be held in Dhaka from January 29 to February 9, 2010.

[edit] Other

Lancashire has a long history of wrestling, developing its own style called Lancashire 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, William Regal and The Dynamite Kid.

[edit] Cuisine

Lancashire is the origin of the Lancashire hotpot, a casserole dish traditionally made with lamb. Other traditional foods from the area include:

• Black peas, also known as parched peas: popular in Bolton and Preston.
• Bury black pudding has long been associated with the county. The most notable brand, Chadwick's Original Bury Black Puddings, are still sold on Bury Market,^[46] and are manufactured in Rossendale.
• Butter Cake – slice of bread and butter.
• Butter pie – a savoury pie containing potatoes, onion and butter. Usually associated with Preston.
• Clapbread: oatcake.
• Chorley cakes: from the town of Chorley.
• Ducks: faggots as in savoury ducks.
• 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: first fish and chip shop in northern England opened in Mossley near Oldham around 1863.^[47]
• 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 coriander or caraway seeds pressed into the biscuit before baking. Traditionally baked on feast days like Shrove Tuesday.
• Jannock: cake or small loaf of oatmeal. Allegedly introduced to Lancashire (possibly Bolton) by Flemish weavers.
• Lancashire cheese has been made in the county for several centuries.^[48] Beacon Fell traditional Lancashire cheese has been awarded EU Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status.^[49]
• 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.
• Rag Pudding: Traditional Suet Pudding filled with Minced Meat and Onions.
• Sad Cake: A traditional cake, perhaps a variation of the more widely known Chorley cake, once common around Burnley.
• Throdkins: a traditional breakfast food of the Fylde.
• Uncle Joe's Mint Balls are traditional mints produced by Wm Santus & Co. Ltd. in Wigan

[edit] Places of interest

The following are places of interest in the ceremonial county:

• Arnside and Silverdale AONB
• Astley Hall
• Beacon Fell
• Blackburn Cathedral
• Blackpool Pleasure Beach
• Blackpool Tower
• Blackpool Zoo
• British Commercial Vehicle Museum, Leyland
• Camelot Theme Park
• Darwen Tower
• 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
• Pennington Flash Country Park
• The Pennines , provide great opportunity for Mountain Biking
• Ribble Steam Railway
• 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
• Stonyhurst College – a Manor House dating back to 1592, now an English public school, run by the Jesuits
• Towneley Hall, Burnley
• West Lancashire Light Railway
• West Pennine Moors
• Williamson Park and the Ashton Memorial
• Witton Country Park
• Yarrow Valley Park

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] Bibliography

• Crosby, A. (1996). A History of Cheshire. (The Darwen County History Series.) Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. ISBN 0850339324.
• Harris, B. E., and Thacker, A. T. (1987). The Victoria History of the County of Chester. (Volume 1: Physique, Prehistory, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Domesday). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0197227619.
• Morgan, P. (1978). Domesday Book Cheshire: Including Lancashire, Cumbria, and North Wales. Chichester, Sussex: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. ISBN 0850331404.
• Phillips A. D. M., and Phillips, C. B. (2002), A New Historical Atlas of Cheshire. Chester, UK: Cheshire County Council and Cheshire Community Council Publications Trust. ISBN 0904532461.
• Sylvester, D. (1980). A History of Cheshire. (The Darwen County History Series). (2nd Edition.) London and Chichester, Sussex: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. ISBN 0850333849.

[edit] External links

• Lancashire Sinfonietta – Lancashire's professional orchestra
• Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 1 (of 2), by John Roby
• Lancashire Lantern, The Lancashire Life and Times E-Resource network
• Website of the film 'Catch - the hold not taken', a look at the cultural significance of wrestling in Lancashire
• Lancashire County Council – MARIO (Mapping portal)
• Map of Lancashire
• An online survey about Lancashire dialect
• The Lancashire Dialect Society
• Official Lancashire Tourism information
• Lancashire Magazine TV - Internet TV channel devoted to the county of Lancashire
• Government Office for the North West
• North West Regional Minister
• Team Lancashire

v • d • e Ceremonial county of Lancashire North West England Portal Unitary authorities Blackpool • Blackburn with Darwen Boroughs or districts City of Lancaster • City of Preston • Borough of Burnley • Borough of Chorley • Borough of Fylde • Borough of Hyndburn • Borough of Pendle • Borough of Ribble Valley • Borough of Rossendale • Borough of South Ribble • Borough of Wyre • Borough of West Lancashire Major settlements Accrington • Adlington • Bacup • Barnoldswick • Blackburn • Blackpool • Brierfield • Burnley • Carnforth • Chorley • Clayton-le-Moors • Cleveleys • Clitheroe • Colne • Darwen • Earby • Fleetwood • Garstang • Great Harwood • Haslingden • Kirkham • Lancaster • Leyland • Longridge • Lytham St Annes • Morecambe • Nelson • Ormskirk • Oswaldtwistle • Padiham • Penwortham • Poulton-le-Fylde • Preston • Rawtenstall • Rishton • Skelmersdale • Thornton • Upholland • Wesham  See also: List of civil parishes in Lancashire Topics Places • Parliamentary constituencies •Schools

v • d • e Districts of North West England Allerdale • Barrow-in-Furness • Blackburn with Darwen • Blackpool • Bolton • Burnley • Bury • Carlisle • Cheshire East • Cheshire West and Chester • Chorley • Copeland • Eden • Fylde • Halton • Hyndburn • Knowsley • Lancaster • Liverpool • Manchester • Oldham • Pendle • Preston • Ribble Valley • Rochdale • Rossendale • St Helens • Salford • Sefton • South Lakeland • South Ribble • Stockport • Tameside • Trafford • Warrington • West Lancashire • Wigan • Wirral • Wyre Counties with multiple districts: Cumbria • Greater Manchester • Lancashire • Merseyside

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Coordinates: 53°48′N 2°36′W / 53.8°N 2.6°W / 53.8; -2.6