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Lancashire

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Lancashire
Image:EnglandLancashire.png
Geography
Status Ceremonial & (smaller) Non-metropolitan county

<tr><th>Origin</th><td>Historic</td></tr>

Region North West England
Area
- Total
- Admin. council
- Admin. area
Ranked 17th
3,075 km²
Ranked 16th
2,903 km ²

<tr><th>Admin HQ</th><td>Preston</td></tr><tr><th>ISO 3166-2</th><td>GB-LAN</td></tr>

ONS code 30
NUTS 3 UKD43
Demographics
Population
- Total (2005 est.)
- Density
- Admin. council
- Admin. pop.
Ranked 8th
1,439,200
468 / km²
Ranked 4th
1,156,100
Ethnicity 93.4% White
5.3% S. Asian
Politics
Arms of Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council
http://www.lancashire.gov.uk

<tr><th>Executive</th><td>Labour</td></tr>

Members of Parliament
Districts
Image:Lancashire_Ceremonial_Numbered.png
  1. West Lancashire
  2. Chorley
  3. South Ribble
  4. Fylde
  5. Preston
  6. Wyre
  7. Lancaster
  8. Ribble Valley
  9. Pendle
  10. Burnley
  11. Rossendale
  12. Hyndburn
  13. Blackpool (Unitary)
  14. 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.<ref name=vob_lancs>Vision of Britain - Lancashire</ref> 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 county was subject to a significant boundary change in 1974;<ref name=George_D>George, D., Lancashire, (1991)</ref> which removed Liverpool and most of Manchester with most of their surrounding conurbations to form part of the new counties of Merseyside and Greater Manchester.<ref name=lga1972>Local Government Act 1972. 1972, c. 70</ref> The Duchy of Lancaster exercises the right of the Crown in the area known as the County Palatine of Lancaster.

Contents

[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.<ref name=vob_lancs_divisions>Vision of Britain - Divisions of Lancashire</ref><ref>Lancashire County Council - Lancashire districts</ref>

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.<ref>OPSI - The Lancashire (Boroughs of Blackburn and Blackpool) (Structural Change) Order 1996</ref> The Lancashire Constabulary covers the two unitary authorities.<ref>Lancashire County Council - Map of Lancashire (Unitary boundaries shown)</ref> 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.<ref>Government Office for the North West - Local Authorities</ref>

[edit] 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.<ref>Opening of the new Town-Hall at Preston. The Times. September 15, 1882.</ref>

Local elections for 84 councillors from 28 divisions are held every four years. The council is currently Labour Party controlled.<ref>Lancashire County Council - County Councillors by Area</ref>

[edit] Physical geography

[edit] County top

The highest point of the ceremonial county is Gragareth, near Whernside, which reaches a height of 627 m (2,057 ft)<ref>BUBL Information Service - The Relative Hills of Britain</ref>. However, Green Hill near to Gragareth has also been cited as the county top. [citation needed] The highest point within the historic boundaries is Coniston Old Man in the Lake District at 803 m (2,634 ft).<ref>Historic County Tops</ref>

[edit] Rivers and lakes

Lancashire drains west from the Pennines into the Irish Sea. 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 ceremonial county), Ribble, Wyre and Lune. Now within Cumbria are the 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.<ref>Cumbria County Council - Discover Cumbria</ref><ref>Her Majesty's Stationary Office, Aspects of Britain: Local Government, (1996)</ref> 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.

[edit] History

Main article: History of Lancashire

The historic county boundaries The county was established in 1182 <ref name=George_D /> 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.<ref> Booth, P. cited in George, D., Lancashire, (1991)</ref> 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.<ref name=lancs_ancient_divisions>Vision of Britain - Lancashire ancient county divisions</ref> 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 than its historic extent due to a local government reform.<ref name=berrington>Berrington, E., Change in British Politics, (1984)</ref> In 1889 an administrative county of Lancashire was created, covering the historic county except for county boroughs such as Liverpool and Manchester.<ref name=lancs_ancient_boundaries>Vision of Britain - Lancashire ancient county boundaries</ref> 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). 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.<ref name=maudwood>Lord Redcliffe-Maud and Bruce Wood. English Local Government Reformed. (1974)</ref>

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.<ref name=politics_uk>Jones, B. et al, Politics UK, (2004)</ref> The new county of Cumbria took the Furness exclave.<ref name=George_D /> 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.<ref name=lga1972 />

One parish, Simonswood, was transferred from the borough of Knowsley in Merseyside to the district of West Lancashire in 1994.<ref>OPSI - The Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside (County and Metropolitan Borough Boundaries) Order 1993</ref>

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

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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"<ref>Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, 4 December 1995, column 116</ref> <ref>Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, 21 April 1994, column 1146</ref> - the petition requested that the "Metropolitan Counties of Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cumbria [sic] 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. <ref name lgbc_sefton>Final Recommendations on the Future Local Government of Sefton, Local Government Commission for England, November 1997.</ref>

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.

[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.<ref>The Duchy of Lancaster - Boundary Map</ref> In 1992 it was stated by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, William Waldegrave that the "boundaries of the county palatine are the same as the county boundaries which existed prior to local government reorganisation in 1973"<ref>House of Commons Hansard debates for 15 June 1992</ref> However the Duchy's website now describes the County Palatine as consisting of "the counties of Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and the Furness area of Cumbria".<ref> Duchy of Lancaster website</ref>

High Sheriffs for Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside are appointed "within the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster".<ref>High Sheriffs, The Times, March 21, 1985</ref>

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

[edit] 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 Aerodrome and BAE Samlesbury, major centres of production for the Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter), Heinz, TVR cars, Leyland Trucks and Marconi telecoms.

[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<ref>Components may not sum to totals due to rounding</ref> Agriculture<ref>includes hunting and forestry</ref> Industry<ref>includes energy and construction</ref> Services<ref>includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured</ref>
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] Transport

Lancashire has a well-developed transport infrastructure<ref>Lancashire County Council - Local Transport Plan</ref> 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 has many other railway stations. The county is served by Blackpool International 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.<ref>Transport for Lancashire - Lancashire Inter Urban Bus and Rail Map (PDF)</ref> 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] Demographics

The major settlements in the ceremonial county are concentrated on the Fylde coast (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.

[edit] Settlements

covering the ceremonial county

Blackpool Tower Some settlements which were historically part of the county now fall under the counties of West Yorkshire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cumbria:<ref name=George_D /> <ref name=lga1972 /><ref name=politics_uk /><ref>Vision of Britain - Lancashire boundaries 1974</ref> <ref name=lancs_ancient_boundaries>Vision of Britain - Lancashire ancient boundaries</ref><ref name=chandler>Chandler, J., Local Government Today, (2001)</ref> <ref name=Youngs>Youngs. Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Volume 2. Northern England.</ref>

Greater Manchester Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, Bury, Chadderton, Denton, Eccles, Farnworth, Heywood, Hindley, Leigh, Manchester, Middleton, Oldham, Prestwich, Radcliffe, Rochdale, Salford, Tyldesley, Westhoughton, Wigan
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:<ref name=Youngs />

  • 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] Sport

Image:Deepdale.jpg Lancashire is one of Britain's most successful sporting counties. [citation needed]

[edit] Cricket

Lancashire County Cricket Club, based at Old Trafford, Manchester<ref>LCCC contact details</ref>, 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.

[edit] Football

Six of the twelve clubs which founded the Football League were from Lancashire.

Based in ceremonial Lancashire are Premiership team Blackburn Rovers, Championship teams Burnley and Preston North End from League One: Blackpool and from League Two: Accrington Stanley.

Based in other ceremonial counties are Premiership teams Bolton Wanderers, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Wigan Athletic. Oldham Athletic play in League One and Bury and Rochdale play in League Two.

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

[edit] Rugby

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

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

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

[edit] 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.

[edit] Cuisine

The Ashton Memorial, Lancaster 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: first fish and chip shop in northern England opened in Mossley near Oldham around 1863. <ref>History of fish and chips</ref>
  • 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.

[edit] Famous Lancastrians

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

[edit] Places of interest

Key
National Trust National Trust
English Heritage English Heritage
Forestry Commission Forestry Commission
Country Park Country Park
Accessible open space Accessible open space
Museum (free)
Museum
Museums (free/not free)
Heritage railway Heritage railway
Historic house Historic House

The following are places of interest in the ceremonial county:

[edit] References

<references/>

[edit] External links

United KingdomEnglandCeremonial counties of England Image:Flag of England.svg
Counties of the Lieutenancies Act 1997

Bedfordshire | Berkshire | City of Bristol | Buckinghamshire | Cambridgeshire | Cheshire | Cornwall | Cumbria | Derbyshire | Devon | Dorset | Durham | East Riding of Yorkshire | East Sussex | Essex | Gloucestershire | Greater London | Greater Manchester | Hampshire | Herefordshire | Hertfordshire | Isle of Wight | Kent | Lancashire | Leicestershire | Lincolnshire | City of London | Merseyside | Norfolk | Northamptonshire | Northumberland | North Yorkshire | Nottinghamshire | Oxfordshire | Rutland | Shropshire | Somerset | South Yorkshire | Staffordshire | Suffolk | Surrey | Tyne and Wear | Warwickshire | West Midlands | West Sussex | West Yorkshire | Wiltshire | Worcestershire


United KingdomEnglandHistoric counties of England Image:Flag of England.svg
Counties that originate prior to 1889

Bedfordshire | Berkshire | Buckinghamshire | Cambridgeshire | Cheshire | Cornwall | Cumberland | Derbyshire | Devon | Dorset | Durham | Essex | Gloucestershire | Hampshire | Herefordshire | Hertfordshire | Huntingdonshire | Kent | Lancashire | Leicestershire | Lincolnshire | Middlesex | Norfolk | Northamptonshire | Northumberland | Nottinghamshire | Oxfordshire | Rutland | Shropshire | Somerset | Staffordshire | Suffolk | Surrey | Sussex | Warwickshire | Westmorland | Wiltshire | Worcestershire | Yorkshire


Ceremonial county of Lancashire

Unitary authorities: Blackpool | Blackburn with Darwen

Non-metropolitan districts: West Lancashire | Chorley | South Ribble | Fylde | Preston | Wyre | Lancaster | Ribble Valley | Pendle | Burnley | Rossendale | Hyndburn

Topics: Places | Parishes | Parliamentary constituencies


Districts of North West England Image:Flag of England.svg

Allerdale | Barrow-in-Furness | Blackburn with Darwen | Blackpool | Bolton | Burnley | Bury | Carlisle | Chester | Chorley | Congleton | Copeland | Crewe and Nantwich | Eden | Ellesmere Port and Neston | Fylde | Halton | Hyndburn | Knowsley | Lancaster | Liverpool | Macclesfield | Manchester | Oldham | Pendle | Preston | Ribble Valley | Rochdale | Rossendale | St Helens | Salford | Sefton | South Lakeland | South Ribble | Stockport | Tameside | Trafford | Vale Royal | Warrington | West Lancashire | Wigan | Wirral | Wyre

Counties with multiple districts: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside

br:Lancashire

ca:Lancashire da:Lancashire de:Lancashire es:Lancashire eo:Lancashire fr:Lancastre it:Lancashire he:לנקשייר kw:Lancashire nl:Lancashire (graafschap) ja:ランカシャー no:Lancashire pt:Lancashire ro:Lancashire ru:Ланкашир simple:Lancashire sk:Lancashire fi:Lancashire sv:Lancashire uk:Ланкашир

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