Camelot International: Britain's Heritage and History

Heritage > Counties > England The famous 'Red Rose' county of Lancashire has, since 1974, lost much of it's coverage in terms of land, yet still retains it's traditional charm. The old mill towns of Blackburn, Chorley, Lancaster, Accrington, Burnley the port of Fleetwood and the resorts of Blackpool (with it's world famous tower)and Morecambe all blend together to make Lancashire a fascinating mixture of past and present. Lancashire is separated from it's traditional rival county of Yorkshire by the 'backbone of England' the Pennines. The county has a population of 1,400,000 and is still one of the largest counties in England in terms of size and density of population. THE COUNTY LANDSCAPE Between the mountains of the Lake District and the point where the river Mersey separates it from Cheshire, this is arguably the most varied of the northwestern counties. In Northwest England, the main county (excluding Furness) has clearly defined geographical boundaries. The Mersey forms the boundary between this county and Cheshire for some distance. But there is also a good deal of fertile farmland, particularly in the Fylde and in the southwest of the county. Furness is the peninsula jutting down in the northwest, separated from the main part of Lancashire by the stretching sands of Morecambe Bay. COUNTY CALENDAR Easter: In the town of Bacup, Coconut Dancers, ÔNutters', perform a traditional dance with wooden cups attached to their hands, waists and knees. COUNTY FACTS ORIGIN OF NAME: From the Brittonic/Anglo-Saxon meaning Ôthe Roman fort on the River Lane'. COUNTY MOTTO: In Concilio Consilium (ÒIn Counsel is WisdomÓ). COUNTY TOWN: LANCASTER The town fairly creaks and groans under the weight of its formidable history and some of its oldest buildings are still in use. BURY: A Roman station, Saxon fort and baronial castle at Castle Croft shows this was an important place before King Cotton made its name for the town. OLDHAM: History has it that this was a textile town in Charles I's day and of course it then developed into one of the great Lancashire contributors that put the Great in Britain. PRESTON: Lancashire County Council's administrative centre. WARRINGTON: Equidistant between Manchester and Liverpool but with an identity of its own, designated a new town in 1968 and now a communications centre. Crosby Formby Grange over Sands COUNTY RIVERS: The major rivers are the Mersey, Ribble and Lune, all of which flow westwards into the Irish Sea. LANCASHIRE'S LOCAL GOVERNMENT: The County of Lancashire has a complicated administrative map. Lancashire County Council only caters for about half of the County of Lancashire which is shared on a two-tier basis with 12 District Councils, namely Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre. Blackpool and Blackburn are unitary councils where Lancashire County Council has no place. Lancashire North of the Sands, known as Furness, is two-tiered with Cumbria County Council, Barrow in Furness District and South Lakeland District Councils (shared with the Counties of Westmorland and Yorkshire) providing the services. In the south, a number of unitary metropolitan authorities cut a swathe across Lancashire's boundary with Cheshire where the Metropolitan Boroughs of Halton, Manchester, Tameside, Trafford and Warrington actually provide services for parts of both Counties. Bolton, Bury, Knowsley, Liverpool, Oldham, Rochdale, St Helens, Salford, Sefton, and Wigan are unitary councils solely to administer Lancashire lands. Sir Richard Arkwright, a prominent figure in the Industrial Revolution, was born in the town and the house in which he developed his water frame in 1768 survives on Stoneygate. The opera singer Kathleen Ferrier was born three miles southeast of the town at Higher Walton. Children's author Beatrix Potter lived on the county's northern border at Hill Top Farm, near Sawrey, until her death in 1943.