Lancaster (, ) is a city and the county town of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, England, standing on the

River Lune The River Lune (archaically sometimes Loyne) is a river in length in Cumbria and Lancashire, England. Etymology Several elucidations for the origin of the name ''Lune'' exist. Firstly, it may be that the name is Brittonic in genesis and der ...

. Its population of 52,234 compares with one of 138,375 in the wider

City of Lancaster The City of Lancaster () is a local government district of Lancashire, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Lancaster, but covers a far larger area, which includes the to ...

local government district. The House of Lancaster was a branch of the English royal family. The

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...

still holds large estates on behalf of

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

, who is also

Duke of Lancaster The Dukedom of Lancaster is an English peerage merged into the crown. It was created three times in the Middle Ages, but finally merged in the Crown when Henry V succeeded to the throne in 1413. Despite the extinction of the dukedom the title ...

. Its long history is marked by

Lancaster Castle Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle and former prison in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear, but it may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing of ...

, Lancaster Priory Church,

Lancaster Cathedral Lancaster Cathedral, also known as The Cathedral Church of St Peter and Saint Peter's Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. It was a Roman Catholic parish church until 1924, when it was elevated to the sta ...

and the

Ashton Memorial The Ashton Memorial is a folly in Williamson Park, Lancaster, Lancashire, England built between 1907 and 1909 by the millionaire industrialist Lord Ashton in memory of his second wife, Jessy, at a cost of £87,000 (equivalent to £ in ). Desc ...

. It is the seat of Lancaster University and has a campus of the

University of Cumbria The University of Cumbria is a public university in Cumbria, with its headquarters in Carlisle and other major campuses in Lancaster, Ambleside, and London. It has roots extending back to the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts, establis ...

. The

Port of Lancaster The Port of Lancaster was located at the lowest crossing point on the River Lune and constitutes the central element of maritime Lancaster in north-west England. It dates back to Roman times, but is now based at Glasson Dock. History Early origin ...

played a big role in the city's growth, but for many years the

outport An outport is any port considered secondary to a main port (including a provincial one as opposed to a capital one), and often (especially) a small port built to support the commercial operations of a large port. The Port of Tilbury from the Port ...

Glasson Dock Glasson Dock, also known as Glasson, is a village in Lancashire, England, south of Lancaster at the mouth of the River Lune. In 2011, it had a population of around 600. History Glasson was originally a small farming and fishing community (whi ...

has become the main shipping facility.

History

The name of the city first appeared in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

of 1086, as ''Loncastre'', where "Lon" refers to the

and "castre" (from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

''cæster'' and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''castrum'' for "fort") to the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

fort that stood on the site.

Roman and Saxon eras

A Roman fort was built by the end of the 1st century CE on the hill where

now stands, possibly as early as the 60s CE, based on Roman coin evidence. Coin evidence also suggests that the fort was not continuously inhabited in its early years. It was rebuilt in stone about 102 CE. The fort name is known only in a shortened form; the only evidence is a Roman milestone found 4 miles outside Lancaster, with an inscription ending L MP IIII, meaning "from L – 4 miles, and that its name began with an L. The fort was perhaps named Lunium. Roman baths were found in 1812 and can be seen near the junction of Bridge Lane and Church Street. There was presumably a bath-house with the 4th-century fort. The Roman baths incorporated a reused inscription of the Gallic Emperor

Postumus Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was a Roman commander of Batavian origin, who ruled as Emperor of the splinter state of the Roman Empire known to modern historians as the Gallic Empire. The Roman army in Gaul threw off its allegiance to Ga ...

, dating from 262 to 266 CE. The 3rd-century fort was garrisoned by the ''ala Sebosiana'' and ''numerus Barcariorum Tigrisiensium''. The ancient ''Wery Wall'' was identified in 1950 as the north wall of the 4th-century fort, which was a drastic remodelling of the 3rd-century one, while retaining the same orientation. The later fort is the only example in north-west Britain of a 4th-century type, with massive curtain-wall and projecting bastions typical of the ''Saxon Shore'' or Wales. Extension of the technique as far north as Lancaster shows that the coast between Cumberland and North Wales was not left defenceless after the west-coast attacks and the disaster in the Carausian Revolt of 296 CE, which followed from those under Albinus in 197 CE. The fort at its largest extent covered . Evidence suggests that it stayed in use until the end of Roman occupation of Britain. Church Street and some of St Leonard's Gate probably mark the initial course of the Roman road up the valley to the fort at Over Burrow. Little is known of Lancaster from the end of Roman rule to the early 5th century and the Norman Conquest of the late 11th century. Despite a lack of documentation for the period, it is thought that Lancaster remained inhabited. It lay on the fringes of the kingdoms of

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879) Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era= Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ...

and

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

and over time may have passed from one to the other. Archaeological evidence suggests there was a monastery on or near the site of today's

Lancaster Priory Lancaster Priory, formally the Priory Church of St Mary, is the Church of England parish church of the city of Lancaster, Lancashire, England. It is located near Lancaster Castle and since 1953 has been designated a Grade I listed building. ...

by the 700s or 800s. The Anglo-Saxon

runic Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...

"Cynibald's cross" found at the Priory in 1807 is thought to date from the late 9th century. Lancaster was probably one of several abbeys founded under

Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and ...

Medieval

After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Lancaster fell under the control of

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

, as stated in the

of 1086, which has the earliest known mention of Lancaster as such in any document. The founding Priory charter dated 1094 is the first known document specific to Lancaster.White, p. 57. By this time William had passed Lancaster and its surroundings to

Roger de Poitou Roger the Poitevin (Roger de Poitou) was born in Normandy in the mid-1060s and died before 1140. He was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat, possessing large holdings in both England and through his marriage in France. He was the third son of Roger of Mo ...

. The document also suggests the monastery was refounded as a parish church some time before 1066. Lancaster became a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

in 1193 under

King Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

. Its first charter, dated 12 June 1193, was from

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Count of Mortain The County of Mortain was a medieval county in France centered on the town of Mortain. A choice landholding, usually either kept within the family of the duke of Normandy (or the king of France) or granted to a noble in return for service and fa ...

, who later became King of England. DV342 Lancaster from the south

, partly built in the 13th century and enlarged by

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

, stands on the site of a

garrison. During

The Great Raid of 1322 The Great Raid of 1322 was a major raid carried out by Robert the Bruce, during the First Scottish War of Independence, on Northern England between 30 September and 2 November 1322, resulting in the Battle of Old Byland. Numerous raids began ...

, damage was done to the castle by

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

, though it resisted the attack and was restored and strengthened by

John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

, who added much of the Gateway Tower and a turret on the keep or Lungess Tower, which has been named "John o' Gaunt's Chair". In 1322 the Scots burnt the town. It was rebuilt but removed from its position on the hill to the slope and foot. Again in 1389, after the

Battle of Otterburn The Battle of Otterburn took place according to Scottish sources on 5 August 1388, or 19 August according to English sources, as part of the continuing border skirmishes between the Scots and English. The best remaining record of the bat ...

, it was destroyed by the Scots. Lancaster Castle is known as the site of the

Pendle witch trials The trials of the Pendle witches in 1612 are among the most famous witch trials in English history, and some of the best recorded of the 17th century. The twelve accused lived in the area surrounding Pendle Hill in Lancashire, and were charged ...

in 1612. It was said that the court based in the castle (the Lancaster Assizes) sentenced more people to be

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

than any other in the country outside

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, earning Lancaster the nickname, ''"the Hanging Town"''. It also figured prominently in the suppression of Catholicism during the Reformation – at least eleven Catholic priests were executed and a memorial to them as the

Lancaster Martyrs During the English Reformation, a number of believers were executed at Lancaster in England as a consequence of their Catholic faith. They are commonly referred to as the Lancaster Martyrs and are commemorated locally by the Lancaster Martyrs M ...

stands by the city centre. Lancaster from Lune Bank, Skerton

The traditional emblem of the House of Lancaster is the

Red Rose of Lancaster The Red Rose of Lancaster (blazoned: ''a rose gules'') was the heraldic badge adopted by the royal House of Lancaster in the 14th century. In modern times it symbolises the county of Lancashire. The exact species or cultivar which it represents i ...

, similar to that of the House of York with a white rose. The names derive from emblems of the Royal Duchies of Lancaster and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in the 15th century. This erupted into a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

over rival claims to the throne during the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

. More recently the term ''"Wars of the Roses"'' has been applied to rivalry in sports between teams from

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. It is also applied to the annual

Roses Tournament The Roses Tournament is an annual sports competition between Lancaster University and the University of York in England, often described as the largest inter-university sports tournament in Europe. It is organised by their respective Students' ...

between Lancaster and York universities.

Lancaster gained a first charter in 1193 as a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

and

, but had to await city status until 1937. Many central buildings and ones along St George's Quay date from the 18th century, as the port became one of the UK's busiest and the fourth most important in the UK

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. Among prominent Lancaster slave-traders were

Dodshon Foster Dodshon Foster (1 September 1730 - 2 January 1793) was a merchant who profited from the slave trade. He was involved in the shipping of over 700 slaves during his career.White, p.63 His commercial success was assisted by his connection through marr ...

Thomas Hinde Doctor Thomas Hinde (July 10, 1737 – September 28, 1828) was Northern Kentucky's first physician, a member of the British Royal Navy, an American Revolutionary, personal physician to Patrick Henry, and treated General Wolfe when he died in ...

and his eponymous son. However, Lancaster's role as a major port ceased as the river began to silt up. Morecambe,

and Sunderland Point took over as outports for brief periods.

Heysham Port Heysham Port is the port of Heysham, Lancashire, England. It is served by Heysham Port railway station. History In 1891, the Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was ...

has now eclipsed all those on the Lune.

Recent history

Lancaster is mainly a service-oriented city. Products include animal feed, textiles,

chemicals A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...

synthetic fibre Synthetic fibers or synthetic fibres (in British English; see spelling differences) are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis, as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms, such as plants (like cotton) ...

farm machinery Agricultural machinery relates to the mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors and the countless kinds of farm implements that they ...

, HGV

trailers Trailer may refer to: a Transportation * Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle ** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passengers ** Full-trailer ** Semi-trailer **Horse trail ...

and mineral fibres. In recent years, a high-tech sector has emerged from

Information Technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...

and

Communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

firms investing in the city. A permanent military presence was built up with the completion of

Bowerham Barracks Bowerham Barracks was a military installation in Lancaster. History The barracks were built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style between 1876 and 1880 on the former Bowerham Estate as the depot for the two battalions of the 4th (King's Own) R ...

in 1880. The Phoenix Street drill hall was completed in 1894. In March 2004, Lancaster was granted

Fairtrade City The Fair Trade Towns campaign is the result of a grass-roots citizens movement that started in the UK in 2001 (see below). It allows citizens to get together in order to self-proclaim their town (or other local geographical area) as a region that ...

status. Lancaster was home to the European headquarters of

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

. After merging with Adidas, Reebok moved to

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

and Stockport in 2007. In May 2015 Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

visited the castle for commemorations for the 750th anniversary of the creation of the

Governance

The former

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

Municipal Borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

of Lancaster and the

Municipal Borough of Morecambe and Heysham Morecambe and Heysham was a municipal borough in Lancashire, England. It was formed in 1928 by the merging of Morecambe Municipal Borough and Heysham Urban District, and abolished in 1974 when it was absorbed into the City of Lancaster The ...

along with other authorities merged in 1974 to form the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

within the

shire county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...

of Lancashire. This was given

city status in the United Kingdom City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the monarch of the United Kingdom to a select group of communities. , there are 76 cities in the United Kingdom—55 in England, seven in Wales, eight in Scotland, and six in Northern Ireland. ...

and Lancaster City Council is the local governing body for the district. Lancaster is an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unpa ...

and has no separate council. It is divided into wards such as Bulk, Castle, Ellel, John O'Gaunt (named after

Scotforth Scotforth is a suburb in the south of the city of Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster in Lancashire, England. It is home to Scotforth St Paul's Church of England Primary School and St Paul's Church, Scotforth, St Paul's Church. The civil parish, ...

East, Scotforth West,

Skerton Skerton is an area in the north of Lancaster, Lancashire, England, on the other side of the River Lune to the castle. It was formerly a township, but in the late 1800s it was incorporated into Lancaster and the neighbouring townships. Skerton Bri ...

East, Skerton West, and University and Scotforth Rural.

Political representation

Most of the city lies in the

Lancaster and Fleetwood Lancaster and Fleetwood is a constituency created in 2010 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Cat Smith of the Labour Party. History ;Creation Following their review of parliamentary representation in Lancashire, the B ...

constituency for elections of Members of Parliament to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. The current MP for

Cat Smith Catherine Jane Smith (born 16 June 1985) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lancaster and Fleetwood since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she was a member of the shadow cabinets of Jeremy Corbyn and Ke ...

of the Labour Party. The Skerton part of the city lies in the Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency represented by David Morris of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. Before

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...

, it was in the North West England European Parliamentary Constituency. In the late 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century, the city council was under the control of the

Morecambe Bay Independents The Morecambe Bay Independents (MBIs) is a local political party in Morecambe, Lancashire. The group ran Lancaster City Council from 1999 to 2003, and successfully campaigned in 2005 for the creation of Morecambe Town Council. History Earl ...

(MBIs), who campaigned for an independent Morecambe council. In 2003, their influence waned and

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

became the largest party on the council. They formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and Greens. At the May 2007 local elections, Labour lost ground to the

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

s in Lancaster and the MBIs in Morecambe, resulting in no overall control, with all parties represented in a PR administration. The 2011 elections saw Labour emerge as the largest party. They reached a joint administrative arrangement with the Greens. The

2019 Lancaster City Council election Elections to Lancaster City Council were held on 2 May 2019 at the same time as other 2019 United Kingdom local elections. Local elections are held every four years with all councillors up for election in multi-member electoral wards. Co ...

results put no party in overall control. The council is run by a coalition of Labour, Green, Eco-Socialist Independent and Liberal Democrat councillors, supported by the Independent Group, with Conservatives and MBIs in opposition. The cabinet consists of 4 Labour, 4 Green, 1 Eco-Socialist, 1 Independent Group. At 10 seats, Lancaster has one of the country's largest Green Party representations.

Geography

Lancaster is Lancashire's northernmost city, three miles () inland from

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

on the

(from which comes its name), and the

Lancaster Canal The Lancaster Canal is a canal in North West England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria ( historically in Westmorland). The section around the crossing of the River Ribble was never complete ...

. It becomes hillier from the Lune Valley eastwards, with Williamson Hill in the north-west a notable peak at .

Built-up area

Lancaster, Morecambe and

Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal town in Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two nuclear power stations. Demography Administratively, Heysham is part of th ...

have been identified by the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for t ...

as forming the Lancaster/Morecambe Built-up area, with a population of 97,150 in 2011.

Green belt

There is a small portion of green belt on the northern fringe of Lancaster, covering the area into Carnforth and helping to prevent further urban expansion towards nearby Morecambe, Hest Bank, Slyne and Bolton-le-Sands.

Transport

Road

King Street, Lancaster, with the castle in the background - geograph

The

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at ...

passes to the east of Lancaster with junctions 33 and 34 to the south and north. The

A6 road This is a list of roads designated A6. * A006 road (Argentina), a road connecting Las Cuevas with the Christ the Redeemer monument in the border between Argentina and Chile * ''A6 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A6 (Sydney), a road connec ...

, one of the main historic north–south roads in England, leads south to Preston, Chorley and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and north to

Carnforth Carnforth is a market town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay. The parish of Carnforth had a population of 5,560 in the 2011 census, an increase from the 5,350 reco ...

, Kendal, Penrith and Carlisle. It currently runs from Luton, Bedfordshire, to

Carlisle, Cumbria Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

. In passing through Lancaster it gives access to nearby

, Kendal and

Garstang Garstang is an ancient market town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is north of the city of Preston and the same distance south of Lancaster. In 2011, the parish had a total resident population of 4,268; ...

. The Bay Gateway opened in 2016, linking Heysham and the M6 with a dual carriageway. Lancaster's main bus operator is

Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire operates both local and regional bus services in Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, England, as well as Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, which ...

, with a network of services from

Lancaster bus station Lancaster bus station serves the city of Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The bus station was funded by both the Lancashire County Council and Lancaster City Council. The station, situated in the centre of the city, was re-built and opened in 20 ...

throughout the Lancaster District and frequent services to more distant places such as Kendal, Keswick,

Kirkby Lonsdale Kirkby Lonsdale () is a town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. Historically in Westmorland, it lies south-east of Kendal on the A65. The parish recorded a population of 1,771 in the 2001 ...

, Preston and Blackpool. There are frequent buses to Lancaster University, with the No. 1 and No. 1A services running every 10–15 minutes using double-deckers, with less frequent services 4, 41 and 42. Other routes are covered by Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire, including the 582 to

, Settle and

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Ai ...

and the 89 to

Knott End-on-Sea Knott End-on-Sea is a village in Lancashire, England, on the southern side of Morecambe Bay, across the Wyre estuary from Fleetwood. Knott End has a pub, the Bourne Arms, county library and golf club. Buses run regularly from Knott End and the ...

Rail

South front of Lancaster Station, Lancaster - geograph

Lancaster is served by the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

, which runs through

Lancaster railway station Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies * Duke of Lancaster * Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

. The station was formerly named Lancaster Castle, to differentiate it from Lancaster Green Ayre on the

Leeds–Morecambe line The Leeds–Morecambe line, also known as the Bentham line, is a railway line running between Leeds, Skipton, Lancaster and Morecambe in northern England. The service is operated by Northern. The route covered by the service was historicall ...

, which closed in 1966. There are through train services to and from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

and

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of B ...

, with a local service to Morecambe. The long-term aim of the city council is to open a railway station serving the university and south Lancaster, although this is not feasible in the short or medium term with current levels of demand. The Caton–Morecambe section of the former North Western railway is now used as a cycle path.

Water and air

Historically, the

gained importance in the 18th century. In 1750 the Lancaster Port Commission was established to develop the port. However, in more recent years, shipping visits

, where the Port commission is now based. The

and

pass through the city. The nearest airports are

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and Blackpool.

Cycling

In 2005, Lancaster was one of six English towns chosen to be cycling demonstration towns to promote cycling as a means of transport.

Education

Bailrigg Bailrigg is the campus of Lancaster University, in the City of Lancaster, Lancashire, England, south of the centre of Lancaster. The student radio station Bailrigg FM is named after the site. History Bailrigg was a hamlet in the township o ...

south of the city is Lancaster University, a research university founded in the 1960s with an annual income of about £319 million, 3,000 staff and 17,415 registered students. Its business school is one of two in the country to gain a six-star research rating. Its physics department rated #1 in the United Kingdom in 2008. InfoLab21 at the university is a Centre of Excellence for Information and Communication Technologies. LEC (Lancaster Environment Centre) has over 200 staff and shares premises with the government-funded CEH. In 2017 it was rated 21st nationally for research in The Times Higher league table. For teaching, it gained the highest Gold ranking for quality in the 2017 government TEF, and in 2018 was ranked 9th for its teaching by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' and 9th by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' Higher placed it 137th worldwide for research and 58th worldwide for arts and humanities. Lancaster University was named International University of the Year by ''The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide'' in 2020. It has campuses in Malaysia, China and Ghana and plans one in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, Germany. Lancaster is also home to a campus of the

– more centrally located on the site of the former

St Martin's College St Martin's College was a British higher education college with campuses in Lancaster, Ambleside and Carlisle, as well as sites in Whitehaven, Barrow and London. It provided undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the arts, humanities, b ...

– which was inaugurated in 2007. It provides undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the arts, social sciences, business, teacher training, health care and nursing. Jamea Al Kauthar Islamic College, in the former Royal Albert Hospital building on Ashton Road, is an independent girls' school, providing education in a Muslim tradition.

Further education

Lancaster and Morecambe College Lancaster and Morecambe College is a further education College situated on Torrisholme Road, between Lancaster and Morecambe, Lancashire, England. The college has been providing the local area with access to further and higher education since ...

Secondary schools

Lancaster Royal Grammar School Lancaster Royal Grammar School (LRGS) is a selective grammar school (day and boarding) for boys aged 11–18 in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. Old students belong to The Old Lancastrians. The school's sixth form opened to girls in 2019. LRGS i ...

and

Lancaster Girls' Grammar School Lancaster Girls' Grammar School (LGGS) is a selective state grammar school with academy status for girls on ''Regent Street'' in Lancaster, England. It was established in 1907. About LGGS LGGS gained Technology College status in 1995, and L ...

are selective-entry grammar schools. In 2016 both were rated by the '' Sunday Times''in the top 50 UK schools based on student achievement. *

Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy is a mixed Church of England high school operating under academy status, in the city of Lancaster in the north west of England. The school has over 1700 pupils between 11 and 18 years old, 350 of who ...

* Our Lady's Catholic College * Central Lancaster High School *

Skerton Community High School Skerton Community High School was a secondary school in Skerton, Lancaster, England. Foundation Skerton Community High School was built by the Corporation of Lancaster in the early years of the 1930s, the foundation stone being laid on 21 Sep ...

(now closed)

Primary schools

* Lancaster Steiner School *Scotforth St Pauls CofE Primary School *Moorside Primary School *St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School *Bowerham Primary School *The Cathedral Catholic Primary School *Dallas Road Community Primary School *Willow Lane (formerly Marsh) Community Primary School *Castle View (formerly Ridge) Community Primary School *Lancaster Christ Church CofE Primary School *St Joseph's Catholic Primary School *Skerton St Lukes CofE Primary School *Lancaster Ryelands Primary School Special Educational Needs (SEN) Schools *The Loyne *Morecambe Road School

Culture

Lune Millennium Bridge from northern bank

Lancaster has a range of historic buildings and venues, having retained many fine examples of Georgian architecture.

, the Priory Church of St. Mary and the Edwardian

are among the sites of historical importance. Its many museums include Lancaster City Museum,

Maritime Museum A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the milita ...

, the Cottage Museum, and Judges' Lodgings Museum. Lancaster Friends Meeting House dating from 1708, is the longest continual Quaker meeting site in the world, with an original building built in 1677. George Fox, founder of Quakerism, was near the site several times in the 1660s and spent two years imprisoned in Lancaster Castle. The meeting house holds regular Quaker meetings and a wide range of cultural activities including adult learning, meditation, art classes, music and political meetings. The Lancaster Grand Theatre is another historic cultural venue, under its many names. It has played a major part in social and cultural life since it was built in 1782. Lancaster Castle

Lancaster is known nationally for its Arts scene. There are 600 business and organisations in the region involved directly or indirectly in arts and culture. In 2009 several major arts bodies based in the district formed a consortium called Lancaster Arts Partners (LAP) to champion strategic development of arts activities in Lancaster District. Notable partners include Ludus Dance, More Music, the Dukes among others. LAP curates and promotes "Lancaster First Fridays", a monthly multi-disciplinary mini-festival under its brand "Lancaster Arts City". Lancaster University has a public arts organisation, part of LAP, known as

Lancaster Arts at Lancaster University Lancaster Arts at Lancaster University (LA) is Lancaster University's public arts organisation. The organisation presents performances, for the public, staff and students, through its campus venues the Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster Concerts Series ...

. Its programmes include Lancaster's Nuffield Theatre, one of the largest professional studio theatres in Europe, the Peter Scott Gallery, with the most significant collection of Royal Lancastrian ceramics in Britain, and the Lancaster International Concerts Series, drawing nationally and internationally renowned classical and world-music artists. The gallery in the Storey Creative Industries Centre is now programmed and run by Lancaster City Council. In 2013 the previous incumbent organisation "The Storey Gallery" moved out of the building and reformed as "Storey G2". The Storey Creative Industries Centre is also home to Lancaster's Litfest, which runs an annual literature festival. In the summer months Williamson Park hosts outdoor performances, including a Dukes "Play in the Park", which over the past 26 years has attracted 460,000 people, as the UK's biggest outdoor walkabout theatre event. Lancaster is known as the Northern City of Ale, with almost 30 pubs serving cask ale. The pubs include the ''White Cross'', ''Three Mariners'', ''Borough'' and ''Water Witch''. There are two cask ale breweries: Lancaster Brewery and a microbrewery run by the Borough. There is a local CAMRA ( Campaign for Real Ale) branch at Lunesdale. The Lancaster Grand Theatre and the Dukes are notable venues for live performance, as are the Yorkshire House (currently closed), Jailors Barrel, The John O' Gaunt and The Bobbin. Throughout the year events are held in and around the city, such as the Lancaster Music Festival, Lancaster Jazz Festival, and Chinese New Year celebrations in the city centre. Every November the city hosts a daylight and art festival entitled "Light Up Lancaster", which includes a prominent fireworks display. Lancaster still has two city-centre cinemas; Vue and the Dukes playhouse. The 1930s

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

''Regal Cinema'' closed in 2006. The Gregson Centre is also known for small film screenings and cultural events.

Art and literature

John Henderson (c.1770-1853) painted many views of the town. One of these together with a poetical illustration (which relates to the treacherous sands of Morecambe Bay) by

Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. The writings of Landon are transitional between Romanticism and the Victorian Age. Her first major breakthrough ...

was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833

Sport

Lancaster's main football team,

Lancaster City Lancaster City Football Club is an English semi-professional non-League football club based in the northern city of Lancaster, Lancashire. They currently compete in and play at Giant Axe. They are full members of the Lancashire County Footb ...

, plays in the

Northern Premier League Premier Division The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...

having won promotion as champions of Division One North in 2016–2017. It plays its home matches at the Giant Axe, which can take 3,500 (513 seated) and was formed in 1911 originally as Lancaster Town F.C. Lancaster City has been seven-times Lancashire FA Challenge cup winners and in 2010-11 won the Northern Premier League President's cup for a second time.

Lancaster John O' Gaunt Rowing Club Lancaster John O'Gaunt Rowing Club (JOG) is an English rowing club based at Lancaster on the River Lune. Its origins date back to 1842 making it the fifth oldest surviving rowing club in the United Kingdom outside the universities. History Lan ...

is the fifth-oldest surviving rowing club in the UK, outside the universities. It competes nationally at regattas and heads races run by

British Rowing British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews representi ...

. The clubhouse stands next to the weir at

. The city entertains contestants in the ''Lancaster International Youth Games'', a multi-sport 'Olympic' style event featuring competitors from Lancaster's

twin towns A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

Rendsburg Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Ecke ...

(Germany), Perpignan (France),

Viana do Castelo Viana do Castelo () is a municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 88,725, in an area of 319.02 km². The urbanized area of the municipality, comprising the city, ...

(Portugal), Aalborg (Denmark),

Almere Almere () is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km to the east of Amsterdam (as the crow flies) across the IJmeer. Bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde, the municipality of Almere comprise ...

(Netherlands), Lublin (Poland) and

Växjö Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...

(Sweden).

Lancaster Cricket Club Lancaster Cricket Club is an English cricket club sited near the River Lune in Lancaster. The club compete in the Northern League, with the 1st team being allocated a named professional for each season. Previous professionals include South Afri ...

is sited near the

. It has two senior teams that participate in the

Palace Shield The Palace Shield is a cricket league based in Preston and surrounding districts in Lancashire, England. It recently celebrated its centenary, and is continuing to expand in size and improve in quality. There are 7 divisions in the main Saturda ...

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

is a popular sport in the area, with the local clubs being

Vale of Lune RUFC Vale Of Lune Rugby Union Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Lancaster. The first team currently plays in North 1 West, a level six league in the English league system, following the club's relegation from North Premier at th ...

and Lancaster CATS. Lancaster is home to the Golf Centre, Lansil Golf Club, Forest Hills and Lancaster Golf Club. It also has a Lancaster Amateur Swimming and Waterpolo Club that competes in the north-west. It trains at Salt Ayre and at Lancaster University Sports Centre. Lancaster is home to a senior UK team.

Water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

is also popular in the area. The local athletics track near the Salt Ayre Sports Centre is home to both Lancaster and Morecambe AC. It regularly fields athletes across disciplines including track and field, cross country, road and fell running. It competes in several local and national leagues including the Young Athletics League, the Northern Athletics League and the local Mid Lancs League (Cross-Country in Winter, and Track and Field in Summer).

Music

The city's semi-professional Haffner Orchestra has a reputation for classical music. It performs in the Ashton Hall in the city centre and at Lancaster University. During parades and festivals it is common to see two other long standing musical groups perform
Lancaster City Brass
which is the oldest remaining brass band in the city celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2021 an
Batala
who recently completed 15 years of Samba Regge drumming Lancaster has been producing successful bands and musicians since the 1990s, notably the drummer Keith Baxter of

3 Colours Red 3 Colours Red were an English rock band, formed in 1994 in London. They achieved their biggest chart success at the end of the 1990s, along with other British rock bands such as Ash and Feeder. The band was named by sticking a pin in a Lond ...

and folk-metal band Skyclad, who also featured Lancaster guitarist Dave Pugh, and the thrash metal band D.A.M., who were all from Lancaster, recording two albums for the Noise International label, with Dave Pugh appearing on the second. The all-girl punk-rock band

Angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 60 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as Iceland, Lapland, and Greenland. They gr ...

used the Lancaster Musicians' Co-operative, the main rehearsal and recording studio in the area. The city has also produced many other musicians, including singer and songwriter

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single " Missing You", which reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top ten on ...

, who first became known as lead singer of

The Babys The Babys are a British rock group best known for their songs " Isn't It Time" and " Every Time I Think of You". Both songs were composed by Jack Conrad and Ray Kennedy, and each reached No. 13 on the U.S. '' Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 8 on ...

and had a solo #1 hit in the US, " Missing You". As part of the band

Bad English Bad English was an American/British glam metal supergroup formed in 1987. It reunited Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain with singer John Waite and bassist Ricky Phillips, his former bandmates in the Babys, along with Journey guitarist Neal S ...

, John Waite also had a #1 hit in the Billboard top hundred in the 1970s called " When I See You Smile". Additionally, Paul James, better known as The Rev, former guitarist of English punk band Towers of London who is now in the band Day 21 and plays guitar live on tour for The Prodigy; Chris Acland, drummer of the early 1990s shoegaze band Lush; Tom English, drummer of North East indie band

Maxïmo Park Maxïmo Park are an English alternative rock band, formed in 2000 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band consists of Paul Smith (vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar), and Tom English (drums). The band have released seven studio albums: '' A Certain Trigge ...

and

Steve Kemp Steven F. Kemp (born August 7, 1954) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Texas Rangers. Profession ...

, drummer of the indie band

Hard-Fi Hard-Fi are an English indie rock band, formed in 2003 in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey. The band's most recent lineup before going on hiatus consisted of Richard Archer ( lead vocals and guitar), Kai Stephens (bass guitar and backing vocals) an ...

. Lancaster continues to produce bands and musicians such as singer-songwriter

Jay Diggins Jay Diggins (born 17 September 1974) is an English singer-songwriter. He is best known for his work with John ParishLakin, Nick"If you fall from grace..." '' Lancaster Guardian'', Lancaster, 14 June 2013. and for turning down an opportunity to ...

, and acts like

The Lovely Eggs The Lovely Eggs are a two-piece lo-fi psychedelic punk rock band from Lancaster, England. They consist of married couple Holly Ross and David Blackwell. Ross was formerly the lead singer and guitarist in the all-female band Angelica. Caree ...

, receiving considerable national radio play and press coverage in recent years. More recently, Lancaster locals

Massive Wagons Massive Wagons are a British jazz combo/rock band from Lancaster founded in 2009. The band are currently signed to Nottingham-based independent record label Earache Records (having inked their deal in October 2017) and in 2018 released their f ...

signed to Nottingham-based independent label

Earache Records Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by rel ...

. The city is also the founding home of the dance-music sound systems Rhythm Method and ACME Bass Company. Pioneers in the field of the free party, these two systems and others forged strong representations of the genre in the North West of England in the 1990s. Since 2006, Lancaster Library has hosted regular music events under the ''Get it Loud in Libraries'' initiative. Musicians such as

The Wombats The Wombats are an English indie rock band formed in Liverpool in 2003, consisting of Matthew Murphy (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Tord Øverland Knudsen (bass, backing vocals, keyboards), and Dan Haggis (drums, backing vocals, keyboards) ...

The Thrills The Thrills are an Irish rock band, formed in 2001 in Dublin, Ireland. The band was founded by lead vocalist Conor Deasy and guitarist Daniel Ryan, guitarist and bass player Padraic McMahon, pianist Kevin Horan and drummer Ben Carrigan. Their bre ...

Kate Nash Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. Nash launched her music career in 2005. Her 2007 single " Foundations" became a hit and brought her to public attention in the UK. Her debut album, '' Made of Bricks ...

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

and

Bat for Lashes Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979), known professionally as Bat for Lashes, is an English singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She has released five studio albums: '' Fur and Gold'' (2006), ''Two Suns'' (2009), '' The Hau ...

have taken part. Get It Loud in Libraries has gained national exposure, featuring on The One Show on BBC1 and having gigs reviewed in ''Observer Music Monthly'', ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' and ''Art Rocker''. Notable popular music venues include The Dukes, The Grand Theatre, The Gregson Centre, The Bobbin, The Pub and The Yorkshire House, which since 2006 has hosted such acts as

John Renbourn John Renbourn (8 August 1944 – 26 March 2015) was an English guitarist and songwriter. He was best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo care ...

Polly Paulusma Polly Paulusma (born 10 November 1976) is an English singer-songwriter. Career Her first album, ''Scissors in my Pocket'', was largely recorded and produced by herself at her home. A second album, ''Cosmic Rosy Spine Kites'' (a virtual anagra ...

Marissa Nadler Marissa Nadler (born April 5, 1981) is an American musician and fine artist. Active since 2000, she is currently signed to Sacred Bones Records and Bella Union, and released her ninth full-length studio album, ''The Path of the Clouds'', in Oc ...

Baby Dee Baby Dee (born 1953) is an American performance artist, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter from Cleveland, Ohio. Early career In the 1970s, Baby Dee began her musical career as a street performer, but soon decided to take work as an ...

Diane Cluck Diane Cluck is an American singer-songwriter. She describes her music as "intuitive folk". She currently resides in Virginia. Early life Cluck was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She began taking piano lessons at the age of 7, and was classi ...

, Alasdair Roberts,

Jesca Hoop Jessica "Jesca" Ada Hoop (born April 21, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, who writes and performs in diverse musical styles. She has released six studio albums of her own, as well as live, acoustic and dual albums with other ...

, Lach, Jack Lewis,

Tiny Ruins Tiny Ruins are a musical ensemble from Auckland, New Zealand. History Tiny Ruins began as an alias for singer-songwriter Hollie Fullbrook, who recorded as a solo artist prior to 2009.Simon Grig/ref> drummer Gary Hunt Gary Hunt (born 11 J ...

and 2008

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

nominees

Rachel Unthank and the Winterset Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

. Other venues include the Dalton Rooms, the Park Hotel and The Hall, China Street. These host Lancaster's diverse music culture, such as the Lancaster Speakeasy or Stylus. The Lancaster Jazz and Lancaster Music Festivals are respectively held every September and October, at venues throughout the city. In 2013 the headline jazz act was The

Neil Cowley Neil Cowley (born 5 November 1972) is an English contemporary pianist and composer. He has also released music as part of Fragile State, the Green Nuns of the Revolution, and the Neil Cowley Trio. With his trio, he appeared on '' Later... with ...

Trio, performing at The Dukes, whilst one of the Lancaster Music Festival headline acts was

at the Dalton Rooms.

Media

Heart North Lancashire & Cumbria Heart North Lancashire & Cumbria (formerly The Bay) was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to north Lancashire and south Cumbria from studios in Lancaster. History The Bay The st ...

(formerly "The Bay") has been a commercial radio station for north Lancashire and south Cumbria. Its studios are based at St George's Quay in the city and it broadcasts on three frequencies: 96.9 FM (Lancaster), 102.3 FM (Windermere) and 103.2 FM (Kendal). It is now part of the Manchester-based Heart North West. Beyond Radio is a voluntary, non-profit community radio station for Lancaster and Morecambe and broadcasts on 103.5FM and online. Operated by Proper Community Media (Lancaster) Ltd, the station and broadcasts 24 hours a day from The Old Bowling Pavilion in Palatine Avenue Park, Bowerham Barracks, Bowerham. It took over from Diversity FM, a community radio station run by Lancaster and District YMCA, which had closed in April 2012. Lancaster University has its own student radio station, Bailrigg FM, broadcasting on 87.7 FM, and an online student-run television station called LA1:TV (formerly LUTube.tv) and a student-run newspaper named SCAN (newspaper), SCAN. The city is home to the film production company A1 Pictures, which founded the independent film brand Capture. Commercially available newspapers include the tabloids ''The Lancaster Guardian'' and ''The Visitor'' (mainly targeted at residents of Morecambe). Both are based on the White Lund Industrial Estate in Morecambe. ''Virtual Lancaster'', founded in 1999, is a non-commercial volunteer-led resource website also featuring local news, events and visitor information.

Places of interest

*Duke's Playhouse * Lancaster Grand Theatre *Greaves Park Hotel, Lancaster, Greaves Park *Judges Lodgings, Lancaster, The Judges Lodgings *

* Lancaster City Museum *

*Lancaster Town Hall *Lune Millennium Bridge *Maritime Museum (Lancaster), Quayside Maritime Museum *Queen Victoria Memorial, Lancaster, Queen Victoria Memorial *Ruskin Library at Lancaster University * The Gregson Centre *The Storey (Institute), Storey Gallery *Westfield War Memorial Village *Williamson Park, Lancaster, Williamson Park

Notable people

Arts and entertainment

*Joe Abercrombie (born 1974) – fantasy writer and film editor, was born in Lancaster and attended Lancaster Royal Grammar School, LRGS. *Cherith Baldry (born 1947) – children's and fantasy writer, was born in Lancaster. *Laurence Binyon (1869–1943) – poet and dramatist, was born in Lancaster. *Hubert Henry Norsworthy (1885–1961) – organist and composer, died in Lancaster. *Mabel Pakenham-Walsh (1937–2013) – artist, was born in Lancaster. *Jon Richardson (born 1982) – comedian, grew up in Lancaster and attended Lancaster Royal Grammar School, LRGS. *Thomas Thompson (writer), Thomas Thompson (1880–1951) – writer and broadcaster *

(born 1952) – rock musician, was born in Lancaster. *Dustin Demri-Burns (born 1978) – actor, writer and comedian *Keith Wilkinson (reporter), Keith Wilkinson – television news reporter, was born in Lancaster

Business

*Henry Cort (c. 1741–1800) – English ironmaster and inventor, was probably born in Lancaster. *James Crosby (British businessman), James Crosby (born 1956) – chief executive of HBOS until 2006, attended Lancaster Royal Grammar School. *Thomas Edmondson (1792–1851) – businessman and inventor of the Edmondson railway ticket, was born in Lancaster. *Robert Gillow (1704–1772) was the founder of Gillows of Lancaster, an English furniture manufacturer. *Ronald Halstead, Sir Ronald Halstead (1927–2021) – chair and Chief Executive of the Beecham Group in 1984–1985 and Deputy Chair of British Steel (1967–1999), British Steel in 1986–1994 was born in Lancaster and attended Lancaster Royal Grammar School. *James Williamson, 1st Baron Ashton, James Williamson (1842–1930) – businessman and politician who created Williamson Park and Ashton memorial, was born in Lancaster and attended Lancaster Royal Grammar School.

Crime

*Lauren Jeska (born 1974) – a transgender athlete, was convicted of the attempted murder of an official, Ralph Knibbs. *Edward Stringer, (1819–1863) – convict and prospector, discovered the Walhalla, Victoria goldfield in Australia. *Buck Ruxton (1899–1936) – marital murderer, resided and practised medicine at 2 Dalton Square.

Politics and journalism

*Henry D. Gilpin (1801–1860) – Attorney General of the United States, was born in Lancaster. *Erik de Mauny (1920–1997) – foreign correspondent, died in Lancaster. *Sir Lancelot Sanderson (1863–1944) – Conservative MP and judge, died in Lancaster.

Science and humanities

*J. L. Austin (1911–1960) – philosopher and developer of the theory of speech acts, was born in Lancaster. *John Ambrose Fleming (1849–1945) – electrical engineer and physicist, was born in Lancaster. *Edward Frankland (1825–1899) – chemist who originated the concept of valence, was born near Lancaster and educated at LRGS. *Jaroslav Krejčí (sociologist), Jaroslav Krejčí (1916–2014) – Czech-British sociologist, was a professor at the University of Lancaster and died in Lancaster. *Geoffrey Leech (1936–2014) – linguistics researcher, was a professor at the University of Lancaster and died in Lancaster. *Richard Owen (1804–1892) – biologist who coined the term "dinosaur", lived in Brock Street. *William Turner (anatomist), William Turner (1832–1916) – anatomist and academic, was born in Lancaster. *Paul Wellings (born 1953) – ecologist, served as a professor and Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University. *Emily Williamson (1855–1936), English philanthropist and co-founder of the RSPB, was born in Lancaster. *Gavin Wood (born 1980) – co-founded and headed Ethereum.

Sport

*Michael Allen (cricketer), Michael Allen (1933–1995) – international cricketer, died in Lancaster. *Arthur Bate (1908–1993) – professional football (soccer), footballer, died in Lancaster. *James Beattie (footballer), James Beattie (born 1978) – professional footballer, was born in Lancaster. *Harold Douthwaite (1900–1972) – first-class cricketer, was born and died in Lancaster. *Scott Durant (born 1988) – Olympic gold medal-winning rower, was a pupil at Lancaster Royal Grammar School *Trevor Glover (born 1951) – first-class cricketer and rugby union player, was born in Lancaster. *William Gregson (cricketer), William Gregson (1877–1963) – first-class cricketer, died in Lancaster. *Sarah Illingworth (born 1963) – international cricketer (New Zealand), was born in Lancaster. *Edward Jackson (cricketer, born 1849), Edward Jackson (1849–1926) – first-class cricketer, was born in Lancaster. *John Jackson (cricketer, born 1841), John Jackson (1841–1906) – first-class cricketer, was born in Lancaster. *Scott McTominay (born 1996) – professional footballer currently with Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, was born in Lancaster. *John Pinch (rugby), John Pinch (1870–1946) – international rugby union player, was born and died in Lancaster. *Jason Queally (born 1970) – Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist, was a pupil at Lancaster Royal Grammar School. *Matt Rogerson (born 1993) – professional Rugby Union player currently with London Irish, was born in Lancaster *Fred Shinton (1883–1923) – professional footballer, died in Lancaster. *Alan Warriner-Little (born 1962) – champion darts player, was born in Lancaster.

Twinned cities

Lancaster is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with:Lancaster City Council, Twin Towns
retrieved 21 January 2019.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Lancaster City Council
– Homepage of Lancaster City Council
Regional Europe - LancasterVisit Lancaster Website
– Tourism Website for Lancaster {{Authority control Lancaster, Lancashire, County towns in England Towns in Lancashire Roman fortifications in England Unparished areas in Lancashire Geography of the City of Lancaster

History

Roman and Saxon eras

Medieval

Recent history

Governance

Political representation

Geography

Built-up area

Green belt

Transport

Road

Rail

Water and air

Cycling

Education

Further education

Secondary schools

Primary schools

Culture

Art and literature

Sport

Music

Media

Places of interest

Notable people

Arts and entertainment

Business

Crime

Politics and journalism

Science and humanities

Sport

Twinned cities

See also

References

Bibliography

External links