Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...

. It is bordered by

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

to the north,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

and

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

to the east,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

and

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

to the south, and the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

to the west. The largest settlement is Preston, and the

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

is the city of

Lancaster 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 county has an area of and a population of 1,490,300. Preston is located near the centre of the county, which is urbanised and includes the towns of

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

; the seaside resort of

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

lies to the west, and

is in the north. For

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

purposes the county comprises a

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government. The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales, and ...

, with twelve districts, and two

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

areas:

Blackburn with Darwen Blackburn with Darwen is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, North West England. The borough includes the towns of Blackburn and Darwen plus a wider rural area which includes the villages of ...

and

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashire is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Blackburn with Dar ...

and the two unitary councils collaborate through the

Lancashire Combined County Authority The Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA) is a non-mayoral combined county authority comprising the three upper tier councils in Lancashire, namely Blackpool Council, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, and Lancashire County Council ...

. The county historically included northern Greater Manchester and Merseyside, the

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria, England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, Historic counties of England, historically an exclave of Lancashire. On 1 April 2023 it became part of the new unitary author ...

and

Cartmel Cartmel is a village in Furness (traditionally "Lancashire-over-the-Sands" (and in the ceremonial county of Cumbria), England, northwest of Grange-over-Sands close to the River Eea. The village takes its name from the Cartmel Peninsula, a ...

peninsulas of Cumbria, and part of northern

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, but excluded the eastern part of the

Forest of Bowland The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however ro ...

. The west of Lancashire contains flat coastal plains: the

West Lancashire coastal plain The West Lancashire Coastal Plain is a large area in the south west of Lancashire, England. The plain stretches from the Rimrose Valley in Seaforth, near Liverpool on the Mersey, to the south, to Preston on the Ribble, to the north. To the e ...

to the south and

the Fylde The Fylde () is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills to ...

in the centre. The north-western coast is hilly and contains part of Arnside and Silverdale, a

national landscape An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of rural area, countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for protected area, conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 202 ...

. The east of the county is upland, with the

West Pennine Moors The West Pennine Moors is an area of the Pennines covering approximately of moorland and Reservoir (water), reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The West Pennine Moors are separa ...

in the south-east and the

in the north-east; Bowland has also been designated a national landscape. The major rivers of the county are, from north to south, the

Lune Lune may refer to: Rivers *River Lune, in Lancashire and Cumbria, England *River Lune, Durham, in County Durham, England *Lune (Weser), a 43 km-long tributary of the Weser in Germany *Lune River (Tasmania), in south-eastern Tasmania, Australia Pl ...

, the Wyre, and the Ribble, which all flow west into the Irish Sea. The highest point in Lancashire is either Gragareth or Green Hill, both approximately high and located in the far north-east of the county. Lancashire was founded in the 12th century; 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 much of what would become the county is treated as part of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and

. Until the Early Modern period the county was a comparatively poor backwater, although in 1351 it became a

palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.

, with a semi-independent judicial system. This changed during the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

, when the county rapidly industrialised; until 1974 it included both Liverpool, a major port, and Manchester, which with its surrounding towns dominated the manufacture of textiles. The

Lancashire coalfield The Lancashire Coalfield in North West England was an important British Coalfield#Great Britain, coalfield. Its coal seams were formed from the vegetation of tropical swampy forests in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago. The Rom ...

was also exploited, with many

collieries Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

opening. By 1971 Lancashire had a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 5,118,405, which made it the most heavily populated county in the United Kingdom after

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

History

Before the county

During Roman times the area was part of the

Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geog ...

tribal area in the military zone of

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caes ...

. The towns of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Ribchester Ribchester () is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The village has a long history w ...

Burrow file:Chipmunk-burrow (exits).jpg, An eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of Animal lo ...

Elslack Elslack is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, close to the border with Lancashire and west of Skipton. Thornton in Craven is nearby. The Tempest Arms is a large pub in the village, sited by the A56, which is ...

and Castleshaw grew around Roman forts. In the centuries after the Roman withdrawal in 410 AD the northern parts of the county probably formed part of the Brythonic kingdom of

Rheged Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ('Old North'), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and bardic sources, ...

, a successor entity to the Brigantes tribe. During the mid-8th century, the area was incorporated into the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

Kingdom of Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

from the north of the

River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...

and the

Kingdom of Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

from the south, which both became parts of England in the 10th century. In the ''

'', land between the Ribble and Mersey were known as " Inter Ripam et Mersam"Sylvester (1980). p. 14 and included in the returns for

. Although some historians consider this to mean south Lancashire was then part of Cheshire,Booth, P. cited in George, D., ''Lancashire'' (1991) it is by no means certain.Harris and Thacker (1987) write on page 252: "Certainly there were links between Cheshire and south Lancashire before 1000, when Wulfric Spot held lands in both territories. Wulfric's estates remained grouped together after his death, when they were left to his brother Aelfhelm. And indeed, there still seems to have been some kind of connexion in 1086, when south Lancashire was surveyed together with Cheshire by the Domesday commissioners. Nevertheless, the two territories do seem to have been distinguished from one another in some way and it is not certain that the shire-moot and the reeves referred to in the south Lancashire section of Domesday were the Cheshire ones."Crosby, A. (1996) writes on page 31: "The Domesday Survey (1086) included south Lancashire with Cheshire for convenience, but the Mersey, the name of which means 'boundary river' is known to have divided the kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia and there is no doubt that this was the real boundary." It is also claimed that the territory to the north formed part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

Early history

Lancashire 1610 Speed Hondius - Restoration

The county was established in 1182,George, D., ''Lancashire'', (1991) and came to be bordered by

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

, Yorkshire, and Cheshire. It was divided into the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

s of

Amounderness The Amounderness Hundred ( ) is one of the six subdivisions of the historic county of Lancashire in North West England, but the name is older than the system of hundreds first recorded in the 13th century and might best be described as the na ...

, Leyland, Lonsdale,

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

and

West Derby West Derby ( ) is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, in the east of the city. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382. History West Derby Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', West Derby achieved significance far earlier tha ...

.Vision of Britain
– Lancashire ancient county divisions Lonsdale was further partitioned into Lonsdale North, the detached part north of the sands of

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is an estuary in north-west 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 largest ga ...

including

and

, and Lonsdale South.

Victorian era to late 20th century

Since the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, Lancashire has had multiple reforms of local government.Berrington, E., ''Change in British Politics'', (1984) In 1889, the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...

of Lancashire was created, covering the greater part of the county. Multiple county boroughs were outside the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

control:

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...

, Bury,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

, Preston,

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

, St. Helens, and

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

. The area served by the

Lord-Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility o ...

(termed now a

) covered the entirety of the administrative county and the county boroughs. It expanded whenever boroughs annexed areas in neighbouring counties such as

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is an area of Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a large housing estate there in the 1920s. With an area of approximately , ...

in Manchester south of the River Mersey and from Cheshire, and southern

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

. It did not cover the western part of

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax. In 2011, it had a popul ...

, where the ancient border between Lancashire and Yorkshire passes through the middle of the town. During the 20th century, the county became increasingly urban with

(1900),

(1904) and

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

(1905) becoming county boroughs, with 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

.Lord Redcliffe-Maud and Bruce Wood. English Local Government Reformed. (1974) Lancaster, the historic

, became a city in 1937. The administrative county was also the most populous of its type outside London, with a population of 2,280,359 in 1961. By the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 1971, the population of Lancashire and its county boroughs had reached 5,129,416, making it the most populous geographic county in the UK.

Post-1974

Historical and current boundaries of Lancashire

On 1 April 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, the local government structure of Lancashire was reorganised. The south-east of the county became part of the

metropolitan county Metropolitan counties are a Subdivisions of England, subdivision of England which were originally used for Local government in England, local government. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyn ...

and the south-west became part of the metropolitan county of

;Jones, B. et al., ''Politics UK'', (2004)

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

and

in the south were transferred to

. In the north, the

incorporated the Furness exclave. The remainder of Lancashire was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan county with thirteen districts. It included some areas formerly in the

, namely the urban districts of

Barnoldswick Barnoldswick (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle, Lancashire, England. It lies within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic West Riding of Yorkshire, West Ri ...

and

Earby Earby is a town and civil parish within the Borough of Pendle, Lancashire, England. Although within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic West Riding of Yorkshire, West Riding of Yorkshire, Earby has been administered by ...

Bowland Rural District Bowland was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the Forest of Bowland, which it included. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from that part of the Clitheroe rural sanitary dis ...

, and the parishes of

Bracewell and Brogden Bracewell and Brogden is a former civil parish, now in the parish of Barnoldswick, in the West Craven area of the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 238, increasing slightly to 244 at ...

and

Salterforth Salterforth is a village and civil parish within the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. The population of the Civil Parish at the 2011 census was 637. It lies on the B6383 road that connects Barnoldswick to the A56 road at Kelbrook. T ...

from

Skipton Rural District Skipton was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was named after Skipton, which constituted an urban district on its southern border. The district was expanded in 1937 by taking in the parishes of Steeton wit ...

.Local Government Act 1972. 1972, c. 70 In 1994, the parish of Simonswood was transferred from the borough of Knowsley in Merseyside to the district of

West Lancashire West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town is Skelmersdale. The district borders Fylde to the north, over the Ribble Estuary; South Ribbl ...

. In 1998, Blackpool and

became

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

, removing them from the

but not from the

Geography

Geology, landscape, and ecology

The three main rivers of Lancashire are, from north to south, the

, the Wyre, and the Ribble, which all flow west into the

. The Lune rises in

, before entering Lancashire and flowing through Lancaster. The Wyre rises in Bowland, flows south, turning west across the Fylde and then north as it broadens into its estuary west of Fleetwood. The Ribble rises in

, and flows south-west through Lancashire past Clitheroe and Preston before broadening into the Ribble Estuary. Many of Lancashire's other rivers are tributaries of the Ribble, including the Calder,

Darwen Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners". The A666 road, A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to ...

, Douglas, and Hodder. The Irwell, which flows through Manchester, has its source in Lancashire. To the west of the county are

coastal plain and

, which lie north and south of the Ribble Estuary respectively. Apart from the coastal resorts these areas are largely rural and devoted to vegetable crops. Further north is

. In the northwest corner of the county, straddling the border with Cumbria, is the Arnside and Silverdale National Landscape, characterised by its

limestone pavement A limestone pavement is a natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed limestone that resembles an artificial Sidewalk, pavement. The term is mainly used in the UK and Ireland, where many of these landforms have devel ...

s and home to the Leighton Moss nature reserve. In the east of the county are upland areas leading to the Pennines. North of the Ribble are

Beacon Fell Country Park A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

and the

, another

National Landscape An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of rural area, countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for protected area, conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 202 ...

. Much of the lowland in this area is devoted to dairy farming and cheesemaking, whereas the higher ground is more suitable for sheep, and the highest ground is uncultivated

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

. The valleys of the River Ribble and its tributary the Calder form a large gap to the west of the Pennines, overlooked by

Pendle Hill Pendle Hill is in the east of Lancashire, England, near the towns of Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Brierfield, Clitheroe and Padiham. Its summit is above mean sea level. It gives its name to the Borough of Pendle. It is an isolated hill in the Pe ...

. South of the Ribble are the

and the Forest of Rossendale, where former cotton mill towns are in deep valleys. The

Lancashire Coalfield The Lancashire Coalfield in North West England was an important British Coalfield#Great Britain, coalfield. Its coal seams were formed from the vegetation of tropical swampy forests in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago. The Rom ...

, largely in modern-day

, extended into

and to

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is located north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Ormski ...

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...

and

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. The town is northeast of Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson, northeast of Burnley and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The ...

in Lancashire. The highest point of the ceremonial county is Gragareth, near

Whernside Whernside is a mountain in the Yorkshire Dales in Northern England. It is the highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, the other two being Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent. It is the highest point in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire Mickle F ...

, which reaches a height of 627 m (2,057 ft). Green Hill near Gragareth has also been cited as the "county" top. The highest point in the historic county is Coniston Old Man in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

, at 803 m (2,634 ft).

Human geography

The north of the ceremonial county is less densely populated than the south, especially inland. The Fylde coast is continuously built-up from

Lytham St Annes Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population of the built-up area at the 2021 United Kingdom census, ...

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

, including

, and further north

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

, and

Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal village in the Lancaster district of 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. History Of historic ...

form a conurbation. The rest of the region is characterised by small towns and villages in the flat farmland surrounding the lower reaches of the Ribble, Wyre, and

and the sparsely populated uplands of the

. The centre and south-east of Lancashire are relatively urbanised, especially around the major settlements of Preston,

, and

and near the border with Greater Manchester. The

Central Lancashire Central Lancashire is an area of Lancashire, England. Central Lancashire New Town Central Lancashire new towns in the United Kingdom, New Town was the largest of the post-war English new towns, designated in 1970 and covering : the County Boro ...

urban area includes the city of Preston and the towns of

Penwortham Penwortham () is a town and civil parish in South Ribble, Lancashire, England, on the south bank of the River Ribble facing the city of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The town is at the most westerly crossing point of the river, with major road ...

, Leyland and

. A short distance east, Blackburn and

are the first of several adjacent areas urban areas which continue east toward

and south into the valleys leading to Greater Manchester, the others being Accrington and Rossendale and

in the south-west is rural with the exception of

Skelmersdale Skelmersdale is a town in the West Lancashire district of England. It sits on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, north-east of Liverpool and south-west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known l ...

, which forms part of Wigan urban area. The

North West Green Belt The North West Green Belt is a green belt environmental and planning policy that regulates the rural space throughout mainly the North West region of England. It is contained within the counties of Cheshire, Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, L ...

covers a large part of the south and centre of the county to prevents the settlements there from converging both with each other and with the nearby

and Greater Manchester conurbations. It includes all of the non-urban areas in the boroughs of West Lancashire and South Ribble and the majority of Chorley; elsewhere it is less extensive, but covers the areas between the major settlements. There is a further area of green belt in the north of the county between Lancaster, Morecambe, and

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 ...

. The cities of

and the following settlements within the historic county boundaries are currently in the ceremonial counties of

and

:Vision of Britain
– Lancashire ancient county boundariesChandler, J., ''Local Government Today'', (2001)Youngs. Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Volume 2. Northern England Boundary changes before 1974 include: *

, split between Lancashire and Yorkshire then entirely to West Riding of Yorkshire in 1889 *

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, south-east of Oldham and east of Manchester. The town grew ...

, split between Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cheshire then entirely to Lancashire in 1889 *

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, it had a population of 26,830. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east o ...

, entirely to Cheshire in 1889 *Areas such as

and Latchford, former county boroughs of Manchester and Warrington both extended south of the Mersey into historic Cheshire *areas such as

Reddish Reddish is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester city centre. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census, the population was 28,052. Historic counties of England, Historical ...

and the Heatons (

Heaton Chapel Heaton Chapel is an area in the northern part of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it borders the Manchester districts of Levenshulme to the north, the Stockport districts of H ...

Heaton Mersey Heaton Mersey is a suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on the north-western border of Stockport, adjacent to Didsbury and Burnage which are in the City of Manchester. The suburb is an affluent residential area and c ...

Heaton Moor Heaton Moor is a suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is one of the Four Heatons and borders Heaton Chapel, Heaton Norris and Heaton Mersey. Heaton Moor has Victorian housing, built between 1852 and 1892, along affluent tree ...

and

Heaton Norris Heaton Norris is a suburb of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is one of the Four Heatons, along with neighbours Heaton Chapel, Heaton Mersey and Heaton Moor. Originally within the boundaries of the Historic ...

), former county borough of Stockport extended north into historic Lancashire.

Governance

Local government

The ceremonial county of Lancashire is divided into fourteen

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

s. The twelve districts of

, Fylde,

Hyndburn Hyndburn is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington, the largest town, and the borough also covers the outlying ...

, Pendle, Preston,

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe, the largest town. The borough also includes the town of Longridge and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. ...

Rossendale Rossendale may refer to several places and organizations in Lancashire, England: Places *Rossendale Valley, a river valley *Borough of Rossendale, a local government district *Rossendale (UK Parliament constituency) Rossendale was a United King ...

South Ribble South Ribble is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Leyland. The borough includes the towns and villages of Penwortham, Leyland, Farington, Farington Moss, Hutton, Longton, Walmer B ...

, and Wyre are part of the two-tier

of Lancashire, which is administered by

and twelve district councils.Vision of Britain
– Divisions of Lancashire The county council is based in County Hall in Preston, and has 84 councillors. It has been controlled by

Reform UK Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

since the 2025 local election.

and

are unitary authority areas, meaning their councils combine the functions of a district and county council. They were formed in 1996, before which each district was part of the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire. Both authorities currently have a majority Labour administration.

Blackpool Council Blackpool Council is the local government in England, local authority of the Borough of Blackpool, in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. Since 1998 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, being a non-metropoli ...

, and

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is the local authority of Blackburn with Darwen in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. Since 1998 it has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a co ...

collaborate through the

, which was established in February 2025. The ceremonial county itself only has a minor administrative function, being the area to which the

Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire. The Lord Lieutenant is the King's personal representative in each county of the United Kingdom. Historically the Lord Lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's ...

is appointed; the shrieval county has the same boundaries and is the area to which the

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient office, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanca ...

is appointed.

Parliamentary constituencies

The ceremonial county is divided into sixteen

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

for the purpose of

parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

representation.

Duchy of Lancaster

The

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...

, the private estate of the sovereign, exercises the right of

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

in the County Palatine of Lancaster. The most prominent effect of this is that the Duchy administers ''

bona vacantia Unowned property includes tangible, physical things that are capable of being reduced to being property owned by a person but are not owned by anyone. ' (Latin for "ownerless goods") is a legal concept associated with the unowned property, which e ...

'' within the County Palatine, receiving the property of persons who die intestate and where the legal ownership cannot be ascertained. The county palatine boundaries remain the same as the historic boundaries, ignoring subsequent local government reforms.

Economy

Industry during the First World War Q28242

Lancashire in the 19th century was a major centre of economic activity, and hence one of wealth. Activities included coal mining, textile production, particularly that which used cotton, and fishing. Preston Docks, an industrial port is now disused. Lancashire was historically the location of the port of

while

is famous for

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

. As of 2013, the largest private sector industry is the defence industry with BAE Systems Military Air Solutions division based in Warton on

coast. The division operates a manufacturing site in

Samlesbury Samlesbury ( ''or locally'' ) is a village and civil parish in South Ribble, Lancashire, England. Samlesbury Hall, a historic house, is in the village, as is Samlesbury Aerodrome and a large modern brewery owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. The pop ...

. Other defence firms include BAE Systems Global Combat Systems in Chorley,

Ultra Electronics Ultra Electronics Holdings is a British defence and security company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index until it was acquired by Cobham, which is itself owned by Advent International. The ...

in Fulwood and

Rolls-Royce plc Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British multinational aerospace and defence company incorporated in February 2011. The company owns Rolls-Royce, a business established in 1904 which today designs, manufactures and distributes power systems for ...

. The

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

industry has a plant at Springfields, Salwick operated by Westinghouse and Heysham nuclear power station is operated by

British Energy British Energy was the UK's largest electricity generation company by volume, before being taken over by Électricité de France (EDF) in 2009. British Energy operated eight former UK state-owned nuclear power stations and one coal-fired power ...

. Other major manufacturing firms include Leyland Trucks, a subsidiary of

Paccar Paccar Inc. (stylized as PACCAR) is an American company primarily focused on the design and manufacturing of large commercial trucks through its subsidiaries DAF, Kenworth and Peterbilt sold across markets worldwide. The company is headquartere ...

building the DAF truck range. Other companies with a major presence in Lancashire include: *

Airline Network Netflights.com is an internet based travel company and part of Gold Medal Travel Group in the United Kingdom supplying flights, hotels, holidays and car hires. Established in 1992 as Airline Network, the company was privately owned 100% by Ken Tow ...

, an internet travel company with headquarters in Preston. * Baxi, a heating equipment manufacturer has a large manufacturing site in Bamber Bridge. *

Crown Paints Crown Paints is a major paint manufacturer based in Darwen, Lancashire. It is owned by Hempel Group. History The origins of the business lie in the history of paint making in Hollins Road Darwen, which can be traced back to the late 1850s. I ...

, a major paint manufacturer based in Darwen. *

Dr. Oetker Dr. Oetker () is a German multinational company that produces baking powder, cake mixes, Pizza#Preparation, frozen pizza, pudding, cake decoration, cornflakes, birthday candles, beer, and various other products. The company is a wholly owned b ...

, an international food processing company, has a factory in Leyland that produces frozen pizza mostly under the Chicago Town and Ristorante brands. *

Enterprise plc Enterprise plc was a support services company originally based in Farington in Lancashire, England. Its core markets were local authorities and utility sectors. It has recently been integrated into Ferrovial's UK company, Amey plc. History ...

, one of the UK's leading support services based in Leyland. * Hanson plc, a building supplies company operates the Accrington brick works. * Holland's Pies, a major manufacturer of baked goods based in Baxenden near Accrington. *

National Savings and Investments National Savings and Investments (NS&I), formerly called the Post Office Savings Bank and National Savings, is a state-owned savings bank in the United Kingdom. It is both a non-ministerial government department and an executive agency of HM T ...

, the state-owned savings bank, which offers

Premium Bond Premium Bonds is a lottery bond scheme organised by the Government of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom government since 1956. At present it is managed by the government's National Savings and Investments agency. The principle behind Premium ...

s and other savings products, has an office in Blackpool. *

Thwaites Brewery Thwaites Brewery is a regional brewery established in 1807 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England by founder Daniel Thwaites. Now located near Mellor, Lancashire, Mellor in the Ribble Valley, part of the company was sold to Marston's in 2015, and th ...

, a

regional brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

founded in 1807 by Juno Thwaites in

. *

Xchanging Xchanging is a business process and technology services provider and integrator, owned by DXC Technology, providing business services to the commercial insurance industry. In outsourcing, Xchanging will typically take over a customer's business ...

, a company providing business process outsourcing services, with operations in Fulwood. *

AB InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian Multinational corporation, multinational Drink industry, drink and brewing company, brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest brewer in the world, and in 20 ...

, a multinational beverage company, brews Budweiser, Stella Artois, Brahma, Bass and Boddingtons in Samlesbury. *

Fisherman's Friend Fisherman's Friend is a brand of strong menthol Throat lozenge, lozenges manufactured by the Lofthouse of Fleetwood (company), Lofthouse company in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. History Fisherman's Friend was originally developed by phar ...

, a confection company, famous for making strong mints and lozenges, based in Fleetwood. * The Foulnaze cockle fishery is in Lytham. It has only opened the coastal cockle beds three times in twenty years; August 2013 was the last of these openings.

Enterprise zone

The creation of Lancashire Enterprise Zone was announced in 2011. It was launched in April 2012, based at the airfields owned by BAE Systems in Warton and Samlesbury.

Warton Aerodrome Warton Aerodrome is an airfield located in Warton village on the Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is west of Preston, Lancashire. The western end of the site adjoins the village of Freckleton. The airfield is a major assembly and testing ...

covers and

Samlesbury Aerodrome Samlesbury Aerodrome is a disused airfield at Balderstone, Lancashire, Balderstone near Samlesbury and Blackburn in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire. The aerodrome is owned by defence company BAE Systems which uses the site for the manu ...

is 74 hectares. Development is coordinated by Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, Lancashire County Council and BAE Systems. The first businesses to move into the zone did so in March 2015, at Warton. In March 2015 the government announced a new

enterprise zone An urban enterprise zone is an area in which policies to encourage economic growth and development are implemented. Urban enterprise zone policies generally offer tax concessions, infrastructure incentives, and reduced regulations to attract invest ...

would be created at

Blackpool Airport Blackpool Airport is an airport on the Fylde coast of Lancashire, England, in the Borough of Fylde, just outside the Borough of Blackpool. It was formerly known as Squires Gate Airport and Blackpool International Airport. Ownership of the air ...

, using some airport and adjoining land. Operations at the airport will not be affected.

Economic output

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire at basic prices published by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling.

Education

Lancashire has a mostly comprehensive system with four state grammar schools. Not including

sixth form college A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...

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

Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

, the

University of Central Lancashire The University of Lancashire (previously abbreviated UCLan) is a public university based in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in ''The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge'', founded in 1828. Previously k ...

Edge Hill University Edge Hill University is a campus-based public university in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England. The university, which originally opened in 1885 as Edge Hill College, was the first non-denominational teacher training college for women in England, befo ...

and the Lancaster 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, establi ...

. Seven colleges offer higher education courses.

Transport

Roadways

The Lancashire economy relies strongly on 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 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...

which runs from north to south, past Lancaster and Preston. The M55 connects Preston to Blackpool and is 11.5 miles (18.3 km) long. The

M65 motorway The M65 is a motorway between Preston, Lancashire, Preston and Colne in Lancashire, England. It runs from Bamber Bridge just south of Preston, through major junctions with the M6 motorway, M6 and M61 motorways, east past Darwen, Blackburn, Ac ...

from

, connects Burnley, Accrington, Blackburn to Preston. The M61 from Preston via

and the M66 starting inside the county boundary near Edenfield, provide links between Lancashire and Manchester, and the trans-Pennine M62. The M58 crosses the southernmost part of the county from the M6 near Wigan to Liverpool via

. Other major roads include the east–west A59 between Liverpool in Merseyside and

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

in North Yorkshire via Ormskirk, Preston and Clitheroe, and the connecting A565 to

; the A56 from

Ramsbottom Ramsbottom is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 17,872. Historically in Lancashire, it lies on the River Irwell in the West Pennine Moors, north-west of Bur ...

Padiham Padiham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Calder, Lancashire, River Calder, in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, Lancashire, England. It is located north west of Burnley, and north ea ...

via

Haslingden Haslingden is a town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels' or 'valley growing with hazels'. At the time of the 2011 census the town (including Helmshore) had a population of 15,9 ...

and from Colne to Skipton; the A585 from Kirkham to

; the A666 from the A59 north of Blackburn to Bolton via

; and the A683 from

Kirkby Lonsdale Kirkby Lonsdale () is a town and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness 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 ...

via Lancaster. Several bus companies run bus services in the Lancashire area serving the main towns and villages in the county with some services running to neighbouring areas,

and

. Some of these include: *

Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire is a major operator of bus services in North West England. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and is headquartered in Liverpool. History Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire can trace i ...

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 ...

Bee Network The Bee Network is an integrated transport network for Greater Manchester, comprising bus, tram, cycling and walking routes. Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is expected to have commuter rail services joining the network in 2028. Initial ...

Transdev Blazefield Transdev Blazefield is a bus group, which operates local and regional bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. Formed in August 1991, the group has been a subsidiary of French-based operato ...

Preston Bus Preston Bus is a bus operator running services in the city of Preston and surrounding areas of Lancashire. It is a subsidiary of Rotala, who purchased Preston Bus from the Stagecoach Group on the orders of the Competition Commission in 2011. ...

Railways

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, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

provides direct rail links with London, Glasgow and other major cities, with stations at and . East-west connections are carried via the East Lancashire Line between

and via , Preston, , and

. The

Ribble Valley Line The Ribble Valley line is a railway line that runs from through , in Lancashire, to in North Yorkshire. Regular passenger services normally run as far as , but occasional passenger services run the whole line through north Lancashire to Hell ...

runs from to with regular passenger services running as far as via and Blackburn. There are connecting lines from Preston to and Bolton, and from Lancaster to ,

and .

Airways

are no longer operating domestic or international flights, but it is still the home of flying schools, private operators and North West Air Ambulance.

Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2024, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers (the busiest outside of London) ...

is the main airport in the region.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving Liverpool, England, on the estuary of the River Mersey south-east of Liverpool city centre. Scheduled domestic, European, North African and Middle Eastern services are oper ...

is nearby, while the closest airport to the Pendle Borough is

Leeds Bradford Leeds Bradford Airport is located in Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, about northwest of Leeds city centre, and about northeast from Bradford city centre. It serves Leeds and Bradford and the ...

. There is an operational airfield at Warton near Preston where there is a major assembly and test facility for

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

Waterways

offers ferry services to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. 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 The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

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 (Historic counties of England, historically in Westmorland). The section around the crossing of the River ...

Sankey Canal The Sankey Canal in North West England, initially known as the Sankey Brook Navigation and later the St Helens Canal, is a former industrial canal, which when opened in 1757 was England's first of the Industrial revolution, and the first modern ...

Bridgewater Canal The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, Greater Manchester, Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was ...

Rochdale Canal The Rochdale Canal is in Northern England, between Manchester and Sowerby Bridge, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. Its name refers to the town of Rochdale through which it passes. The Rochdale is a broad canal be ...

Ashton Canal The Ashton Canal is a canal in Greater Manchester, England, linking Manchester with Ashton-under-Lyne in Tameside. Route The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie St. Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for through 18 locks, ...

and

Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West England, North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary at Eastham, Merseyside, Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it ...

Demography

The major settlements in the ceremonial county are concentrated on

coast (the Blackpool Urban Area), and a number of notable settlements along west to east of the M65: including the city of Preston and towns of

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

, Brierfield,

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and

. South of Preston are the towns of Leyland and

(which, with Preston, formed

New Town designated in 1970), as well as

and

. The north of the county is predominantly rural and sparsely populated, except for the city of

and the towns of

and

, the three of which form a large conurbation of almost 100,000 people. Lancashire is home to a significant Asian population, numbering over 70,000 and 6% of the county's population, and concentrated largely in the former cotton mill towns in the south east.

Culture

Symbols

The

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

is the

county flower In 2002 Plantlife conducted a "County Flowers" public survey to assign flowers to each of the counties of the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man. The results of this campaign designated a single plant species to a "county or metropolitan area" in ...

found on the county's heraldic badge and flag. The rose was a symbol of the

House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 1267 ...

, immortalised in the verse "In the battle for England's head/

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

was white, Lancaster red" (referring to the 15th-century

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

). A flag consisting of a red rose on a gold field was designed by the Friends of Real Lancashire, a pressure group which promotes the historic county, and registered with the

Flag Institute The Flag Institute is a membership organisation and UK-registered educational charity devoted to the study and promotion of flags and flag flying. It documents flags in the UK and around the world, maintains a UK Flag Registry, and offers advic ...

, a vexillological charity, in 2008. The flag has been flown from public buildings within the historic county boundaries on Lancashire Day (27 November), including from County Hall in Preston, St Helens Town Hall, and in parts of the

Metropolitan Borough of Oldham The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. It is named after its largest town, Oldham. The borough had a population of in , making it the sixth-largest district by population in Greater Manch ...

which were previously in Lancashire. It has also been flown from the Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government building in London. An alternative flag consists of a red rose on a white field. This design had already been registered by Montrose in Scotland.

Sport

Cricket

Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire Cricket Club represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Lancashire in Cricket in England, English cricket. The club has held first-class cricket, first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire's ho ...

has been one of the most successful

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Two county championship competitions have existed since the late 19th century at ...

teams, particularly in the one-day game. It is home to

England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

members James Anderson and

Jos Buttler Joseph Charles Buttler (born 8 September 1990), known as Jos Buttler, is an English international cricket, cricketer and former captain of the England cricket team, national team. He plays for Lancashire County Cricket Club, Lancashire in dom ...

. The County Ground, Old Trafford,

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes the area of Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sa ...

, has been the home cricket ground of LCCC since 1864. Local cricket leagues include the Lancashire League, the Central Lancashire League and the

North Lancashire and Cumbria League The Cumbria Cricket League, formerly the North Lancashire and Cumbria League, is an independent club cricket league for teams in Northern Lancashire and Cumbria, England. Other club cricket leagues in the North West of England include the N ...

. Since 2000, the designated ECB

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for Lancashire has been the

Liverpool and District Cricket Competition The Love Lane Liverpool and District Cricket Competition is regarded as the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in the Liverpool area and since 2000 has been a designated ECB Premier League. The Competition operates a three d ...

Football

Football in Lancashire is governed by the Lancashire County Football Association which, like most county football associations, has boundaries that are aligned roughly with the historic counties. The

Manchester Football Association The Manchester Football Association (also known as the Manchester FA) is the sport governing body, governing body for association football in the centre of the city of Manchester, England. They are responsible for the governance and development o ...

and

Liverpool County Football Association The Liverpool County Football Association, simply known as the Liverpool FA, is the County Football Association in the city of Liverpool, England. It runs several Sports league, league and County cup, cup competitions in the city. Organisation ...

respectively operate in

and

. Lancashire clubs were prominent in the formation of the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

in 1888, with the league being officially named at a meeting in Manchester. Of the twelve founder members of the league, six were from Lancashire:

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, Everton, and

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

. The Football League is now based in Preston. The

National Football Museum The National Football Museum is England's national museum of Football in England, football. It is based in the Urbis building in Manchester city centre, and preserves, conserves and displays important collections of association football, football ...

was founded at

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England that is the home ground of Preston North End. Built in 1875 and in use since 1878, Deepdale is recognised as being one of the oldest continuously used football stadium ...

, Preston in 2001, but moved to Manchester in 2012. Seven professional full-time teams were based in Lancashire at the start of the 2024–25 season: *

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

and

* League One:

* League Two:

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

, Fleetwood Town and

The county's most prominent football rivalries are the

East Lancashire derby The East Lancashire derby, also known as the Cotton Mills derby is an association football rivalry between Blackburn Rovers and Burnley. The rivalry nickname originates from the fact that both Blackburn and Burnley are former mill towns and c ...

between Blackburn Rovers and Burnley, and the

West Lancashire derby The West Lancashire derby (sometimes also known as the '' M55 derby'') is a local rivalry in English football between Lancashire clubs Blackpool and Preston North End. The derby has taken place across all four tiers of English football, but not ...

between Blackpool and Preston North End. A further nine professional full-time teams lie within the historical borders of Lancashire but outside of the current ceremonial county. These include the Premier League clubs Everton,

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

and

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Rugby league

Along with Yorkshire and Cumberland, Lancashire is recognised as the heartland of Rugby League. The county has produced many successful top flight clubs such as St. Helens,

and

. The county was once the focal point for many of the sport's professional competitions including the Lancashire League competition which ran from 1895 to 1970, and the

Lancashire County Cup The BARLA Lancashire Cup was a knock-out rugby league competition for amateur teams in the historic county of Lancashire. It was administered by the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA). As of 2017, the competition hasn't been held sin ...

which ran until 1993. Rugby League has also seen a representative fixture between Lancashire and Yorkshire contested 89 times since its inception in 1895. In recent times there were several

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

teams that are based within the ceremonial county which include Blackpool Panthers,

East Lancashire Lions East Lancashire Lions is a rugby league club from Darwen in Lancashire. They currently play in the Rugby League Conference National Division. The Lions play their home games at the Anchor Ground, home of Darwen FC. History :A side known as ''Ea ...

, and

Blackpool Sea Eagles Blackpool Sea Eagles are an English rugby league team based in Blackpool, Lancashire. History Blackpool Sea Eagles RLFC were founded in 2002 by Chris Aylen who was convinced Blackpool was the ideal place for summer rugby . With help from Dave ...

Archery

There are many archery clubs located within Lancashire. In 2004 Lancashire took the winning title at the Inter-counties championships from

who had held it for 7 years.

Wrestling

Lancashire has a centuries-long history of combat sports and wrestling, developing its own style called

Lancashire wrestling Lancashire wrestling, commonly called Lancashire catch-as-catch-can or Lancashire style, is a folk wrestling style that originated in the historic county of Lancashire in North West England. It became notable as the least restrictive and most ...

, and becoming a breeding ground for many of Britain's best amateur and professional wrestlers. Through travelling performers and immigration, the style spread abroad to British colonies, Europe, the United States, and other countries. It was a primary influence on

catch wrestling Catch wrestling (also known as catch-as-catch-can) is an English wrestling style where wrestlers aim to win by Pin (sport wrestling), pinning or Submission (combat sports), submitting their opponent using any legal holds or techniques. It emph ...

and its descendants including

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

, American

folkstyle wrestling Collegiate wrestling, commonly referred to as folkstyle wrestling, is the form of amateur wrestling, wrestling practiced at the Tertiary education, post-secondary level in the United States. This style of wrestling is also practiced at the Secon ...

, theatrical

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

, and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

. It was preserved due to the influence of Lancashire native Billy Riley and his gym, popularly known as

The Snake Pit ''The Snake Pit'' is a 1948 American psychological drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick. Based on Mary Jane Ward's 1946 semi-autobiog ...

, and students such as

Karl Gotch Karl Istaz (born Karel Alfons Ceclie Istaz; August 3, 1924 – July 28, 2007), best known by the ring name , was a competitor and trainer in Professional wrestling, professional, Amateur wrestling, amateur, and catch wrestling, born in Antwerp, B ...

and

Billy Robinson William Alfred Robinson (18 September 1938 – 27 February 2014) was an English professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and coach. Having trained at Billy Riley's gym, better known as " The Snake Pit" in Wigan, Robinson was one of the leadin ...

. It became particularly influential in Japan, where catch wrestling is popularly referred to as "Lancashire style" .

Music

Folk music

Lancashire has a long and highly productive tradition of music making. In the early modern era the county shared in the national tradition of

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

ry, including perhaps the finest

border ballad Border ballads are a group of songs in the long tradition of balladry collected from the Anglo-Scottish border. Like all traditional ballads, they were traditionally sung unaccompanied. There may be a repeating motif, but there is no "chorus" as ...

, "

The Ballad of Chevy Chase "The Ballad of Chevy Chase" is an English ballad, catalogued as Child Ballad 162 (Roud 223Sehere/ref>). There are two extant ballads under this title, both of which narrate the same story. As ballads existed within oral tradition before being wri ...

", thought to have been composed by the Lancashire-born minstrel Richard Sheale. The county was also a common location for

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

s, including "The Lancashire Miller", "Warrington Ale" and "The soldier's farewell to Manchester", while Liverpool, as a major seaport, was the subject of many

sea shanties A sea shanty, shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large merchant sailing vessels. The term ''shanty'' most accurately refers to a sp ...

, including "

The Leaving of Liverpool "(The) Leaving of Liverpool" ( Roud 9435), also known as "Fare Thee Well, My Own True Love", is a folk song. Folklorists classify it as a lyrical lament and it was also used as a sea shanty, especially at the capstan. It is very well known in ...

" and " Maggie May", beside several local

Wassailing The tradition of wassailing (also spelled wasselling) falls into two distinct categories: the house-visiting wassail and the orchard-visiting wassail. The house-visiting wassail, which traditionally occurs on the twelfth day of Christmastide ...

songs.D. Gregory, ''The Songs of the People for Me'': The Victorian Rediscovery of Lancashire Vernacular Song', ''Canadian Folk Music/Musique folklorique canadienne'', 40 (2006), pp. 12–21 In the

changing social and economic patterns helped create new traditions and styles of folk song, often linked to migration and patterns of work. These included processional dances, often associated with rushbearing or the

Wakes Week The Wakes Week is a holiday period in parts of England and Scotland. Originally a religious celebration or feast, the tradition of the Wakes Week developed into a secular holiday, particularly in North West England during the Industrial Revoluti ...

festivities, and types of

step dance Step dance is a generic term for dance styles in which footwork is considered to be the most important part of the dance and limb movements and styling are either restricted or considered irrelevant. Step-dancing is a percussive form of dan ...

, most famously

clog dancing Clog dancing is a form of step dance characterised by the wearing of inflexible, Clog (British), wooden soled clogs. Clog dancing developed into differing intricate forms both in Wales and also in the North of England. Welsh clog dancing mainly ...

.''Lancashire Folk'', http://www.lancashirefolk.co.uk/Morris_Information.htm , retrieved 16 February 2009G. Boyes, ''The Imagined Village: Culture, Ideology, and the English Folk Revival'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1993), 0-71902-914-7, p. 214 A local pioneer of folk song collection in the first half of the 19th century was Shakespearean scholar

James Orchard Halliwell James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps (born James Orchard Halliwell; 21 June 1820 – 3 January 1889) was an English writer, Shakespearean scholar, antiquarian, and a collector of English nursery rhymes and fairy tales. Life The son of Thomas Hal ...

, but it was not until the second

folk revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Early folk music performers include Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Ewan MacColl (UK), Richard Dyer-Bennet, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie ...

in the 20th century that the full range of song from the county, including industrial folk song, began to gain attention. The county produced one of the major figures of the revival in

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a British folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as o ...

, but also a local champion in Harry Boardman, who from 1965 onwards probably did more than anyone to popularise and record the folk song of the county. Perhaps the most influential folk artists to emerge from the region in the late 20th century were Liverpool folk group The Spinners (UK band), the Spinners, and from Manchester folk troubadour Roy Harper (singer), Roy Harper and musician, comedian and broadcaster Mike Harding. The region is home to numerous folk clubs, many of them catering to Irish folk music, Irish and Scottish folk music. Regular folk festivals include the Fylde Folk Festival at

Classical music

Lancashire had a lively culture of choral and classical music, with very large numbers of local church choirs from the 17th century, leading to the foundation of local choral societies from the mid-18th century, often particularly focused on performances of the music of Handel and his contemporaries. It also played a major part in the development of Brass band (British style), brass bands which emerged in the county, particularly in the textile and coalfield areas, in the 19th century. The first open competition for brass bands was held at Manchester in 1853, and continued annually until the 1980s. The vibrant brass band culture of the area made an important contribution to the foundation and staffing of the The Hallé, Hallé Orchestra from 1857, the oldest extant professional orchestra in the United Kingdom. The same local musical tradition produced eminent figures such as Sir William Walton (1902–88), son of an Oldham choirmaster and music teacher, Sir Thomas Beecham (1879–1961), born in St. Helens, who began his career by conducting local orchestras and Alan Rawsthorne (1905–71) born in Haslingden. The conductor David Atherton, co-founder of the London Sinfonietta, was born in Blackpool in 1944. Lancashire also produced more populist figures, such as early musical theatre composer Leslie Stuart (1863–1928), born in Southport, who began his musical career as organist of Salford Cathedral. More recent Lancashire-born composers include Hugh Wood (1932– Parbold), Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (1934–2016, Salford), Sir Harrison Birtwistle (1934–2022, Accrington), Gordon Crosse (1937–, Bury), John McCabe (composer), John McCabe (1939–2015, Huyton), Roger Smalley (1943–2015, Swinton), Nigel Osborne (1948–, Manchester), Steve Martland (1954–2013, Liverpool), Simon Holt (1958–, Bolton) and Philip Cashian (1963–, Manchester). The Royal Manchester College of Music was founded in 1893 to provide a northern counterpart to the London musical colleges. It merged with the Northern College of Music (formed in 1920) to form the Royal Northern College of Music in 1972.

Popular music

The Beatles members at New York City in 1964

, both during its time in Lancashire and after being moved to the new county of

, has produced a number of successful musicians. This includes pop stars such as Frankie Vaughan and Lita Roza, as well as rock stars such as Billy Fury, who is considered to be one of the most successful British rock, British rock and roll stars of all time.P. Frame, ''Pete Frame's Rockin' Around Britain: Rock'n'Roll Landmarks of the UK and Ireland'' (London: Music Sales Group, 1999), , pp. 72–6 Many Lancashire towns had vibrant skiffle scenes in the late 1950s, out of which a culture of Beat (music), beat groups emerged by the early 1960s, particularly around Liverpool and

. It has been estimated that there were at least 350 bands—including the Beatles—active in and around Liverpool during this era, playing ballrooms, concert halls, and clubs. A number of Liverpool performers followed the Beatles into the charts, including Gerry & the Pacemakers, The Searchers (band), the Searchers, and Cilla Black. The first musicians to break through in the UK who were not from Liverpool or managed by Beatles manager Brian Epstein were Manchester's Freddie and the Dreamers, with Herman's Hermits and the Hollies also hailing from Manchester. The Beatles led a movement by various beat groups from the region which culminated in the British Invasion of the US, which in turn made a major contribution to the development of modern rock music.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 1316–7 After the decline of beat groups in the late 1960s, the centre of rock culture shifted to London, and there were relatively few Lancashire bands who achieved national prominence until the growth of a disco scene and the punk rock revolution in the mid-and-late 1970s. The towns of

, Clitheroe,

and

as well as the cities of

and Preston are referenced in the 1991 song, "It's Grim Up North" by the band the KLF.

Cuisine

Lancashire is the origin of the Lancashire hotpot, a casserole dish traditionally made with Lamb and mutton, lamb. Other traditional foods from the area include: * Black peas, also known as parched peas: popular in

, Bolton and Preston. * Bury black pudding has long been associated with the county. The most notable brand, Chadwick's Original Bury Black Puddings, are still sold on Bury Market, and are manufactured in Rossendale Valley, Rossendale. * Butter cake: slice of bread and butter. * Butter pie: a savoury pie containing potatoes, onion and butter. Usually associated with Preston. * Clapbread: a thin Staffordshire oatcake, oatcake made from unleavened dough cooked on a griddle. * Chorley cakes: from the town of

. * Eccles cakes are small, round cakes filled with currants and made from flaky pastry with butter, originally made in Eccles. * Fag pie: pie made from chopped dried figs, sugar and lard. Associated with

and

, where it was the highlight of ''Fag Pie Sunday'' (Lent, Mid-Lent Sunday). * Fish and chips: the first fish and chip shop in northern England opened in

, near Oldham, around 1863. * Frog-i'-th'-'ole pudding: now known as "toad in the hole" * Frumenty: sweet porridge. Once a popular dish at Lancashire festivals, such as Christmas and Easter Monday. * Goosnargh cakes: small flat shortbread biscuits with coriander or caraway seeds pressed into the biscuit before baking. Traditionally baked on feast days like Shrove Tuesday. * Jannock: cake or small loaf of oatmeal. Allegedly introduced to Lancashire (possibly Bolton) by Weaver (occupation), weavers of Flemish people, Flemish origin. * Lancashire cheese has been made in the county for several centuries. Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire Cheese has been awarded EU Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status. * Lancashire Flat Cake: A lemon flavoured sponge cake, traditionally made with a couple too many eggs, best eaten after being chilled. * Lancashire oatcake, resembling a large oval pancake, eaten either moist or dried * Lancashire Sauce, a lightly spiced mustard produced by the Entwistle family of Bury * "Stew and hard": a beef and cowheel stew with dried Lancashire oatcake * Nettle porridge: a common starvation diet in Lancashire in the early 19th century. Made from boiled stinging nettles and sometimes a handful of meal. *

gingerbread: local delicacy that was sold throughout South Lancashire. * Parkin (cake), Parkin: a ginger cake with oatmeal. * Pobs or pobbies: bread and milk. * Potato hotpot: a variation of the Lancashire Hotpot without meat that is also known as ''fatherless pie''. * Ran Dan: barley bread. A last resort for the poor at the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century. * Rag pudding: traditional suet pudding filled with minced meat, originating in Oldham. * Throdkins: a traditional breakfast food of

. * Uncle Joe's Mint Balls: traditional Mints (candy), mints produced by William Santus & Co. Ltd. in Wigan.

Cinema

''Whistle Down the Wind (film), Whistle Down the Wind'' (1961) was directed by Bryan Forbes, set at the foot of Worsaw Hill and in

, and starred local Lancashire schoolchildren. The tunnel scene was shot on the old Bacup-Rochdale railway line, location 53°41'29.65"N, 2°11'25.18"W, off the A6066 (New Line) where the line passes beneath Stack Lane. The tunnel is still there, in use as an industrial unit but the railway has long since been removed. ''Funny Bones'' (1995) was set mostly in Blackpool, after opening scenes in Las Vegas.

Media

Television

The county is covered by BBC North West and ITV Granada which broadcast from

. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill transmitting station, Winter Hill TV transmitter. A small part of East Lancashire around

and

is served by BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire broadcasting from Leeds. This area is served by a local transmitter in

which is relayed from the Emley Moor transmitting station, Emley Moor TV transmitter.

Radio

BBC Local Radio for the county is served by BBC Radio Lancashire which broadcast from its studios in

, BBC Radio Merseyside can be heard in southern parts, BBC Radio Manchester in the east and BBC Radio Cumbria in the north. County-wide commercial stations are Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire, Capital Manchester and Lancashire, Heart North West, and Smooth North West. Community based stations are Beyond Radio (covering northwestern Lancashire), Pendle Community Radio (serving the Pendle area), Rossendale Radio (for

), and Central Radio (Lancashire), Central Radio (for The Fylde, Preston, Leyland and Chorley areas of Lancashire).

Newspapers

The county is served by these local newspapers: *''Lancashire Telegraph'' (daily, East Lancashire, published in Blackburn) *''Lancashire Evening Post'' (daily, Central and Northern Lancashire, published in Fulwood, Preston) *''Accrington Observer'' (weekly) *''Blackpool Gazette'' (daily) *''Burnley Express'' (twice weekly) *''Clitheroe Advertiser and Times'' (weekly) *''Fleetwood Weekly News'' *''Lytham St Annes Express'' (weekly) *''Nelson Leader'' (weekly) *''Pendle Express'' (weekly) *''Rossendale Free Press'' (weekly) *''The Visitor (newspaper), The Visitor'' (weekly, published in Morecambe) The national weekly ''Farmers Guardian'' is published in Fulwood, Preston.

Places of interest

The following are places of interest in the ceremonial county:

Gallery

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Crosby, A. (1996). ''A History of Cheshire''. The Darwen County History Series. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. . * Harris, B. E., and Thacker, A. T. (1987). ''The Victoria History of the County of Chester''. Volume 1: ''Physique, Prehistory, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Domesday''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. . * Morgan, P. (1978). ''Domesday Book Cheshire: Including Lancashire, Cumbria, and North Wales''. Chichester, Sussex: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. . * Phillips A. D. M., and Phillips, C. B. (2002). ''A New Historical Atlas of Cheshire''. Chester, UK: Cheshire County Council and Cheshire Community Council Publications Trust. . * Sylvester, D. (1980). ''A History of Cheshire'' (2nd ed.). The Darwen County History Series. London and Chichester, Sussex: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. .

External links

Lancashire On Line Parish Clerk
an active project to transcribe and publish records of Births, Marriages and Deaths in Lancashire from the time records began in Edward VI's reign * '':gutenberg:15271, Traditions of Lancashire'', Volume 1 (of 2), by John Roby
Lancashire Lantern
The Lancashire Life and Times E-Resource network
Lancashire Archives' online catalogue
– over 1 million descriptions of unique historical documents, accessible to the public, which tell the county's story
Website of the film ''Catch – the hold not taken'', a look at the cultural significance of wrestling in Lancashire

Lancashire County Council
– MARIO (Mapping portal)
Map of Lancashire

Government Office for the North West

North West Regional Minister

Images of Lancashire
at the English Heritage Archive
Lancashire Enterprise Zone
{{Authority control Lancashire, Counties of England established in 1182 Non-metropolitan counties North West England NUTS 2 statistical regions of the United Kingdom

History

Before the county

Early history

Victorian era to late 20th century

Post-1974

Geography

Geology, landscape, and ecology

Human geography

Governance

Local government

Parliamentary constituencies

Duchy of Lancaster

Economy

Enterprise zone

Economic output

Education

Transport

Roadways

Railways

Airways

Waterways

Demography

Culture

Symbols

Sport

Cricket

Football

Rugby league

Archery

Wrestling

Music

Folk music

Classical music

Popular music

Cuisine

Cinema

Media

Television

Radio

Newspapers

Places of interest

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links