Portal:Lancashire
The Lancashire Portal
Lancashire (/ˈlæŋkəʃər/ LAN-kə-shər, /-ʃɪər/ -sheer; abbreviated Lancs) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The largest settlement is Preston, and the county town is the city of Lancaster.
The county has an area of 3,079 square kilometres (1,189 sq mi) 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 and Burnley; the seaside resort of Blackpool lies to the west, and Lancaster is in the north. For local government purposes the county comprises a non-metropolitan county, with twelve districts, and two unitary authority areas: Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool. Lancashire County Council and the two unitary councils collaborate through the Lancashire Combined County Authority. The county historically included northern Greater Manchester and Merseyside, the Furness and Cartmel peninsulas of Cumbria, and part of northern Cheshire, but excluded the eastern part of the Forest of Bowland. (Full article...)
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Preston (/ˈprɛstən/ ⓘ) is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding district obtained city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Preston had a population of 147,800 at the 2021 census, the City of Preston district 156,411 in 2023 and the Preston Built-up Area 313,322. The Preston Travel To Work Area, in 2011, had a population of 420,661, compared with 354,000 in the previous census. The south bank of the Ribble is part of the Preston urban area, although it forms the South Ribble borough that is administratively separate.
Preston and its surrounding area have provided evidence of ancient Roman activity, largely in the form of a Roman road that led to a camp at Walton-le-Dale. The Angles established Preston; its name is derived from the Old English meaning "priest's settlement" and in the Domesday Book is recorded as "Prestune". In the Middle Ages, Preston was a parish and township in the hundred of Amounderness and was granted a Guild Merchant charter in 1179, giving it the status of a market town. Textiles have been produced since the mid-13th century when locally produced wool was woven in people's houses. Flemish weavers who settled in the area in the 14th century helped develop the industry. In the early-18th century, Edmund Calamy described Preston as "a pretty town with an abundance of gentry in it, commonly called Proud Preston". Sir Richard Arkwright, inventor of the spinning frame, was born in the town. The most rapid period of growth and development coincided with the industrialisation and expansion of textile manufacturing. Preston was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, becoming a densely populated engineering centre, with large industrial plants. The town's textile sector fell into terminal decline from the mid-20th century and Preston has subsequently faced similar challenges to other post-industrial northern towns, including deindustrialisation, economic deprivation and housing issues. (Full article...)
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Featured Articles:
Blackburn Olympic F.C., Pendle witches, Samlesbury witches
Featured Lists:
List of Nelson F.C. seasons, Listed buildings in Rivington
Good Articles:
1920–21 Burnley F.C. season, 1922–23 Nelson F.C. season, East Lancashire Railway 1844–1859, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, Preston railway station, River Irwell, Rivington, Stonyhurst College, Turf Moor, William Sudell
General images -
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Parsonage Colliery in 1980 (from Lancashire Coalfield) -
Lancashire, nicknamed "The Red Rose County" within England, showing ancient extent (from History of Lancashire) -
Map of mid-Lancashire, c. 400. (from History of Lancashire) -
The historic county palatine boundaries in red and the ceremonial county in green (from History of Lancashire) -
John Speed's map of the County Palatine of Lancaster, 1610 (from History of Lancashire) -
Monument to James Anderton OBE, inventor of the power shearer, sited in St.Helens (from Lancashire Coalfield) -
Southwest Lancashire in 1610. (from History of Lancashire) -
Astley Green Colliery, offices and headgear (from Lancashire Coalfield) -
Ribble estuarine alluvium (from Geology of Lancashire) -
Eccles cake and Lancashire cheese at a restaurant (from Lancashire cheese) -
Worsley Delph, the entrance to the Duke of Bridgewater's underground mines (from Lancashire Coalfield) -
British Coalfields (from Lancashire Coalfield) -
North Lancashire in 1610. (from History of Lancashire) -
A Chorley cake (left) and an Eccles cake (right) (from Chorley cake) -
The Red Rose of Lancaster is the county flower of Lancashire, and a common symbol for the county. (from History of Lancashire) -
Spoil heaps or "rucks" at Wharton Hall Colliery, Little Hulton (from Lancashire Coalfield)
Did you know ...
- ... that the parish churches of Ormskirk (pictured), Purton and Wanborough are the only churches in England to have both a western tower and a central spire?
- ... that former Burnley chairman Bob Lord described coach Billy Dougall, who worked for the football club for 23 years, as the finest servant a club could have?
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