Lancashire is a county and duchy palatine in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, though the county council is currently based at Preston. Commonly, Lancashire is referred to by the abbreviation Lancs, originally used by the Royal Mail.

The Red Rose of Lancaster is the traditional symbol for the House of Lancaster, immortalized in the verse "In the battle for England's head/York was white, Lancaster red" (referring to the 15th century War of the Roses), and is the county flower County flowers in Britain www.plantlife.org.uk.

History

Main article: History of Lancashire

The county was established in 1183. In the Domesday Book, its lands had been treated as part of Cheshire (whose northern boundary had been the River Ribble) and of Yorkshire. It bordered on Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, and Cheshire.

It is traditionally divided into the six hundreds of Amounderness, Blackburn, Leyland, Lonsdale, Salford and West Derby. Lonsdale was further partitioned into Lonsdale North, which was the detached part north of Morecambe Bay (also known as Furness), and Lonsdale South.

By the census of 1971 the population of Lancashire had reached 5,129,416, making it then the most populous county in the UK.

A particular form of the The Loyal Toast is still in regular local use: 'The Queen, Duke of Lancaster'. See also Duchy of Lancaster.

Physical geography

County top

The highest point within the traditional borders of Lancashire is Coniston Old Man in the Lake District at 803 m (2,634 ft). The highest point of the post-1974 county is Gragareth, near Whernside, which reaches a height of 627m (2,057 ft)Page at BUBL quoting Gragareth as the highest point in Lancashire. (Green Hill, near to Gragareth has also been cited as the county top).

Rivers and lakes

The major rivers which discharge into the sea are the Mersey (which forms the traditional border with Cheshire), Ribble, Wyre, Lune, Leven and Duddon (which forms the traditional border with Cumberland). Major tributaries of these rivers include the Calder, Crake, Darwen, Douglas, Hodder, Irwell, Roch and Yarrow.

The traditional county includes the lakes of Windermere, Coniston Water and Esthwaite Water in the Lake District. Windermere forms the traditional border with Westmorland, as does the River Brathay which feeds the lake at its northern end.

Environs and divisions

The ceremonial county currently borders on Cumbria, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and the metropolitan counties of Greater Manchester, and Merseyside; and contains the unitary authorities of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.

Administrative Lancashire is divided into a number of local government districts. Currently these are Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, the Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire, and Wyre.

Some parts of the traditional county now fall under the counties of West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cumbria.

Historic administrative divisions

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Lancashire: Encyclopedia BETA

Contents

Lancashire

History

Physical geography

County top

Rivers and lakes

Environs and divisions

Historic administrative divisions

Industry

Transport

Road

Rail

Air

Sea

Canals

Law enforcement

Settlements

Sport

Cuisine

Places of interest

External links

References