Lancashire: Difference between revisions

| official_name = Lancashire

| image_caption = [[Central Pier, Blackpool|Central Pier]] and the [[Blackpool Tower|Tower]], [[Blackpool]]; the [[Ashton Memorial]], [[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]]; and a view of [[Clitheroe]] with the [[Forest of Bowland]] beyond

| 2.0% [[Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom|other]]

{{small|[[2021 Unitedethnicity_footnotes Kingdom= census|2021 census]]}}<ref>{{cite web|last1=Council|first1=Lancashire County|title=Population by ethnicity and change 2011–212011-21 |url=https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/lancashire-insight/population-and-households/population-and-households-census-2021-articles/population-by-ethnicity-and-change-2011-21/ |publisherdate=31 January 2023 |website=Lancashire.gov.uk County Council |access-date=10 February 2023}}</ref>

| county_council <!-- Non-metropolitan county -->| county_council = [[Lancashire County Council]]

| unitary_council1 = [[Blackpool Council]]

| unitary_council2 = [[Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council]]

| joint_committees =

| admin_hq = [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]]

| iso_code = GB-LAN

'''Lancashire''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|æ|ŋ|k|ə|ʃ|ər|}} {{respell|LAN|kə|shər}}, {{IPAc-en|-|ʃ|ɪər}} {{respell|-|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 largestcity settlement is [[Blackpool]], andof [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] is the administrativelargest centresettlement.

The county has an area of {{Convert|3079|km2|sqmi}} and a population of 1,490,300. After BlackpoolPreston (149147,070800),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Blackpool Built-up area subdivision |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/localarea?compare=E35001472 |access-date=2023-08-28 |website=Nomis}}</ref> the largest settlements are [[BlackburnBlackpool]] (124141,995100) and the city of [[Preston, Lancashire|PrestonBlackburn]] (94124,490995); the city of [[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]] has a population of 52,655.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales – Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/townsandcitiescharacteristicsofbuiltupareasenglandandwales/census2021 |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=Ons.gov.uk}}</ref> For [[Local government in England|local government]] purposes, Lancashire comprises a [[non-metropolitan county]], with twelve districts, and two [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]] areas,: [[Blackburn with Darwen]] and [[Borough of Blackpool|Blackpool]]. The county historically included northern Greater Manchester and Merseyside, the [[Furness]] and [[Cartmel Peninsula|Cartmel]] peninsulas of Cumbria, and somepart of northern [[Cheshire]], andbut excluded the eastern part of the [[Forest of Bowland]].

The west of Lancashire contains flat coastal plains,: whichthe rise[[West toLancashire theCoastal hillsPlain|West ofLancashire coastal plain]] to the south and [[Penninesthe Fylde]] in the eastcentre. The countynorth-western containscoast largeis partshilly and contains part of two[[Arnside and Silverdale]], a [[National Landscape|national landscapeslandscape]]. The east of the county is upland, with the [[ArnsideWest andPennine SilverdaleMoors]] in the south-east and the [[Forest of Bowland]], and other protected areas such asin the [[Ribblenorth-west; andBowland Althas Estuaries]]also [[Nationalbeen naturedesignated reservea (Unitednational Kingdom)|National nature reserve]]landscape. The major rivers inof the county are, from north to south, the [[River Lune|Lune]], the [[River Wyre|Wyre]], and the [[River Ribble|Ribble]], which all flow west into the Irish Sea. The highest point in Lancashire is either [[Gragareth]] or [[Green Hill (Lancashire)|Green Hill]], both approximately {{Convert|628|m|ft|abbr=on}} high and located in the far north-east of the county.

Lancashire was founded in the 12th century; in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 much of what would become the county is treated as part of [[Yorkshire]] and [[Cheshire]]. Until the Early Modern period the county was a comparatively poor backwater, although in 1351 it became a [[County palatine|palatine]], with a semi-independent judicial system. This changed during the [[Industrial Revolution]], when the county rapidly industrialised; until 1974 it included both Liverpool, a major port, and Manchester, which with its surrounding towns dominated the [[Textile manufacture during the British Industrial Revolution|manufacture of textiles]].<ref>{{cite news |date=13 May 2010 |title=Rivals: Liverpool v Manchester |work=BBC Liverpool |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/liverpool/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8677000/8677547.stm}}</ref> The [[Lancashire Coalfield|Lancashire coalfield]] was also exploited, with many [[Coal mining|collieries]] opening. By 1971 Lancashire had a [[List of counties of England by population in 1971|population]] of 5,118,405, which made it the most heavily populated county in the United Kingdom after [[Greater London]]. {{TOC limit|3}}

Since the [[Victorian era]], Lancashire has had multiple reforms of local government.<ref name=berrington>Berrington, E., ''Change in British Politics'', (1984)</ref> In 1889, the [[administrative counties of England|administrative county]] of Lancashire was created, covering the greater part of the county. Multiple [[county borough]]s were outside the [[county council]] control;: [[Barrow-in-Furness]], [[Blackburn]], [[County Borough of Bolton|Bolton]], [[Bootle]], [[Burnley]], [[County Borough of Bury|Bury]], [[Liverpool]], [[Manchester]], [[County Borough of Oldham|Oldham]], [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], [[County Borough of Rochdale|Rochdale]], [[County Borough of Salford|Salford]], [[St Helens, Merseyside|St. Helens]], and [[County Borough of Wigan|Wigan]]. The area served by the [[Lord-Lieutenant]] (termed now a [[ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial county]]) covered the entirety of the administrative county and the county boroughs. It expanded whenever boroughs annexed areas in neighbouring counties such as [[Wythenshawe]] in Manchester south of the River Mersey and from Cheshire, and southern [[Warrington]]. It did not cover the western part of [[Todmorden]], 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 [[County Borough of Warrington|Warrington]] (1900), [[County Borough of Blackpool|Blackpool]] (1904) and [[County Borough of Southport|Southport]] (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 [[West Riding of Yorkshire]].<ref name=maudwood>Lord Redcliffe-Maud and Bruce Wood. English Local Government Reformed. (1974)</ref> Lancaster, the historic [[county town]], became a city in 1937.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beckett |first1=John |date=2008 |title=Lancaster becomes a city, 1937 |url=https://www.hslc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/157-9-Beckett.pdf |journal=TheTransactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire |volume=157 |pages=5149–156 |doi=10.3828/transactions.157.9 |access-date=20 March 2024}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; border:0; text-align:left; line-height:150%;"

The ceremonial county of Lancashire is divided into fourteen [[Local authority district|local government district]]s. Twelve are part of the two-tier [[non-metropolitan county]] of Lancashire, which is administered by [[Lancashire County Council]] and twelve district councils. [[Lancashire County Council]] is based in [[County Hall, Preston|County Hall]] in [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], and has 84 councillors.<ref>"Opening of the new Town-Hall at Preston". ''The Times''. 15 September 1882</ref> The council has been controlled by the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] since the [[2017 Lancashire County Council election|2017 Lancashire County Council elections]]; the [[2021 Lancashire County Council election|2021 elections]] they won 48 seats, the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] won 32, and the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] and the [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green Party]] won two each.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Council |first=Lancashire County |title=Previous elections |url=https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/elections/previous-elections/ |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=Lancashire.gov.uk}}</ref> The twelve districts of the non-metropolitan county are [[Burnley (borough)|Burnley]], [[Chorley (borough)|Chorley]], [[Fylde (borough)|Fylde]], [[Hyndburn]], [[City of Lancaster|Lancaster]], [[Borough of Pendle|Pendle]], [[City of Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], [[Ribble Valley]], [[Borough of Rossendale|Rossendale]], [[South Ribble]], [[West Lancashire]], and [[Borough of Wyre|Wyre]].<ref name="vob_lancs_divisions">[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10097848 Vision of Britain] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930235607/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10097848|date=30 September 2007}} – Divisions of Lancashire</ref><ref>[http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/lancashire_handbook/districts_of_lancashire/index.asp Lancashire County Council] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20070415113304/http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/lancashire_handbook/districts_of_lancashire/index.asp|date=15 April 2007}} – Lancashire districts</ref>

{{See also|Flag of Lancashire}}[[File:Lancashire County Flag.svg|thumb|The flag designed to represent the historic county of Lancashire]]

A flag consisting of a red rose on a gold field is used to represent the historic county. The flag was designed by the [[Friends of Real Lancashire]], a pressure group which promotes the historic county, and registered with the [[Flag Institute]], a vexillological charity, in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lancashire Flag |url=http://www.forl.co.uk/online-resources/lancashire-flag |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=[[Friends of Real Lancashire]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lancashire |url=https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/flags/lancashire-flag/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=[[Flag Institute]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> The flag has been flown from public buildings within the historic county boundaries on [[Lancashire Day]] (27 November), including from [[County Hall, Preston|County Hall]] in [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moffatt |first=Andy |date=27 November 2022 |title=Lancashire Day: council council's chairman hails "friendliness and community spirit" of the Red Rose county |url=https://www.lep.co.uk/news/people/lancashire-day-council-councils-chairman-hails-friendliness-and-community-spirit-of-the-red-rose-county-3932280 |work=Lancashire Post}}</ref> [[St Helens Town Hall]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-11-27 |title=Red Rose flag flies as St Helens celebrates Lancashire Day |url=https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/14108004.red-rose-flag-flies-as-st-helens-celebrates-lancashire-day/ |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=St Helens Star |language=en}}</ref> andthe in the parts of the [[Metropolitan Borough of Oldham]] which were previously in Lancashire.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-16 |title=Flag flying policy {{!}} Oldham Council |url=https://www.oldham.gov.uk/homepage/1251/flag_flying_policy |access-date=2024-06-12 |archive-date=16 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816135812/https://www.oldham.gov.uk/homepage/1251/flag_flying_policy |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-30 |title=Surprise after council does not fly flag on Lancashire Day |url=https://www.theoldhamtimes.co.uk/news/23956689.lancashire-day-surprise-council-not-fly-flag/ |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=The Oldham Times |language=en}}</ref> It has also been flown from the [[Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities|Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government]] building in London.

Seven professional full-time teams were based in Lancashire at the start of the 2023–242024–25 season:

* [[PremierFootball League Championship|Championship]]: [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]], [[Burnley F.C.|Burnley]] and [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]]

* [[Football League ChampionshipOne|ChampionshipLeague One]]: [[Blackburn RoversBlackpool F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]] and [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North EndBlackpool]]

* [[Football League OneTwo|League OneTwo]]: [[Accrington Stanley F.C.|Accrington Stanley]], [[Fleetwood Town F.C.|Fleetwood Town]] and [[BlackpoolMorecambe F.C.|BlackpoolMorecambe]]

A local pioneer of folk song collection in the first half of the 19th century was Shakespearean scholar [[James Orchard Halliwell]],<ref>E. D. Gregory, ''Victorian Songhunters: the Recovery and Editing of English Vernacular Ballads and Folk Lyrics, 1820–1883'' (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2006), {{ISBN|0-8108-5703-0}}, p. 248</ref> but it was not until the second [[folk revival]] in the 20th century that the full range of song from the county, including [[industrial folk song]], began to gain attention.<ref name="Boyes1993"/> The county produced one of the major figures of the revival in [[Ewan MacColl]], 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.<ref>''Folk North West'', {{cite web|url=http://www.folknorthwest.co.uk/harry_boardman.htm |title=Harry Boardman |access-date=2009-02-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212123824/http://folknorthwest.co.uk/harry_boardman.htm |archive-date=12 February 2009 }}, retrieved 16 February 2009</ref> 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]].<ref name=Frame1999/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dirtylinen.com/feature/50harper.html|title=Roy Harper|date=February–March 1994 |work=Dirty Linen |first1=John C. |last1=Falstaff |access-date=4 November 2018|archive-date=21 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021215750/http://www.dirtylinen.com/feature/50harper.html|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>S. Broughton, M. Ellingham and R. Trillo, ''[https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/World_Music_Africa_Europe_and_the_Middle/gyiTOcnb2yYC?hlid=en&gbpv=1gyiTOcnb2yYC&pg=PA67 World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East]'' (Rough Guides, 1999), {{ISBN|1-85828-635-2}}, p. 67</ref> The region is home to numerous [[folk clubs]], many of them catering to [[Irish folk music|Irish]] and [[Scottish folk music]]. Regular [[folk festival]]s include the Fylde Folk Festival at [[Fleetwood]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.folkandroots.co.uk/festivals.html |title=2009 Folk Festivals – Britain |website=Folk and Roots |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224075454/http://www.folkandroots.co.uk/festivals.html |archive-date=24 February 2009 |access-date=25 February 2009}}</ref>

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]],<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/05/20/ufreddie.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/05/20/ixnews.html {{"'}}Dreamers' star Freddie Garrity dies"]{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} ''Daily Telegraph'', 20 May 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2007</ref> with [[Herman's Hermits]] and [[the Hollies]] also hailing from Manchester.<ref>V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''[https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/All_Music_Guide_to_Rock/?id=1-pH4i3jXvAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA532 All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop and Soul]'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, p. 532</ref> 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]].<ref name=Bogdanov2002BI>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), {{ISBN|0-87930-653-X}}, pp.&nbsp;1316–7</ref> 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.<ref>S. Cohen, ''Rock Culture in Liverpool: Popular Music in the Making'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991), {{ISBN|0-19-816178-6}}, p. 14</ref>

The towns of [[Accrington]], [[Burnley]], [[Chorley]], [[Clitheroe]], [[Colne]], [[Lytham St Annes]], [[Morecambe]], [[Nelson, Lancashire|Nelson]], [[Ormskirk]] and [[Skelmersdale]] as well as the cities of [[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]] and [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] are referenced in the 1991 song, "[[It's Grim Up North]]" by the band [[the KLF]].

* 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]],<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article1080357.ece | title= Food detective: Bury black pudding | first= Sheila | last= Keating | newspaper= The Times | date= 11 June 2005 | access-date= 14 October 2009 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110614235443/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article1080357.ece | archive-date= 14 June 2011 | url-status= livedead | df= dmy-all }}</ref> and are manufactured in [[Rossendale Valley|Rossendale]].

[[BBC Local Radio]] for the county is served by [[BBC Radio Lancashire]] which broadcast from its studios in [[Blackburn]], [[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 [[Borough of Pendle|Pendle]] area), [[Rossendale Radio]] (for [[Borough of Rossendale|Rossendale]]), and [[Central Radio (Lancashire)|Central Radio]] (for [[The Fylde]], [[City of Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], Leyland and Chorley areas of Lancashire). <ref>{{Cite web cn|url=https://www.northwestradio.info/fm/ |title=North West Radio Stations|website=Northwestradio.info |access-date=25 FebruarySeptember 2024}}</ref>