Lancashire: Difference between revisions

'''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 city of [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] is the largest settlement.

The county has an area of {{Convert|3079|km2|sqmi}} and a population of 1,490,300. After [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] (147,800),<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 [[Blackpool]] (141,100) and [[Blackburn]] (124,995); 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 part 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=Transactions 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>

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

* 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>