About Lancashire
Country: England
Region: North West
Established: 1182
Largest town: Blackpool, (145,007 pop.)
Area: 1,189 square miles (3,080 km2)
Population: 1,498,300
Admin HQ: Preston, (141,818 pop.)
Lancashire borders Cumbria to the north, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and North and West Yorkshire to the east; with a coastline on the Irish Sea to the west.
Lancashire is a county in North West England. The administrative centre is Preston, while Lancaster is the county town.
The population of Lancashire in the 1971 census was 5,118,405, making it the most heavily populated county in the United Kingdom at the time (other than Greater London, which had only been created in 1965).
History
The name ‘Lancashire’ derives from the Old English words ‘Lonca’ meaning long and ‘scir’ meaning district or shire. The earliest records of settlements in the area date back to the Bronze Age.
During Roman times the area was part of the Brigantes tribal area in the military zone of Roman Britain. The towns of Manchester, Lancaster, Ribchester, Burrow, Elslack and Castleshaw grew around Roman forts.
During the mid-8th century, the area was incorporated into the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria.
The history of modern Lancashire began with its founding in the 12th century.
Lancashire emerged as a major commercial and industrial region during the Industrial Revolution. Liverpool, Salford and Manchester grew into its largest cities, with economies built around the docks and the cotton mills. These cities dominated global trade and the birth of modern industrial capitalism. The county contained several mill towns and the collieries of the Lancashire Coalfield. By the 1830s, approximately 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire.
To the east of the county are upland areas leading to the Pennines, Beacon Fell Country Park and the Forest of Bowland which is an Area Of Natural Beauty. Much of the lowland in this area is devoted to dairy farming and cheesemaking. The higher ground is more suitable for sheep, and the highest ground is uncultivated moorland.
