Lancashire in UK is an administrative, geographic, and historical county in north western England. It’s where you’ll find the fabulous Fylde Coast towns of Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Blackpool, Lytham and St Annes.
Lancashire in UK
In the north it joins Cumberland and Westmorland (both in the administrative county of Cumbria). Yorkshire joins it in the east, Cheshire in the south, and to the west is the Irish Sea. Here’s Lancashire in UK on a Google map –
The largest settlement is Blackpool – one of England’s original Victoria seaside resorts. Testament to its enduring appeal, 20 million people still visit each year.
Preston has been the county town of Lancashire since 1974. It’s also where you’ll find County Hall, the headquarters of Lancashire County Council. Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen are the only two unitary authorities in the area. Lancaster was previously the county town.
The population of Lancashire county in England is roughly 1.5 million people over an area covering 3079 sq km.
A Changing Landscape
The landscape of the county varies a lot. Over in the west are the flat plains of the Fylde Coast. This flat land rises quite quickly to form a hilly backdrop, with the hills of the Pennines in the east. Three major rivers flow through Lancashire in UK to the Irish Sea. The Lune (in the Morecambe/Lancaster area) plus the Wyre and Ribble which form the boundaries of the Fylde Coast. Folding of the land about 270 million years ago formed precious coat deposits in east Lancashire and marl pits containing salt in the west. The Fylde sits in the Bowland basin – one of the thickest sheets of shale in the UK.
The Red Rose of Lancaster is the county flower – you’ll see it used widely and on the county’s heraldic badge and flag. The rose was a symbol of the House of Lancaster, immortalised in the verse “In the battle for England’s head/York was white, Lancaster red” (referring to the 15th-century Wars of the Roses). The House of Lancaster was a branch of the English royal family. The Duchy of Lancaster still holds large estates on behalf of Charles III, who is the Duke of Lancaster.
Look around the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, county in England
Each of these towns on the Fylde Coast is very different and well worth a look. Why don’t you plan out a break over a few days and explore them all?
The most well known Fylde Coast town is the unitary authority of Blackpool in Lancashire – and we’ve even made a whole website about it. It’s a place that you need to visit at least once in your life! And it’s a place of extremes – from quiet, solitary beach walks to thronged promenades. From art, culture and Shakespeare to drag and adult humour. Build sandcastles for free or spend money on all the attractions.
A little further north, Cleveleys is your favourite town that you’ve possibly never heard of! With its compact but always busy town centre and plenty of different shops. Loads of cafes, bars and restaurants (and amazing fish and chips!) A brilliant seafront and beach – with all of it looked after by the friendly local community.
At the north end of this oblong-shaped peninsula is Fleetwood. A former fishing town and home to many historic buildings. It’s a quieter seaside town where seaside meets heritage.
The market town of Poulton lies slightly inland from the coast, near to Blackpool, Cleveleys and Thornton. Once the major trading town of the north Fylde, today it’s known for its bars and places to eat. These towns are all in the administrative borough of Wyre.
Meanwhile in the south, below Blackpool, is Lytham and St Annes. Two separate towns, often named together, each with a different vibe. They are both in the administrative borough of Fylde.
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What is the County of Lancashire most Famous for?
Possibly the most obvious thing that most people would think of if asked, would be the seaside town of Blackpool!
But Lancashire was the first place where spinning and weaving cotton into fabric began, and the hub of the cotton and textile mills. Lancashire alone was responsible for half of the worlds cotton production! The damp climate was one of the reasons it became the centre of the textile industry. It made the cotton fibres less likely to snap during spinning. Of course today you’ll want sunshine for your visit – check out the weather here.
You can still see the old mill buildings in industrial towns across the county. Although many have since been demolished, many more are converted into useful spaces. They’re ideal for workshops and retail shops – with their big windows designed to let plenty of natural light in.
Lancashire Hot Pot, Chorley Cakes and Butter Pie are all well known Lancashire foods. 80% of the county is rural with a lot of sheep and cattle farming land, so you’ll find delicious local lamb, beef and pork on the menu! The area also offers classic and modern varieties of Lancashire cheese, milk and ice cream.
Lancashire Day
Lancashire Day is celebrated on each year on 27 November. It commemorates the day in 1295 when Lancashire first sent representatives to Parliament, to attend the Model Parliament of King Edward I.
Lancashire was known as “the workshop of the world.” This is because, at its peak, the county produced 85% of the world’s cotton textiles.
Lancashire in UK through the Centuries
Thanks go – as ever – to Mr Nick Moore and his fascinating History of Blackpool for this historical information about Lancashire county in England.
The world around us feels like it’s always been as it is today. But the towns and landscape around us stretch back to times and peoples we can only imagine.
During Roman times the Lancashire area was part of the Brigantes tribal area of Roman Britain. Lancaster was one of several towns which grew around Roman forts, as were Manchester, Ribchester and others.
After the Romans left in 410 AD the northern parts of the county probably formed part of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged. This was a successor to the Brigantes tribe. During the mid-8th century, from the north of the River Ribble, including the Fylde Coast, was incorporated into the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria. From south of the Ribble, land was incorporated into the Kingdom of Mercia.
In the 10th century they both became parts of England. At the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 the area we now know as Lancashire had a population of just 10,000. The small town of Preston was its only significant community. In the Domesday Book of 1086 much of what would become the county is treated as Yorkshire and Cheshire. In 1094 St Chad’s Church in Poulton was declared to be the third richest in Lancashire.
Amounderness
Lancashire in UK was founded in 1182, the 12th century and divided into ‘Hundreds’. The Fylde Coast is in the Hundred of Amounderness – a word you’ll often hear today. The Hundred of Amounderness included Pilling and Over Wyre. The Bleasdale fells, Garstang in the south across county (but not Preston). Including Ashton on Ribble it followed the Ribble to its mouth. Biscopham was listed with eight carucates – the largest township at the time in Amounderness.
For many years the county remained a comparatively poor backwater. But in 1351 it became a palatine, with a semi-independent judicial system. The County of Lancaster was officially formed on 27 November 1295 when Edward I summoned two knights as the county’s first representatives to the new ‘Model Parliament’ at Westminster. 27 November is now celebrated locally as ‘Lancashire Day’.
County Palatine
Henry Grosmont, Earl of Lancaster, was made the first Duke of Lancaster by King Edward III on 6 March 1351, beginning the Duchy of Lancaster. He possessed palatine jurisdiction within the county, but the palatinate was only valid during his own lifetime. It lapsed when he died of the Black Death at Leicester castle on 23 March 1361 and his Palatine powers reverted to the King. A county palatine was one in which the king transferred most of his royal powers to the subject who possessed the county. The offices of the County – and the County Seal – were in Preston, and they have remained so.
In 1362, John of Gaunt was made the second Duke, making Thomas Thelwell his first chancellor. On 28 February 1377, Edward III recreated the palatinate for John because of its strategic position in defending England from the Scots. John of Gaunt persuaded the king to grant this for his own lifetime and, on 16 February 1390, the grant was extended to include John’s heirs. As the King’s writ had no power within the palatine county, the Duke appointed his own Sheriff, answerable only to himself. In 1461, Edward IV decreed that the County Palatine should become part of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The word Lancashire first appears in John Paston’s letter to his father on 1 March 1464, as a contraction of Lancastershire. He wrote ‘the commons in Lancashire and Cheshire were up to the number of 10,000 or more’.
Duchy of Lancaster
After Henry VII defeated Richard III at Bosworth in 1485, the houses of Lancaster and York were briefly united. But a charter then confirmed the Duchy of Lancaster as separate from other Crown Lands, and under its own management. It has remained that way since.
The fate of Lancashire in UK changed during the Industrial Revolution. The county rapidly industrialised, through coal, textiles and manufacturing. Until 1974 it included both Liverpool (a major port) and Manchester, two immensely productive places. With their surrounding towns they dominated the manufacture of textiles. To exploit the Lancashire coalfields many collieries also opened. By 1971 Lancashire had a population of 5,118,405. This made it the most heavily populated county in the United Kingdom after Greater London.
The emblem of the county is the Red Rose of the House of Lancaster. The coat of arms for Lancashire county in England was first granted on 31 August 1903.
Explore Local History
If you enjoy learning about the past all around us you’ll enjoy the amazing History of Blackpool. Researched and written by local historian Nick Moore it’s a fascinating record of just about everything to do with the Fylde Coast.
Best used to research particular things, you can read Nick Moore’s History of Blackpool here
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