Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for LANCASHIRE

LANCASHIRE, a maritime and northern county; bounded on the N, by Cumberland and Westmoreland; on the E, by Yorkshire; on the S, by Cheshire; on the W, by the Irish sea. A portion of it in the NW, forming Furness, is detached from the main body by Morecambe bay and a tongue of Westmoreland. The Duddon estuary, for 8 miles, forms the boundary with Cumberland; the water-shed of the back-bone of England, throughout a large aggregate, forms the boundary with Yorkshire; and the river Mersey, throughout its whole extent, forms the boundary with Cheshire. The shape of the county is exceedingly irregular. The S part is not far from being a four-sided figure of about 44 miles by 40; but the N part consists chiefly of two irregular oblongs, the one continuous with the S part, over a connecting distance of 10 miles, and measuring about 20 miles by 12, the other the detached section of Furness, measuring, with islands belonging to it, about 28 miles by 13½. The total greatest length, from NW by N to SE by S, is about 87 miles; the greatest breadth is about 45 miles; the circuit, not including minor sinuosities, is about 295 miles; and the area is 1,219,221 acres. About 100 miles of the circuit-line are low coast, marshy or sandy; and 69,190 acres of the area are foreshore. The only islands are those at the SW of Furness, the largest of which is Walney. The surface of Furness is partly low seaboard, partly a series of fertile vales; but, for the most part, rises into the bold hills, the rugged mountains, and the romantic breaks and upland gorges of the Lake country; and culminates in the Old Man of Coniston, 2,577 feet high. The surface of the other N oblong also rises from low sea-board to high interior; but has heights much less lofty, and much less rugged; and is crossed, nearly through the centre, by the valley of the Lune, one of the most charmingly beautiful valleys in England. The W part, or nearly one-half of the rest of the county, is low and flat, chiefly fertile plain, showing indications of comparatively recent submersion by the sea, and interspersed with marsh land and mosses. The E part exhibits diversity of contour, includes much undulated landscape, rises into moor and mountain toward the boundary with Yorkshire, and contains, at or near that boundary, a number of summits, ranging from 1,545 to 1,803 feet in altitude. All the E border is more or less upland; and it rises to greater heights about the middle than in the N and in the S.

The chief rivers are the Duddon, the Leven, the Lune, the Wyre, the Ribble, the Douglas, the Alt, the Calder, the Irwell, and the Mersey. The chief sea-indentation is Morecambe bay, which occupies a very large area, and consists very greatly of foreshore. The chief estuaries are those of the Ribble and the Mersey, both very considerable, and the latter of vast value to navigation. The Lune is navigable to Lancaster; the Ribble, to Preston; and the Douglas, to Wigan. Much of the foreshore in the Ribble estuary was recently reclaimed; and a plan was, not long ago, formed for reclaiming most of that in Morecambe bay, but resulted in the reclaiming of only a small portion. All the long and beautiful lake of Windermere lies on the E boundary of the Furness section; and the lakes of Coniston and Esthwaite, together with some tarns, are in the interior of that section. Rocks of the upper Silurian formation constitute most of the Furness section. Rocks of the lower carboniferous formation, limestone and shale, constitute portions of that section toward the S, and a considerable portion of the tract between Morecambe bay and the Lune. Rocks of the upper carboniferous formation, Yordale or upper limestone shale, constitute part of the country along the Lune, and a broad tract of country on both sides of the Ribble from the E boundary to within a few miles of Preston. Rocks of the same formation, chiefly millstone grit, constitute a great tract from Morecambe bay around Morecambe, to the E boundary, intermediate between the two tracts of Yordale. rocks; and constitute also a considerable tract on the E border, SE of Accrington and E of Shuttleworth. Rocks of the coal measures constitute a very large tract, beneath and around the chief seats of manufacture, E of Ormskirk, north-eastward thence to the boundary around Burnley, eastward from Ormskirk to the boundary E of Rochdale, southward thence along the border, and past Manchester to the boundary with Cheshire, and southward on the W to the neighbourhood of Childwall. Rocks of the Trias formation, chiefly new red or Bunter sandstone, constitute the S extremity of the Furness section; constitute also a considerable tract southward from the neighbourhood of Garstang, past Preston and Ormskirk, to the Mersey around Liverpool; and constitute further a broad tract, continuous with that, eastward along all the S border to the neighbourhood of Manchester. Alluvial formations constitute all the country between the new red sandstone formation and the sea, southward from the neighbourhood of Cockerham to the mouth of the Mersey. The coal-field may be divided into three portions, lower, middle, and higher. The lower portion contains three seams of coal, averaging about 4 feet in thickness; the middle portion contains two seams, averaging three feet in thickness; the higher portion contains about seventy seams, aggregately upwards of 100 feet in thickness. The number of collieries, within the field, in 1859, was 381; and the output of coal was 10,130,000 tons. The number of iron-works within the county, in 1859, was 4; the number of iron-furnaces, 9; and the produce of iron ore, 26,491 tons. Hematite iron ore, lead, silver, copper, and slate are produced in Furness; lead and barytes, at Anglezarke and elsewhere; limestone at Silverdale, Clitheroe, Halewood, Leigh, and other places; whetstones, at Rainford; and good building stone throughout great part of the county.

The soil of the low parts of the Furness section is various, and generally good; but that of the high parts is chiefly peaty or moorish, and unfit for cultivation. The soil of the section E of Morecambe bay, from the N boundary southward to the Ribble, includes clays, marls, and peat earth, but is chiefly a strong loam; and the low-lying portions of it form the richest corn-lands in the county, while nearly two-thirds are disposed in dairy pasture. The soil of most of the large section from the Ribble to the Mersey is prevailingly a sandy loam, of considerable fertility; but only a small proportion of it is in tillage, and the greater part is laid out in grass. A limestone soil exists in scattered portions, over much of the county, especially in the N; and possesses the properties usually found in limestone land. About 369,200 acres are computed to be waste. The climate is wet, having a rain-fall of from 30 to 40 inches; and draining has not been practised to as great an extent as might have been expected. Peat mosses form a considerable aggregate in the SW and the S, the chief of them being those of Chat, Risley, Kirkby, Halsall, and Pilling; and they are found, when drained, to rest on beds of rich marl. Farms, for the most part, are under 100 acres, and in small irregular fields; and are usually held at 7 or 14 years' lease. Rents, near Manchester and Liverpool, range from 40s. to 80s. per acre; elsewhere, from 20s. to 40s. Farm buildings are chiefly of middle-rate character; and fences are chiefly of stone. Agricultural practice, in general, is not in an advanced state. A four-year course of two white and two green crops is common on the best lands; and, about Ormskirk, two crops of potatoes a-year are sometimes raised. The average yield-of wheat is from 24 to 28 bushels; of beans, from 36 to 40 bushels; of swedes, about 40 tons. Oats, barley, carrots, hemp, and other crops receive attention. Cheese, similar to that of Cheshire, is made in some parts, principally around Leigh, at the rate of about 360 lbs. per cow in the season. The Holderness, the improved Derbyshire, the red Yorkshire, and the poll Suffolk cows are in most repute for the dairy. A wide-horned breed of cattle native to the county, an improved breed raised about Garstang, and the small Scotch breed, are preferred for feeding. About 310,000 sheep, chiefly black-faced and Cheviot, but including Southdowns, New Leicesters, and others, and yielding about 5,800 packs of wool, are pastured on the moors and mountains. The horses are of a breed which Mr. Bakewell used as the basis of his improvements; and they generally serve well for both the team and the saddle; but they have not received much local attention toward the developing of improved qualities.

The manufactures of Lancashire are so vast and varied as to make it famous for them, not only throughout England, but throughout the world. The factories are estimated at 1,500 cotton, 50 woollen and worsted, 30 silk, and 15 flax, with 15,000,000 spindles, and 200,000 power-looms, moved by an amount of steam and water-power equivalent to that of 55,000 horses. The persons employed in the principal manufactures, at the census of 1861, were 153,490 males and 202,701 females in cotton manufacture; 2,182 m. and 2,607 f. in fustian manufacture; 124 m. and 30 f. in muslin manufacture; 8,019 m. and 982 f. in calico printing; 3,869 m. and 14 f. in calico dyeing; 854 m. and 2,147 f. in linen manufacture; 39 m. and 106 f. in thread manufacture; 56 m. and 319 f. in lace manufacture; 4,375 m. and 235 f. in manufactures akin to those of cotton and linen; 135 m. in wool-stapling; 185 f. in worsted-knitting; 7,031 m. and 5,034 f. in woollen cloth manufacture; 561 m. in fulling; 121 m. in wool or woollen dyeing; 774 m. and 976 f. in worsted manufacture; 9 m. and 10 f. in stuff manufacture; 126 m. and 29 f. in flannel manufacture; 185 m. and 82 f. in carpet-rug manufacture; 373 m. and 47 f. in other kinds of woollen manufacture; 8,827 m. and 16,594 f. in silk manufacture; 46 m. and 29 f. in ribbon manufacture; 486 m. in silk dyeing and printing; 449 m. and 36 f. in other kinds of silk working; 290 m. and 1,432 f. in undefined kinds of weaving; 1,200 m. and 4,063 f. in bleaching, braid-working, or miscellaneous employments connected with factories; 3,029 m. and 928 f. in hat manufacture; 2 m. and 20 f. in straw-plait manufacture; 29 m. and 293 f. in straw-hat or straw-bonnet making; 747 f. in bonnet-making; 1,180 f. in cap-making; 15 m. and 1 f. in shawl manufacture; 94 m. and 46 f. in furrier-work; 51 m. and 46 f. in button-making; 31 m. and 61 f. in hose manufacture; 17,391 m. and 2,265 f. in boot and shoe-making; 2,678 m. in patten and clog-making; 396 m. and 446 f. in umbrella-making; 98 m. and 59 f. in mat-making; 3,614 m. and 148 f. in rope and cord making; 79 m. and 48 f. in canvas-making; 15 m. and 9 f. in sail-cloth manufacture; 356 m. and 241 f. in other kinds of hemp working; 227 m. and 18 f. in musical instrument-making; 261 f. in artificial flower-making; 131 m. and 121 f. in toy-making; 403 m. in pattern-designing; 3,708 m. and 60 f. in watch and clock-making; 104 m. in weight or measure-making; 23 m. and 5 f. in surgical instrument-making; 157 m. and 3 f. in gun or arms-making; 12,627 m. in engine and machine-making; 1,998 m. in spindle-making; 9 m. and 5 f. in needle-manufacture; 7 m. and 2 f. in scissors-making; 425 m. in tool-making; 1,062 m. and 16 f. in file-making; 84 m. in saw-making; 195 m. and 8 f. in cutlery-work; 3,996 m. and 1,218 f. in the making of miscellaneous departments of work akin to tool-making; 1,811 m. and 9 f. in coach-making; 1,098 m. and 15 f. in saddlery and harness-making; 83 m. and 6 f. in whip-making; 4,143 m. and 8 f. in ship or boat-building; 410 m. in block, oar, or mast-making; 857 m. in sail-making; 956 m. in other work connected with ship-building; 4,102 m. and 875 f. in cabinet-making; 693 m. and 37 f. in chair-making; 1,969 m. and 80 f. in dyeing and calendering; 243 m. in dye and colour-making; 2,361 m. in the manufactory of chemicals; 590 m. and 174 f. in employments akin to dyeing; 187 m. in malting; 2,132 m. and 23 f. in the making and managing of malt liquors; 53 m. in distilling or rectifying spirits; 636 m. in sugar-refining; 387 m. and 349 f. in tobacco and sugar manufacture; 340 m. in soap-making; 419 m. and 16-f. in tallow-candle-making; 71 m. and 7 f. in coat-making; 2,162 m. and 103 f. in leather-making; 34 m. and 43 f. in hair and bristle-manufacture; 1,106 m. and 143 f. in brush and broom-making; 1,129 m. and 105 f. in basket-making; 1,114 m. and 450 f. in paper-making; 290 m. and 57 f. in paper-staining; 37 f. in envelope-making; 86 f. in paper-box-making; 605 m. and 89 f. in other working in paper; 4,380 m. and 37 f. in brick-making; 501 m. and 96 f. in earthenware manufacture; 367 m. and 67 f. in tobacco-pipe making; 2,823 m. and 583 f. in glass-manufacture; 41 m. and 7 f. in working in glass; 217 m. and 5 f. in salt-manufacture and in employments connected with it; 359 m. in copper-manufacture; 358 m. and 14 f. in working in copper; 51 m. and 12 f. in tin-manufacture; 2,444 m. and 19 f. in working in tin; 20 m. in zinc manufacture; 57 m. in lead manufacture; 20 m. in type-founding; 1,569 m. in brass-founding; 634 m. in wire-making; 426 m. in wire-working or wire-weaving; 23,479 m. and 32 f. in iron-manufacture; 1,414 m. and 160 f. in nail-manufacture; 148 m. and 1 f. in anchor and chain-making; 2,953 m. in boiler-making; 111 m. in steel-manufacture; and 1,316 m. in bolt and hinge-making.

The commerce of Lancashire is necessarily very great, in connexion with its manufactures; and it possesses additional magnitude in connexion with the imports and exports of a very large circle of the NW of England, particularly much of Cheshire, Derbyshire, Westmoreland, and Yorkshire, and most of Staffordshire and Warwickshire. Liverpool is the grand emporium; but Fleetwood, Preston, Lancaster, Ulverston, and other ports bear a share. Both canals and railways afford immense aid to traffic; and both have been developed here on a scale of great magnitude. The canal from St. Helens to Liverpool, formed under an act of 1755, has usually, but erroneously, been regarded as the first canal with locks ever constructed in Great Britain. The Sankey canal, from St. Helens to Warrington and Runcorn Gap, begun about the year 1750, really had precedence; though it began merely by the deepening of the Sankey brook, and was afterwards, and very soon, changed into a proper canal. Yet, long previous to the making of this, the rivers Irwell, Mersey, Douglas, and others had been made artificially navigable; and the Irwell, in particular, under an act of 1720, had been improved, by means of cuts, locks, and weirs, as far as Manchester. The Bridgewater canal, from Manchester to Runcorn Gap, with a branch to Leigh, was formed in 1758-65; and other canals, of such large aggregate as to traverse most parts of the county, and to form a great system of inland navigation between the Irish sea and the German ocean, were soon afterwards formed. The chief of these were the Ashton canal, 11 miles long, joining one to Stockport and to Peak Forest; the Bury canal, 10 miles long, with a branch to Bolton; the Manchester and Leeds canal, 18 miles long with connexions; the Liverpool and Leeds canal, 70 miles long, with branches to the river Douglas, to Preston, and to other places; and the Preston and Lancaster canal, 26 miles long, with continuation toward Kendal. The Liverpool and Manchester railway, opened in 1830, was the first locomotive one of any note in the world. It was preceded, indeed, by great experimental short lines elsewhere; it was preceded also by several of the old kinds of railroads within Lancashire itself; but it formed the first grand successful instance of railway with locomotives; it was both the type and the stimulus of all the other locomotive railways, which have so marvelously changed the communications of the civilized world; and it has been followed, within Lancashire, by such a vast net-work of these railways as cannot be adequately understood without the aid of a map. The chief are a line, near the Mersey, from Garston to Warrington; a line, continuous with this, and mainly within Cheshire, from Warrington to Manchester; lines in the SE, from Manchester to Stockport, toward Sheffield, to Stalybridge, and to other places; a line north-eastward from Manchester toward Leeds, with branches to Oldham, Burnley, and other places; a line northward from Manchester, past Bury, Accrington, and Burnley, toward Skipton; a line north-westward from Manchester, past Bolton and Blackburn, with forks toward Preston and toward Settle; a line from the Liverpool and Manchester, past Leigh, to Bolton; lines from Warrington to Newton, from Newton to Wigan, and from Wiganto Preston; lines from Runcorn Gap to St. Helens, and from St. Helens to Ormskirk; a line east-north-eastward from Liverpool, past Wigan and Bolton, to Bury; a line north-eastward from Liverpool, past Ormskirk, to Preston and Blackburn; a line along the coast from Liverpool to Southport; a line east-south-eastward from Southport to Wigan and toward Manchester; a line northward from Preston, past Lancaster, toward Carlisle; a line north-westward, from Preston to Fleetwood, with branches to Lytham and Blackpool; a line north-eastward, from Preston to Longridge; a line east-north-eastward, from Lancaster, up the valley of the Lune, into Yorkshire; a line, of short extent, from Lancaster to Morecambe; and a line round the coast, from Carnforth, past Cartmel and Ulverston, to Broughton-in-Furness, with a branch to Barrow, and with continuation toward Whitehaven. Other lines also connect some of these; still others form continuations of some of them; and still others were in course of formation in 1866. The aggregate of roads within the county is about 4,150 miles.

Lancashire contains 69 entire parishes, divided into about 446 townships; and contains also parts of 4 other parishes, and 9 extra-parochial places. The townships here, in a general view, are more considerable than parishes in most other counties; and they have separate rates for their poor and for highways. The county is divided into the city of Manchester, the boroughs of Ashton-under-Lyne, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Clitheroe, Lancaster, Liverpool, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale, Salford, and Wigan, with parts of the boroughs of Stalybridge, Stockport, and Warrington, and into the hundreds of Amounderness, Blackburn, Leyland, Lonsdale, Salford, and West Derby; and is cut, for parliamentary representation, into the sections of North and South, the former comprising the hundreds of Amounderness, Blackburn, Leyland, and Lonsdale, the latter comprising the hundreds of Salford and West Derby. The registration county gives off part of Manchester parish to Cheshire, part of Rochdale parish to W. R. Yorkshire, and Dalton township to Westmoreland; takes in Grappenhall and Mottram parishes, and parts of Runcorn and Stockport parishes from Cheshire, and Bolton-by-Bowland and Slaidburn parishes, Sawley extra-parochial tract, and parts of Gisburn, Mitton, and Whalley parishes from W. R. Yorkshire; comprises 1,319,391 acres; had, in 1861, a pop. of 2,465,366; and is divided into the districts of Liverpool, West Derby, Prescot, Ormskirk, Wigan, Warrington, Leigh, Bolton, Bury, Burton-upon-Irwell, Chorlton, Salford, Manchester, Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham, Rochdale, Haslingden, Burnley, Clitheroe, Blackburn, Chorley, Preston, Fylde, Garstang, Lancaster, and Ulverston. The boroughs of Blackburn, Bolton, Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Preston, and Wigan send each two members to parliament; the boroughs of Ashton, Bury, Clitheroe, Rochdale, Salford, and Warrington send each one member; the North section of the county sends two; and the South section sends three. Electors of the North section in 1865,13,006; of whom 6,569 were freeholders, 838 were copyholders, and 3,961 were occupying tenants. Electors of the South section, in 1865,21,555; of whom 12,603 were freeholders, 330 were copyholders, and 4,076 were occupying tenants. The towns, additional to the boroughs, having each upwards of 2,000 inhabitants, and ranging thence to upwards of 18,000, are Accrington, Atherton, Bacup, Blackpool, Chorley, Church, Colne, Dalton, Droylsden, Farnworth, Fleetwood, Great Harwood, Haslingden, Heywood, Hindley, Kirkham, Leigh, Lytham, Middleton, Much Woolton, Newchurch, Newton-in-Mackerfield, Ormskirk, Over Darwen, Padiham, Prescot, St. Helens, Southport, Todmorden, Tyldesley, Ulverston, and Widnes. There are nearly 900 smaller towns, villages, and hamlets.

The chief seats in the county are Knowsley Park, Heaton Park, Holker Hall, Croxteth Park, Worsley Hall, Latham House, Haigh Hall, Atherton, Kenyon-Peel Hall, Knowle, Ashton Hall, Middleton, New Hall, Old Hall, Bold, Rossall Hall, Trafford Hall, Gawthorpe Hall, Garswood Hall, West Hey House, Feniscowles Hall, Hazles, Abbots-Wood, Acres House, Adlington Hall, Aldcliffe Hall, Alder Grange, Alkincoates, Alkrington, Aldingham Hall, Allerton Tower, Alston, Apsley House, Arden House, Ashworth Hall, Astley Hall, Bank Hall, Bank House, Bankfield House, Bardsea Hall, Barton Lodge, Baxenden House, Beaconsfield, Beechley, Belfield Hall-, Bellevale, Belleview House, Bellingham Lodge, Bigland, Birch House, Bispham Hall, Bleasdale Tower, Blythe, Braythay Hall, Bradshaw, Brandlesome, Brindle Lodge, Broad Clough, Broadoak, Brook House, Brooklands, Broughton House, Broughton Tower, Brynbella, Burrow Hall, Butt Hill, Calderstone, Capernwray Hall, Carr House, Carter Place Hall, Castlehead, Castleton Hall, Centre Vale, Catterall House, Chadswell, Chaigley Manor, Chattertonhay, Childwall Hall, Claremont Hall, Claughton Hall, Clayton Hall, Clifton Hall, Clifton Hill, Clitheroe Castle, Conishead Priory, Conynger Hurst, Cooper Hill, Crabtree House, Croft House, Croftlands, Crosby Hall, Crosslands, Croston Hall, Cuerden Hall, the Dales, Daltongate House, Dalton Hall, Darcy-Lever Hall, Darwen Bank, Ditton Hall, Downham Hall, Dunkenhalgh Park, Druton House, Dykelands, Duxbury, Elton Bank, Eccleston Hall, Elmfield Hall, Ellel Grange, Ellel Hall, Escowbeck Hall, Esthwaite Lodge, Euxton Hall, Ewbarrow, Fairoak House, Farrington House, Fern Hill, Fernyhalgh, Fishwick Hall, Flaw How, Flaxmoss House, Ford House, Formby Hall, Foxhill Hall, Foxholes, Galligreaves Hall, Gillibrand Hall, Golborne Hall, Golden Hill House, Grassyard, Grimsargh Hall, Greaves House, Grizedale Hall, Graythwaite, Groby Lodge, Hale Hall, Halton Hall, Hamer Hall, Handel House, Harrock Hall, Harthill, Haycarr House, Headlands, Healey Hall, Heath Hill, Helmshore House, Heysham Lodge, Heysham Tower, Highfield House, Highwood, Halsnead, Hilltop House, Hindley Hall, Holland Grove, Hollin Bank, Hollowford, Hollymount, Hopwood Hall, Hornby Castle, Hornby Hall, Horncliffe House, Howick Hall, Hulton Park, Huntroyde Hall, Hurst Grange, Hutton H all, Hyndburn House, Hyning Hall, Ince Hall, Ince Blundell Hall, Kirklands, Lakefield, the Larches, the Laund, Leagram Hall, Leck Hall, Leighton Hall, Lightburne House, Lovely Hall, Lund Hall, Lunecliffe, Lytham Hall, Millwood, Mitton Hall, Monk-Coniston House, Moreton Hall, Mossfield House, Mowbreck Hall, Myerscough Hall, Newfield House, New-Hall-Hey House, Newland House, Newsham, North Hall, Oak H ill, Oakenshaw House, the Oaks, Owl Hall, Ollerton Hall, Ormerod House, Oubas-Hill House, Outwood Lodge, Ouzehead House, Paddock House, Parbold Hall, Parkfield, Park Hall, Park Hill, Park House, Parrox Hall, Peel Hall, Pendlebury House, Pennybridge Hall, Penwortham Hall, Penwortham House, Pleasington Hall, Portsmouth House, Prestwich Lodge, Prospect Hill, Pullwyke, Quernmore Park, Read Hall, Red Scar, the Rhyddings, Ribbleton Hall, Ribby Hall, Ridgefoot, Rusland Hall, Richmond Hill, St. Mary's Mount, Scaitcliffe, Scarisbrick Hall, Shawe Hall, Sparth House, Speke Hall, Springhill, Springfield, Stamford House, Stand, Stand Hill, Standen Hall, Standish Hall, Stansfield Hall, Stockbridge, Stone House, Storr's Hall, Stott Park, Stubby Lee, Summerhill, Summerfield, Sunnyside, Swallow House, Swarthdale, Swinshawe House, Symonstone Hall, Sholly, Singleton, Slyne, Smithills, Thistlemount, Thurland Castle, Thurstonville, Thwaitemoss, Todmorden Hall, Towneley Hall, Troy Hall, Tulketh Hall, Turton Tower, Undercroft, Vale House, Walton Lodge, Welbeck House, Wellfield House, Wellwood, Wennington Hall, Westbank, Westbourne, Westview, Westwood House, Whinfield, the Whitefriars, Whitehall, Whitestock Hall, Whittingham House, Whittington Hall, Wicken Hall, Winstanley Hall, Winwick Hall, Withnellfold, Witton Hall, Woodhill, Woodlands, Woolton Hall, Warden Hall, Wray Castle, Wrightington Hall, Wyreside, Wykefield, and Yew Tree.

Lancashire is governed by a lord lieutenant, a high sheriff, and about 350 magistrates; and is in the northern judiciary circuit, and in the N military district. The assizes, for the N section, are held at Lancaster; those for the S section are held at Liverpool and Manchester; quarter sessions are held at Lancaster, Preston, Liverpool, and Manchester; courts of bankruptcy are held at Liverpool and Manchester; and county courts are held in all the large towns. County-jails are at Lancaster, Preston, and Kirkdale; a county-house of correction, at Salford; a city-jail, at Manchester; and a borough-jail, at Liverpool. The police-force, in 1864, comprised 23 men at Ashton, at an annual cost of £1,654; 38 at Blackburn, £2,435; 39 at Bolton, £2,826; 13 at Lancaster, £1,045; 1,030 at Liverpool, £73,606; 669 at Manchester, £43,713; 52 at Oldham, £3,783; 82 at Preston, £6,974; 38 at Rochdale, £1,928; 108 at Salford, £7,568; 25 at Stalybridge, £1,525; 16 at Warrington, £1,177; 37 at Wigan, £2,460; and 763 in the rest of the county, £61,062. The crimes committed, in 1864, were 64 at Ashton, 258 at Blackburn, 360 at Bolton, 32 at Lancaster, 4,326 at Liverpool, 6,623 at Manchester, 174 at Oldham, 262 at Preston, 118 at Rochdale, 911 at Salford, 20 at Stalybridge, 65 at Warrington, 69 at Wigan, and 2,001 in the rest of the county; the persons apprehended were 43 at Ashton, 117 at Blackburn, 193 at Bolton, 25 at Lancaster, 2,125 at Liverpool, 1,407 at Manchester, 105 at Oldham, 170 at Preston, 66 at Rochdale, 200 at Salford, 22 at Stalybridge, 50 at Warrington, 71 at Wigan, and 1,225 in the rest of the county; the depredators and suspected persons at large were 78 at Ashton, 681 at Blackburn, 725 at Bolton, 125 at Lancaster, 3,169 at Liverpool, 3,106 at Manchester, 272 at Oldham, 702 at Preston, 249 at Rochdale, 411 at Salford, 20 at Stalybridge, 296 at Warrington, 291 at Wigan, and 3,595 in the rest of the county; and the houses of bad character were 10 at Ashton, 190 at Blackburn, 103 at Bolton, 32 at Lancaster, 1,518 at Liverpool, 1,111 at Manchester, 64 at Oldham, 182 at Preston, 174 at Rochdale, 132 at Salford, 3 at Stalybridge, 120 at Warrington, 60 at Wigan, and 636 in the rest of the county. The deanery of Furness and Cartmel is in the diocese of Carlisle; the deanery of Warrington, excepting the parish of Leigh, is in the diocese of Chester; and the deaneries of Amounderness, Blackburn, Leyland, Manchester, and Tunstall, and the parish of Leigh, constitute the diocese of Manchester. County lunatic asylum are at Lancaster-moor, Rainhill, and Prestwich. The poor-rates, in the registration county, in 1863, amounted to £1,101,950; and the receipts in aid of poor-rates amounted to £50,386. Marriages in 1863,23,919, of which 6,242 were not according to the rites of the Established church; births, 95,216, of which 6,253 were illegitimate; deaths, 67,202, of which 32,408 were at ages under 5 years, and 602 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 221,212; births, 845,962; deaths, 591,784. The places of worship, in the electoral county, in 1851, were 529 of the Church of England, with 383,466 sittings; 5 of the Church of Scotland, with 4,510 s.; 12 of the Presbyterian church in England, with 9,010 s.; 5 of the United Presbyterian church, with 3,115 s.; 1 of Reformed Irish Presbyterians, with 120 s.; 170 of Independents, with 80,072 s.; 100 of Baptists, with 34,068 s.; 27 of Quakers, with 8,264 s.; 11 of Lady Huntingdon's Connexion, with 4,998 s.; 8 of Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, with 5,141 s.; 2 of Moravians, with 1,084 s.; 35 of Unitarians, with 12,384 s.; 300 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 107,983 s.; 27 of New Connexion Methodists, with 11,569 s.; 1 of Bible Christians, with 450 s.; 1 of Independent Methodists, with 30 at.; 81 of the Wesleyan Association, with 25,555 s.; 4 of Wesleyan Reformers, with 900 s.; 1 of Sandemanians, with 39 at.; 21 of the New Church, with 5,544 s.; 5 of Brethren, with 970 s.; 36 of isolated congregations, with 7,466 s.; 114 of Roman Catholics, with 55,610 s.; 1 of the Greek Church, with 86 s.; 1 of the Catholic and Apostolic church, with 100 s.; 15 of Latter Day Saints, with 1,379 s.; and 7 of Jews, with 1,138 s. The schools were 1,036 public day schools, with 150,338 scholars; 1,978 private day schools, with 65,509 s.; 1,524 Sunday schools, with 323,173 s.; and 314 evening schools for adults, with 9,68.7 s. Real property in 1815, £3,139,043; in 1843, £7,756,228; in 1860, £11,453,851, of which £633,420 were in mines, £34,667 in quarries, £5,068 in iron-works, £426 in fisheries, £197,499 in canals, £1,564,366 in railways, and £191,460 in gas-works. Pop. in 1801,673,486; in 1821,1,052,948: in 1841,1,667,054; in 1861,2,429,440. Inhabited houses, 438,503; uninhabited, 19,061; building, 3,592.

The territory now forming Lancashire was inhabited by the Brigantes and the Volantii; was included, by the Romans, in their province of Maxima Cæsariensis; and, in the 6th century, was the scene of various conflicts between the Britons and the Saxons. The northern part of it long lay included in the kingdom of Cumbria; the southern part became included in the kingdom of Northumbria; and the whole was not regularly occupied by the English till about 921, in the time of Edward the Elder. It was made an honour, of the superior class of seigniories; and, as such, was given at the Conquest to Roger de Poictou. It soon passed, by forfeiture, into the hands of Stephen, afterwards king of England; was given by him to his son William; passed, till the time of Henry III., through several eminent hands; was given, with the title of Earl, by Henry III., to his second son, Edmund Crouchback; passed to a descendant of Crouchback, with the title of Duke; went, with the title, by marriage with the first Duke's heiress, to John of Gaunt; was raised to a palatine in favour of that possessor; passed, through Henry of Bolingbroke, to the Crown; was held by him as Henry IV., by Henry V., and by Henry VI.; went into abeyance in connexion with the last of these kings; and, by act of parliament in the time of Edward IV,, was annexed permanently to the Crown. The Duchy of Lancashire was enriched, at the Reformation, with many estates of dissolved monasteries; and, besides much property in connexion with the county palatine, has property also in twenty-one other counties; but the revenue is curtailed by leases granted by successive monarchs. A court of chancery for the county palatine sits twice a-year at Lancaster, and twice at Preston; and courts of chancery for the duchy are held at Westminster, in which appeals from the other court may be heard. The local court of chancery is now, as far as concerns the county, its chief actual distinction as a palatinate.

Some local names in Lancashire, though not nearly so many proportionally as in the southern counties, indicate the fact of occupation by the Romans. Ancient British names also occur, yet with comparative scarceness, as memorials of the ancient British people both before and after the Roman occupation. Saxon names likewise occur; but they too are comparatively scarce. Scandinavian names occur in only a very few instances. The local names, in the aggregate, afford much less distinctness of historical indication than inmost other parts of England. The races of the present natives are evidently very mixed. A proportion is Celtic, but exists nearly apart, or intermarries very little with the other inhabitants; and a proportion is Irish, by modern immigration, which went on rapidly increasing for some years, but has recently received a check. The number of the inhabitants returned, at the census of 1861, as born in the county, was 475,694 males under 20 years of age, 390,844 males above 20 years of age, 483,003 females under 20 years of age, and 439,055 females above 20 years of age; and the number returned as born in Ireland was 20,183 males under 20 years of age, 79,876 males above 20 years of age, 20,439 females under 20 years of age, and 96,822 females above 20 years of age.

In 1323 the Scots, under Robert Bruce, ravaged Lancashire from the north as far as to Preston, and burnt that town. In the time of Henry VIII., Lancashire was, in some measure, agitated by the insurrection known as the Pilgrimage of Grace. In the civil wars of Charles I., many of the inhabitants took part with the king; many military operations, and some conflicts, took place within the county; Manchester was repeatedly contested by the belligerents, and eventually became the head-quarters of Sir Thomas Fairfax; and Lancaster was alternately in the hands of the royalists and the parliamentarians. On 17 July 1648, the Scots, under the Duke of Hamilton, and the parliamentarians, under Cromwell, fought a sanguinary battle at Preston, when the former were routed with great slaughter; and three days afterwards, the same armies met again at Winwick, with the same result. In 1651, the forces of the Earl of Derby were routed, at Wigan, by Colonel Lilburne; and soon afterwards, the Earl himself was taken prisoner, and beheaded at Bolton. In 1715, the troops of-the Pretender took up their quarters at Preston; but, being too few to stand their ground, they soon laid down their arms. In 1745, the army of the young Pretender traversed the county, both on their advance to Derby and on their retreat. Roman stations were at Mancunium or Manchester, Coccium or Ribchester, Ad Alaunum or Lancaster, Bremetonacæ or Burrow, and Ad Alpes Peninos or Broughton. Roman camps occur at Westwick, Worston, and Twist. A Roman road went from Manchester to Ribchester, with a branch to Broughton, and to Lancaster and Burrow; and other Roman roads went toward Ilkley, Slack, Little Chester and Chester. Roman coins and other Roman relics have been found at the Roman stations, at Burnley, and at other places. Old castles are at Lancaster, Dalton, Gleaston, Fouldry, Thurland, Hornby, Greenhaugh, Hoghton, Turton, and Belfield. Old abbeys are at Furness, Cockersand, and Whalley; old priories, at Burscough and Up-Holland; and old churches, at Manchester, Winwick, Cartmel, Middleton, and Whalley.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a maritime and northern county"   (ADL Feature Type: "countries, 2nd order divisions")
Administrative units: Lancashire AncC
Place: Lancashire

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