Lancashire

Map of the Lancashire Area

Lancashire is located in the North West of England and is a non-metropolitan and historic county. It is bounded by the Irish Sea to the West and by land by North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Its county town is Lancaster and its administrative capital is Preston. The county has a population of around 1449700 (source: link) and density of 471 people per km square.

The county is believed to have been founded in the 12th century (source: link) and is mentioned in the Doomsday Book as being treated as part of Yorkshire. However, modern Lancashire is much smaller than its historic extent and it is now an administrative county. During the Industrial Revolution Lancashire emerged as a major region for industry and commerce. In the 1830's almost 85% of the world's manufactured cotton was processed in the county (source: Gibb, Robert (2005). Greater Manchester: A panorama of people and places in Manchester and its surrounding towns. Myriad, 13. ISBN 1-904736-86-6.) with the major cotton mills situated in Chorley, Blackburn, Darwen and Burnley. The county was also involved in economic activities such as mining and fishing. Modern Lancashire is home to many major international companies such as BEA Systems, TVR cars, Telent telecoms and Leyland Trucks. Most of the major towns within the county are concentrated on the Flyde Coast, otherwise known as the Blackpool Urban Area. There is also a belt of settlements running along the M65 which include Blackburn, Preston, Nelson and Burnley. The north of the county is mainly sparsely populated.

The highest point in Lancashire is Gragareth which is located near Whernshire and is at a height of 627m above sea level (source: BUBL Information Service - The Relative Hills of Britain). The county is drained west into the Irish Sea from the Pennines. Other notable rivers in the county include the Wyre, Ribble and the Lune. Lancashire is home to one of the two remaining Duchy's in the UK. The Duchy of Lancaster has large landholdings and operates mainly as a property company although is can exercise the right of the Crown within the County Palatine of Lancaster (source: The Duchy of Lancaster - Boundary Map). However, there is no separate Duke of Lancaster as the Duchy merged with the crown centuries ago.

The county is home to some England cricket team members including James Anderson, Sajid Mahmood and Andrew Flintoff. The most successful cricket team of the county is the Lancashire County Cricket Club and is famed for its triumphs in the "one day game".