Lancashire

Accrington

Accrington along with many other Lancashire towns was transformed from a rural agricultural town to an industrial town during the Industrial Revolution. Spinning and weaving dominated the community. The first mill was established around 1792 and as the industry continued to grow, by 1911 Accrington had around 14000 looms, 166000 spindles and employed more than 18000 people. The town also manufactured its own spinning and weaving machinery.

By 1878 Accrington became a Borough. Because of the decline in the textile industry in the mid-20 th century due to cheaper foreign textile imports, the mills gradually closed. Coal mining continued to survive in the borough until 1968.

Bacup

The town of Bacup is located around 835 feet above sea level and on its eastern edge forms the Rossendale boundary and the County of Lancashire boundary with Yorkshire.

Bacup is also in close proximity to the site where Saxons are said to have fought with Danish invaders in the 10th Century.

As with many other towns in the past, its main industries have included textiles, coal mining, quarrying and footwear manufacture.

The town centre has been designated as a conservation area of special architectural and historic interest.

Blackburn

The name of Blackburn dates back from the dark ages and was named after a local stream. This town has a long history and was an important stopover of North East Lancashire. It appears in the Domesday Book of 1986 as the Blackburn Hundred

St Mary's Church has stood there since 596 AD and in 1869 it became Blackburn Cathedral when the Diocese of Blackburn was created.

The old Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School was founded in 1509.

Blackburn like many other Lancashire towns was a major centre for the manufacture of textiles but during the decline of 20 th Century, other industries such as engineering and electronics replaced them.

Burnley

Burnley was once known as the greatest cotton manufacturing place in Britain and at the end of 19 th Century had over 100,000 looms operating within the borough.

Light engineering took over after the decline in the textiles industry during 20th Century.

Carnforth

Cornforth, once settled in by invading Danes lays North of Lancaster. As a result many of the place names in this district suggest a Scandinavian origin. The Carnforth Railway Station was made famous by the 1945 Noel Coward film Brief Encounter starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. Having been refurbished, it is now a great tourist attraction.

Chorley

The town of Chorley is famous for its market which has been held in the town since 1498 and was the reason for its growth and prosperity.

Chorley is a busy urban environment which is surrounded by pretty villages such as Heskin, Croston and Mawdesley.

Clitheroe

Clitheroe is an ancient market town and borough of Whalley. It is part of the old Norman Blackburn Hundred and has been represented in Parliament since Elizabethan times. Clitheroe Castle is a Norman building which dates back from the reign of William the Conqueror, or his son William Rufus. As with many other towns in this area it developed around the later 18th and early 19th Century as a major centre for cotton spinning and textile power loom manufacturing.

Colne

Colne is a small market town whose history dates back to pre-roman times. The actual town of Colne grew up at the top of a hill around the church which was built before 1122 AD. The weekly unofficial market was held in the churchyard.

Darwen

In 1998 Darwen became part of the new Blackburn with Darwen Unitary Authority making it completely independent of Lancashire County Council.

Fleetwood

Fleetwood is a popular holiday resort and has been such since it was founded just over 150 years ago.

It was notable for its fishing and seafood industry at one time although this has declined in more recent years.

Amongst Fleetwood's attractions are a Marina and Yacht Club and model yacht lake where annual championships take place.

Fleetwood Museum offers visitors a chance to see the maritime history of this town whilst the Seafront Leisure Centre offers a wide variety of activity sports.

Great Harwood

In the 19th century its main form of employment was weaving which was carried out as a cottage industry on hand looms at weaver's cottages. By the 1870s mass produced textile manufacture in larger surrounding towns saw the end of hand weaving and by the 20th century the craft had completely died out.

Heysham

Heysham was originally a small fishing village which became a major port in the 19th century. Nowadays, it has a busy cargo terminal with ferries operating out of the port to the Isle of Man and to Ireland.

St Peters parish church dates back to 976 AD although an even older chapel once stood on the site. By the time of the Viking invasion in 10 th Century the chapel was already around 300 years old.

The village is also the location of the Heysham nuclear power station, which produces most of Lancashire's electricity.

Hornby

Hornby is a small stone built village with a history dating back to the construction of Hornby Castle in the 13th century, although there were probably small settlements there before this time.

Hornby Castle was founded by Roger de Montebegone, who held several lordships in the county of Lincolnshire. The castle is the subject of one of William Turner's paintings.

Prescot

Watchmaking was introduced into Prescot by Huguenot refugees from France. Watchmaking skills were then developed by local blacksmiths. By 1795 Prescot was said to produce the best watches and clocks in the world.

Preston

Preston is in the County of Lancashire and is within easy access of major motorways such as the M6 for Birmingham and the Lake District and the M61 to Bolton and Manchester. Preston is a university town with the University of Central Lancashire believed to be the sixth largest and one of the fastest growing Universities in the UK. It was awarded City status in April 2002 by her Majesty the Queen in celebration of her Golden Jubilee.

Rochdale

Rochdale is famous as being the birthplace of singer, Gracie Fields and former Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith. It is also the birthplace of the Co-operative Movement. By Tudor times Rochdale had become an important area for the manufacture of woollen cloth. St Chad's parish church was built in 1194 upon the site of an earlier church which dates around 769 AD. It wasn't until 1891 that the town's stocks were removed from near the church gates.

Skelmersdale

Skelmersdale is an old coal mining village. During the Industrial Revolution in the 19 th Century the area developed, as Coal Mines were built around Skelmersdale which had its own railway line to Ormskirk, Rainford and St Helens.

Skelmersdale is mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086 as being under the rule of Uctred, and part of the West Derby Hundred.

This modern town has a large shopping development set around two miles of rich landscape, full of native Wildlife. Beacon Country Park lies within the district, with its beautiful scenery together with an 18 hole golf course and golf driving range, a Visitor Centre and swimming pool.

Warton

There are two villages in Lancashire called Warton.

One is a small village near Camforth. This village incorporates Bolton-le-Sands, and is famous for having had George Washington's ancestors living in North Warton. They are said to have assisted in building the tower of the Parish Church. Because of this, every Independence Day on 4th July, the American flag is raised on the church tower in commemoration. Inside the wall of the tower you will find the Washington family coat of arms which is believed to have influenced the design of the Stars and Stripes.

The second village of Warton is located near Preston close to the River Ribble Estuary on the main A584 Freckleton to Lytham Road.

Warton is ratherdominated by Warton Aerodrome, which was established by the US Air Force in September 1942 as AAF Station 582. It was de-activated in September 1945. During the 3 years that it was operational some 14,000 aircraft passed through the airfield.