[1] I. Minette (Weiler, Alsace). II. Kersantite (Neubrunn,
Thuringia). III. Vogesite (Castle Mountain, Montana). IV. Spessartite
(Waldmichael, Spessart). V. Camptonite (Campton Falls). VI.
Monchiquite (Ria do Ouro, Serra de Tingua). VII. Alnöite (Alnö,
Sweden).
LAMPSACUS, an ancient Greek colony in Mysia, Asia Minor, known as
Pityusa or Pityussa before its colonization by Ionian Greeks from
Phocaea and Miletus, was situated on the Hellespont, opposite Callipolis
(Gallipoli) in Thrace. It possessed a good harbour; and the
neighbourhood was famous for its wine, so that, having fallen into the
hands of the Persians during the Ionian revolt, it was assigned by
Artaxerxes I. to Themistocles to provide him with wine, as Percote did
with meat and Magnesia with bread. After the battle of Mycale (479
B.C.), Lampsacus joined the Athenians, but, having revolted from them in
411, was reduced by force. It was defended in 196 B.C. against Antiochus
the Great of Syria, after which its inhabitants were received as allies
of Rome. Lampsacus was the chief seat of the worship of Priapus, a gross
nature-god closely connected with the culture of the vine. The ancient
name is preserved in that of the modern village of Lapsaki, but the
Greek town possibly lay at Chardak immediately opposite Gallipoli.
See A. L. Castellan, _Lettres sur la Morée, l'Hellespont, &c._ (Paris,
1820); Choiseul Gouffier, _Voyage pittoresque dans l'empire ottoman_
(1842).
LAMPSTAND, a pillar, tripod or figure extending to the floor for
supporting or holding a lamp. The lampstand (_lampadère_) is probably of
French origin; it appears to have been in use in France before the end
of the 17th century.
LANARK, a royal, municipal and police burgh, and county town of
Lanarkshire, Scotland, standing on high ground about half a mile from
the right bank of the Clyde, 31 m. S.E. of Glasgow by the Caledonian
railway. Pop. (1901) 6440. It is a favourite holiday resort, being the
point from which the falls of the Clyde are usually visited. The
principal buildings are the town hall, the county buildings, the
assembly rooms, occupying the site of an old Franciscan monastery, three
hospitals, a convalescent home, the Smyllum orphanage and the Queen
Victoria Jubilee fountain. The industries include cotton-spinning,
weaving, nail-making and oilworks, and there are frequent markets for
cattle and sheep. Lanark is a place of considerable antiquity. Kenneth
II. held a parliament here in 978, and it was sometimes the residence of
the Scottish kings, one of whom, William the Lion (d. 1214), granted it
a charter. Several of the earlier exploits of William Wallace were
achieved in the neighbourhood. He burned the town and slew the English
sheriff William Hezelrig. About 1 m. N.W. are Cartland Craigs, where
Mouse Water runs through a precipitous red sandstone ravine, the sides
of which are about 400 ft. high. The stream is crossed by a bridge of
single span, supposed to be Roman, and by a three-arched bridge,
designed by Thomas Telford and erected in 1823. On the right bank, near
this bridge, is the cave in which Wallace concealed himself after
killing Hezelrig and which still bears his name. Lanark was the centre
of much activity in the days of the Covenanters. William Lithgow
(1582-1645), the traveller, William Smellie (1697-1763), the
obstetrician and Gavin Hamilton (1730-1797), the painter, were born at
Lanark. The town is one of the Falkirk district group of parliamentary
burghs, the other constituents being Airdrie, Hamilton, Falkirk and
Linlithgow.
New Lanark (pop. 795), 1 m. S., is famous in connexion with the
socialist experiments of Robert Owen. The village was founded by David
Dale (1739-1806) in 1785, with the support of Sir Richard Arkwright,
inventor of the spinning-frame, who thought the spot might be made the
Manchester of Scotland. In ten years four cotton mills were running,
employing nearly 1400 hands. They were sold in 1799 to a Manchester
company, who appointed Owen manager. In the same year he married Dale's
daughter. For many years the mills were successfully conducted, but
friction ultimately arose and Owen retired in 1828. The mills, however,
are still carried on.
There are several interesting places near Lanark. Braxfield, on the
Clyde, gave the title of Lord Braxfield to Robert Macqueen
(1722-1799), who was born in the mansion and acquired on the bench the
character of the Scottish Jeffreys. Robert Baillie, the patriot who
was executed for conscience' sake (1684), belonged to Jerviswood, an
estate on the Mouse. Lee House, the home of the Lockharts, is 3 m.
N.W. The old castle was largely rebuilt in the 19th century. It
contains some fine tapestry and portraits, and the Lee Penny--familiar
to readers of Sir Walter Scott's _Talisman_--which was brought from
Palestine in the 14th century by the Crusading knight, Sir Simon
Lockhart. It is described as a cornelian encased in a silver coin.
Craignethan Castle on the Nethan, a left-hand tributary joining the
Clyde at Crossford, is said to be the original of the "Tillietudiem"
of Scott's _Old Mortality_.
LANARKSHIRE, a south-western county of Scotland, bounded N. by the
shires of Dumbarton and Stirling, E. by Linlithgowshire, Mid-Lothian and
Peeblesshire, S. by Dumfriesshire and W. by the counties of Ayr, Renfrew
and Dumbarton. Its area is 879 sq. m. (562,821 acres). It may be
described as embracing the valley of the Clyde; and, in addition to the
gradual descent from the high land in the south, it is also
characterized by a gentle slope towards both banks of the river. The
shire is divided into three wards, the Upper, comprising all the
southern section, or more than half the whole area (over 330,000 acres);
the Middle, with Hamilton for its chief town, covering fully 190,000
acres; and the Lower, occupying the northern area of about 40,000 acres.
The surface falls gradually from the uplands in the south to the Firth
of Clyde. The highest hills are nearly all on or close to the borders of
Peeblesshire and Dumfriesshire, and include Culter Fell (2454 ft.) and
Lowther Hill (2377). The loftiest heights exclusively belonging to
Lanarkshire are Green Lowther (2403), Tinto (2335), Ballencleuch Law
(2267), Rodger Law (2257), Dun Law (2216), Shiel Dod (2190), Dungrain
Law (2186) and Comb Law (2107). The principal rivers are the Clyde and
its head waters and affluents (on the right, the Medwin, Mouse, South
Calder, North Calder and Kelvin; on the left, the Douglas, Nethan,
Avon, Rotten Calder and Cart). There are no lochs of considerable size,
the few sheets of water in the north--Woodend Reservoir, Bishop Loch,
Hogganfield Loch, Woodend Loch, Lochend Loch--mainly feeding the
Monkland and the Forth and Clyde Canals. The most famous natural
features are the Falls of Clyde at Bonnington, Corra, Dundaff and
Stonebyres.
_Geology._--The southern upland portion is built up of Silurian and
Ordovician rocks; the northern lower-lying tracts are formed of
Carboniferous and Old Red Sandstone rocks. Ordovician strata cross the
county from S.W. to N.E. in a belt 5-7 m. in breadth which is brought
up by a fault against the Old Red and the Silurian on the northern
side. This fault runs by Lamington, Roberton and Crawfordjohn. The
Ordovician rocks lie in a synclinal fold with beds of Caradoc age in
the centre flanked by graptolitic shales, grits and conglomerates,
including among the last-named the local "Haggis-rock"; the well-known
lead mines of Leadhills are worked in these formations. Silurian
shales and sandstones, &c., extend south of the Ordovician belt to the
county boundary; and again, on the northern side of the Ordovician
belt two small tracts appear through the Old Red Sandstone on the
crests of anticlinal folds. The Old Red Sandstone covers an irregular
tract north of the Ordovician belt; a lower division consisting of
sandstone, conglomerates and mud-stones is the most extensively
developed; above this is found a series of contemporaneous porphyrites
and melaphyres, conformable upon the lower division in the west of the
county but are not so in the east. An upper series of sandstones and
grits is seen for a short distance west of Lamington. Lanark stands on
the Old Red Sandstone and the Falls of Clyde occur in the same rocks.
Economically the most important geological feature is the coal basin
of the Glasgow district. The axis of this basin lies in a N.E.-S.W.
direction; in the central part, including Glasgow, Airdrie,
Motherwell, Wishaw, Carluke, lie the coal-measures, consisting of
sandstones, shales, marls and fireclays with seams of coal and
ironstone. There are eleven beds of workable coal, the more important
seams being the Ell, Main, Splint, Pyotshaw and Virtuewell. Underlying
the coal-measures is the Millstone Grit seen on the northern side
between Glenboig and Hogganfield--here the fireclays of Garnkirk,
Gartcosh and Glenboig are worked--and on the south and south-east of
the coal-measures, but not on the western side, because it is there
cut out by a fault. Beneath the last-named formation comes the
Carboniferous Limestone series with thin coals and ironstones, and
again beneath this is the Calciferous Sandstone series which in the
south-east consists of sandstones, shales, &c., but in the west the
greater part of the series is composed of interbedded volcanic
rocks--porphyrites and melaphyres. It will be observed that in general
the younger formations lie nearer the centre of the basin and the
older ones crop out around them. Besides the volcanic rocks mentioned
there are intrusive basalts in the Carboniferous rocks like that in
the neighbourhood of Shotts, and the smaller masses at Hogganfield
near Glasgow and elsewhere. Volcanic necks are found in the Carluke
and Kilcadzow districts, marking the vents of former volcanoes and
several dikes of Tertiary age traverse the older rocks. An intrusion
of pink felsite in early Old Red times has been the cause of Tinto
Hill. Evidences of the Glacial period are abundant in the form of
kames and other deposits of gravel, sand and boulder clay. The ice in
flowing northward and southward from the higher ground took an
easterly direction when it reached the lower ground. In the lower
reaches of the Clyde the remains of old beaches at 25, 50 and 100 ft.
above the present sea-level are to be observed.
_Climate and Agriculture._--The rainfall averages 42 in. annually,
being higher in the hill country and lower towards the north. The
temperature for the year averages 48° F., for January 38° and for July
59°. The area under grain has shown a downward tendency since 1880.
Oats is the principal crop, but barley and wheat are also grown.
Potatoes and turnips are raised on a large scale. In the Lower Ward
market-gardening has increased considerably, and the quantity of
vegetables, grapes and tomatoes reared under glass has reached great
proportions. An ancient industry in the vale of the Clyde for many
miles below Lanark is the cultivation of fruit, several of the
orchards being said to date from the time of Bede. The apples and
pears are of good repute. There has been a remarkable extension in the
culture of strawberries, hundreds of acres being laid down in beds.
The sheep walks in the upper and middle wards are heavily stocked and
the herds of cattle are extensive, the favoured breeds being Ayrshire
and a cross between this and "improved Lanark." Dairy-farming
flourishes, the cheeses of Carnwath and Lesmahagow being in steady
demand. Clydesdale draught-horses are of high class. They are supposed
to have been bred from Flanders horses imported early in the 18th
century by the 5th duke of Hamilton. Most of the horses are kept for
agricultural work, but a considerable number of unbroken horses and
mares are maintained for stock. Pigs are numerous, being extensively
reared by the miners. The largest farms are situated in the Upper
Ward, but the general holding runs from 50 to 100 acres. More than
21,000 acres are under wood.
_Other Industries._--The leading industries are those in connexion
with the rich and extensive coal and iron field to the east and
southeast of Glasgow; the shipbuilding at Govan and Partick and in
Glasgow harbour; the textiles at Airdrie, Blantyre, Hamilton, Lanark,
New Lanark, Rutherglen and Glasgow; engineering at Cambuslang,
Carluke, Coatbridge, Kinning Park, Motherwell and Wishaw, and the
varied and flourishing manufactures centred in and around Glasgow.
_Communications._--In the north of the county, where population is
most dense and the mineral field exceptionally rich, railway
facilities are highly developed, there being for 10 or 12 m. around
Glasgow quite a network of lines. The Caledonian Railway Company's
main line to the south runs through the whole length of the shire,
sending off branches at several points, especially at Carstairs
Junction. The North British Railway Company serves various towns in
the lower and middle wards and its lines to Edinburgh cross the
northwestern corner and the north of the county. Only in the immediate
neighbourhood of Glasgow does the Glasgow and South Western system
compete for Lanarkshire traffic, though it combines with the
Caledonian to work the Mid-Lanarkshire and Ayrshire railway. The
Monkland Canal in the far north and the Forth and Clyde Canal in the
north and north-west carry a considerable amount of goods, and before
the days of railways afforded one of the principal means of
communication between east and west.
_Population and Administration._--The population amounted in 1891 to
1,105,899 and in 1901 to 1,339,327, or 1523 persons to the sq. m. Thus
though only tenth in point of extent, it is much the most populous
county in Scotland, containing within its bounds nearly one-third of
the population of the country. In 1901 there were 104 persons speaking
Gaelic only, and 26,905 speaking Gaelic and English. The chief towns,
with populations in 1901, apart from Glasgow, are Airdrie (22,288),
Cambuslang (12,252), Coatbridge (36,991), Govan (82,174), Hamilton
(32,775), Kinning Park (13,852), Larkhall (11,879), Motherwell
(30,418), Partick (54,298), Rutherglen (17,220), Shettleston (12,154),
Wishaw (20,873). Among smaller towns are Bellshill, Carluke, Holytown,
Lanark, Stonefield, Tollcross and Uddingston; and Lesmahagow and East
Kilbride are populous villages and mining centres. The county is
divided into six parliamentary divisions:--North-east, North-west, Mid
and South Lanark, Govan and Partick each returning one member. The
royal burghs are Glasgow, Lanark and Rutherglen; the municipal and
police burghs Airdrie, Biggar, Coatbridge, Glasgow, Govan, Hamilton,
Kinning Park, Lanark, Motherwell, Partick, Rutherglen and Wishaw.
Glasgow returns seven members to Parliament; Airdrie, Hamilton and
Lanark belong to the Falkirk group and Rutherglen to the Kilmarnock
group of parliamentary burghs. Lanarkshire is a sheriffdom, whose
sheriff-principal is confined to his judicial duties in the county,
and he has eight substitutes, five of whom sit constantly in Glasgow,
and one each at Airdrie, Hamilton and Lanark. The shire is under
school-board jurisdiction, many schools earning grants for higher
education. For advanced education, besides the university and many
other institutions in Glasgow there are a high school in Hamilton, and
technical schools at Coatbridge and Wishaw. The county council expends
the "residue" grant in supporting lectures and classes in agriculture
and agricultural chemistry, mining, dairying, cookery, laundry work,
nursery and poultry-keeping, in paying fees and railway fares and
providing bursaries for technical students, and in subsidizing science
and art and technical classes in day and evening schools. A director
of technical education is maintained by the council. Lanark,
Motherwell and Biggar entrust their shares of the grant to the county
council, and Coatbridge and Airdrie themselves subsidize science and
art and evening classes and continuation schools.
_History._--At an early period Lanarkshire was inhabited by a Celtic
tribe, the Damnonii, whose territory was divided by the wall of
Antoninus between the Forth and Clyde (remains of which are found in the
parish of Cadder), but who were never wholly subjugated by the Romans.
Traces of their fortifications, mounds and circles exist, while stone
axes, bronze celts, querns and urns belonging to their age are
occasionally unearthed. Of the Romans there are traces in the camp on
Beattock summit near Elvanfoot, in the fine bridge over the Mouse near
Lanark, in the road to the south of Strathaven, in the wall already
mentioned and in the coins and other relics that have been dug up. After
their departure the country which included Lanarkshire formed part of
the kingdom of Strathclyde, which, in the 7th century, was subdued by
Northumbrian Saxons, when great numbers of the Celts migrated into
Wales. The county once embraced a portion of Renfrewshire, but this was
disjoined in the time of Robert III. The shire was then divided into two
wards, the Over (with Lanark as its chief town) and the Nether (with
Rutherglen as its capital). The present division into three wards was
not effected till the 18th century. Independently of Glasgow,
Lanarkshire has not borne any part continuously in the general history
of Scotland, but has been the scene of several exciting episodes. Many
of Wallace's daring deeds were performed in the county, Queen Mary met
her fate at Langside (1568) and the Covenanters received constant
support from the people, defeating Claverhouse at Drumclog (1679), but
suffering defeat themselves at Bothwell Brig (1679).
See W. Hamilton, _Description of the Sheriffdoms of Lanark and
Renfrew_, Maitland Club (1831); C. V. Irving and A. Murray, _The Upper
Ward of Lanarkshire_ (Glasgow, 1864); _The Clydesdale Stud Book_
(Glasgow); W. A. Cowan, _History of Lanark_ (Lanark, 1867); _Extracts
from the Records of the Burgh of Lanark_ (Glasgow, 1893).
LANCASHIRE, a north-western county of England, bounded N.E. by
Westmorland, E. by Yorkshire, S. by Cheshire, W. by the Irish Sea and
N.W. by Cumberland. The area is 1880.2 sq. m., the county being the
sixth in size in England. The coast is generally flat, and broken by
great inlets, with wide expanses of sandy foreshore at low tide. The
chief inlets, from N. to S., are--the estuary of the river Duddon,
which, with the river itself, separates the county from Cumberland;
Morecambe Bay; and the estuaries of the Ribble and the Mersey. Morecambe
Bay receives the rivers Crake and Leven in a common estuary, and the
Kent from Westmorland; while the Lune and the Wyre discharge into
Lancaster Bay, which is only partially separated from Morecambe Bay by
the promontory of Red Nab. Morecambe Bay also detaches from the rest of
the county the district of Furness (q.v.), extending westward to the
Duddon, and having off its coast the island of Walney, 8 m. in length,
and several small isles within the strait between Walney and the
mainland. The principal seaside resorts and watering-places, from S. to
N., are Southport, Lytham, St Anne's-on-the-Sea, Blackpool, Fleetwood
and Morecambe; while at the head of Morecambe Bay are several pleasant
villages frequented by visitors, such as Arnside and Grange. Of the
rivers the Mersey (q.v.), separating the county from Cheshire, is the
principal, and receives from Lancashire the Irwell, Sankey and other
small streams. The Ribble, which rises in the mountains of the West
Riding of Yorkshire, forms for a few miles the boundary with that
county, and then flows S.W. to Preston, receiving the Hodder from the N.
and the Calder and Darwen from the S. Lancashire has a share in two of
the English districts most famous for their scenery, but does not
include the finest part of either. Furness, entirely hilly except for a
narrow coastal tract, extends N. to include the southern part of the
Lake District (q.v.); it contains Coniston Lake and borders Windermere,
which are drained respectively by the Leven and Crake, with some smaller
lakes and such mountains as the Old Man and Wetherlam. Another elevated
district, forming part of a mountainous chain stretching from the
Scottish border, covered by the name of Pennine uplands in its broader
application, runs along the whole eastern boundary of the main portion
of the county, and to the south of the Ribble occupies more than half
the area, stretching west nearly to Liverpool. The moorlands in the
southern district are generally bleak and covered with heather. Towards
the north the scenery is frequently beautiful, the green rounded
elevated ridges being separated by pleasant cultivated valleys
variegated by woods and watered by rivers. None of the summits of the
range within Lancashire attains an elevation of 2000 ft., the highest
being Blackstone Edge (1523 ft.), Pendle Hill (1831 ft.) and Boulsworth
Hill (1700 ft.).
Along the sea-coast from the Mersey to Lancaster there is a continuous
plain formerly occupied by peat mosses, many of which have been
reclaimed. The largest is Chat Moss between Liverpool and Manchester. In
some instances these mosses have exhibited the phenomenon of a moving
bog. A large district in the north belonging to the duchy of Lancaster
was at one time occupied by forests, but these have wholly disappeared,
though their existence is recalled in nomenclature, as in the Forest of
Rossendale, near the Yorkshire boundary somewhat south of the centre.
_Geology._--The greater part of Lancashire, the central and eastern
portions, is occupied by Carboniferous rocks; a broad belt of Triassic
strata fringes the west and south; while most of the detached northern
portion is made up of Silurian and Ordovician formations. The
Carboniferous system includes the great coal-field in which are
gathered all the principal manufacturing towns, Colne, Burnley,
Blackburn, Chorley, Wigan, Bolton, Preston, Oldham, Rochdale and
Manchester. In the centre of the coal-field is an elevated moorland
tract formed of the grits and shales of the Millstone Grit series.
Part of the small coal-field of Ingleton also lies within the county.
Between these two coal basins there is a moderately hilly district in
which grits and black shales predominate, with a broad tract of
limestone and shales which are well exposed in the quarries at
Clitheroe and at Longridge, Chipping, Whalley and Downham. The
limestone again appears in the north at Bolton-le-Sands,
Burton-in-Kendall, Grange, Ulverston and Dalton-in-Furness. Large
pockets of rich iron ore are worked in the limestone in the Furness
district. The belt of Trias includes the Bunter sandstone and
conglomerate, which ranges from Barrow-in-Furness, through Garstang,
Preston, Ormskirk, Liverpool, Warrington and Salford; and Keuper
marls, which underlie the surface between the Bunter outcrop and the
sea. On the coast there is a considerable development of blown sand
between Blackpool and Lytham and between Southport and Seaforth. North
of Broughton-in-Furness, Ulverston and Cartmel are the Silurian rocks
around Lakes Windermere and Coniston Water, including the Coniston
grits and flags and the Brathay flags. These rocks are bounded by the
Ordovician Coniston limestone, ranging north-east and south-west, and
the volcanic series of Borrowdale. A good deal of the solid geology is
obscured in many places by glacial drift, boulder clay and sands.
The available coal supply of Lancashire has been estimated at about
five thousand millions of tons. In 1852 the amount raised was
8,225,000 tons; in 1899 it was 24,387,475 tons. In the production of
coal Lancashire vies with Yorkshire, but each is about one-third below
Durham. There are also raised in large quantities--fireclay,
limestone, sandstone, slate and salt, which is also obtained from
brine. The red hematitic iron obtained in the Furness district is very
valuable, but is liable to decrease. The district also produces a fine
blue slate. Metals, excepting iron, are unimportant.
_Climate and Agriculture._--The climate in the hilly districts is
frequently cold, but in the more sheltered parts lying to the south
and west it is mild and genial. From its westerly situation and the
attraction of the hills there is a high rainfall in the hilly
districts (e.g. at Bolton the average is 58.71 in.), while the average
for the other districts is about 35. The soil after reclamation and
drainage is fertile; but, as it is for the most part a strong clayey
loam it requires a large amount of labour. In some districts it is
more of a peaty nature, and in the Old Red Sandstone districts of the
Mersey there is a tract of light sandy loam, easily worked, and well
adapted for wheat and potatoes. In many districts the ground has been
rendered unfit for agricultural operations by the rubbish from
coal-pits. A low proportion (about seven-tenths) of the total area is
under cultivation, and of this nearly three-fourths is in permanent
pasture, cows being largely kept for the supply of milk to the towns,
while in the uplands many sheep are reared. In addition to the
cultivated area, about 92,000 acres are under hill pasturage. A
gradual increase is noticeable in the acreage under oats, which occupy
more than seven-tenths of the area under grain crops, and in that
under wheat, to the exclusion of the cultivation of barley. Of green
crops the potato is the chief.
_Industries and Trade._--South Lancashire is the principal seat of the
cotton manufacture in the world, the trade centring upon Manchester,
Oldham and the neighbouring densely populated district. It employs
upwards of 400,000 operatives. The worsted, woollen and silk
manufactures, flax, hemp and jute industries, though of less importance,
employ considerable numbers. Non-textile factories employ about 385,000
hands. The manufacture of machines, appliances, conveyances, tools, &c.,
are very important, especially in supplying the needs of the immense
weaving and spinning industries. For the same purpose there is a large
branch of industry in the manufacture of bobbins from the wood grown in
the northern districts of the county. Of industries principally confined
to certain definite centres there may be mentioned--the manufacture of
iron and steel at Barrow-in-Furness, a town of remarkably rapid growth
since the middle of the 19th century; the great glass works at St
Helens; the watch-making works at Prescot and the leather works at
Warrington. Printing, bleaching and dyeing works, paper and chemical
works, india-rubber and tobacco manufactures are among the chief of the
other resources of this great industrial region. Besides the port of
Liverpool, of worldwide importance, the principal ports are Manchester,
brought into communication with the sea by the Manchester Ship Canal
opened in 1894, Barrow-in-Furness and Fleetwood, while Preston and
Lancaster have docks and a considerable shipping trade by the rivers
Lune and Ribble respectively. The sea fisheries, for which Fleetwood and
Liverpool are the chief ports, are of considerable value.
[Illustration: Map of Lancashire.]
_Communications._--Apart from the Manchester Ship Canal, canal-traffic
plays an important part in the industrial region. In 1760 the Sankey
canal, 10 m. long, the first canal opened in Britain (apart from very
early works), was constructed to carry coal from St Helens to
Liverpool. Shortly afterwards the duke of Bridgewater projected the
great canal from Manchester across the Irwell to Worsley, completed in
1761 and bearing the name of its originator. The Leeds and Liverpool
canal, begun in 1770, connects Liverpool and other important towns
with Leeds by a circuitous route of 130 m. The other principal canals
are the Rochdale, the Manchester (to Huddersfield) and the Lancaster,
connecting Preston and Kendal. A short canal connects Ulverston with
Morecambe Bay. A network of railways covers the industrial region. The
main line of the London and North Western railway enters the county at
Warrington, and runs north through Wigan, Preston, Lancaster and
Carnforth. It also serves Liverpool and Manchester, providing the
shortest route to each of these cities from London, and shares with
the Lancashire and Yorkshire company joint lines to Southport, to
Blackpool and to Fleetwood, whence there is regular steamship
communication with Belfast. The Lancashire and Yorkshire line serves
practically all the important centres as far north as Preston and
Fleetwood. All the northern trunk lines from London have services to
Manchester and Liverpool. The Cheshire Lines system, worked by a
committee of the Great Northern, Great Central and Midland companies,
links their systems with the South Lancashire district generally, and
maintains lines between Liverpool and Manchester, both these cities
with Southport, and numerous branches. Branches of the Midland railway
from its main line in Yorkshire serve Lancaster, Morecambe, and
Heysham and Carnforth, where connexion is made with the Furness
railway to Ulverston, Barrow, Lake Side, Coniston, &c.
_Population and Administration._--The area of the ancient county is
1,203,365 acres. Its population in 1801 was 673,486; in 1891, 3,926,760;
and in 1901, 4,406,409. The area of the administrative county is
1,196,753 acres. The distribution of the industrial population may be
best appreciated by showing the parliamentary divisions, parliamentary,
county and municipal boroughs and urban districts as placed among the
four divisions of the ancient county. In the case of urban districts the
name of the great town to which each is near or adjacent follows where
necessary. The figures show population in 1901.
NORTHERN DIVISION.--This embraces almost all the county N. of the
Ribble, including Furness, and a small area S. of the Ribble estuary.
It is considerably the largest of the divisions. _Parliamentary
divisions_, from N. to S.--North Lonsdale, Lancaster, Blackpool,
Chorley. _Parliamentary, county and municipal
boroughs_--Barrow-in-Furness (57,586; one member); Preston (112,989;
two members). _Municipal boroughs_--Blackpool (county borough;
47,348), Chorley (26,852), Lancaster (40,329; county town), Morecambe
(11,798). _Urban districts_--Adlington (4523; Chorley),
Bispham-with-Norbreck (Blackpool), Carnforth (3040; Lancaster),
Croston (2102; Chorley), Dalton-in-Furness (13,020), Fleetwood
(12,082), Fulwood (5238; Preston), Grange (1993), Heysham (3381;
Morecambe), Kirkham (3693; Preston), Leyland (6865; Chorley),
Longridge (4304; Preston), Lytham (7185), Poulon-le-Fylde (2223;
Blackpool). Preesall-with-Hackinsall (1423; Fleetwood), St
Anne's-on-the-Sea (6838, a watering-place between Blackpool and
Lytham), Thornton (3108; Fleetwood), Ulverston (10,064, in Furness),
Withnell (3349; Chorley).
NORTH-EASTERN-DIVISION.--This lies E. of Preston, and is the smallest
of the four. _Parliamentary divisions_--Accrington, Clitheroe, Darwen,
Rossendale. _Parliamentary, county and municipal boroughs_--Blackburn
(127,626; two members); Burnley (97,043; one member). _Municipal
boroughs_--Accrington (43,122), Bacup (22,505), Clitheroe (11,414),
Colne (23,000), Darwen (38,212), Haslingden (18,543, extending into
South-Eastern division), Nelson (32,816), Rawtenstall (31,053). _Urban
districts_--Barrowford (4959; Colne), Brierfield (7288; Burnley),
Church (6463; Accrington), Clayton-le-Moors (8153; Accrington), Great
Harwood (12,015; Blackburn), Oswaldtwistle (14,192; Blackburn),
Padiham (12,205; Burnley), Rishton (7031; Blackburn), Trawden (2641;
Colne), Walton-le-Dale (11,271; Preston).
SOUTH-WESTERN DIVISION.--This division represents roughly a quadrant
with radius of 20 m. drawn from Liverpool. _Parliamentary
divisions_--Bootle, Ince, Leigh, Newton, Ormskirk, Southport, Widnes.
_Parliamentary boroughs_--the city and county and municipal borough of
Liverpool (684,958; nine members); the county and municipal boroughs
of St Helens (84,410; one member); Wigan (60,764; one member),
Warrington (64,242; a part only of the parliamentary borough is in
this county). _Municipal boroughs_--Bootle (58,566), Leigh (40,001),
Southport (county borough; 48,083), Widnes (28,580). _Urban
districts_--Abram (6306; Wigan), Allerton (1101; Liverpool),
Ashton-in-Makerfield (18,687), Atherton (16,211), Billinge (4232;
Wigan), Birkdale (14,197; Southport), Childwall (219; Liverpool),
Formby (6060), Golborne (6789; St Helens), Great Crosby (7555;
Liverpool), Haydock (8575; St Helens), Hindley (23,504; Wigan),
Huyton-with-Roby (4661; St Helens), Ince-in-Makerfield (21,262),
Lathom-and-Burscough (7113; Ormskirk), Litherland (10,592; Liverpool),
Little Crosby (563; Liverpool), Little Woolton (1091; Liverpool), Much
Woolton (4731; Liverpool), Newton-in-Makerfield (16,699), Ormskirk
(6857), Orrell (5436; Wigan), Prescot (7855; St Helens), Rainford
(3359; St Helens), Skelmersdale (5699; Ormskirk),
Standish-with-Langtree (6303; Wigan), Tyldesley-with-Shakerley
(14,843), Upholland (4773; Wigan), Waterloo-with-Seaforth (23,102;
Liverpool).
SOUTH-EASTERN DIVISION.--This is of about the same area as the
South-Western division, and it constitutes the heart of the industrial
region. _Parliamentary divisions_--Eccles, Gorton, Heywood, Middleton,
Prestwich, Radcliffe-cum-Farnworth, Stretford, Westhoughton.
_Parliamentary boroughs_--the city and county of a city of Manchester
(543,872; six members); with which should be correlated the adjoining
county and municipal borough of Salford (220,957; three members), also
the county and municipal boroughs of Bolton (168,215; two members),
Bury (58,029; one member), Rochdale (83,114; one member), Oldham
(137,246; two members), and the municipal borough of Ashton-under-Lyne
(43,890). Part only of the last parliamentary borough is within the
county, and this division also contains part of the parliamentary
boroughs of Stalybridge and Stockport. _Municipal boroughs_--Eccles
(34,369), Heywood (25,458), Middleton (25,178), Mossley (13,452).
_Urban districts_--Aspull (8388; Wigan), Audenshaw (7216;
Ashton-under-Lyne), Blackrod (3875; Wigan), Chadderton (24,892;
Oldham), Crompton (13,427; Oldham), Denton (14,934;
Ashton-under-Lyne), Droylsden (11,087; Manchester), Failsworth
(14,152; Manchester), Farnworth (25,925; Bolton), Gorton (26,564;
Manchester), Heaton Norris (9474; Stockport). Horwich (15,084;
Bolton), Hurst (7145; Ashton-under-Lyne), Irlam (4335; Eccles),
Kearsley (9218; Bolton), Lees (3621; Oldham), Levenshulme (11,485;
Manchester), Littleborough (11,166; Rochdale), Little Hulton (7294;
Bolton), Little Lever (5119; Bolton), Milnrow (8241; Rochdale), Norden
(3907; Rochdale), Prestwich (12,839; Manchester), Radcliffe (25,368;
Bury), Ramsbottom (15,920; Bury), Royton (14,881; Oldham), Stretford
(30,436; Manchester), Swinton-and-Pendlebury (27,005; Manchester),
Tottington (6118; Bury), Turton (12,355; Bolton), Urmston (6594;
Manchester), Wardle (4427; Rochdale), Westhoughton (14,377; Bolton),
Whitefield or Stand (6588; Bury), Whitworth (9578; Rochdale), Worsley
(12,462; Eccles).
Lancashire is one of the counties palatine. It is attached to the duchy
of Lancaster, a crown office, and retains the chancery court for the
county palatine. The chancery of the duchy of Lancaster was once a court
of appeal for the chancery of the county palatine, but now even its
jurisdiction in regard to the estates of the duchy is merely nominal.
The chancery of the county palatine has concurrent jurisdiction with the
High Court of Chancery in all matters of equity within the county
palatine, and independent jurisdiction in regard to a variety of other
matters. The county palatine comprises six hundreds.
Lancashire is in the northern circuit, and assizes are held at
Lancaster for the north, and at Liverpool and Manchester for the south
of the county. There is one court of quarter sessions, and the county
is divided into 33 petty sessional divisions. The boroughs of
Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Salford and
Wigan have separate commissions of the peace and courts of quarter
sessions; and those of Accrington, Ashton-under-Lyne,
Barrow-in-Furness, Blackpool, Bolton, Bury, Clitheroe, Colne, Darwen,
Eccles, Heywood, Lancaster, Middleton, Mossley, Nelson, Preston,
Rochdale, St Helens, Southport and Warrington have separate
commissions of the peace only. There are 430 civil parishes.
Lancashire is mainly in the diocese of Manchester, but parts are in
those of Liverpool, Carlisle, Ripon, Chester and Wakefield. There are
787 ecclesiastical parishes or districts wholly or in part within the
county.
Manchester and Liverpool are each seats of a university and of other
important educational institutions. Within the bounds of the county
there are many denominational colleges, and near Clitheroe is the
famous Roman Catholic college of Stonyhurst. There is a day training
college for schoolmasters in connexion with University College,
Liverpool, and a day training college for both schoolmasters and
schoolmistresses in connexion with Owens College, Manchester. At
Edgehill, Liverpool, there is a residential training college for
schoolmistresses which takes day pupils, at Liverpool a residential
Roman Catholic training college for schoolmasters, and at Warrington a
residential training college (Chester, Manchester and Liverpool
diocesan) for schoolmistresses.
_History._--The district afterwards known as Lancashire was after the
departure of the Romans for many years apparently little better than a
waste. It was not until the victory of Æthelfrith, king of Deira, near
Chester in 613 cut off the Britons of Wales from those of Lancashire and
Cumberland that even Lancashire south of the Ribble was conquered. The
part north of the Ribble was not absorbed in the Northumbrian kingdom
till the reign of Ecgfrith (670-685). Of the details of this long
struggle we know nothing, but to the stubborn resistance made by the
British leaders are due the legends of Arthur; and of the twelve great
battles he is supposed to have fought against the English, four are
traditionally, though probably erroneously, said to have taken place on
the river Douglas near Wigan. In the long struggle for supremacy between
Mercia and Northumbria, the country between the Mersey and Ribble was
sometimes under one, sometimes under the other kingdom. During the 9th
century Lancashire was constantly invaded by the Danes, and after the
peace of Wedmore (878) it was included in the Danish kingdom of
Northumbria. The _A.S. Chronicle_ records the reconquest of the district
between the Ribble and Mersey in 923 by the English king, when it
appears to have been severed from the kingdom of Northumbria and united
to Mercia, but the districts north of the Ribble now comprised in the
county belonged to Northumbria until its incorporation with the kingdom
of England. The names on the Lancashire coast ending in _by_, such as
Crosby, Formby, Roby, Kirkby, Derby, show where the Danish settlements
were thickest. William the Conqueror gave the lands between the Ribble
and Mersey, and Amounderness to Roger de Poictou, but at the time of
Domesday Book these had passed out of his hand and belonged to the king.
The name Lancashire does not appear in Domesday; the lands between the
Ribble and Mersey were included in Cheshire and those north of the
Ribble in Yorkshire. Roger de Poictou soon regained his lands, and Rufus
added to his possessions the rest of Lonsdale south of the Sands, of
which he already held a part; and as he had the Furness fells as well,
he owned all that is now known as Lancashire. In 1102 he finally
forfeited all his lands, which Henry I. held till, in 1118, he created
the honour of Lancaster by incorporating with Roger's forfeited lands
certain escheated manors in the counties of Nottingham, Derby and
Lincoln, and certain royal manors, and bestowed it upon his nephew
Stephen, afterwards king. During Stephen's reign the history of the
honour presents certain difficulties, for David of Scotland held the
lands north of the Ribble for a time, and in 1147 the earl of Chester
held the district between the Ribble and Mersey. Henry II. gave the
whole honour to William, Stephen's son, but in 1164 it came again into
the king's hands until 1189, when Richard I. granted it to his brother
John. In 1194, owing to John's rebellion, it was confiscated and the
honour remained with the crown till 1267. In 1229, however, all the
crown demesne between the Ribble and Mersey was granted to Ranulf, earl
of Chester, and on his death in 1232 came to William Ferrers, earl of
Derby, in right of his wife Agnes, sister and co-heir of Ranulf. The
Ferrers held it till 1266, when it was confiscated owing to the earl's
rebellion. In 1267 Henry III. granted the honour and county and all the
royal demesne therein to his son Edmund, who was created earl of
Lancaster. His son, Earl Thomas, married the heiress of Henry de Lacy,
earl of Lincoln, and thus obtained the great estates belonging to the de
Lacys in Lancashire. On the death of Henry, the first duke of Lancaster,
in 1361, the estates, title and honour fell to John of Gaunt in right of
his wife Blanche, the duke's elder daughter, and by the accession of
Henry IV., John of Gaunt's only son, to the throne, the duchy and honour
became merged in the crown.
The county of Lancaster is first mentioned in 1169 as contributing 100
marks to the Royal Exchequer for defaults and fines. The creation of the
honour decided the boundaries, throwing into it Furness and Cartmel,
which geographically belong to Westmorland; Lonsdale and Amounderness,
which in Domesday had been surveyed under Yorkshire; and the land
between the Ribble and Mersey. In Domesday this district south of the
Ribble was divided into the six hundreds of West Derby, Newton,
Warrington, Blackburn, Salford and Leyland, but before Henry II.'s reign
the hundreds of Warrington and Newton were absorbed in that of West
Derby. Neither Amounderness nor Lonsdale was called a hundred in
Domesday, but soon after that time the former was treated as a hundred.
Ecclesiastically the whole of the county originally belonged to the
diocese of York, but after the reconquest of the district between the
Ribble and Mersey in 923 this part was placed under the bishop of
Lichfield in the archdeaconry of Chester, which was subdivided into the
rural deaneries of Manchester, Warrington and Leyland. Up to 1541 the
district north of the Ribble belonged to the archdeaconry of Richmond in
the diocese of York, and was subdivided into the rural deaneries of
Amounderness, Lonsdale and Coupland. In 1541 the diocese of Chester was
created, including all Lancashire, which was divided into two
archdeaconries: Chester, comprising the rural deaneries of Manchester,
Warrington and Blackburn, and Richmond, comprising the deaneries of
Amounderness, Furness, Lonsdale and Kendal. In 1847 the diocese of
Manchester was created, which included all Lancashire except parts of
West Derby, which still belonged to the diocese of Chester, and Furness
and Cartmel, which were added to Carlisle in 1856. In 1878 by the
creation of the diocese of Liverpool the south-eastern part of the
county was subtracted from the Manchester diocese.
No shire court was ever held for the county, but as a duchy and county
palatine it has its own special courts. It may have enjoyed palatine
jurisdiction under Earl Morcar before the Conquest, but these
privileges, if ever exercised, remained in abeyance till 1351, when
Henry, duke of Lancaster, received power to have a chancery in the
county of Lancaster and to issue writs therefrom under his own seal, as
well touching pleas of the crown as any other relating to the common
laws, and to have all _Jura Regalia_ belonging to a county palatine. In
1377 the county was erected into a palatinate for John of Gaunt's life,
and in 1390 these rights of jurisdiction were extended and settled in
perpetuity on the dukes of Lancaster. The county palatine courts consist
of a chancery which dates back at least to 1376, a court of common
pleas, the jurisdiction of which was transferred in 1873 by the
Judicature Act to the high court of justice, and a court of criminal
jurisdiction which in no way differs from the king's ordinary court. In
1407 the duchy court of Lancaster was created, in which all questions of
revenue and dignities affecting the duchy possessions are settled. The
chancery of the duchy has been for years practically obsolete. The duchy
and county palatine each has its own seal. The office of chancellor of
the duchy and county palatine dates back to 1351.
Lancashire is famed for the number of old and important county
families living within its borders. The most intimately connected with
the history of the county are the Stanleys, whose chief seat is
Knowsley Hall. Sir John Stanley early in the 15th century married the
heiress of Lathom and thus obtained possession of Lathom and Knowsley.
In 1456 the head of the family was created a peer by the title of
Baron Stanley and in 1485 raised to the earldom of Derby. The
Molyneuxes of Sephton and Croxteth are probably descended from William
de Molines, who came to England with William the Conqueror, and is on
the roll of Battle Abbey. Roger de Poictou gave him the manor of
Sephton, and Richard de Molyneux who held the estate under Henry II.
is undoubtedly an ancestor of the family. In 1628 Sir Richard Molyneux
was advanced to the peerage of Ireland by the title of Viscount
Maryborough, and in 1771 Charles, Lord Maryborough, became earl of
Sefton in the peerage of Ireland. His son was created a peer of the
United Kingdom as Baron Sefton of Croxteth. The Bootle Wilbrahams,
earls of Lathom, are, it is said, descended from John Botyll of
Melling, who was alive in 1421, and from the Wilbrahams of Cheshire,
who date back at least to Henry III.'s reign. In 1755 the two families
intermarried. In 1828 the title of Baron Skelmersdale was bestowed on
the head of the family and in 1880 that of earl of Lathorn. The
Gerards of Bryn are said to be descended from an old Tuscan family,
one of whom came to England in Edward the Confessor's time, and whose
son is mentioned in Domesday. Bryn came into this family by marriage
early in the 14th century. Sir Thomas Gerard was created a baronet by
James I. in 1611, and in 1876 a peerage was conferred on Sir Robert
Gerard. The Gerards of Ince were a collateral branch. The Lindsays,
earls of Crawford and Balcarres, are representative on the female side
of the Bradshaighs of Haigh Hall, who are said to be of Saxon origin.
Other great Lancashire families are the Hoghtons of Hoghton Tower,
dating back to the 12th century, the Blundells of Ince Blundell, who
are said to have held the manor since the 12th century, now
represented by the Weld-Blundells, the Tyldesleys of Tyldesley, now
extinct, and the Butlers of Bewsey, barons of Warrington, of whom the
last male heir died in 1586.
At the close of the 12th and during the 13th century there was a
considerable advance in the importance of the towns; in 1199 Lancaster
became a borough, in 1207 Liverpool, in 1230 Salford, in 1246 Wigan, and
in 1301 Manchester. The Scottish wars were a great drain to the county,
not only because the north part was subject to frequent invasions, as in
1322, but because some of the best blood was taken for these wars. In
1297 Lancashire raised 1000 men, and at the battle of Falkirk (1298)
1000 Lancashire soldiers were in the vanguard, led by Henry de Lacy,
earl of Lincoln. In 1349 the county was visited by the Black Death and a
record exists of its ravages in Amounderness. In ten parishes between
September 1349 and January 1350, 13,180 persons perished. At Preston
3000 died, at Lancaster 3000, at Garstang 2000 and at Kirkham 3000. From
the effects of this plague Lancashire was apparently slow to recover;
its boroughs ceased to return members early in the 14th century and
trade had not yet made any great advance. The drain of the Wars of the
Roses on the county must also have been heavy, although none of the
battles was fought within its borders; Lord Stanley's force of 5000
raised in Lancashire and Cheshire virtually decided the battle of
Bosworth Field. The poverty of the county is shown by the fact that out
of £40,000 granted in 1504 by parliament to the king, Lancashire's share
was only £318. At the battle of Flodden (1513) the Lancashire archers
led by Sir Edward Stanley almost totally destroyed the Highlanders on
the right Scottish wing and greatly contributed to the victory. Under
the Tudors the county prospered; the parliamentary boroughs once more
began to return members, the towns increased in size, many halls were
built by the gentry and trade increased.
In 1617 James I. visited Lancashire, and in consequence of a petition
presented to him at Hoghton, complaining of the restrictions imposed
upon Sunday amusements, he issued in 1618 the famous _Book of Sports_.
Another of James's works, the _Daemonologie_, is closely connected
with the gross superstitions concerning witches which were specially
prevalent in Lancashire. The great centre of this witchcraft was
Pendle Forest, in the parish of Whalley, and in 1612 twelve persons
from Pendle and eight from Samlesbury were tried for witchcraft, nine
of whom were hanged. In 1633 another batch of seventeen witches from
Pendle were tried and all sentenced to be executed, but the king
pardoned them. This was the last important case of witchcraft in
Lancashire.
In the assessment of ship money in 1636 the county was put down for
£1000, towards which Wigan was to raise £50, Preston £40, Lancaster £30,
and Liverpool £25, and these figures compared with the assessments of
£140 on Hull and £200 on Leeds show the comparative unimportance of the
Lancashire boroughs. On the eve of the Great Rebellion in 1641
parliament resolved to take command of the militia, and Lord Strange,
Lord Derby's eldest son, was removed from the lord lieutenancy. On the
whole, the county was Royalist, and the moving spirit among the
Royalists was Lord Strange, who became Lord Derby in 1642. Manchester
was the headquarters of the Parliamentarians, and was besieged by Lord
Derby in September 1642 for seven days, but not taken. Lord Derby
himself took up his headquarters at Warrington and garrisoned Wigan. At
the opening of 1643 Sir Thomas Fairfax made Manchester his headquarters.
Early in February the Parliamentarians from Manchester successfully
assaulted Preston, which was strongly Royalist; thence the
Parliamentarians marched to Hoghton Tower, which they took, and within a
few days captured Lancaster. On the Royalist side Lord Derby made an
unsuccessful attack on Bolton from Wigan. In March a large Spanish ship,
laden with ammunition for the use of parliament, was driven by a storm
on Rossall Point and seized by the Royalists; Lord Derby ordered the
ship to be burned, but the parliament forces from Preston succeeded in
carrying off some of the guns to Lancaster castle. In March Lord Derby
captured the town of Lancaster but not the castle, and marching to
Preston regained it for the king, but was repulsed in an attack on
Bolton. In April Wigan, one of the chief Royalist strongholds in the
county, was taken by the parliament forces, who also again captured
Lancaster, and the guns from the Spanish ship were moved for use against
Warrington, which was obliged to surrender in May after a week's siege.
Lord Derby also failed in an attempt on Liverpool, and the tide of war
had clearly turned against the Royalists in Lancashire. In June Lord
Derby went to the Isle of Man, which was threatened by the king's
enemies. Soon after, the Parliamentarians captured Hornby castle, and
only two strongholds, Thurland castle and Lathom house, remained in
Royalist hands. In the summer, after a seven weeks' siege by Colonel
Alexander Rigby, Thurland castle surrendered and was demolished. In
February 1644 the Parliamentarians, under Colonel Rigby, Colonel Ashton
and Colonel Moore, besieged Lathom house, the one refuge left to the
Royalists, which was bravely defended by Lord Derby's heroic wife,
Charlotte de la Trémoille. The siege lasted nearly four months and was
raised on the approach of Prince Rupert, who marched to Bolton and was
joined on his arrival outside the town by Lord Derby. Bolton was carried
by storm; Rupert ordered that no quarter should be given, and it is
usually said at least 1500 of the garrison were slain. Prince Rupert
advanced without delay to Liverpool, which was defended by Colonel
Moore, and took it after a siege of three weeks. After the battle of
Marston Moor Prince Rupert again appeared in Lancashire and small
engagements took place at Ormskirk, Upholland and Preston; in November
Liverpool surrendered to the Parliamentarians. Lathom house was again
the only strong place in Lancashire left to the Royalists, and in
December 1645 after a five months' siege it was compelled to surrender
through lack of provisions, and was almost entirely destroyed. For the
moment the war in Lancashire was over. In 1648, however, the Royalist
forces under the duke of Hamilton and Sir Marmaduke Langdale marched
through Lancaster to Preston, hoping to reach Manchester; but near
Preston were defeated by Cromwell in person. The remnant retreated
through Wigan towards Warrington, and after being again defeated at
Winwick surrendered at Warrington. In 1651 Charles II. advanced through
Lancaster, Preston and Chorley on his southward march, and Lord Derby
after gathering forces was on his way to meet him when he was defeated
at Wigan. In 1658, after Cromwell's death, a Royalist rebellion was
raised in which Lancashire took a prominent part, but it was quickly
suppressed. During the Rebellion of 1715 Manchester was the chief centre
of Roman Catholic and High Church Toryism. On the 7th of November the
Scottish army entered Lancaster, where the Pretender was proclaimed
king, and advanced to Preston, at which place a considerable body of
Roman Catholics joined it. The rebels remained at Preston a few days,
apparently unaware of the advance of the government troops, until
General Wills from Manchester and General Carpenter from Lancaster
surrounded the town, and on the 13th of November the town and the rebel
garrison surrendered. Several of the rebels were hanged at Preston,
Wigan, Lancaster and other places. In 1745 Prince Charles Edward passed
through the county and was joined by about 200 adherents, called the
Manchester regiment and placed under the command of Colonel Townley, who
was afterwards executed.
The first industry established in Lancashire was that of wool, and with
the founding of Furness abbey in 1127 wool farming on a large scale
began here, but the bulk of the wool grown was exported, not worked up
in England. In 1282, however, there was a mill for fulling or bleaching
wool in Manchester, and by the middle of the 16th century there was
quite a flourishing trade in worsted goods. In an act of 1552 Manchester
"rugs and frizes" are specially mentioned, and in 1566 another act
regulated the fees of the aulnager who was to have his deputies at
Manchester, Rochdale, Bolton, Blackburn and Bury; the duty of the
aulnagers was to prevent "cottons, frizes and rugs" from being sold
unsealed, but it must be noted that by cottons is not meant what we now
understand by the word, but woollen goods. The 17th century saw the
birth of the class of clothiers, who purchased the wool in large
quantities or kept their own sheep, and delivered it to weavers who
worked it up into cloth in their houses and returned it to the
employers. The earliest mention of the manufacture of real cotton goods
is in 1641, when Manchester made fustians, vermilions and dimities, but
the industry did not develop to any extent until after the invention of
the fly shuttle by John Kay in 1733, of the spinning jenny by James
Hargreaves of Blackburn in 1765, of the water frame throstle by Richard
Arkwright of Bolton in 1769, and of the mule by Samuel Crompton of
Hall-in-the-Wood near Bolton in 1779. So rapid was the development of
the cotton manufacture that in 1787 there were over forty cotton mills
in Lancashire, all worked by water power. In 1789, however, steam was
applied to the industry in Manchester, and in 1790 in Bolton a cotton
mill was worked by steam. The increase in the import of raw cotton from
3,870,000 lb. in 1769 to 1,083,600,000 in 1860 shows the growth of the
industry. The rapid growth was accompanied with intermittent periods of
depression, which in 1819 in particular led to the formation of various
political societies and to the Blanketeers' Meeting and the Peterloo
Massacre. During the American Civil War the five years' cotton famine
caused untold misery in the county, but public and private relief
mitigated the evils, and one good result was the introduction of
machinery capable of dealing with the shorter staple of Indian cotton,
thus rendering the trade less dependent for its supplies on America.
During the 18th century the only town where maritime trade increased was
Liverpool, where in the last decade about 4500 ships arrived annually of
a tonnage about one-fifth that of the London shipping. The prosperity of
Liverpool was closely bound up with the slave trade, and about
one-fourth of its ships were employed in this business. With the
increase of trade the means of communication improved. In 1758 the duke
of Bridgewater began the Bridgewater canal from Worsley to Salford and
across the Irwell to Manchester, and before the end of the century the
county was intersected by canals. In 1830 the first railway in England
was opened between Manchester and Liverpool, and other railways rapidly
followed.
The first recorded instance of parliamentary representation in
Lancashire was in 1295, when two knights were returned for the county
and two burgesses each for the boroughs of Lancaster, Preston, Wigan
and Liverpool. The sheriff added to this return "There is no city in
the county of Lancaster." The boroughs were, however, excused one
after another from parliamentary representation, which was felt as a
burden owing to the compulsory payment of the members' wages.
Lancaster ceased to send members in 1331 after making nineteen
returns, but renewed its privileges in 1529; from 1529 to 1547 there
are no parliamentary returns, but from 1547 to 1867 Lancaster
continued to return two members. Preston similarly was excused after
1331, after making eleven returns, but in 1529 and from 1547 onwards
returned two members. Liverpool and Wigan sent members in 1295 and
1307, but not again till 1547. To the writ issued in 1362 the sheriff
in his return says: "There is not any City or Borough in this County
from which citizens or burgesses ought or are accustomed to come as
this Writ requires." In 1559 Clitheroe and Newton-le-Willows first
sent two members. Thus in all Lancashire returned fourteen members,
and, with a brief exception during the Commonwealth, this continued to
be the parliamentary representation till 1832. By the Reform Act of
1832 Lancashire was assigned four members, two for the northern and
two for the southern division. Lancaster, Preston, Wigan and Liverpool
continued to send two members, Clitheroe returned one and Newton was
disfranchised. The following new boroughs were created: Manchester,
Bolton, Blackburn, Oldham, returning two members each;
Ashton-under-Lyne, Bury, Rochdale, Salford and Warrington, one each.
In 1861 a third member was given to South Lancashire and in 1867 the
county was divided into four constituencies, to each of which four
members were assigned; since 1885 the county returns twenty-three
members. The boroughs returned from 1867 to 1885 twenty-five members,
and since 1885 thirty-four.
_Antiquities._--The Cistercian abbey of Furness (q.v.) is one of the
finest and most extensive ecclesiastical ruins in England. Whalley
abbey, first founded at Stanlawe in Cheshire in 1178, and removed in
1296, belonged to the same order. There was a priory of Black Canons
at Burscough, founded in the time of Richard I., one at Conishead
dating from Henry II.'s reign, and one at Lancaster. A convent of
Augustinian friars was founded at Cartmel in 1188, and one at
Warrington about 1280. There are some remains of the Benedictine
priory of Upholland, changed from a college of secular priests in
1318; and the same order had a priory at Lancaster founded in 1094, a
cell at Lytham, of the reign of Richard I., and a priory at
Penwortham, founded shortly after the time of the Conqueror. The
Premonstratensians had Cockersand abbey, changed in 1190 from a
hospital founded in the reign of Henry II., of which the chapter-house
remains. At Kersal, near Manchester, there was a cell of Cluniac monks
founded in the reign of John, while at Lancaster there were convents
of Dominicans and Franciscans, and at Preston a priory of Grey Friars
built by Edmund, earl of Lancaster, son of Henry III.
Besides the churches mentioned under the several towns, the more
interesting are those of Aldingham, Norman doorway; Aughton; Cartmel
priory church (see Furness); Hawkshead; Heysham, Norman with traces of
earlier date; Hoole; Huyton; Kirkby, rebuilt, with very ancient font;
Kirkby Ireleth, late Perpendicular, with Norman doorway; Leyland;
Melling (in Lonsdale), Perpendicular, with stained-glass windows;
Middleton, rebuilt in 1524, but containing part of the Norman church
and several monuments; Ormskirk, Perpendicular with traces of Norman,
having two towers, one of which is detached and surmounted by a spire;
Overton, with Norman doorway; Radcliffe, Norman; Sefton,
Perpendicular, with fine brass and recumbent figures of the Molyneux
family, also a screen exquisitely carved; Stidd, near Ribchester,
Norman arch and old monuments; Tunstall, late Perpendicular; Upholland
priory church, Early English, with low massy tower; Urswick, Norman,
with embattled tower and several old monuments; Walton-on-the-hill,
anciently the parish church of Liverpool; Walton-le-Dale; Warton, with
old font; Whalley abbey church, Decorated and Perpendicular, with
Runic stone monuments.
The principal old castles are those of Lancaster; Dalton, a small rude
tower occupying the site of an older building; two towers of Gleaston
castle, built by the lords of Aldingham in the 14th century; the ruins
of Greenhalgh castle, built by the first earl of Derby, and demolished
after a siege by order of parliament in 1649; the ruins of Fouldrey in
Piel Island near the entrance to Barrow harbour, erected in the reign
of Edward III., now most dilapidated. There are many old timber houses
and mansions of interest, as well as numerous modern seats.
See _Victoria History of Lancashire_ (1906-1907); E. Baines, _The
History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster_ (1888); H.
Fishwick, _A History of Lancashire_ (1894); W. D. Pink and A. B.
Beavan, _The Parliamentary Representation of Lancashire_ (1889).
LANCASTER, HOUSE OF. The name House of Lancaster is commonly used to
designate the line of English kings immediately descended from John of
Gaunt, the fourth son of Edward III. But the history of the family and
of the title goes back to the reign of Henry III., who created his
second son, Edmund, earl of Lancaster in 1267. This Edmund received in
his own day the surname of Crouchback, not, as was afterwards supposed,
from a personal deformity, but from having worn a cross upon his back in
token of a crusading vow. He is not a person of much importance in
history except in relation to a strange theory raised in a later age
about his birth, which we shall notice presently. His son Thomas, who
inherited the title, took the lead among the nobles of Edward II.'s time
in opposition to Piers Gaveston and the Despensers, and was beheaded for
treason at Pontefract. At the commencement of the following reign his
attainder was reversed and his brother Henry restored to the earldom;
and Henry being appointed guardian to the young king Edward III.,
assisted him to throw off the yoke of Mortimer. On this Henry's death in
1345 he was succeeded by a son of the same name, sometimes known as
Henry Tort-Col or Wryneck, a very valiant commander in the French wars,
whom the king advanced to the dignity of a duke. Only one duke had been
created in England before, and that was fourteen years previously, when
the king's son Edward, the Black Prince, was made duke of Cornwall. This
Henry Wryneck died in 1361 without heir male. His second daughter,
Blanche, became the wife of John of Gaunt, who thus succeeded to the
duke's inheritance in her right; and on the 13th of November 1362, when
King Edward attained the age of fifty, John was created duke of
Lancaster, his elder brother, Lionel, being at the same time created
duke of Clarence. It was from these two dukes that the rival houses of
Lancaster and York derived their respective claims to the crown. As
Clarence was King Edward's third son, while John of Gaunt was his
fourth, in ordinary course on the failure of the elder line the issue of
Clarence should have taken precedence of that of Lancaster in the
succession. But the rights of Clarence were conveyed in the first
instance to an only daughter, and the ambition and policy of the house
of Lancaster, profiting by advantageous circumstances, enabled them not
only to gain possession of the throne but to maintain themselves in it
for three generations before they were dispossessed by the
representatives of the elder brother.
As for John of Gaunt himself, it can hardly be said that this sort of
politic wisdom is very conspicuous in him. His ambition was generally
more manifest than his discretion; but fortune favoured his ambition,
even as to himself, somewhat beyond expectation, and still more in his
posterity. Before the death of his father he had become the greatest
subject in England, his three elder brothers having all died before him.
He had even added to his other dignities the title of king of Castile,
having married, after his first wife's death, the daughter of Peter the
Cruel. The title, however, was an empty one, the throne of Castile being
actually in the possession of Henry of Trastamara, whom the English had
vainly endeavoured to set aside. His military and naval enterprises were
for the most part disastrous failures, and in England he was exceedingly
unpopular. Nevertheless, during the later years of his father's reign
the weakness of the king and the declining health of the Black Prince
threw the government very much into his hands. He even aimed, or was
suspected of aiming, at the succession to the crown; but in this hope he
was disappointed by the action of the Good Parliament a year before
Edward's death, in which it was settled that Richard the son of the
Black Prince should be king after his grandfather. Nevertheless the
suspicion with which he was regarded was not altogether quieted when
Richard came to the throne, a boy in the eleventh year of his age. The
duke himself complained in parliament of the way he was spoken of out of
doors, and at the outbreak of Wat Tyler's insurrection the peasants
stopped pilgrims on the road to Canterbury and made them swear never to
accept a king of the name of John. On gaining possession of London they
burnt his magnificent palace of the Savoy. Richard found a convenient
way to get rid of John of Gaunt by sending him to Castile to make good
his barren title, and on this expedition he was away three years. He
succeeded so far as to make a treaty with his rival, King John, son of
Henry of Trastamara, for the succession, by virtue of which his
daughter Catherine became the wife of Henry III. of Castile some years
later. After his return the king seems to have regarded him with greater
favour, created him duke of Aquitaine, and employed him in repeated
embassies to France, which at length resulted in a treaty of peace, and
Richard's marriage to the French king's daughter.
Another marked incident of his public life was the support which he gave
on one occasion to the Reformer Wycliffe. How far this was due to
religious and how far to political considerations may be a question; but
not only John of Gaunt but his immediate descendants, the three kings of
the house of Lancaster, all took deep interest in the religious
movements of the times. A reaction against Lollardy, however, had
already begun in the days of Henry IV., and both he and his son felt
obliged to discountenance opinions which were believed to be politically
and theologically dangerous.
Accusations had been made against John of Gaunt more than once during
the earlier part of Richard II.'s reign of entertaining designs to
supplant his nephew on the throne. But these Richard never seems to have
wholly credited, and during his three years' absence his younger
brother, Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, showed himself a far
more dangerous intriguer. Five confederate lords with Gloucester at
their head took up arms against the king's favourite ministers, and the
Wonderful Parliament put to death without remorse almost every agent of
his former administration who had not fled the country. Gloucester even
contemplated the dethronement of the king, but found that in this matter
he could not rely on the support of his associates, one of whom was
Henry, earl of Derby, the duke of Lancaster's son. Richard soon
afterwards, by declaring himself of age, shook off his uncle's control,
and within ten years the acts of the Wonderful Parliament were reversed
by a parliament no less arbitrary. Gloucester and his allies were then
brought to account; but the earl of Derby and Thomas Mowbray, earl of
Nottingham, were taken into favour as having opposed the more violent
proceedings of their associates. As if to show his entire confidence in
both these noblemen, the king created the former duke of Hereford and
the latter duke of Norfolk. But within three months from this time the
one duke accused the other of treason, and the truth of the charge,
after much consideration, was referred to trial by battle according to
the laws of chivalry. But when the combat was about to commence it was
interrupted by the king, who, to preserve the peace of the kingdom,
decreed by his own mere authority that the duke of Hereford should be
banished for ten years--a term immediately afterwards reduced to
five--and the duke of Norfolk for life.
This arbitrary sentence was obeyed in the first instance by both
parties, and Norfolk never returned. But Henry, duke of Hereford, whose
milder sentence was doubtless owing to the fact that he was the popular
favourite, came back within a year, having been furnished with a very
fair pretext for doing so by a new act of injustice on the part of
Richard. His father, John of Gaunt, had died in the interval, and the
king, troubled with a rebellion in Ireland, and sorely in want of money,
had seized the duchy of Lancaster as forfeited property. Henry at once
sailed for England, and landing in Yorkshire while King Richard was in
Ireland, gave out that he came only to recover his inheritance. He at
once received the support of the northern lords, and as he marched
southwards the whole kingdom was soon practically at his command.
Richard, by the time he had recrossed the channel to Wales, discovered
that his cause was lost. He was conveyed from Chester to London, and
forced to execute a deed by which he resigned his crown. This was
recited in parliament, and he was formally deposed. The duke of
Lancaster then claimed the kingdom as due to himself by virtue of his
descent from Henry III.
The claim which he put forward involved, to all appearance, a strange
falsification of history, for it seemed to rest upon the supposition
that Edmund of Lancaster, and not Edward I., was the eldest son of Henry
III. A story had gone about, even in the days of John of Gaunt, who, if
we may trust the rhymer John Hardyng (_Chronicle_, pp. 290, 291), had
got it inserted in chronicles deposited in various monasteries, that
this Edmund, surnamed Crouchback, was really hump-backed, and that he
was set aside in favour of his younger brother Edward on account of his
deformity. No chronicle, however, is known to exist which actually
states that Edmund Crouchback was thus set aside; and in point of fact
he had no deformity at all, while Edward was six years his senior.
Hardyng's testimony is, moreover, suspicious as reflecting the
prejudices of the Percys after they had turned against Henry IV., for
Hardyng himself expressly says that the earl of Northumberland was the
source of his information (see note, p. 353 of his _Chronicle_). But a
statement in the continuation of the chronicle called the _Eulogium_
(vol. iii. pp. 369, 370) corroborates Hardyng to some extent; for we are
told that John of Gaunt had once desired in parliament that his son
should be recognized on this flimsy plea as heir to the crown; and when
Roger Mortimer, earl of March, denied the story and insisted on his own
claim as descended from Lionel, duke of Clarence, Richard imposed
silence on both parties. However this may be, it is certain that this
story, though not directly asserted to be true, was indirectly pointed
at by Henry when he put forward his claim, and no one was then bold
enough to challenge it.
This was partly due, no doubt, to the fact that the true lineal heir
after Richard was then a child, Edmund, who had just succeeded his
father as earl of March. Another circumstance was unfavourable to the
house of Mortimer--that it derived its title through a woman. No case
precisely similar had as yet arisen, and, notwithstanding the precedent
of Henry II., it might be doubted whether succession through a female
was favoured by the constitution. If not, Henry could say with truth
that he was the direct heir of his grandfather, Edward III. If, on the
other hand, succession through females was valid, he could trace his
descent through his mother from Henry III. by a very illustrious line of
ancestors. And, in the words by which he formally made his claim, he
ventured to say no more than that he was descended from the king last
mentioned "by right line of the blood." In what particular way that
"right line" was to be traced he did not venture to indicate.
A brief epitome of the reigns of the three successive kings belonging to
the house of Lancaster (Henry IV., V. and VI.) will be found elsewhere.
With the death of Henry VI. the direct male line of John of Gaunt became
extinct. But by his daughters he became the ancestor of more than one
line of foreign kings, while his descendants by his third wife,
Catherine Swynford, conveyed the crown of England to the house of Tudor.
It is true that his children by this lady were born before he married
her; but they were made legitimate by act of parliament, and, though
Henry IV. in confirming the privilege thus granted to them endeavoured
to debar them from the succession to the crown, it is now ascertained
that there was no such reservation in the original act, and the title
claimed by Henry VII. was probably better than he himself supposed.
We show on the following page a pedigree of the royal and illustrious
houses that traced their descent from John of Gaunt. (J. Ga.)
LANCASTER, HENRY, EARL OF (c. 1281-1345), was the second son of Edmund,
earl of Lancaster (d. 1296), and consequently a grandson of Henry III.
During his early days he took part in campaigns in Flanders, Scotland
and Wales, but was quite overshadowed by his elder brother Thomas (see
below). In 1324, two years after Thomas had lost his life for opposing
the king, Henry was made earl of Leicester by his cousin, Edward II.,
but he was not able to secure the titles and estates of Lancaster to
which he was heir, and be showed openly that his sympathies were with
his dead brother. When Queen Isabella took up arms against her husband
in 1326 she was joined at once by the earl, who took a leading part in
the proceedings against the king and his favourites, the Despensers,
being Edward's gaoler at Kenilworth castle. Edward III. being now on the
throne, Leicester secured the earldom of Lancaster and his brother's
lands, becoming also steward of England; he knighted the young king and
was the foremost member of the royal council, but he was soon at
variance with Isabella and her paramour, Roger Mortimer, and was
practically deprived of his power. In 1328 his attempt to overthrow
Mortimer failed, and he quietly made his peace with the king; a second
essay against Mortimer was more successful. About this time Lancaster
became blind; he retired from public life and died on the 22nd of
September, 1345.