20 Facts About Lancashire

1.

The historic county of Lancashire is larger and includes the cities of Manchester and Liverpool as well as the Furness and Cartmel peninsulas.

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2.

The Lancashire Constabulary covers the shire county and the unitary authorities.

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3.

Lancashire contains green belt interspersed throughout the county, covering much of the southern districts and towns throughout the Ribble Valley, West Lancashire, and The Fylde coastal plains to prevent convergence with the nearby Merseyside and Greater Manchester conurbations.

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4.

The Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire is Queen's personal representative in the ceremonial county and has been Charles Kay-Shuttleworth since 1997.

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5.

The High Sheriff of Lancashire is the Queen's judicial representative, a position which is a largely ceremonial and changes holder each year.

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6.

Lancashire in the 19th century was a major centre of economic activity, and hence one of wealth.

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7.

Lancashire was historically the location of the port of Liverpool while Barrow-in-Furness is famous for shipbuilding.

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8.

Lancashire is home to four universities: Lancaster University, the University of Central Lancashire, Edge Hill University and the Lancaster campus of the University of Cumbria.

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9.

Lancashire economy relies strongly on the M6 motorway which runs from north to south, past Lancaster and Preston.

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10.

Several bus companies run bus services in the Lancashire area serving the main towns and villages in the county with some services running to neighbouring areas, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire.

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11.

Since 2000, the designated ECB Premier League for Lancashire has been the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition.

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12.

Football in Lancashire is governed by the Lancashire County Football Association which, like most county football associations, has boundaries that are aligned roughly with the historic counties.

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13.

Lancashire clubs were prominent in the formation of the Football League in 1888, with the league being officially named at a meeting in Manchester.

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14.

In 2004 Lancashire took the winning title at the Inter-counties championships from Yorkshire who had held it for 7 years.

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15.

Lancashire has a long history of wrestling, developing its own style called Lancashire wrestling, with many clubs that over the years have produced many renowned wrestlers.

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16.

Lancashire has a long and highly productive tradition of music making.

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17.

Lancashire had a lively culture of choral and classical music, with very large numbers of local church choirs from the 17th century, leading to the foundation of local choral societies from the mid-18th century, often particularly focused on performances of the music of Handel and his contemporaries.

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18.

Lancashire produced more populist figures, such as early musical theatre composer Leslie Stuart, born in Southport, who began his musical career as organist of Salford Cathedral.

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19.

Many Lancashire towns had vibrant skiffle scenes in the late 1950s, out of which a culture of beat groups emerged by the early 1960s, particularly around Liverpool and Manchester.

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20.

Lancashire is the origin of the Lancashire hotpot, a casserole dish traditionally made with lamb.

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