Lancashire is a ceremonial county in North West England, facing the Irish Sea. It covers 1,184 square miles (3,066 km2) and held an estimated 1,532,000 residents in 2021 across Lancashire County Council’s twelve districts and the two unitary authorities of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.
Preston is the county town and has held city status since 2002. Blackpool is the largest town by population. The county was a cotton and coal heartland and now runs on aerospace, energy and tourism.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | North West England |
| Area | 1,184 sq mi (3,066 km2) |
| Population (2021) | 1,532,158 (ONS estimate) |
| Population (2011 census) | 1,461,295 |
| County town | Preston |
| Largest town | Blackpool |
| Councils | Lancashire County Council, 12 districts, 2 unitary authorities |
| Highest point | Gragareth, 627 m |
| Postcode areas | BB, FY, LA, PR, parts of BL, OL, WN |
The twelve county districts are Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre. Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen have been unitary authorities since 1998.
Towns and Villages in Lancashire
Lancashire has 503 named towns, villages and hamlets in the GeoNames gazetteer, counting Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen. The full list runs alphabetically below.
- Abbey Village
- Abbeystead
- Accrington
- Acre
- Adlington
- Aldcliffe
- Altham
- Andertons Mill
- Appley Bridge
- Arkholme
- Aughton
- Bacup
- Bailrigg
- Balderstone
- Bamber Bridge
- Bangor's Green
- Bank Fold
- Bank Top
- Banks
- Bare
- Barley
- Barnoldswick
- Barrow
- Barrow Nook
- Barrowford
- Barton
- Bashall Eaves
- Bashall Town
- Baxenden
- Bay Horse
- Becconsall
- Belmont
- Belthorn
- Beverley
- Bickerstaffe
- Billington
- Bilsborrow
- Bispham
- Bispham Green
- Black Pole
- Blackburn
- Blackleach
- Blacko
- Blackpool
- Blacksnape
- Blaguegate
- Bleasdale
- Bolton by Bowland
- Bolton Green
- Bolton Houses
- Bolton le Sands
- Borwick
- Botton Head
- Bowgreave
- Bowker's Green
- Bracewell
- Bretherton
- Brierfield
- Brighouse Green
- Brindle
- Brinscall
- Brockhall
- Brook
- Broughton
- Brown Moss Side
- Bruna Hill
- Bryning
- Bull Hill
- Burnley
- Burscough
- Cabus
- Calder Vale
- Cantsfield
- Capernwray
- Carleton
- Carnforth
- Catforth
- Catlow
- Caton
- Caton Green
- Catterall
- Chapeltown
- Charnock Green
- Chatburn
- Chatterton
- Cherry Tree
- Chipping
- Chorley
- Church
- Churchtown
- Claughton
- Clayton le Moors
- Clayton-le-Dale
- Clayton-le-Woods
- Cleveleys
- Clifton
- Clitheroe
- Cockden
- Cockerham
- Cold Row
- Colne
- Common Edge
- Copp
- Coppull
- Coppull Moor
- Copster Green
- Corner Row
- Cottam
- Coup Green
- Cow Ark
- Cow Hill
- Cowan Bridge
- Cowpe
- Crag Foot
- Crawford
- Crawshaw Booth
- Cribden Side
- Crossgill
- Crossmoor
- Croston
- Crow Trees
- Cuddy Hill
- Cuerden
- Cumeragh Village
- Dalton
- Dam Side
- Darwen
- Dinckley
- Dolphinholme
- Downham
- Downholland Cross
- Drummersdale
- Dunnockshaw
- Dunsop Bridge
- Eagland Hill
- Earby
- Easington
- Eccleston
- Edenfield
- Edge Fold
- Edgworth
- Ellel
- Elston
- Elswick
- Eskrigge
- Esprick
- Euxton
- Ewood Bridge
- Facit
- Farington
- Farleton
- Fence
- Feniscowles
- Fisher's Row
- Fleetwood
- Ford Green
- Forest Becks
- Forton
- Foulridge
- Four Lane Ends
- Freckleton
- Fulwood
- Fylde
- Galgate
- Garstang
- Gisburn
- Gisburn Cotes
- Glasson
- Goosnargh
- Great Altcar
- Great Eccleston
- Great Harwood
- Great Marton
- Great Mitton
- Great Singleton
- Green
- Green Haworth
- Greenhalgh
- Gregson Lane
- Gressingham
- Grimeford Village
- Grimsargh
- Grindleton
- Grunsagill
- Haighton Green
- Haighton Top
- Hale Nook
- Hall Cross
- Halsall
- Halton
- Hambleton
- Hampson Green
- Hapton
- Hare Appletree
- Harrop Fold
- Haskayne
- Haslingden
- Heapey
- Heath Charnock
- Heaton
- Helmshore
- Hesketh Bank
- Hesketh Lane
- Heskin Green
- Hest Bank
- Hey
- Heysham
- High Moor
- Higham
- Higher Ballam
- Higher Bartle
- Higher Copthurst
- Higher Thrushgill
- Higher Walton
- Higher Wheelton
- Hill Dale
- Hoddlesden
- Hoghton
- Holden
- Holme Chapel
- Holmeswood
- Hornby
- Horton
- Hoscar
- Hothersall
- Howgill
- Hoyle Bottom
- Hud Hey
- Huncoat
- Hundred End
- Hunger Hill
- Hurlston
- Hurst Green
- Hurstwood
- Hutton
- Inglewhite
- Inskip
- Irwell Vale
- Jack Green
- Jack's Mere
- Johnson's Hillock
- Kelbrook
- Kirkham
- Knott End-on-Sea
- Knotts
- Knowle Green
- Lancaster
- Lane Ends
- Laneshaw Bridge
- Langho
- Larbreck
- Lathom
- Lea Town
- Leck
- Lewth
- Leyland
- Limbrick
- Little Eccleston
- Little Hoole Moss Houses
- Little Plumpton
- Little Singleton
- Longridge
- Longton
- Loveclough
- Lower Ballam
- Lower Bartle
- Lower Copthurst
- Lower Darwen
- Lower Green Bank
- Lower Lee
- Lower Thurnham
- Lowgill
- Lumb
- Lytham
- Lytham St Annes
- Marsh Side Farm
- Marshaw
- Marton
- Matshead
- Mawdesley
- Meal Bank
- Medlar
- Melling
- Mellor
- Mere Brow
- Mere Side
- Mere Syke
- Middleton
- Midge Hall
- Monkroyd
- Moor Side
- Morecambe
- Moss Edge
- Moss Side
- Mossy Lea
- Much Hoole
- Myerscough
- Myerscough Smithy
- Mythop
- Nab's Head
- Nar
- Nateby
- Nelson
- Nether Burrow
- Nether Kellet
- Nethertown
- New Gate
- New Lane
- New Longton
- Newburgh
- Newby
- Newchurch
- Newchurch in Pendle
- Newsham
- Newsholme
- Newton
- Newton-with-Scales
- Nook
- Norbreck
- Norden
- Oakenclough
- Old Langho
- Ollerton Fold
- Ormskirk
- Osbaldeston
- Oswaldtwistle
- Out Rawcliffe
- Over Burrow
- Over Kellet
- Overton
- Overtown
- Padiham
- Parbold
- Paythorne
- Peel
- Pendleton
- Penwortham
- Pickup Bank
- Pilling
- Pilling Lane
- Pincock
- Pippin Street
- Pleasington
- Plumpton
- Potters Brook
- Poulton-le-Fylde
- Preesall
- Preston
- Priest Hutton
- Pudding Pie Nook
- Quernmore
- Quernmore Park
- Ratten Row
- Rawtenstall
- Read
- Red Bridge
- Reedsholme
- Ribby
- Ribchester
- Riley Green
- Rimington
- Ring o' Bells
- Rishton
- Rising Bridge
- Rivington
- Roach Bridge
- Robin Hood
- Roby Mill
- Roddlesworth
- Roseacre
- Rossendale
- Roughlee
- Royal Oak
- Rufford
- Runshaw Moor
- Ryal Fold
- Sabden
- Saint Annes on the Sea
- Saint Michaels on Wyre
- Salterforth
- Salwick
- Samlesbury
- Samlesbury Bottoms
- Sand Side
- Sawley
- Scarisbrick
- Scarth Hill
- Scorton
- Scotforth
- Scronkey
- Sharneyford
- Shaw Green
- Shawforth
- Shirdley Hill
- Shireshead
- Silverdale
- Simonstone
- Skelmersdale
- Skitham
- Slaidburn
- Slyne
- Smallwood Hey
- Sollom
- Sough
- South Shore
- Southfield
- Sower Carr
- Sowerbutt's Green
- Spen Brook
- Springfield
- Squires Gate
- Staining
- Stake Pool
- Stalmine
- Stanley Gate
- Staynall
- Stock
- Stodday
- Street
- Strongstry
- Stubbins
- Sunderland
- Swarthdale
- Swillbrook
- Tarleton
- Tarlscough
- Tarnbrook
- Tewitfield
- The Row
- Thorney Holme
- Thornton
- Thornton-Cleveleys
- Thorpe Green
- Thursden
- Tockholes
- Top o' th' Lane
- Torrisholme
- Tosside
- Tottleworth
- Town Green
- Towngate
- Treales
- Tunstall
- Turn
- Turner Green
- Turton
- Twiston
- Ulnes Walton
- Up Holland
- Upper Thurnham
- Waddington
- Walker Fold
- Walmer Bridge
- Walthew Green
- Walton le Dale
- Ward Green Cross
- Warton
- Water
- Waterside
- Waterslack
- Weeton
- Weir
- Wennington
- Wesham
- West Bradford
- Westby
- Westhead
- Whalley
- Wharles
- Wheatley Lane
- Wheelton
- Whin Lane End
- White Coppice
- White Stake
- Whitewell
- Whittingham
- Whittington
- Whittle-le-Woods
- Whittlestone Head
- Whitworth
- Wilpshire
- Windy Harbour
- Winewall
- Winmarleigh
- Winter Hill
- Wiswell
- Withnell
- Withnell Fold
- Woodplumpton
- Woodsfold
- Worden
- Worsthorne
- Worston
- Wray
- Wrayton
- Wrea Green
- Wrightington
- Wrightington Bar
- Wycoller
- Wymott
- Yealand Conyers
- Yealand Redmayne
- York
Geography
Lancashire divides into three bands. The Fylde and the west are flat coastal plain, much of it reclaimed moss land, running from the Ribble estuary north to Morecambe Bay. The centre holds the Ribble and Lune valleys and the county’s farmland.
The east and north-east rise into the Pennines. The Forest of Bowland, a National Landscape, covers the upland between the Lune and the Ribble, and the West Pennine Moors separate the mill towns of the Darwen and Irwell valleys. Pendle Hill stands at 557 metres above Nelson and Clitheroe.
The main rivers are the Lune through Lancaster, the Ribble through Preston and Clitheroe, the Wyre through Garstang and Fleetwood, and the Hodder through Bowland.
Neighbours are Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, and Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south.
Demographics
The 2011 census counted 1,461,295 people across the ceremonial county. ONS estimated 1,532,158 by mid-2021, a rise of just under 5%.
At the 2021 census the largest built-up areas were Blackpool (149,056), Blackburn (124,983), Preston (94,508) and Burnley (78,270). Lancaster held 52,660 and Morecambe about 51,600. Lytham St Annes, Skelmersdale, Leyland, Accrington, Chorley and Darwen each pass 30,000.
Settlement is dense in the central and south-eastern belt and along the coast. The Ribble Valley and Bowland are among the most thinly peopled districts in England outside the far north.
Blackburn with Darwen and Preston have large South Asian heritage populations, mostly of Indian Gujarati and Pakistani origin, built up through mill recruitment from the 1950s.
Economy and Local Life
Aerospace is the county’s largest single industry. BAE Systems builds Typhoon and F-35 airframe sections at Samlesbury and assembles and flight-tests at Warton on the Ribble estuary, employing several thousand people between the two sites.
Energy is the second pillar. Springfields near Preston has made nuclear fuel since 1946, and the two Heysham stations supply the grid from the Morecambe Bay coast.
Blackpool remains one of the busiest seaside destinations in Britain, with the Tower, the Pleasure Beach and the autumn Illuminations. Morecambe, Lytham St Annes and Fleetwood take a smaller share of the same trade.
Farming works the Fylde and the Ribble Valley, with dairy, poultry and arable. Lancashire cheese is still made at Longridge and Goosnargh. Universities at Lancaster, Preston and Ormskirk together teach tens of thousands of students.
History
Lancashire was created as a shire in the twelfth century and became a county palatine, giving its earls and later the Duchy of Lancaster powers held elsewhere by the Crown. The Duchy still exists as a separate estate of the monarch.
Pendle gave the county its best-known trial. Twelve people from the Pendle area were accused of witchcraft in 1612; ten were hanged at Lancaster Castle after a trial that was unusually well documented.
Cotton made modern Lancashire. Steam-powered spinning and weaving concentrated in Blackburn, Burnley, Nelson, Accrington and Preston from the late 1700s, drawing in labour and building the mill towns. The industry collapsed in the twentieth century and the last large mills closed in the 1980s.
The county was much larger before 1974. Liverpool, Manchester, Bolton, Wigan and their surroundings were transferred to new metropolitan counties, and the Furness peninsula went to Cumbria.
Getting There
The M6 runs the length of the county through Preston and Lancaster. The M55 branches west to Blackpool, the M65 runs east through Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley and Nelson, and the M61 and M58 connect to Manchester and Merseyside. The A59, A6 and A565 carry local traffic.
The West Coast Main Line serves Preston and Lancaster with direct trains to London, Glasgow and Birmingham. Branches run to Blackpool North, Ormskirk, Colne and Clitheroe, and the Bentham Line crosses to Leeds.
Manchester and Liverpool John Lennon are the nearest large airports. Blackpool Airport handles general aviation and offshore helicopter flights. The Port of Heysham runs ferries to Douglas, Belfast and Dublin.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the largest town in Lancashire?
Blackpool, with 149,056 people in its built-up area at the 2021 census, ahead of Blackburn (124,983) and Preston (94,508).
What is the county town of Lancashire?
Preston, which has held city status since 2002 and hosts Lancashire County Council.
How many towns and villages are there in Lancashire?
The GeoNames gazetteer records 503 named settlements across the ceremonial county, including Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.
Which councils cover Lancashire?
Lancashire County Council with twelve district councils, plus the unitary authorities of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.
Which postcode areas cover Lancashire?
Mainly BB (Blackburn), FY (Blackpool), LA (Lancaster) and PR (Preston), with parts of BL, OL and WN.
Is Manchester in Lancashire?
Not since 1974. Manchester, Liverpool, Bolton and Wigan were historically in Lancashire but now sit in Greater Manchester and Merseyside.