Lancaster, Lancashire Totally Explained

Everything about Lancaster Lancashire totally explained

Lancaster is a city within Lancashire, in North West England. Lying along the course of the River Lune, it has a total resident population of 45,952, and together with a number of other towns, forms part of the wider City of Lancaster local government district, with a population of 133,914.
Long existing as a commercial, cultural and educational centre, Lancaster is the traditional county town of Lancashire, to which it gives its name. Lancaster has several unique ties to the British monarchy; the House of Lancaster was a branch of the English royal family, whilst the Duchy of Lancaster holds large estates on behalf of Queen Elizabeth, who herself is also the Duke of Lancaster.

History

Lancaster Castle, partly built in the 13th century and enlarged by Elizabeth I, stands on the site of a Roman garrison. Lancaster Castle is well-known as the site of the infamous Pendle witch trials in 1612. It was said that the court based in the castle (the Lancaster Assizes) sentenced more people to be hanged than any other in the country outside of London, earning Lancaster the nickname 'Hanging Town'.
   The city's name, first recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Loncastre means 'Roman fort on the River Lune', from the Old English cæster.
   The traditional emblem for the House of Lancaster is a red rose, the red rose of Lancaster, similar to that of the House of York, which is a white rose. These names derive from the emblems of the Royal Duchies of Lancaster and York in the 15th century. This erupted into a civil war over rival claims to the throne during the Wars of the Roses.
   In more recent times, the term Wars of the Roses has been applied to rivalry in sports between teams representing Lancashire and Yorkshire, not just the cities of Lancaster and York. It is also applied to the Roses Tournament in which Lancaster and York Universities compete every year.
   Lancaster gained its first charter in 1193 as a market town and borough, but wasn't given the status of a city until 1937. Many buildings in the city centre and along St. George's Quay date from the 1800s, built during a period when the port became one of the busiest in the UK; the fourth most important in the UK's slave trade. However, Lancaster's role as a major port was short lived, as the river began to silt up. Morecambe, Glasson Dock and Sunderland Point served as Lancaster's port for brief periods. Heysham now serves as the district's main port.
   Lancaster is primarily a service-orientated city. Products of Lancaster include animal feed, textiles, chemicals, livestock, paper, synthetic fibre, farm machinery, hgv trailers and mineral fibres. In recent years, a high-technology sector has emerged, as a result of Information Technology and Communications companies investing in the city.
   Until recently, Lancaster was also home to the European headquarters of Reebok. Following their recent merger with Adidas, Reebok are in the process of relocating their Lancaster operation to locations in Bolton and Stockport.

Modern-day Lancaster

Lancaster offers a substantial shopping centre and is a shopping hub for North Lancashire and South Cumbria. Two under-cover shopping centres currently serve the city: Marketgate Shopping Centre and St. Nicholas Arcades. Many high-street stores can be found within these two centres and also on pedestrian thoroughfares, the main one being Penny Street. In addition, a large number of independent retailers, providing goods from quality clothing to jewellery are popular with both locals and tourists.
A market takes place twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, in Market Square.
Two retail parks on the outskirts of the city centre provide shoppers with access to larger goods, such as computers, electronic and household equipment.

Governance

Lancaster and Morecambe have grown into a single conurbation and are no longer administered separately. The former City and County Borough of Lancaster and the Municpal Borough of Morecambe and Heysham along with other authorities merged in 1974 to form the District of Lancaster within the shire county of Lancashire. This was given city status in the United Kingdom and Lancaster City Council is the local governing body for the district.

Political representation

On March 5, 2004, Lancaster was granted Fairtrade City status.
   The city lies in the Lancaster and Wyre constituency for elections of Members of Parliament to the House of Commons, and the North West which elects nine Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The current MP for Lancaster and Wyre is Ben Wallace of the Conservative Party.
   In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the City Council was under the control of the Morecambe Bay Independents (MBIs)who campaigned for an independent Morecambe council. In 2003 their influence waned and Labour became the largest party on the Council. They formed a 'trafficlight' coalition with the LibDems and Greens.
   At the May 2007 local elections Labour lost ground to the Greens in Lancaster and the MBIs in Morecambe resulting in a completely hung council with all parties represented in a PR administration and with Labour & the LibDems supporting a Conservative leader.
   Lancaster is one of the few places in the country where the Greens have a significant number of councillors (12 in 2007). They were first elected to the council in 1999 and have seen their number increase at each election since.
   A long-standing debate to determine the nature of a high capacity road to ease Lancaster's traffic congestion is arguably the most prominent issue in local politics today.
   2006 saw the city selected as one of just six places in the country to be named a 'cycling demonstration' town.(External Link

) This accolade was awarded even though Lancaster has a very poor network of cycle paths (especially on busy roads for cyclists, such as the A6).

Geography

Lancaster is the most northerly city in Lancashire, located three miles inland from Morecambe Bay. The city is located on the River Lune (from which it derives its name), and the Lancaster Canal.

Transport

The M6 motorway passes to the east of Lancaster, with junction 33 leading to lancaster south and junction 34 leading to lancaster north. The A6 road passes through the city leading south to Preston and north to Carnforth, then Heversham.
Lancaster is served by the West Coast railway line which runs through Lancaster railway station. This station was formerly named 'Lancaster Castle' in order to differentiate it from Lancaster Green Ayre Station on the Leeds-Morecambe line, which closed in 1966. The Lancaster-Morecambe section of this railway is now used as a cycle path.
The Lancaster Canal and River Lune also pass through the city.

Education

The city is home to Lancaster University at Bailrigg, one of the top research universities in the United Kingdom and one of only two business schools in the country to have achieved a 6 star research rating. InfoLab21 at the University is Centre of Excellence for Information and Communication Technologies.
Lancaster is also home to a campus of the University of Cumbria - on the site of the former St Martin's College - which was inaugurated in 2007. It provides a wide portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the arts, social sciences, business, teacher training, health care and nursing.

Culture

Lancaster, as a historic city, offers a moderate level of cultural entertainment. The city is fortunate to have retained many fine examples of Georgian architecture. Lancaster Castle, the Priory Church of St. Mary and the Edwardian Ashton Memorial are among many sites of historical importance.
   The Lancaster Grand Theatre and Dukes Theatre are two of the city's most notable venues for live performances. Lancaster also hosts 'The Play in the Park', a series of open-air performances in the award-winning Williamson Park. The university has the Nuffield Theatre, with the largest student theatre stage in Europe, which regularly attracts big name comics, dance companies and dramatic productions. Lancaster also offers numerous museums, including the Lancaster City Museum, Maritime Museum and Judges' Lodgings Museum. Throughout the year, various festivals are held in and around the city, such as the Lancaster Jazz Festival and The Maritime Festival.
   Cinemas in Lancaster are the independent Dukes Theatre and the mainstream VUE multiplex in the city centre. The 1930s art deco Regal cinema closed in 2006
   The city also entertains contestants in the Lancaster International Youth Games, a multi-sport 'Olympic' style event, featuring competitors from Lancaster's twin towns: Rendsburg (Germany), Perpignan (France), Viana do Castelo (Portugal), Aalborg (Denmark), Almere (Netherlands), Lublin (Poland) and Växjö (Sweden).
   Lancaster has a large Arts community which can be accessed at Virtual Lancaster's "What's on"

and Studio Arts Events and Exhibitions

Sport

Rowing

Lancaster John O'Gaunt Rowing Club is the fourth-oldest rowing club in the UK. It competes nationally at regattas and heads races organised by the Amateur Rowing Association. The clubhouse is located next to the weir at Skerton.

Football

Lancaster's main football team, Lancaster City, play in the Northern Premier League Division One North.

Cricket

Lancaster Cricket Club is sited near the River Lune in Lancaster. They have two senior teams that participate in the Northern League.

Rugby

Rugby is a very popular sport in the area with the local clubs being Vale of Lune RUFC and Lancaster RGS.

Swimming

Lancaster's swimming club is 'Lancaster Amateur Swimming and Waterpolo Club' and they compete in a variety of competitions in the North West. The senior men's waterpolo team has won the English championships several times. The club trains at Salt Ayre sports centre.

Golf

Lancaster is home to many golf clubs, including the Ashton Golf Centre and Lancaster Golf Club.

Music

Lancaster has produced a number of successful bands and musicians in the past decade, notably the drummer Keith Baxter of 3 Colours Red having used the popular Lancaster Musicians Co-operative.
   Lancaster is also the birthplace of singer and songwriter John Waite, who first became well-known as lead singer of The Babys in the 1970s.
   Lancaster is also the founding home of the well renowned dance music sound systems The Rhythm Method and The ACME Bass Company. Pioneers in the field of the free party, these two systems, along with others, forged one of the strongest representations of the genre in the North West of England during the 1990s.
   Lancaster's prime music venue is the The Yorkshire House(External Link

), recently hosting such acts as John Renbourn, Polly Paulusma and Alasdair Roberts. Other notable music venues are The Gregson and The Bobbin. Recently the Town Library

has hosted a number of music events under the 'Get it loud in libraries' initiative. This event has seen seen some big name musicians play in the very small venue, including; The Thrills, Kate Nash, The Long Blondes and Bat for Lashes

Media

The Bay, the largest radio station in North Lancashire and South Cumbria, is based at St. George's Quay in the city and broadcasts on three separate frequencies: 96.9 FM (Lancaster), 102.3 FM (Windermere) and 103.2 FM (Kendal).
Commercially available newspapers include The Lancaster Guardian (a popular broadsheet) and The Visitor (a tabloid newspaper mainly targeted at residents of Morecambe). Freely available newspapers in Lancaster include The Lancaster & Morecambe Citizen and The Reporter.
The city also has a community radio station, Diversity FM, on 103.5 FM with a five year licence from 2006. The community led project is based at the local YMCA. The station includes a show broadcast in the Polish language. The city's university, Lancaster University, also has its own student radio station, Bailrigg FM, broadcasting on a signal of 87.7 FM.

Places of interest

Lancaster Castle

Lancaster Priory

Lancaster City Museum

Lune Millennium Bridge

Williamson Park

Ashton Memorial and Butterfly House

Lancaster Cathedral

The Storey Institute

The Judges Lodgings

The Cottage Museum

Lancaster University's Ruskin Library

Penny's Hospital, 18th-century almshouses on King Street

Quayside Maritime Museum

Lancaster Royal Grammar School

Lancaster Girls' Grammar School

The Duke's Playhouse

The Gregson Centre

Lancaster Grand Theatre

Dalton Square: Queen Victoria's statue and the Town Hall

Lancaster Musicians Co-operative

Lancaster Golf Club See also

Duke of Lancaster

Duchy of Lancaster

Notable Lancastrians

Cherith Baldry - author.

Keith Baxter - drummer of British rock band 3 Colours Red.

James Beattie - footballer

Laurence Binyon - poet

Jim Bowen - former presenter of TV gameshow Bullseye. Actually born in Padiham, Lancashire, but lived in the area for many years.

Thomas Edmondson - inventor of the Edmondson railway ticket.

Edward Frankland - scientist. Born near Lancaster but was educated at LRGS.

Eric Morecambe - comedian. Actually born in Morecambe.

Richard Owen - biologist. Renowned for coining the term "dinosaur". Lived on Brock Street.

John Waite - musician, now solo but formerly lead singer of the bands Bad English and The Babys.

Alan Warriner-Little - 2001 World Grand Prix Darts champion, known to darts fans as The Iceman.

Andy Wear - actor, star of ITV's The Royal.

Keith Wilkinson - ITV1 Central Tonight news reporter.

Jon Richardson - comedian.

Sister cities

Lancaster's current sister cities:

Lublin, Poland

Viana do Castelo, Portugal

Almere, Netherlands

Aalborg, Denmark

Perpignan, France

Rendsburg, Germany

Various facts

The famous bomber aircraft of World War 2, the Lancaster Bomber, was named after the city. In turn, Mitchell's of Lancaster named one of their bitters Lancaster Bomber. When the brewery ceased production, the recipe was sold to Thwaites Brewery.

The Royal Navy Type 23, Duke Class Frigate, HMS Lancaster, is affiliated with the city.

The words 'scientist' and 'dinosaur' were coined by Lancaster academics, William Whewell and Richard Owen respectively.

Gallery

Image:King Street, Lancaster.jpg|King Street Image:005 Friary.jpg|A typical Lancaster City scene. The spire visible belongs to a former church which has been converted into a pub Image:England and Scotland 036.jpg|Looking down North Road Image:England and Scotland 040.jpg|Signposts Further Information

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