Discover

'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.

Contents

History

Governance

Political representation

Geography

Education

Culture

Music

Media

Places of interest

Notable Lancastrians

Sister cities

Various facts

Gallery

References

External links

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 etymology of Lancaster is derived from its large and imposing castle (the "caster" part), and the river that runs through it, the Lune (a name deriving from old Celtic sources). Language evolution from the old name of ''Loncastra'', the castle-town on the Lune, gives the modern name of Lancaster.
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 was not 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.
Lancaster offers a wealth of shopping attractions and is the main 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 the main pedestrian thoroughfares. In addition, a large number of independent retailers, providing goods from quality clothing to jewelry are popular with both locals and tourists. Two retail parks on the outskirts of the city centre provide shoppers with access to larger goods, such as computers, electronic and household equipment.
In 2005, developer Centros Miller proposed a £150 million, 10-acre extension to Lancaster City Centre. If approved (and pending completion of the planning process), the Canal Corridor North area of the city, including Stonewell, Moor Lane, Alfred Street, St Leonards Gate and areas of Lancaster Canal, would be redeveloped. It is the intention of the develper to construct an "open street" layout, with a central public space piazza, the size of Dalton Square. The proposal also sees improvements to Lancaster Grand Theatre, Dukes Theatre and Musicians Co-Op. One of the largest Debenhams department stores in the North West of England would anchor the proposed development. A mixture of retail, cafes, restaurants, apartments, additional car parking facilities and public spaces would be included in the development.

Governance

Lancaster and Morecambe have grown into a single conurbation and are no longer administered separately. The 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 and Lancaster City Council is the local governing body for the district.

Political representation

On March 5, 2004, Lancaster was granted Fairtrade City status.^[1]
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 who campaigned for an independent Morecambe council. Their influence has now waned and Labour is once again the largest party on the Council.
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. This acolade aims to build upon the already extensive network of cycle paths in and around Lancaster.

Geography

The M6 motorway passes to the east of Lancaster, and the West Coast railway line connects to Lancaster railway station.
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.

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 the North West's Centre of Excellence for Information and Communication Technologies.
Lancaster is also home to a campus of the University of Cumbria on the site the formerly St Martin's College, which inaugurated in 2007 provides a wide portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the arts, social sciences, business, teacher training, health care and nursing.
Lancaster Royal Grammar School, Lancaster Girls' Grammar School, Ripley St. Thomas C of E High School, Our Lady's Catholic College, Central Lancaster High School, Lancaster and Morecambe College, and numerous other renowned educational establishments are also to be found in Lancaster.

Culture

Lancaster, as a historic city, offers much in the way of cultural entertainment and is often referred to as the 'Cultural Capital' of Lancashire. 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 boasts 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^[2]
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's main football team, Lancaster City F.C., play in the Nationwide Conference North division for the 2006-07 season.

Music

Lancaster has produced a number of successful bands and musicians in the past decade, such as the all girl band Angelica and drummer Keith Baxter of 3 Colours Red both having used the ever popular Lancaster Musicians Co-operative.
Lancaster's prime music venue is arguably The Yorkshire House, a venue that has played host to many popular acts. Other popular venues in the area include The Gregson and The Bobbin.

Media

The Bay (radio station), the largest 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's university, Lancaster University, also has its own student radio station, Bailrigg FM, broadcasting on a short-wave 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

★ Quayside Maritine 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

★ James Beattie - footballer, currently playing for Everton.

★ 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.

★ 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 (reporter) - ITV1 ''Central Tonight'' news reporter.

★ Cherith Baldry - author.

★ Keith Baxter - Drummer of British rock band 3 Colours Red.

Sister cities

Lancaster's current sister cities:

★ Lublin, Poland

★ Viana do Castelo, Portugal

★ Almere, Netherlands

★ Aalborg, Denmark

★ Perpignan, France

★ Rendsburg, Germany

Various facts

★ The most famous bomber aircraft of World War 2, the Lancaster Bomber, was named after the city. In turn, Mitchell's of Lancaster^[3] 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.

★ In recent years, Lancaster has experienced population growth in excess of regional averages.

★ Lancaster University's Ultra Low Temperature Physics Group has twice achieved the lowest temperature in the known universe, coming within a few millionths of a degree above absolute zero.

Gallery

References

1. [1]
2. [2].
3. [3]

External links

★ Google maps link to Lancaster

★ Microsoft Live Local "Bird's Eye" Views of Lancaster

★ Ordnance survey map of Lancaster circa 1890

★ Tourist information website

★ Alternative guide to Lancaster A4 pdf to print out - includes map.

★ Virtual Lancaster - Independent Lancaster news and resources.

★ The Open Guide to Lancaster - A Wiki town guide based on Lancaster, Morecambe and Lancaster University.

★ Lancaster University, Ultra Low Temperature Physics - ULT research group homepage

★ Directory of Lancaster websites at the Open Directory Project.