LANCASTER. 



1'iirt of the country, except near the metropolis. The 

 r.miate of l.i.in a-liirc is humid, although, from the 

 aWnce of fogs ami s-iagnant waters, it is not un- 

 healthy. The most important mineral products are 

 coal, copper, lead, and iron. The great coal tract 

 commences on the south of Prescot, and crossing the 

 country in a north-easterly direction, passes into 

 Yorkshire ; but coal is likewise found in abundance 

 nc;ir Manchester, and northwards beyond Lancaster. 

 Caimel coal is met with near Wigan, and at other 

 places, and sometimes in contact with the black coal, 

 or slightly mixed with it, as at the pits near Lay ton 

 Hall. Copper ore occurs in the rough barren moun- 

 tains, towards the northern extremity of the High 

 Furness or Fell district, and especially at Coniston, 

 Muckle Gill, and Hartriggs; but it has not been dis- 

 covered to the south of Lancaster sands in quantities 

 sufficient to bear working with advantage. Lead ore 

 is chiefly met with hi the northern and north-eastern 

 parts of the county, but it is by no means abundant. 

 At Anglezark, near Chorley, is a lead mine, the ore 

 of which, galena, is intermixed with carbonate of 

 barytes. Iron ore is the principal product of the 

 district of Furness ; and though found in some other 

 parts of the county, it is there only sufficiently plen- 

 tiful to render the working of it profitable. ' 



Lancashire is distinguished as the grand seat of the 

 cotton manufacture ; a full account of the rise and 

 progress of which will be found in the article Cotton 

 Manufacture. (See also the articles Manchester and 

 Liverpool.') Fabrics of silk, wool, and linen, as well 

 as cotton, are largely manufactured in this county, 

 and here are carried on hat-making, calico-printing, 

 bleaching, dyeing, machine-making, iron-founding, 

 and the manufacture of paper, glass, and earthen- 

 ware. Steam-carriages were also here first brought 

 to perfection, and experiments with them on a large 

 scale were first made on the rail-road between Liver- 

 pool and Manchester. Before Lancashire became a 

 manufacturing county, its population was small. In 

 the year 1700, it amounted to only 160,200; in 1750, 

 it had increased to 297,400 ; in 1801, to 695,100; in 

 1811, to 828,300; in 1821, to 1,052,859; in 1831, to 

 1,336,854 ; and in 1841, to 1,667,054. 



LANCASTER, the county town of Lancashire, is 

 situated within the hundred of Lonsdale South, on 

 the bank of the river Lone or Lune, distant from 

 London 239 miles N. N. W. Lancaster was a Roman 

 station, as may be concluded from its commanding 

 situation, the numerous relics here discovered, and 

 its termination, cestre, which appellation was seldom 

 given by the Saxons except to such places as had 

 been occupied by the Romans. During the Anglo- 

 Saxon rule, the history of Lancaster is exceedingly 

 obscure. It may be supposed that it was considered 

 of more importance than any other town of the dis- 

 trict, from its giving name to the county ; though it 

 must be acknowledged that, in Doomsday Book, 

 Lancaster is considered merely as a ville belonging to 

 the manor of Halton, and consequently must have 

 fallen to decay. At the period of the survey it had 

 returned to the possession of William the Conqueror, 

 from the defection of Roger of Poictou, to whom it 

 had been originally given. The honour of Lancaster 

 was restored to this baron by William Ruf'us, in 

 whose reign the castle and the church were founded; 

 but by his subsequent defection, under Henry I., he 

 lost these vast possessions, which became afterwards 

 the appanage of various nobles of different family, 

 till they were finally conferred on the blood royal in 

 the person of Edmund Crouchback, in 1266, by his 

 father Henry III., with the title of earl of Lancaster. 

 This prince left two sons, of whom the elder, Thomas, 

 taking arms against Edward II., was defeated at 

 Borough Bridge, and beheaded at Pomfret ; but, his 



attainder being reversed, the title descended to his 

 brother Henry, who was succeeded in 1345 by his 

 son Henry, the popular earl of Derby in the French 

 wars of Edward III., and advanced by that monarch 

 to the dukedom of Lancaster in 1351, with the same 

 jura regalia as the earls palatine of Chester had ever 

 enjoyed. His daughter Blanche marrying John of 

 Gaunt, that prince, at the death of his father-in-law, 

 was created by Edward III. duke of Lancaster. 

 The duchy became consequently, a petty kingdom, 

 and some of its original regulations are yet in force ; 

 it was vested by due succession in Henry IV., son of 

 John of Gaunt, and in the crown it has ever since 

 remained, but under the separate government of its 

 own law officers, distinct from those of the nation at 

 large. In the year 1322 Lancaster was entirely 

 devastated by the Scots under Robert Bruce, and the 

 castle itself was somewhat injured. This magnificent 

 and celebrated structure is now used as the county 

 prison. Placed on an elevation at a small distance 

 from the Lune, it was admirably calculated to keep 

 in check the enemies from the north. Its space 

 embraces an area of 380 feet by 350, and it is sup- 

 posed to be capable of containing 5000 men. The 

 walls of this structure are of prodigious thickness, 

 and its apartments of spacious dimensions : it is sup- 

 posed to have been the work of Roger of Poictou. 

 The gate-way was built by John of Gaunt; it consists 

 of two semiangular towers, each surmounted by an 

 octangular turret, and defended by a triple row of 

 machicolations; in a niche, over the gate, is a modern 

 statue of their founder. The castle presents a stately 

 and threatening aspect : the walls were strengthened 

 by round towers, which have been so far repaired as 

 scarcely to be distinguished from the very extensive 

 modern additions, which, at a certain distance only, 

 from the sharpness of the new masonry, combine 

 harmoniously with the original building. Within 

 the area are the shire-hall, and the various append- 

 ages of the courts of justice. The castle has been 

 used as the county prison since the age of Elizabeth. 

 In one of the circular towers, called John of Gaunt's 

 oven, is a collection of rolls, that is to say records, 

 relating to the county. To the west, part of an 

 ancient moat, formed by John of Gaunt, yet remains. 

 A terrace surrounding more than half the castle 

 affords a delightful promenade, presenting a view of 

 the windings of the Lune, till it loses itself in the 

 bay of Morecambe. On the whole, no county in 

 England can boast of a gaoi with all its concomitant 

 parts so complete and grand as that of Lancaster. 

 St Mary's church, situated at a small distance from 

 the castle, is supposed to have been likewise founded 

 by Roger de Poictou; it seems to have been rebuilt in 

 the fifteenth century. The two subordinate chapels 

 of St John's and St Anne's, in the town, present no- 

 thing remarkable. The Roman Catholics have a 

 chapel here, and in Lancaster are several meeting- 

 houses and chapels, for the usual classes of the dis- 

 senters, to which are attached various schools and 

 charities. Among the public buildings are the town- 

 hall, the custom-house, with a handsome portico of 

 four Ionic columns, a theatre, the assembly rooms, and 

 a bridge of five elliptical arches erected in 1788 by Mr 

 Harrison of Chester. A little below are some remains 

 of the old bridge; a mile higher up the river is the 

 celebrated bridge aqueduct of the Lancaster canal. 

 The county lunatic asylum is a quadrangular building, 

 and is esteemed a model for similar institutions. The 

 commerce of Lancaster, particularly the former West 

 India trade, is now inconsiderable. A noble suite of 

 warehouses on the quay is nearly unoccupied. The 

 Lune is navigable to Lancaster only for vessels below 

 250 tons, and the deserted port presents a striking 

 contrast to the bustle and activity of Liverpool. Ex- 



