LAN 



.lasuhire. notice of it here must be brief and general. Manches. 



~~~i~ m " ter may be considered as the centre of the cotton spin- 

 ning and manufacturing district. From this town this 

 branch of trade has spread southwards into Cheshire, 

 and northwards as far as Preston ; various branches of 

 it are also carried on at Bolton, Cbewbent, Bury, Wig- 

 am, Blacklmrne, &c. Besides those employed in spin- 

 ning and weaving cotton, there are bleachers, dyers, 

 printers, tool and machine makers, c. There are also 

 in Lancashire, manufactories of woollen goods, hats, 

 especially at Oldham, stockings, pins, needles, nails, 

 watch-movements, tobacco, and tobacco-pipes, snuff, 

 earthen ware, English porcelain, paper, &.c. There 

 are also large works for smelting iron and copper, and 

 for casting plate glass, and the making of common 

 glass, white lead, lamp black, vitriolic acid, &c. 



Cf^fagcf. The commerce of Lancashire is also very great : al- 

 most entirely from I.!-, t-rpool to America, the West 

 and East Indies, Africa, the Mediterranean, Spain, 

 Portugal, Ireland, &c. Lancaster also enjoys some 

 commerce, but the quantity is proportionally small ; 

 and it seems to be declining. The principal articles of 

 export are the various -manufactures of the county ; and 

 the principle article* imported, are cotton, wool, sugar, 

 tobacco, rice, timber, corn from Ireland, .\c. 



): -. It is generally supposed that the Brigantcs inhabited 



Lancashire at the period of the Roman conquest. Ac- 

 cording to the authority of Ptolemy, however, they 

 were preceded by a tril>e, whom he calls the Segantii. 

 The Romans entered their territory, under Julius Agri- 

 cob, about the year A.D. 7!) ; and Mr. Whitaker says, 

 that the principal Roman stations were formed at this 



1 period, of which Mancunian!, or Manchester, was one. 



The Romans all* formed several excellent roads 

 through the county. The whole of Lancaxhire, along 

 with Yorkshire, tec. waa called by the Romans Maxima 

 C*ariensi, or Britannia Superior; by t! 

 was included within the kingdom of Northumbria: 

 Soon after it waa conquered by Egfnd. About the 

 year 68O, it was formed into a separate county. S.*>n 

 afterward* it waa divided into hundreds, tithmgs, Ac. 

 Soath Lancashire was at first divided into three hun- 

 dreds, and, ju*t before the conquest, subdivided into six. 

 Previous to and under the early Norman sovereigns, 

 this county was distinguuhed as an /iootir. Landed 

 honours generally belonged to the king, but were some- 

 times granted in fee to noblemen. Soon after the con- 

 qnest, three imhlmxa held the honour of Lancaster ; 

 Uit King Stephen cuufirmed it on his son, and thence- 

 forward it seems to have been attached to those of royal 

 Mood. In the time of Henry III. it was constituted an 

 earldom; and hi the time of Edward IV. the duke- 

 dosD of Lancaster waa created. John of Gaunt pro- 

 cured it to be raised to the dignity of a county pala- 

 tine. The antiquities of this county are by no mean* 

 numerous or inter. 



rMr< In the year 1803, the poor's rate of this county 



amounted to 230,7(>.i : for the year ending 'J. r .lh .if 

 1815, the sum paid by 449 places (for, in 

 of the great extent of its parishes, 

 key are subdivided into townships) amounted to 

 .217:3:10}: returns had not been obtained 

 from three plan*. From comparing the returns in 

 1S03 and 1815 it will appear, that the poor-rates of this 

 county have not increased in a very great degree. In 

 the year 1776, the sum of 56,163 was raised; and 

 the average of the years 17*3, 1784, and 1785, was 

 A'SO.SOI In 1803, the number of persons relieved 

 was 46.SOO, or 7 in the 100 of the population; the 

 money raind was 6s. lOjd. per head on the population ; 



LAN 



the rate at which each pauper was relieved, waa Lancashire, 

 3:9:3^. Nine hundred and fifty-seven friendly Lancaster. 

 societies were enrolled at that time ; and the number *"Y~ 

 of members was 104,776, or 16 in the 100 of the popu- 

 lation ; the number of children in schools of industry 

 was 1704. 



The population of Lancashire was very thin before Population* 

 it became a manufacturing county. In the year 1700, 

 it amounted only to 166,200; in the year 1750, it had 

 increased to 297,400 : in the year 1801 , it had augment- 

 ed extremely, being 695,100: by the returns it ap. 

 pears to have increased still further in 1811. At that 

 time, 



The inhabited houses were 

 Families inhabiting them - 



Houses building - 



Uninhabited houses 

 Families employed in agriculture 

 Families in manufactures 

 Families not included in these 



- 

 Female* ... 



In 18D1 



14*. 283 



161,899 

 807 

 4269 

 23,305 

 114,522 

 21,072 

 391,104 

 431,204 



828,309 

 C9J.100 



133.2U9 



The population in 1811, is nearly at the rate of 380 

 the square mile. The baptisms were 1 to 29, the bu- 

 rials 1 to 48, and the marriages 1 to 10$. See Aikin's 

 Manchester ; Braulifs of England and Wales; and 

 Dickson's Agricultural fiurtei/. (w. s.) 



LANCASTER, a town of England, in the hundred 

 of Lonsdale, in the county of Lancashire, lies in 54 4' 

 North Lat. and 2 56' West Long. It is SSQ^ miles 

 N. N W. from London. It is a borough, the civil go- 

 vernment of which is vested in a mayor, 12 aldermen, 

 a recorder, 2 bailiff's, 12 common count ilmen, or capital 

 burgesses, &c. It returns two members to parliament, 

 The right of election is vested in the freemen, who 

 amount to about 1000. The returning officers are the 

 mayor and two bailiffs. This town is situated on a gen- 

 tle ascent, on the top of which stand the church and 

 castle. The river Lune makes nearly an acute angle on 

 the north side of the town. The direction of several of 

 the principal streets are from it to the south, the church 

 and castle being in some measure detached. Hence it 

 will appear, that the situation of Lancaster is, upon the 

 whole, striking. The houses are in general good, be- 

 ing built of an excellent freestone found in the neigh- 

 bourhood, and covered with slate. Many of the streets, 

 however, are narrow. The most important, as well as 

 the most interesting public building in Lancaster, is 

 the castle. It is supposed, that the Romans first built a 

 castle on the site of the present one, and that part of the 

 i.', 1 l.uiiiil.itions arc still visible ; and it i* pretty well 

 ascertained, that the large square keep waa the work 

 of the Saxons. Hut the main building was the work 

 of Edward HI. and his son John of Gaunt, whom he 

 created Duke of Lancaster. Its walls cover an area of 

 3W feet from east to west, by 3.50 feet from north to 

 south. At present, the whole is appropriated to the 

 county goal. The summit commands very extensive 

 views, embracing the windings of the Lime, More. 

 caml>e bay, the mountains of Cumberland, Westmore- 

 land, and V'orkshire. The shire hall, a beautiful mo- 

 dern structure, and the county courts, are attached to 

 the castle. The other public building? are, the town- 

 hall, theatre, custom-house, assembly-room ; and over 

 the Lune there is a very grand bridge, which was 

 built by the county at the rapencc of 12,000. 

 1 



