Lancashire in Lancaster County England History and Geography

LANCASHIRE, a maritime county, and a county palatine, situated on the western coast, and bounded on the north by the counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, on the east by that of York, on the south by that of Chester, and on the west by the Irish sea: it extends from 53? 23' to 54? 24' (N. Lat.), and from 2? 18' to 3? 7' (W. Lon.); and contains one million one hundred and seventy-one thousand eight hundred and forty statute acres, or one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one square miles. The population, in 1821, amounted to 1,052,859, being an increase, during the ten preceding years, of 224,549. The name of this county is a contraction of Lancaster-shire. Its early British inhabitants were the Setantii, a tribe of the Brigantes. Under the Roman dominion it was included in the province called Maxima C?sariensis, and contained eight stations belonging to that people, besides being traversed by four great military roads, which severally led through this county, from Carlisle to Kinderton in Cheshire; from Overborough to Slack, or Almondlbury, in Yorkshire; from the Neb of the Nese, on the right bank of the Ribble, eastward, and across Fulwood-moor, to Ribchester; and from the ford of the Mersey, near Warrington, through Barton, Eceles, and Manchester to Ilkley. The Britons, under their renowned King Arthur, fought several great battles with the Saxons or the banks of the river Douglas, in this county, which was, however, at last conquered, about the year 559, by the Saxon chieftain, Ella, and formed part of the kingdom of Deira, over which that prince reigned. From this period until the fifteenth century, we find little remarkable on record relative to Lancashire. It shared in the general devastation of the northern part of England committed by the Conqueror; and, in 1323, it suffered from an invasion of the Scots, under Robert Bruce, who partly burned the town of Preston. The year 1363, also, is remarkable in the Lancashire annals, as that in which the county was erected into a palatinate by Edward III., in favour of his fourth son, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. In the wars between the rival houses of York and Lancaster this county was not the scene of any important event, except that, after the defeat of the Lancastrian party in the battle of Hexham, Henry VI. was concealed for a year at Waddington hall, where he was at length discovered and taken, and was conveyed to London. In the reign of Henry VII., the impostor, Lambert Simnel, with a body of Irish partisans, and two thousand Germans, who had been sent to his assistance by Margaret, widow of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, landed at the Pile of Foudrey, in the bay of Morecambe, in this county, and thence proceeded to Coventry. In the reign of Henry VIII., when the 'Pilgrims of Grace,' as the rebels of the north were called, were making their way south ward, the malcontents of Lancashire took up arms, but were speedily subdued by the Earl of Shrewsbury, aided by the Earl of Derby. During the great civil war in the reign of Charles I., no county was more frequently the scene of action than this. In the commission of array issued by the king, James, Lord Strange, was appointed lord-lieutenant of the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire: that nobleman soon after had a severe skirmish with the inhabitants of Manchester, for a magazine which they had formed; and shortly after another skirmish ensued at the same town, with some partisans of the parliament. His lordship then mustered the county in three different places,'on the heaths by Bury; on the moor at Ormskirk; and on the moor at Preston; at each of which not less than twenty thousand men were assembled. Lord Molyneux also raised a regiment in the royal cause in this county; but many of the other most influential men were actively engaged in the parliamentarian interest. The forces thus raised soon dispersed, but Lord Strange, who immediately after, by the decease of his father, became Earl of Derby, having been commanded by the king to secure the town of Manchester, raised some troops at his own expense, and commenced the siege of that town on the 26th of September, 1642, at the head of four thousand three hundred men, but raised it at the end of the week following, in obedience to the commands of the king, whom he proceeded to join without delay. Early in 1643, Sir Thomas Fairfax repaired from Yorkshire to Manchester, and there established his head-quarters. On the 10th of February, Sir John Seaton, Major-General of the parliamentarian forces, marched at the head of a body of troops from Manchester to Preston, which was then garrisoned by the king's troops, and attacked that town with such vigour, that it was taken after a combat of two hours; and soon after Lancaster was secured by the parliamentarian forces, with but little resistance. Sir John Seaton then marched to Wigan, where the Earl of Derby was strongly intrenched, and taking that place after a gallant resistance, compelled the earl to retreat to Blackburn. From Wigan the victorious forces proceeded to Warrington, which they obtained possession of after a short but resolutely-sustained siege. The united forces of the Earl of Derby and Lord Molyneux retook the town of Lancaster on the 10th of March; and three days after, their lordships advanced to Preston, which they carried by assault; but Lord Molyneux being obliged to join the king at Oxford, the Earl of Derby, with his forces, was compelled immediately to retreat to his own mansion of Latham house, which he had fortified. Early in the year 1644 commenced the memorable siege of that mansion, which was attacked by the parliamentarian forces under Sir Thomas Fairfax, and defended for three months by a strong garrison, inspirited by the heroic conduct of Charlotte Tremouille, Countess of Derby, until relieved by Prince Rupert, who pursued the parliamentarian army to Bolton. Here, the prince being joined by the Earl of Derby from the Isle of Man, Bolton was taken in a second furious assault, led by the earl at the head of two hundred chosen Lancashire men; when Colonel Rigby, the commander, and a number of his troops, succeeded in escaping from the town, and crossed the Yorkshire hills to Bradford. The prince forthwith advanced to Liverpool, which surrendered after a vigorous siege of about three weeks. He then hastened to York; but having been totally defeated, with the other generals of the royal party, at the decisive battle of Marston moor, he drew off the wreck of his army into Lancashire, where the strong holds he had so recently captured were speedily re-taken. In the summer of 1645, Latham house was again besieged by the parliamentarian forces, under the command of General Egerton, and, after a gallant defence by Colonel Rawsthorn, the garrison was at length compelled to yield to superior numbers. In the year 1648, the north of England being invaded by the Scottish army, under the Duke of Hamilton, and by another body of men which had been raised on the borders, under General Langdale, acting in concert and on behalf of the royal cause, Cromwell was ordered by the parliament to march into Lancashire to resist their further progress. These orders were promptly obeyed, and having joined the Lancashire forces which had been assembled under the command of Colonel Ashton, he advanced to Preston, where, on the evening of the 17th of July, he was met by the opposing army, which had in the mean time been joined by an Irish force under General Monroe. An action immediately ensued, in which, after a sanguinary conflict of four hours' duration in the fields, the Duke of Hamilton's troops began to give way, and were charged through the streets of Preston at the point of the bayonet, but beyond the town they made a stand for the night: in this battle, Cromwell himself states that the enemy lost one thousand men killed, and four thousand prisoners. In the night of the 18th the duke retreated with the remainder of his army to Wigan, and the next day to Warrington, but, being still pursued, his troops made a resolute stand at a pass near Wenwick, which they maintained for many hours, being at last overcome by the courage and discipline of the troops under Cromwell, when about one thousand men were killed, and two thousand made prisoners: the remainder were pursued to the town of Warrington, where they passed the bridge, and where General Bailey, to whom the Duke of Hamilton had confided the command of this division of his army, was compelled to surrender himself and all his officers and soldiers prisoners of war: by this capitulation, four thousand prisoners, with their arms, fell into the hands of the victors, and the infantry of the Scottish army was totally ruined: the remainder ultimately dispersed. The issue of this campaign compelled Sir Thomas Tyldesley, a zealous supporter of the royal cause, to abandon the siege of Lancaster castle, in which he was at that time engaged. King Charles II., with his Scottish forces, marched through this county, in 1651, on his route to Worcester: and the Earl of Derby, having collected at Preston all the strength he was able, consisting of about six bundred men, was proceeding to Worcester by way of Wigan, when he was opposed in Wigan lane by a considerable force under Colonel Lilburne, and his troops were totally routed: the earl himself escaped with numerous wounds, but shortly afterwards fell into the hands of the enemy, and was beheaded at Bolton. In this year also Lancashire suffered much from pestilence. William III., on his way to Ireland, prior to the celebrated battle of the Boyne, passed through the southern part of Lancashire, and embarked at Liverpool, June 14th, 1690. In 1715, a body of the Scottish insurgents on behalf of the Pretender entered this county from the north, and having passed through Kirkby-Lonsdale and Lancaster, arrived at Preston on the 9th of November, their whole force amounting to one thousand six hundred men; and here, after some skirmishes of minor importance, they finally surrendered to the king's forces. In 1745, the army of the Young Pretender passed through Lancashire, in its progress southward, being joined in its route by small numbers of Lancashire men, and again, in its precipitate retreat, it traversed the county in the contrary direction.

Laucashire lies within the diocese of Chester, and province of York, being included partly in the archeaconry of Chester, and partly in that of Richmond, and contains the deaneries of Blackburn, Leyland, Manchester, and Warrington, comprised in the archdeaconry of Chester; and those of Amounderness, Furness, Kendal, and Lonsdale, in the archdeaconry of Richmond: in these are sixty-six parishes, of which twenty-six are rectories, twenty-seven vicarages, and the remainder, with the exception of the three rectorial churches in the parish of Manchester, perpetual curacies: there is also a very great number of chapels of ease throughout the county, particularly in the densely-inhabited manufacturing district. For civil purposes it is divided into the six hundreds of Amounderness, Blackburn (Higher and Lower), Leyland, Lonsdale (North and South of the Sands), Salford, and West Derby. It contains the borough, market, and sea-port towns of Lancaster and Liverpool; the borough and market towns of Clitheroe, Preston, and Wigan; the borough of Newton, the market of which has been discontinued; the market and sea-port towns of Poulton in the Fylde and Ulverstone; and the market towns of Ashton under Line, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Cartmel, Chorley, Colne, Dalton, Garstang, Hawkeshead, Haslingden, Hornby, Kirkham, Manchester, Middleton, Oldham, Ormskirk, Prescot, Rochdale, Todmorden, and Warrington. Two knights are returned for the shire, and two representatives for each of the boroughs. This county is included in the northern circuit: the assizes are held at Lancaster, where are also held the quarter sessions for the hundred of Lonsdale, on the Tuesdays in the first whole week after Epiphany, Easter Sunday, the festival of St. Thomas ? Becket, and October 11th; at Preston, for the hundreds of Amounderness, Blackburn, and Leyland, on the Thursdays following the days above named; at Salford, for the hundred of Salford, on the Mondays following; and at Kirkdale near Liverpool, for the hundred of West Derby, on the Monday fortnight after they commence at Salford. The court of Annual General Sessions is holden at Preston, on the Thursday next after the feast of St. John the Baptist, and afterwards by various adjournments until the multifarious causes within the peculiar cognizance of this court are determined. The county gaol is at Lancaster; and there is a county house of correction at Manchester, another at Kirkdale, and a third at Preston: there are one hundred acting magistrates. The rates raised in the county for the year ending March 25th, 1827, amounted to £545,737. 3., the expenditure to the £539,388. 6., of which £347,911. 18. was applied to the relief of the poor.

Prior to and under the Norman dynasty, Lancashire was probably distinguished as an Honour, and was of the superior order of seigniories. The Honour of Lancaster was given by William the Conqueror to Roger de Poictou, who in turn bestowed various parts of it upon his followers. In the interval between the first division of property among the Normans and the general survey, the lands between the Ribble and the Mersey were forfeited to the crown by the defection of that nobleman, and are consequently mentioned in that record as the property of the king. The Honour of Lancaster was, however, restored to Roger de Poictou by William Rufus, in whose reign he again forfeited it by rebellion; and this princely inheritance was given to Stephen, Count of Blois, and afterwards King of England. Stephen, on ascending the throne, bestowed it on his son, William de Blois, Earl of Mortaigne and Boulogne; and, on the death of this nobleman, Richard I. gave it to his brother John, afterwards King of England. At a subsequent period, Ranulph, fourth earl of Chester, possessed all the land between the Ribble and the Mersey, together with all the other territories which had been held by Roger de Poictou. Henry III. made his youngest son, Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster, and gave him the Honour and estates. His son Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, was beheaded at Pontefract, March 22nd, 1322, for his distinguished share in the insurrection to displace the De Spensers, the favourites of Edward III.; but this sentence was afterwards reversed by parliament, and his title and estates devolved upon his brother Henry, who left an only son, on whom Edward III. conferred the title of Duke of Lancaster. These possessions afterwards descended to John of Gaunt, who married Blanche, daughter and co-heiress of the Duke of Lancaster just mentioned, and the title was revived in his favour. Edward III. also advanced the county of Lancaster to the dignity of a palatinate by a royal patent expressed in these terms: 'We have granted fo ourselves and our heirs to our son (John) that he shall have, during life, within the county of Lancaster, his court of Chancery, and writs to be issued out under his seal belonging to the office of Chancellor; his justices both for holding the pleas of the crown, and for all other pleas relating to common law, and the cognizance thereof, and all executions by his writs and officers within the same; and all other liberties and royalties relating to the county palatine as freely and fully as the Earl of Chester is known to enjoy them within the county of Chester,' &c. This prince was succeeded in his estates by the celebrated Henry of Bolingbroke, afterwards King Henry IV. of England, from whom the duchy of Lancaster descended to his son Henry V., and from that monarch to his son Henry VI. But when the latter was attainted, in the first year of Edward IV., this duchy was declared by parliament to be forfeited to the crown, and an act was passed vesting the whole in Edward IV. and his heirs for ever. In the reign of Henry VII., however, another act was passed, vesting it in that monarch and his heirs for ever, since which time, the kings of England have always been Dukes of Lancaster. The estates of the duchy were greatly increased by Henry VIII., at the time of the dissolution of religious houses, as well as by the act of Edward VI. for the dissolution of colleges and chantries, and by a charter of Philip and Mary, granted in pursuance of an act of parliament; but the necessities of various succeeding monarchs compelled them to raise money on these estates, by means of long leases, grants in fee, &c., and the revenue arising from them is still much curtailed by the leases with which they are encumbered. In the first year of the Commonwealth, a commission was appointed for the sale of the crown and duchy lands, the transaction of which was cancelled at the Restoration.

The county palatine and the duchy of Lancaster, with regard to extent, are quite distinct; for there are various estates forming part of the duchy in twenty-five other counties in England. Belonging to the duchy also is a considerable share of ecclesiastical patronage, as also the appointment of sheriffs for the county palatine. The peculiar jurisdiction and proceedings of the courts of law in the county palatine of Lancaster are the result of those privileges granted to its former dukes, who had, in fact, sovereign authority within the limits of their dominion; for, besides the privileges already mentioned, they had power to pardon treasons, murders, and felonies, and all offences were said to be committed against their peace, sword, and dignity, and not, as now, 'against the peace of our Lord the King, his crown and dignity.' By the 27th of Henry VIII., however, which abridged the privileges of the counties palatine, it was enacted that all writs and processes should be made in the name of the king, but should be tested, or witnessed, in the name of the owner of the franchise. All writs, therefore, must be under the seal of the respective franchises; and the judges who sit in this county palatine have a special commission from the duchy of Lancaster, and not the ordinary commission under the Great Seal of England. The court of Chancery of the duchy has cognizance of matters of an equitable nature, whether they relate to the county palatine, or to the duchy, and of all questions of revnue and council affecting the ducal possessions. It is also a court of appeal from the Chancery of the county palatine; and, being held at the duchy office in Westminster, all its proceedings are dated before His Majesty 'at his palace at Westminster,' and not, as other royal acts, at the residence of the monarch for the time being. The principal officers of the duchy court are, the chancellor, the attorney general, the king's serjeant, the king's counsel, the receiver general, the two auditors, the elerk of the council and registrar, the deputy registrar and secretary, and two clerks in court. The court of Chancery of the county palatine is an original and independent court, as ancient as the 50th of Edward III.: the office is at Preston, and the court sits at least four times in the year, namely, once at each assize at Lancaster, and once at Preston in the interval of each assize. The general practice of the court is similar to that of the High Court of Chancery, with which and the court of Exchequer it has concurrent jurisdiction in all matters of equity, its cognizance of which depends on the person or lands of the defendant being amenable to the process of this court; but its jurisdiction is exclusive of all other courts of equity when both the subject of the suit and the residences of the parties litigant are within the county. An appeal from the chancery of Lancashire lies to the duchy chamber at Westminster, and from that to the king in parliament. Although the bills are addressed to the chancellor of the duchy, the vice-chancellor of the county palatine is the judge of the court: the chancellor of the duchy, assisted by two judges in commission for the county palatine, sits to hear causes at Westminster. All original writs within the county palatine issue from the Chancery of Lancashire, and writs from the courts of Westminster are directed to the chancellor of the duchy, who makes out his mandate to the sheriff of the county to execute and return thern into the chancery; and the chancellor and vice-chancellor are authorised by act of parliament to appoint commissioners for the purpose of taking special bail, or affidavits, in any of the courts within the county palatine. The officers of this court are, the chancellor of the duchy, the vice-chancellor, the registrar, examiner, and first clerk; the five cursitors and clerks in court, who are the attornies; the seal-keeper; and the messenger. The court of Common Pleas for the county palatine is an original superior court of record at common law, having jurisdiction over all real actions for lands, and in all actions against corporations within the county, as well as over all personal actions where the defendant resides in Lancashire, although the cause of action may have arisen elsewhere: its returns are on the first Wednesday in every month. The court is held at Lancaster every assize, before two judges of the courts at Westminster who have chosen the northern circuit, and who are commissioned half-yearly, one as the 'Chief Justice,' the other as 'one of the justices of the Common Pleas at Lancaster.' The patent of the judges for the Common Pleas also appoints one of the judges 'Chief Justice,' and the other 'one of the justices of all manner of pleas within the county palatine;' and under this, the causes sent by mittimus from the courts at Westminster are tried at bar, as well as all pleas of the crown. This court is of great advantage to the commercial county of Lancaster, as well because its process for arrests extends to all parts of the county, and may be had without the delay of sending to London, as on account of the celerity and excellence of its practice a great majority of the cases now tried at Lancaster are brought in this court. The general official business of the court of Common Pleas is transacted by the prothonotary's deputy: the office of prothonotary is a patent in the gift of the crown, in right of the duchy of Lancaster. The court of King's Bench and the court of Common Pleas at Westminster have concurrent jurisdiction with the court of Common Pleas for the palatine of Lancaster in almost all cases. The cases in which the jurisdiction of these courts is excluded, and that of the Common Pleas of Lancaster must be adopted, are chiefly pleas of lands within the county, actions against corporations existing in Lancashire, or in which a defendant residing there is to be tried for less than £20. All writs out of the courts at Westminster, except those of Habeas Corpus, are directed to the chancellor, and not to the Common Pleas in the first instance; and, where execution of them must be done by the sheriff, the chancellor issues his mandate to that officer, and, on receiving his return, certifies in his own name to the court above, that the writ has been duly executed; and if the chancellor return that he commanded the sheriff and has received from him no answer, the court above will rule the sheriff to return the mandate. There is only one franchise in the county having the execution of writs by its own officer, that of the liberty of Furness, to the bailiff of which the sheriff directs his precepts, and receives from him the requisite returns. There are an attorney-general and two king's counsel for the palatinate. The duchy of Lancaster had its star chamber, until that court was dissolved in the 16th of Charles I.

The form of this county is very irregular; for, besides the deviousness of its boundaries on the land side, its coast is indented by numerous bays and ?stuaries; the principal of which are, the ?stuary of the river Mersey to the south of the county; that of the Ribble; and the ?stuary of the Dudden, lying west of the northernmost part of the county. On the north-west portion of Lancashire is the island of Walney, a long strip of land separated from the tract called Low Furness by a narrow channel. Various other small islands lie scattered within the vicinity of this, and castward of the southern part of it, the largest being that of Old Barrow, near which are Ramsey island and the island of Dova Haw; and at the entrance of Pile harbour is that on which Foudrey eastle stands, and which forms a triangle with Roe island. Sheep island, and Foulney island. Lancashire is naturally divided into two grand districts,'the high, mountainous, heathy tract of the northern and eastern parts, and the low, level tract which spreads out to the south and west; the line of division between which may be drawn in a sinuous course, below the first rising grounds of the high heathy tracts, from the south-eastern limit of the county, by the towns of Oldham. Rochdale, Bury. Bolton, Chorley, Preston, Garstang, Lancaster, and Kellet, nearly to Burton. The two portions of high craggy land situated in that part of the county which lies furthest to the north-west may also be separated from the more level tracts, by a line passing from the boundary of the county just below Yealand, by Warton, Lindreth, Silverdale, and Allithwaite, to Newland, Ulverstone, and the line that forms the division between High and Low Furness, passing above Dalton, by Kirkby-Ireleth, to Dudden Sands. For the clearer description of the surface and of the various soils of these two districts, it will be necessary to make the following subdivisions, viz.: the hilly and high heathy division; the steep fell, or High Furness, division; the elevated craggy limestone division; the valley-land division; the Mersey, or southern, division; the Ribble and Fylde division; the Lune and flat limestone division; the Low Furness division; and the moss, or peaty, division. The first of these comprises different mountainous ridges which rise in succession from the south-eastern boundary of the county towards the town of Rochdale, and terminate in the high rocky tract above Leek, extending in breadth from the great line of division already marked out to the confines of Yorkshire. Throughout the whole of this extent the land is almost invariably of the high moory freestone kind, and generally produces a coarse black heath, excepting only where the vales intervene. The second division comprises the whole of those high rocky tracts called fells, situated north of the sands (the extensive flat tracts of the bay of Morecambe, which are always dry at low water, and separate the northern division of the hundred of Lonsdale from the rest of the county), extending, in one direction, from the towns of Ulverstone and Dalton to the river Brathy; and in the other, from the river Dudden to the river Winster at Bowland bridge. This tract is moory in different places, but the heath where it occurs is weak in its growth: the rock is in general of the blue, or whinstone kind. The third, or craggy limestone division, is of much smaller extent, the principal part of it lying chiefly in the north-western part of the county, and extending from a little above Warton and Yealand to the point where it joins the sea-coast at Silverdale: there are small tracts in the Furness districts, and at the two Kellets, as well as at Chipping and Clitheroe towards the eastern limits of the county. The fourth division includes the various vallies formed by the hills that constitute the two first divisions: some of these are of very considerable extent, others very narrow, the more extensive vallies being those which border on the larger and less impetuous rivers: the aggregate quantity of this kind of land is very considerable, and generally of excellent quality. The Mersey division comprises a fertile and level tract of land, and extends from the northern bank of the Mersey to the southern border of the Ribble, in one direction; and from the sea-coast to considerably above the town of Oldham, in the other. The sixth division is of less extent than the preceding, but little inferior in fertility; and stretches from the northern bank of the Ribble to the southern border of the Lune, and from Lytham and Bispham to near Inglewhite. The seventh division is of small size, commencing at Sunderland point, at the mouth of the Lune, and running northward, in a narrow tract along the seacoast, as far as the before-mentioned high, craggy, limestone ridge, by Warton and Yealand: to the east of this rises the ridge of high moory ground above Kellet. The eighth division comprises a small portion of land on the northern side of the sands, generally called Lov Furness: it extends from a little above Ulverstone and Dalton to the extreme southern point at Rampside, being bounded on both sides by the sea, and includes the several small islands that lie to the south. The ninth and last division includes the different peaty and boggy tracts called mosses: they are found in both of the grand natural divisions of the county, but they are by much the most extensive in the flat district; the two largest being Chat-moss near Worsley, in the southern part of the county, and Pilling-moss, much farther north: in some situations these mossy tracts have undergone great improvement, but in others they remain nearly in their original state. The lands of the first four of these divisions are chiefly in pasture, the more high and mountainous parts being for sheep, the declivities and vales for cattle and sheep. The next four divisions are under various systems of cultivation, but grass land mostly prevails, especially in the vicinities of the towns and villages. The improved boggy tracts generally become excellent land for either grass or grain. Besides the districts above described, there are various tracts of sandy marsh land, lying on the borders of the sea-coast, which are liable to occasional inundations by the tide, and the principal of which are situated towards the northern extremity of the county, being those near Lancaster, the tract below Warton, the ?stuaries of the Leven and Dudden, and the marsh lands about Walney island.

The air of Lancashire, though everywhere pure and salubrious, is much more cold and piercing in the elevated mountainous tracts of the north and east, than in the vallies formed by them, and in the lower districts which shelve to the south and west, where it is generally mild and genial. Great vicissitudes of heat and cold are felt in the vicinity of the large mosses, in consequence of the evaporation of the moisture which is there so long retained. In the most northern part of Lancashire, the breezes that come directly from the Irish sea, and those that have crossed the mountains of Cumberland, in the spring and summer months, are frequently cold and chilling. A greater quantity of rain falls in this county than in most others of the kingdom. The seed time and harvest in the districts contiguous to the mountains of the north and east are later than in the southern and south-western tracts.

The principal soils are loams of various kinds, clay, sand, and peat-earth: the substrata on which these rest are chiefly freestone, whin-stone, or limestone rocks, fossil coal, marl, gravel, and sand. The greater part of the high ranges of hills in the eastern and northern parts of the county, their declivities more especially, are overrun with the heath plant, which rarely exists, except where there is a soil of peaty matter, which in these tracts is sometimes of considerable depth: where these peaty materials are mixed with earthy particles they form a good friable mould, which constitutes the higher parts of the high ridges and of the lower elevations. In some situations this peat-earth is mixed with a sort of blue clay, having a marly subtratum: the depth of these soils is from six or moors inches to several feet. Lancaster and Scotforth moors have most of the stiff clayey substance in the composition of their soils, which are generally of smaller depth. The soils of the moors north of the sands are generally much thinner than those to the south, but of a better quality. Compared with the tracts just mentioned, the deep moss and peat lands are of very small extent: they are met with both in the hollows of the high mountain ridges and on the declivities of the hills, as well as in the extended plains below, but those in the latter situation are the deepest and of the greatest extent: they consist of two beds, the upper of which is generally in thin lamina of a brownish colour, and very open and spongy in its texture; the lower bed is a kind of hard, compact, black, vegetable earth, generally having below it clay or marl, occasionally mixed with fine white sand: rocky strata are also sometimes found below the peaty matter. On the banks of the numerous streams is much rich valley land, provincially called holme, the quality of which varies much according to situation and other circumstances. The largest and most fertile of these vales are those of the Ribble, the Lune, and the Wyer, the soil being a rich loam, varying in depth from one foot to upwards of four, the ordinary depth being about two feet. The soil of such valley tracts as have hardly any stream through them is inferior in quality to those just mentioned, always bearing affinity to the soils of the adjacent rising grounds: these vallies form the richest pastures and meadows of the county. A tract of rich loam occupies the whole space between the Mersey and the Ribble, and between the sea-coast and the eastern hilly tract: the prevailing colours of the loam are yellow, red, brown, and black; some of them have almost the tenacity of clay, while others are light and sandy; and all of them are fertile, excepting only the peaty loams. The greater part of this district is under grass, and the remainder devoted to tillage. Clayey loam of different qualities forms the soil of the tract which stretches from the northern bank of the Ribble to the southern border of the Lune, and extends in breadth from the sea-coast to the foot of the mountainous range on the eastern side of the county: the lower part of this constitutes the rich tract of corn land commonly called the Fylde. Almost the whole extent of land from below Stalmine, by Preesall, to Pilling hall, having Pilling-moss on one side and the sea on the other, has an alluvial soil intermixed in different parts with white sand and peat-earth. About one-third of this whole tract is under tillage; the rest is chiefly appropriated to the dairy. In the northern part of the county are tracts of dry loam and limestone soils, which are separated from each other by the ?stuaries of the Ken and the Leven, and by the bay of Morecambe: one extent reaches from the northern bank of the Lune and its ?stuary to that part of the boundary of the county which runs from Herring Syke, by the crag at Dalton and Leighton Beek, to beyond Yealand, spreading between the sea-coast and the hilly moors: another tract extends from the point of seacoast near Rampside to above the towns of Dalton and Ulverstone, being bounded by the sea on both sides; this latter tract is called Low Furness, and includes the islands of Walney, Old Barrow, &c., at its southern extremity. A small portion of this kind of land extends from Allithwaite to beyond Flookborough, and is bounded on one side by the sea, and on the other by the high craggy ground: there is also a small tract on the eastern side of the county, stretching from below the town of Clitheroe, in a northerly direction, to the boundary of the county, and from the banks of the Ribble to Pendle hill. The surface of these lime-tone soils is throughout very uneven, the rocks frequently projecting above it; but they nevertheless comprise many fertile tracts of land, the soil in higher situations is frequently thin, but very friable; in the flatter districts it is of considerable depth. The island of Walney contains some good land of a strong quality, resting on a clay or on a sandy bottom: in the central part of the island the soil is a clayey loam, sometimes blended with sand: towards the north it is at some places mixed with peat-earth: at each end of the island the land is sandy. The soil of Old Barrow island is a fine turnip loam, of tolerable depth. The small island of Foulney is chiefly marshy alluvial land, under grass.

It has been computed that a little more than one-fourth of the land of this county is under tillage: the principal tracts of arable land lie towards its western border, including those of the Fylde, the banks of the Lune, and Low Furness: most of these are excellent wheat lands; but on the eastern side of the county the grain chiefly cultivated is oats, great quantities being also grown in all the corn districts. The principal object with most of the farmers in the western part of the county is to obtain crops of potatoes and wheat, with the intervention of as few other crops as possible. The crops most cultivated are wheat, barley, oats, beans, and potatoes. The general average produce of wheat is estimated at about twenty-five bushels per statute acre; that of barley at about thirty-five bushels. There is a greater proportion of oats than of any other grain grown in this county, a great quantity of oaten bread being consumed by the population of the northern and eastern parts of it: the produce is about forty-five bushels per acre. The produce of beans varies much, according to the quality and fitness of the soils. Great attention is paid to the cultivation of potatoes, which are extensively grown in all parts of the county, the crop succeeding extremely well on the various kinds of loam, and on the drier peaty soils: the usual produce is from three hundred to three hundred and fifty bushels per acre. Onions are grown to a considerable extent in the neighbourhood of Middleton, Stretford, and other places near Warrington. Very fine crops of clover are cultivated in this county, the seed being generally sown with wheat, Rye, peas, tares, common turnips, Swedish turnips, cabbages, carrots, and lucerne, are also cultivated, but none of them to such an extent as the crops abovementioned. By far the greater part of the county is under grass, immense quantities of hay being requisite for the supply of the horses and cows belonging to the inhabitants of the towns: a great extent of grass land is also occupied as bleaching-grounds. This kind of land may be distinguished into the rich hay meadows, the fine feeding and dairy grounds, and the coarse pastures and elevated sheep tracts. The meadow lands are chiefly the valley tracts on the banks of the numerous streams of the county: the richest being those which lie low and are frequently flooded. The richer pastures are usually employed in feeding, or for the dairy, generally the latter when near large towns: the best feeding pastures are considered to be those on the borders of the Lune and the Ribble. There are also rich pastures on the banks of different streams in various parts of the county, as well as some near Liverpool. There are some small tracts of excellent marsh land at different places on the sea-coast. In the greater part of the county, and more especially in the eastern and northern parts of it, are large tracts of pasture land of inferior quality and unimproved condition: upon these much young stock is reared and kept. In the vicinity of the large towns and villages numerous and extensive dairies are kept, for supplying them with milk. In the eastern parts of the county are many small dairy farms; but the most extensive dairy pastures are those on the strong soil north of the Ribble, the produce of which is principally cheese, and those in different parts of the Fylde. To the north of the Lune are some small dairy pastures, which produce excellent butter and a small quantity of cheese, North of Lancaster sands are large dairy pastures furnishing both cheese and butter of excellent quality: these are found in different parts of Low Furness, and also around Hawkeshead, and at different places in the northernmost portion of the county. There are many extensive, mountainous, and moory tracts of land in the northern and eastern parts, provincially called fells, which support vast numbers of sheep through most of the year. These sheep are frequently thus pastured in common, being brought down into the enclosed pastures only for a short time in the depth of winter. Besides the common manures, the lands derive considerable benefit from the use of marl as a manure: this substance is very generally met with, and is more valuable in proportion to the quantity of calcareous matter it may contain. Sea-sand and muscles are also esteemed of great value in some situations, as well as peat-earth, and a particularly fat, unctuous kind of clay, which is dug close to the sea-shore in some places. The breed of cattle, commonly called 'Lancashire long-horns,' though in much request in the midland counties, is not very frequently met with in Lancashire: the cows do not afford so much milk as some other breeds, but the cream is generally richer, and in greater quantity, Where feeding is the object in view, this and the small Scotch breed are kept; but where much milk is wanted, the short-horned or Holderness cows, the Suffolk poll cows, the Yorkshire red sort, and sometimes the improved Derbyshire breed, are kept: the long-horned breed are, however, found on the best dairy farms of the middle and northern parts of the county. In Lancashire cattle are seldom worked; but when they are, the long-horned breed is mostly employed. In most parts of the county the farmers rear the greater part of their stock. The larger grass farms near populous towns supply them with milk, the smaller farms with butter, cheese being made in the more remote parts of the county. In several places cheese of excellent quality is made, equal in many respects to that of Cheshire: the cows commonly kept for this purpose are of the long-horned or native breed; each cow produces from two to three hundred weight of cheese annually, Several long-horned and Scotch cattle are fattened in the pastures, though but few cattle of any sort are fed in stalls during the winter. The only breed of sheep peculiar to the county are those on the crags near Warton and Silverdale, of which tract they are natives: they are of good size, have small horns, and white spotted faces, and are much esteemed for the flavour of their flesh, their proneness to fatten, and the fineness of their wool. Few sheep are found in the southern part of the county; but in the northern many are bred and kept upon the mountains and the moors: these sheep are an inferior sort, being of the heath and of the Welch breed, with coarse wool. They are turned on the hills early in the spring, and remain there until November, when they are brought down into the enclosed pastures: at three or four years old they are usually sorted, and sold off for fattening in the pastures of the lowlands. In this manner are also managed numerous large flocks, which are kept on the mountainous tracts of the eastern parts of the county, as well as others on the mountainous lands north of Lancaster sands: upon Furness fells it is reckoned that not less than fifty thousand sheep are kept during the summer months; some becoming quite fat, and affording meat of the finest quality. In this county sheep are never folded with the view of improving the land. The new Leicester, and the South-Down breed of sheep, have been introduced into Lancashire, and found to succeed in most parts of it. Of hogs there is a middle-sized white sort, with slouched ears, which is peculiar to this county, and is frequently met with in the district north of Lancaster; but there is no prevailing breed, the main supply being obtained from dealers, who bring them from Berkshire, Shropshire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire, as also from Wales and Ireland. In almost every part of Lancashire are bred good horses of various kinds: those in most request are strong team horses; stout, compact saddle horses; and a light middle-sized breed for mail-coach and post horses. Near all the towns of magnitude are lands of considerable extent applied to the raising of vegetables and fruit: the horticultural fields in the neighbourhood of Liverpool more especially, are very extensive; for, besides the supply of the town, great quantities of vegetables are required for the shipping; quantities of dried herbs are carried out to Africa, and onions also are exported. There are pretty good orchards in different parts of the county; the chief difficulty in raising the trees is that of protecting them from the violence of the western and southwestern winds. The soil of the older orchards is often under grass, but that of the younger plantations is generally cultivated with either the spade or the plough. Various agricultural societies have been established in different parts of the county. The Manchester Agricultural Society was instituted in the year 1767, its views being at first confined to the hundred of Salford, but they have since been extended to a district of about thirty miles round it, comprehending the northern and central parts of the county of Chester: its meetings are held twice in each year, one time at Manchester, the other at Altrincham in Cheshire. Some time after this, another society of the same kind was established in the south-western part of the county, and, from the name of the hundred in which it is situated, it is denominated the West Derby Agricultural Society. A similar institution has been formed in the eastern part of the county, which holds its half-yearly meetings at Whalley, and is called the Whalley Agricultural Society. Northward of all these, Lancaster has for some time had its agricultural society; and one was established at Ulverstone, in the year 1805, called the North Lonsdale Agricultural Society.

The waste lands consist either of moors and mountain land, or of the boggy tracts called mosses, and of marshes; they are of considerable extent, though of late years different commons have been enclosed, and some of the mosses have long been under tillage. The quantity of waste mountain land is computed at about sixty-two thousand acres; and that of the mosses and marshes at about thirty-six thousand acres, of which twenty thousand are contained in the mosses, and the remainder in the marshes, which latter are chiefly found on the western coast. The two most extensive tracts of improved moss-land are Trafford-moss, which is now for the most part converted into grass land; and Chat-moss, the draining of which is of later date. The tracts which formerly constituted the Forest of Myerscough, Fulwood, Bleasdale, Wyersdale, and Quernmoor, situated in the more northern parts of the county, in the hundreds of Amounderness and Lonsdale, are the property of the King, as Duke of Lancaster. The three first of these lie along the side of the great road from Preston to Lancaster: Myerscough Forest is wholly enclosed; but those of Fulwood and Bleasdale still have large tracts of unenclosed ground, more especially where they approach the high ridges of the eastern part of the county. The Forest of Wyersdale now forms the township of that name, which lies along the elevated tract on the Yorkshire boundary: it is divided into twelve different portions, which still retain the ancient name of vaccaries, or cow-pastures; four of these divisions are wholly enclosed, but the rest have all of them out-pastures, which are high mountainous commons and fells, frequently of great extent. The Quernmoor Forest tract is situated further north, and is much smaller than that of Wyersdale, but contains several vaccaries: the whole of it is now enclosed. These two last-mentioned forests have separate courts, which are held half-yearly by the master forester.

In this county there are many stone fences: dry stone walls are frequently found in the north and northeastern parts; dashed walls, and walls built with mortar, are most commonly seen in the northernmost part only; sod walls are met with in several places on the borders of the sea. The woods of the county are chiefly in the more central parts, about Garstang, on the banks of the Wyer, the Ribble, the Lune, and some other rivers, and in the parks of several of the nobility and gentry. The principal coppice woods are in the northern parts of the county, the land on which they grow being chiefly steep and rocky, and unfit for any other purpose: their main produce is hoop-wood, charcoal, props for the coal mines, and oak-bark. Various plantations have been made in different parts of the county, and, amongst other trees, of the alder, which is in great request in the manufacturing districts, where it is used to hang cotton yarn on to dry, the wood acquiring a fine polish by use, and not splintering from exposure to the weather: the bark of this is made use of in dyeing.

The freestone substrata are of three kinds, yellow, white, and red, and are found in almost every district of the county. The blue rocky substratum prevails most in the elevated tracts of the liberty of Furness, and the division of Cartmel, north of the sands. The limestone substrata, which are much dispersed, are mostly white in the north-western part of the county, but near the eastern boundary they are often of a dark brown or black colour. The limestone and freestone substrata are often intermingled in a remarkable manner. Coal is too deep from the surface to form the basis of soils, except in some places towards the eastern boundary of the county, where it approaches very near the surface. Clay and marl, both separate and mingled, frequently form the subsoils of the flat tracts, and are met with at the depth of from five or six inches to several feet. Gravel and sand in flat situations, and the latter on elevated ground also, are sometimes found to constitute the subsoil. The chief mineral productions are coal, copper, lead, and iron. The strata of coal seem to lie for the most part in three distinct parallel ranges, running across the county from south-west to north-east: the first begins near Worsley, and takes its course north of Manchester, by Bury and Rochdale, to the eastern boundary of the county above Todmorden; the next, which is the most extensive tract, commences below Prescot, and passes south of Blackburn, by Colne, to the Yorkshire boundary, which it crosses; and the third, which is by far the smallest, begins above Lancaster, in the township of Quernmoor, and extends by Caton, Farleton, Tatham, and Winnington, to the borders of Yorkshire. These strata lie in some places at a very great depth, while in others they approach very near the surface; their thickness and quality also vary greatly, even in the different shafts of the same colliery: coal of a black, compact, marbly appearance, called cannel coal, is found chiefly at Haigh, near Wigan. Numerous coal pits are sunk in various parts of the tracts above mentioned; most of the large collieries having steam-engines of great power. Though coal is the ordinary fuel, yet, in the vicinity of the mosses, peat and coal are burned together. The principal tract in which copper is found in any considerable quantity is among the rugged barren mountains in the northernmost part of the High Furness district, approaching the borders of Cumberland. Here are only two mines, Conistone and Muckle Gill; the former being the older. The ore obtained from both mines is of the yellow sort, and but poor in metal: after the ore obtained at Muckle Gill has been cleaned, sorted, and broken, it is forwarded to Cheadle in Staffordshire, there to be smelted and manufactured into wire, and sheets for coppering the bottoms of ships. Lead-ore is chiefly found in the northern and eastern parts of the county, but it is no where obtained in great quantities. The Anglezark mine has been worked for a long time: the ore is of the common blue lead kind. The only part of the county where iron is found in sufficient quantity to be worked is in the liberty of Furness, on the north side of Lancaster sand: the principal mines are Lindal Moor and Cross Gates. The ore raised at Lindal Moor is generally either sent to the furnace at Newland, or to Old Barrow, to be shipped for Wales, the Carron works, and other places; that obtained at Cross Gates mine is chiefly conveyed to the neighbourhood of Broughton, where are extensive smelting-works. The county produces abundance of slates, flagstones, limestone, and freestone, for the purposes of building. The blue slate quarries are very numerous, but are chiefly in the rocky mountainous tracts of the northern parts of High Furness: slate of a lighter colour and very inferior quality is raised at different places in the county, south of the sands, and at the same places flag-stones are likewise obtained. Quarries of freestone are wrought in most parts of the county, south of the sands: the best sort of stones for sharpening scythes is found and prepared at Rainford. Tracts of limestone, generally of small extent, exist in different parts of the county, both north and south of the sands, in which numerous quarries are worked.

The pre-eminence of the manufactures of Lancashire over those of the other districts in England where the inhabitants are similarly engaged, has long been known and acknowledged. These manufactures are various; but that of cotton in its different branches is by far the most important, and is one of the most extensive in the world. Manchester is its grand centre, and from that town it has extended over the adjoining and more northern parts of Lancashire, as well as into the adjacent counties on the east and south. Soon after the year 1328, about which time the emigrant clothiers from Flanders were dispersed over England, Manchester became famous for the manufacture of a species of woollen goods, called 'Manchester cottons.' In the reign of Henry VIII. this county had made some further progress in manufactures and commerce: and at the period of the national disturbances, in the reign of Charles I., the manufactures of linen and cotton, as well as of woollen, were carried on here. Until the year 1760, the sale of cotton goods had been almost entirely for home consumption; but about that period, considerable markets for this species of goods were opened on the continents of Europe and America, and the consequent urgent demand encouraged great and valuable improvements in the machinery employed. These improvements, the successfully-attained object of which was to lessen the requisite quantity of manual labour, on their first introduction, gave rise to great tumults, the inhabitants of the manufacturing districts destroying the machines, in consequence of the groundless fear that they should otherwise be thrown out of employment. One of the most recent inventions of this kind is the power-loom. A factory of steam looms was first erected in this district at Manchester, in 1806, with two others at Stockport, and a fourth at West Houghton, since which period they have been erected throughout the manufacturing district generally. In each of these mills every process, from the picking of the raw cotton to its conversion into cloth, is performed; and on a scale of such magnitude that in a single factory is done as much work as would, in the last age, have engaged an entire district. The steam looms are chiefly employed in the production of printing cloth and shirting; but they also weave thicksets, fancy cords, dimities, cambrics, and quiltings, besides silks, worsted, and woollen broad cloths. Inkles, tapes, and checks, with woollens, flannels, baizes, and linens, all rank among the manufactures of this county, and have each their proper seat. The silk trade, which had formerly flourished to a considerable extent, but fell into decay in consequence of the rapid growth of the cotton business, has of late revived, and is now carried on with increased activity. The spinning and manufacture of cotton prevail at Manchester, Oldham, Colne, Burnley, Haslingden, Preston, Accrington, Bury, Middleston, Ashton, Bolton, Chorley, Blackburn, Heap, Stayley, Wigan, Eccles, Bacup, Chowbent, Rochdale, &c.; calico-printing and bleaching at Manchester, Blackburn, Bolton, Bury, Accrington, and Chorley; muslins at Manchester, Bolton, Chorley, and Preston; and fustians at Manchester, Oldham, Bury, Bolton, Warrington, and Heap. The manufacture of woollen goods is extensively carried on at Manchester, Bury, Bacup, Newchurch, Rochdale, and Heap: flannels are made at Manchester, Rochdale, and Haslingden. There are several hat manufactories at Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Denton, Bolton, Audenshaw, Howley Hill, Colne, and Wigan. Paper is made at Manchester, Bolton, Blackburn, Farnworth, Ashton, and Warrington. Lancaster, the county town, possesses comparatively but little of the above manufactures, its chief trade being in the manufacture and exportation of mahogany furniture and upholstery. In the town of Warrington are large manufactories for pins, glass, and other articles; but the principal employment is in the making of sail-cloth. At Ulverstone, as well as at Caton, are manufactories for the working of flax, and at the former town some checks are manufactured. There are many iron works and nail manufactories in different parts of the county: the principal works of this kind are those for smelting iron-ore, in that portion of the county which lies north of Lancaster sands. In this part of the county also, on the banks of the Leven, are powder-mills. Glass and earthenware establishments are very numerous, the largest being at St. Helen's and Warrington; and in the south-western part of the county, watches, watch movements, and watch tools, are made to a considerable extent and in great perfection. In these various branches of manufacture is employed an immense number of persons: it is supposed that not less than one hundred and fifty thousand individuals are engaged in the cotton trade alone in Lancashire; the economy of labour produced by machinery at the same time being, in some of its branches, the spinning more especially, so great, that one man and four children will spin [as much yarn as was spun by six hundred women and girls fifty years ago. Immense quantities of cotton yarn are exported for the supply of the manufactures of France, Germany, and Switzerland.

The commerce of Lancashire, like its manufactures and in conjunction with them, has risen with unexampled rapidity, and attained an importance unequalled by that of any other county, Middlesex alone excepted. Besides the great port of Liverpool, there are the minor ones of Lancaster, Ulverstone, and Preston, which have each a coasting trade, though very little foreign commerce. Great part of the foreign commerce of Lancashire, of which Liverpool is the grand medium, consists in the exportation of the manufactures of the county, together with the woollens and cutlery of Yorkshire, the produce of the salt-mines of Cheshire, the earthenware of Staffordshire, and the hardware of Warwickshire, which are poured into this great western emporium, and thence forwarded to America and the West Indies, Africa and the East Indies, and to the continent of Europe, exclusively of the vast trade with Ireland. The imports consist of cotton, sugar, tobacco, rice, corn, timber, and a variety of other commodities, the productions of every civilized country and of all climates. The canal system of inland navigation, which in this county is peculiarly extensive, and to which may be added the important ranges of newly formed rail-roads, facilitate and expedite this immense traffic in an astonishing degree.

The rivers and streams of Lancashire are very numerous: the Mersey, the Ribble, and the Lune, or Loyne, are its largest rivers; and next to these in magnitude are the Irwell, the Douglas, the Wyer, the Leven, the Crake, and the Dudden, all of which to some extent are navigable. The Mersey constitutes the southern boundary of this county, separating it from Cheshire, and is formed by the small rivers Tame, Etherow, and Goyt, which respectively rise in the counties of York, Chester, and Derby, and unite at Stockport, from which town the Mersey takes a winding south-westerly course, and below Warrington spreads into a channel of considerable breadth, the greater part of which is dry at low water; but it is suddenly contracted by the projecting point of land opposite Runcorn, below which it again expands, and having been augmented by various streams, forms a large ?stuary, which opens into the Irish sea, in a north-westerly direction a little below Liverpool, being much narrower opposite that town than it is some miles further inland. The tide flows up this river as far as the vicinity of Warrington, where it is stopped by a weir. In pursuance of an act of parliament obtained in the year 1720, for making navigable the rivers Mersey and Irwell, in that part of their course lying between Liverpool and Manchester, this river, by the aid of an artificial cut from the south of Warrington to some distance above that town, pursuant to an act obtained in 1720, is made navigable for barges of from sixty to seventy tons' burden, as far as the mouth of the Irwell, which latter river in like manner is rendered navigable up to Manchester: the Mersey yields salmon, smelts, and soles, besides a great variety of other fish. The Ribble rises in the moors above Craven in Yorkshire, and having formed the boundary between that county and Lancashire for a few miles in the vicinity of Clitheroe, it enters the county, and intersects it from east to west, passing by Ribchester and Preston, below which latter town it soon expands into a broad ?stuary which joins the Irish sea. The tide flows up this river as high as Preston, near to which place it is navigable for vessels of small burden. Salmon of delicious flavour frequent this river, and the fishery extends as high as Brockholes. The Lune, or Loyne, has its rise in the mountainous tracts of Westmorland, and entering this county a little below the bridge at Kirk by-Lonsdale, pursues a south-westerly course to Lancaster, and some distance lower widens into a broad ?stuary, and finally joins the Irish sea at Sunderland point. This river is navigable for small vessels to Lancaster, but ships of great burden can pass no higher than Glasson point: like the other navigable rivers of Lancashire, it affords a plentiful supply of salmon. The Irwell is formed by several small streams which rise in the hilly tracts to the south of Haslingden, and runs in an irregular southerly course by Bury to Manchester, where it becomes navigable: from this town it takes a south-westerly course, and falls into the Mersey a little below Flixton: flowing through the most populous districts of the county, this river affords great advantage to the different manufactories situated on its banks. The Douglas rises on the moors of Anglezark, to the north of Rivington Pike, and taking a southerly course to Wigan, runs from that town in a north-westerly direction, and falls into the ?stuary of the Ribble at Hesketh Bank. In the year 1727 this river was made navigable from the Ribble as high as Wigan, under the provisions of an act passed in 1719: by means of this work the northern parts of Lancashire and Westmorland are supplied with coal from this district, which receives limestone and slate from those parts in return: the navigation has been improved at a later date by the substitution, in a part of its course, of an artificial cut for the natural channel of the river. The Wyer has its source in the hills on the eastern border of the county, and flows in a south-westerly direction to Lower Garstang, where it takes a more westerly course, by Garstang Church Town, to Poulton, in the neighbourhood of which town it fast increases in breadth, and, turning towards the north, expands into a spacious bason called Wyer Water, which is terminated by a narrow passage through which the river flows into the Irish sea. The Wyer is navigable for small vessels up to Poulton: upon its banks are various factories; and the scenery of the valley through which it flows is in many places bold and romantic. The Leven is the rapid river which flows out of the lake of Winandermere, through the township of Haverthwaite, into a large ?stuary opening into the bay of Morecambe. The Crake flows from the southern extremity of Conistone-lake into the ?stuary of the Leven, near Penny-bridge. The Dudden, which through almost the whole of its course, forms the boundary between this county and Cumberland, has its source among the small lakes, provincially called tarns, above Seathwaite, in the hilly tracts of High Furness, and flowing southward, forms a large bay to the south-west of Broughton. The mouth of the Ken, from Westmorland, which opens into the bay of Morecambe, isolates the northern division of the hundred of Lonsdale from the rest of the county. The smaller streams are numberless; those most worthy of mention are the Alt, the East Cal

From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale