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Lancaster, Lancashire

City in Lancashire, England

  • 25 min read
  • 10 chapters

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Through Roman Empire

The city's long history is marked by Lancaster Roman Fort, Lancaster Castle, Lancaster Priory Church, Lancaster Cathedral and the Ashton Memorial. It is the seat of Lancaster University and has a campus of the University of Cumbria. It had a population of 52,660 in the 2021 census, compared to the district, which had a population of 142,931.

The House of Lancaster was a branch of the English royal family. The Duchy of Lancaster still holds large estates on behalf of Charles III, who is the Duke of Lancaster. The Port of Lancaster and the 18th-century Lancaster slave trade played a major role in the city's growth, but for many years the outport of Glasson Dock, downstream, has been the main shipping facility.

History

Toponymy

Lancaster was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, as Loncastre, where "Lon" refers to the River Lune and "castre" from the Old English cæster and Latin castrum for "fort" to the Roman fort that stood on the site.

Roman and Saxon eras

A Roman fort was built by the end of the 1st century CE on the hill where Lancaster Castle now stands, possibly as early as the 60s, based on Roman coin evidence. Coin evidence also suggests that the fort was not continuously inhabited in its early years. It was rebuilt in stone about 102. The fort name is known only in a shortened form; the only evidence is a Roman milestone found 4 miles (6.4 km) outside Lancaster, with an inscription ending L MP IIII, meaning "from L – 4 miles, and that its name began with an L.

Roman baths were found in 1812 and can be seen near the junction of Bridge Lane and Church Street. There was presumably a bath-house with the 4th-century fort. The Roman baths incorporated a reused inscription of the Gallic Emperor Postumus, dating from 262 to 266. The 3rd-century fort was garrisoned by the ala Sebosiana and numerus Barcariorum Tigrisiensium.

The ancient Wery Wall was identified in 1950 as the north wall of the 4th-century fort, which was a drastic remodelling of the 3rd-century one, while retaining the same orientation. The later fort is the only example in north-west Britain of a 4th-century type, with massive curtain-wall and projecting bastions typical of the Saxon Shore or Wales. Extension of the technique as far north as Lancaster shows that the coast between Cumberland and North Wales was not left defenceless after the west-coast attacks and the disaster in the Carausian Revolt of 296, which followed from those under Albinus in 197.

The fort at its largest extent covered 9–10 acres (4–4 ha). Evidence suggests that it stayed in use until the end of Roman occupation of Britain. Church Street and some of St Leonard's Gate probably mark the initial course of the Roman road up the valley to the fort at Over Burrow.

Little is known of Lancaster from the end of Roman rule in the early 5th century to the Norman Conquest of the late 11th century. Despite a lack of documentation for the period, it is thought that Lancaster remained inhabited. It lay on the fringes of the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria and over time may have passed from one to the other. Archaeological evidence suggests there was a monastery on or near the site of today's Lancaster Priory by the 700s or 800s. The Anglo-Saxon runic "Cynibald's cross" found at the Priory in 1807 is thought to date from the late 9th century. Lancaster was probably one of several abbeys founded under Wilfrid.

Medieval

After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Lancaster fell under the control of William I, as stated in the Domesday Book of 1086, which has the earliest known mention of Lancaster as such in any document. The founding Priory charter dated 1094 is the first known document specific to Lancaster. By this time William had passed Lancaster and its surroundings to Roger de Poitou. The document also suggests the monastery was refounded as a parish church some time before 1066.

Lancaster became a borough in 1193 under King Richard I. Its first charter, dated 12 June 1193, was from John, Count of Mortain, who later became King of England.

Lancaster Castle, partly built in the 13th century and enlarged by Elizabeth I, stands on the site of a Roman garrison. During The Great Raid of 1322, damage was done to the castle by Robert the Bruce, though it resisted the attack and was restored and strengthened by John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, who added much of the Gateway Tower and a turret on the keep or Lungess Tower, which has been named "John o' Gaunt's Chair". In 1322 the Scots burnt the town. It was rebuilt but removed from its position on the hill to the slope and foot. Again in 1389, after the Battle of Otterburn, it was destroyed by the Scots. Lancaster Castle is known as the site of the 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 London, earning Lancaster the nickname, "the Hanging Town". It also figured prominently in the suppression of Catholicism during the Reformation – at least eleven Catholic priests were executed and a memorial to them as the Lancaster Martyrs stands by the city centre.

The traditional emblem of the House of Lancaster is the Red Rose of Lancaster, similar to that of the House of York with a white rose. The names derive from 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.

More recently the term "Wars of the Roses" has been applied to rivalry in sports between teams from Lancashire and Yorkshire. It is also applied to the annual Roses Tournament between Lancaster and York universities.

Lancaster gained a first charter in 1193 as a market town and borough, but had to await city status until 1937.

18th-century port

Many of the city's central buildings, including those lining St George's Quay date from the 18th century, as the Port of Lancaster became one of the UK's busiest and the Lancaster slave trade was the fourth most important in the UK slave trade. Among prominent Lancaster slavers were Dodshon Foster, Thomas Hinde and his namesake son. The last slave ship to be constructed in Lancaster was the 267-tonne Trafalgar, built in 1806 at Brockbank’s shipyard for Samuel Hinderland and William Hinde. Lancaster's role as a major port diminished as the river began to silt up and Morecambe, Glasson Dock and Sunderland Point became preeminent for brief periods. Heysham Port has now eclipsed all others on the Lune.

Recent history

A permanent military presence was built up with the completion of Bowerham Barracks in 1880. The Phoenix Street drill hall was completed in 1894.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the city was home to many industries from the 18th century to the 20th century. The main industries in the city at the time were candle making, sailcloth making, rope making and shipbuilding. Since the decline of the industrial revolution, Lancaster suffered from economic decline and high unemployment rates like many parts of the north of England. The city underwent regeneration and is now a tourist destination.

Lancaster is mainly a service-oriented city. Products include animal feed, textiles, chemicals, livestock, paper, synthetic fibre, farm machinery, HGV trailers and mineral fibres. In recent years, a high-tech sector has emerged from information technology and telecommunications companies investing in the city.

In March 2004, Lancaster was granted Fairtrade City status.

Lancaster was home to the European headquarters of Reebok. After merging with Adidas, Reebok moved to Bolton and Stockport in 2007.

In May 2015, Elizabeth II visited the castle for commemorations for the 750th anniversary of the creation of the Duchy of Lancaster.

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