This illustrated history portrays one of England's finest counties. It provides a nostalgic look at Lancashire's past and highlights the special character of some of its most important historic sites.

The photographs are taken from the Historic England Archive, a unique collection of over 12 million photographs, drawings, plans and documents covering England's archaeology, architecture, social and local history. Pictures date from the earliest days of photography to the present and cover subjects from Bronze Age burials and medieval churches to cinemas and seaside resorts.

Lancashire was transformed during the Industrial Revolution as its economy took off, becoming the heart of the cotton milling industry in northern England and also through the huge number of goods passing through its docks in the major cities and the Lancashire Coalfield. The rapidly growing population looked for entertainment during holidays from the factories and coastal resorts such as Blackpool were developed to meet this demand. During the annual wakes weeks holidays entire towns would decamp to the coast. The major population centres of Lancashire are in the south and along the Fylde coast but the northern part of the county remained less urbanised, with Lancaster and Morecambe as the largest towns and moorland areas and the Forest of Bowland rising to meet the Pennines.

For all those who know and love Lancashire, this book will enable them to discover its remarkable history and variety of places through a fascinating collection of historical photographs.

Contributions by: Historic England