Below are set out numbers fifty one to seventy five of the guides and leaflets to the Lancaster District in order.
They can be read on this page in the reading pane or downloaded and printed to pop into your pocket to take with you when exploring this fascinating area where city meets the coast and countryside.
Guides below:
- 51. 20 Centuries in Lancaster – A Short Walk
- 52. The Building Stones of Lancaster
- 53. Scotforth Village
- 54. Short Walks from the Lancaster and Morecambe line
- 55. the Ashton Memorial, Lancaster
- 56. The Priory Church of St Mary, Lancaster
- 57. St Peter’s Cathedral, Lancaster
- 58. The Winter Gardens, Morecambe
- 59. St George’s Quay, Lancaster
- 60. Heysham Village
- 61. Georgian Lancaster – a short tour
- 62. Lancaster and the Slave Trade
- 63. Lancaster Cemetery – Notable Gravestones and Memorials
- 64. Streets Renamed in Lancaster
- 65. The Earliest Map of Lancaster
- 66. Map of Lancaster in 1778
- 67. Morecambe Clock Tower
- 68. The Storey
- 69. Lancaster Railway Station
- 70. Kingsway
- 71. Freehold
- 72. The Development of Haverbreaks, Lancaster
- 73. The Royal Albert, Lancaster
- 74. The Moor Hospital, Lancaster
- 75. The Workhouse for Lancaster and Morecambe
51. 20 Centuries in Lancaster – A Short Walk:
The story of Lancaster as a town begins beneath the courtyard at the centre of Lancaster Castle. This was the heart of the Roman forts on this hilltop. The first two forts (built around AD 71–4 and AD98–117) were the usual square layout, stone walls obliterating the initial wooden ones. The third fort of AD330–40 may have been the biggest.
52. The Building Stones of Lancaster:
The older buildings of Lancaster were built or rebuilt in sandstone, unlike Kendal and the Kellets where limestone was favoured. Stone lasts longer than wood and it is less prone to fire damage – there was a major fire in Lancaster in 1643.
53. Scotforth (Village):
In 1890 Scotforth was still a township separate from Lancaster; it became part of the borough administratively in 1900. Lancaster’s second cemetery was established in Scotforth in 1890 (not shown on the map) and the tramlines to town arrived in 1903.
54. Short Walks from the Lancaster to Morecambe Line:
This leaflet describes some short walks, each starting and ending at the stations in Lancaster, Bare Lane, Morecambe and Heysham. By train it is only 4 miles (6.4km) from Lancaster to Morecambe – 11 minutes by train – and 8 miles (13km) all the way to Heysham (28 minutes).
55. The Ashton Memorial, Lancaster:
The Ashton Memorial is Lancaster’s most obvious landmark and perhaps its best known (Figure 1). It stands to the east of the city on a site 70 metres above even the top of Castle Hill. The 45-metre memorial is readily visible to travellers passing Lancaster on the train or M6. You can see its green dome and white stonework from many parts of the town itself.
56. The Priory Church of St Mary, Lancaster:
Until 1755 the Priory Church of St Mary was Lancaster’s only church. It stands on a most prominent position atop Castle Hill and next to the Castle. The site was on the northern flank of the Roman forts built here, of which very little remains above ground.
57. St Peter’s Cathedral, Lancaster:
Before St Peter’s Cathedral was built in Lancaster, the town’s Roman Catholic community had worshipped in a small chapel on St Leonard’s Gate, opposite the Grand Theatre. They then built the Dalton Square Mission (now known as Palatine Hall).
58. The Winter Gardens, Morecambe:
The Winter Gardens on Marine Drive Central in Morecambe is one of the last major reminders of the extensive range of all-weather entertainment that was provided in Victorian and Edwardian Morecambe for the many visitors to the resort.
59. St George’s Quay, Lancaster:
Lancaster as a port has always been difficult for mariners. The voyage up the River Lune from the Irish Sea involves many changes of course to follow the narrow and shifting deepest channel, with fast tidal flows and winds from any direction threatening to push you off course.
60. Heysham Village:
At the heart of modern Heysham with its busy harbour, two power stations, industrial areas and new housing estates, lies old Lower Heysham, a small village with a long history.
61. Georgian Lancaster – a short tour:
This short tour shows some of the many important Georgian buildings in Lancaster. Lancaster expanded considerably during the Georgian period between 1720 and 1830 and the once compact mediaeval town expanded north along the River Lune, up to the east, and south to White Cross.
62. Lancaster and the Slave Trade:
Lancaster merchants participated in the slave trade and traded in slave-produced goods from the West Indies. This was on a smaller scale compared with London, Liverpool and Bristol.
63. Lancaster Cemetery – Notable Gravestones & Memorials:
Since it opened in 1855, Lancaster Cemetery on Quernmore Road has been the resting place of many Lancaster citizens. Those buried here remind us of the major changes in Lancaster’s economy and society in the Victorian and Edwardian periods.
64. Streets Renamed in Lancaster:
St Leonard’s Gate, St Leonards Gate, St Leonard Street, St Leonardsgate, St Leonardgate and St Leonard-gate. Even the City Council don’t know how to spell it so you pick!
65. The Earliest Map of Lancaster:
Lancaster is an old-established town – back to Roman times – but the first map that shows its layout in any detail did not appear until 1607 when John Speed surveyed the town.
66. Map of Lancaster in 1778:
Stephen Mackreth’s map published in 1778 is well worth close study, in terms of what has survived and what has not – the St Nicholas Street area and the Shambles, for example. What other changes can you spot?
67. Morecambe Clock Tower:
The Clock Tower on Morecambe’s Marine Road Central is one of the town’s smaller but more distinctive landmarks. It symbolises the late-Victorian and Edwardian expansion of the town in terms of population and facilities, adding to its growing reputation as a major seaside resort.
68. The Storey:
The story of The Storey begins in 1824 when Lancaster industrialists founded the Mechanics Institute, one of many set up in towns across Great Britain in the 1820s and 1830s.
69. Lancaster Railway Station:
The current railway station (Lancaster Castle Station, to an older generation) is not Lancaster’s first. That honour goes to the station on South Road by Penny Street Bridge and it was opened in 1840.
70. Kingsway:
In Lancaster the Kingsway area lies in the angle created by Caton Road dividing into Parliament Street / Cable Street and Back Caton Road. In the early 1930s the site was mostly open ground, marked on the OS map as a playground. So large an open site on the edge of town was an obvious location for any new developments that needed space. In the late 1930s two such developments happened there in quick succession.
71. Freehold:
The Freehold area in Lancaster catches your eye – for its rectangular street pattern and for its modern legalistic name. How can these distinctive features be explained?
72. The Development of Haverbreaks, Lancaster:
Topographically it is a low, oval hill with Haverbreaks house and farm at its centre, accessed by the bridge from Aldcliffe Road (originally Aldcliffe Lane) 0ver Lancaster Canal. “The Albert Park” was the initial preferred name for this development.
73. The Royal Albert, Lancaster:
The story begins in 1864 when James Brunton, a local Quaker, offered £2,000 to provide a house to care for the mentally ill. Lancaster had hosted the County Lunatic Asylum on Lancaster Moor since 1816. Dr de Vitre, who worked there, recognised the need for greater provision than a single house for those with lesser mental impairments.
74. The Moor Hospital, Lancaster:
The story of the former Moor Hospital on Quernmore Road in Lancaster starts with the County Asylums Act of 1808 (“for the better care and maintenance of lunatics”). This allowed a county’s Justices of the Peace to build and fund asylums for lunatics who were paupers or criminals.
75. The Workhouse for Lancaster and Morecambe:
A workhouse in England was a publicly funded institution for the destitute. We know that there was a ‘Poor House’ in Lancaster in 1730, which was replaced in 1748 by one at White Cross, housing around 80 people in 1777.
For the main index page click – Guides, Leaflets & Walks – Index
For the page for guides 1 to 25 click – Guides, Leaflets & Walks 1 – 25
For the page for guides 26 to 50 click – Guides, Leaflets & Walks 26 – 50
For the page for guides 76 to 100 click – Guides, Leaflets & Walks 76 – 100
For the page for guides 101+ and supplementals Click – Guides, Leaflets & Walks 101 plus and supplementals