Oyez, oyez, oyez… Red Rose blooms on Lancashire Day, by Michael Thomas.
Visitors were forced to take a second look yesterday as the Lancashire Day proclamation was read out in Ulverston.
Ulverston’s Town Crier was in market square yesterday to mark all things Lancastrian.
Afterall a large part of south Cumbria was in Lancashire until 1974.
Now to mark its past each year on November 27, the Lancashire Day proclamation is read out by town criers throughout the county and beyond.
Barrow, Ulverston and Furness were all historically part of Lancashire up until 1974, when the Local Government Act of 1972 saw Cumbria come in to existence.
Peter Winston, the Ulverston Town Crier, said:
“To the people of the city and county palatine of Lancaster. Greetings!
“Know ye that this day, November 27th in the year of our Lord Two Thousand and eighteen, the 67th year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Duke of Lancaster, is Lancashire Day.
“Know ye also, and rejoice, that by virtue of Her Majesty’s County Palatine of Lancaster, the citizens of the Hundreds of Lonsdale, North and South of the Sands, Amounderness, Leyland, Blackburn, Salford and West Derby are forever entitled to style themselves Lancastrians.
“Throughout the County Palatine, from the Furness Fells to the River Mersey, from the Irish Sea to the Pennines, this day shall ever mark the people’s pleasure in that excellent distinction – true Lancastrians, proud of the Red Rose and loyal to our Sovereign Duke.
“God bless Lancashire and God save the Queen, Duke of Lancaster.”
Speaking after the proclamation, he said: “Traditionally, Ulverston was part of Lancashire.
“But since 1974, it has been considered part of Cumbria.
“We like to keep the tradition of the Lancashire Day proclamation going as a way of people remembering our history.”
Also talking about the history of the area and the importance of remembering the Lancastrian heritage, Cllr Dave Webster, Mayor of Ulverston, said: “Ulverston used to be part of Lancashire and is still part of the Duchy of Lancashire today.
“Today is a celebration of that.
“Many people in the Furness area still consider themselves Lancastrian.
“Those born after 1974 don’t remember how it used to be but those of the older generation do.
“So, we still celebrate our history each year with the declaration.”
In a poll on The Mail website, 339 readers voted with 70 per cent still considering Barrow to be part of Lancashire. Only 30 per cent agreeing with the current county lines, placing Barrow and Ulverston in Cumbria.
Happy Lancashire Day! But is Barrow in Cumbria or Lancashire? by Amy Fenton.
The debate over whether Barrow is part of Lancashire or Cumbria – or both – has raged ever since Cumbria came into existence in 1974.
Last year one Mail reader claimed to have unquestionable proof of the answer from the Queen herself.
Steve Sherdley attempted to clear up, once and for all, the designation of Barrow and Cartmel as part of Lancashire, by going straight to the horse’s mouth and writing to the Duchy of Lancaster.
The Duke of Lancaster is an ancient title which is informally used within Lancaster to describe Elizabeth II, the Queen and owner of the estates of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The Duchy of Lancaster exists as a separate entity from the Crown Estate and currently provides income for the British monarch.
In the response to Mr Sherdley, the solicitor for the Duchy of Lancaster states that “Barrow-in-Furness remains within this historic area (of the Duchy of Lancaster)”.
The solicitor, Tim Bell, wrote: “I can confirm that the administrative changes made on 1st April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, did not affect the historic boundary of the County Palatine of Lancaster.
“Barrow-in-Furness and Cartmel remain within this historic area.”
Cumbria came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972.
The Local Government Act created the administrative areas of Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cumbria.
The Act was designed to create a two-tier system of local government which would reflect the changes in the country since the previous boundary changes in the late 19th century.
Many proud Lancastrians argue the act did not alter the county boundaries and in fact Barrow, along with other parts of South Cumbria’s administrative area, remains part of Lancashire.
These articles were published in the the North-West Evening Mail on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th November 2018.
was Ribblehead railway station and viaduct ever in Lancashire?
Hello Alan, Ribblehead Station and viaduct have always been in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The Lancashire border is not far from them, you can see on the Wikishire map:
https://wikishire.co.uk/map/#Ribblehead%20Viaduct@54.210,-2.375/centre=54.206,-2.363/zoom=10
Andrew – BCC.