Lancaster Town
Lancaster is that the shire town of geographical region, England, it's placed on the stream Lune and encompasses a population of forty five,952. Lancaster may be a constituent settlement of the broader town of Lancaster, a neighborhood government district that encompasses a population of 133,914 and encompasses many far settlements, as well as neighboring Morecambe. Long existing as a billboard, cultural and academic centre, Lancaster is that the settlement that provides geographical region its name. Lancaster has many distinctive ties to British people monarchy; the House of Lancaster was a branch of nation royal house, while the land of Lancaster holds giant estates on behalf of Queen of England, UN agency herself is additionally the Duke of Lancaster.
Lancaster was granted town standing in 1937 for its "long association with the crown" and since it had been "the shire town of the King's land of Lancaster".With its history supported its port and canal, Lancaster is Associate in Nursing ancient settlement, dominated by Lancaster Castle. it's conjointly home to the collegial and field-based Lancaster University and a campus of the University of Cumbria.
The city's name, first recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Loncastre, where "Lon" refers to the River Lune, and "castre", from the Old English cæster for "fort", refers to the Roman fort which stood at the site.
It is known that there existed a permanent Roman fort on the hill where Lancaster Castle now stands by the end of the first century AD, and possibly as early as the 60s, based on the Roman coin evidence. The coin evidence also suggests that the fort was not continuously inhabited in these early years. The fort was rebuilt in stone around 102 AD. The fort underwent a few more extensions, and at its largest area it was 9 or 10 acres. The evidence suggests that the fort remained active into the early fifth century, which was the end of the Roman occupation of Britain.
Little is known about Lancaster between the end of Roman rule in Britain in the early 5th century and the Norman Conquest in the late 11th century. Despite a lack of documentation from this period, it is likely that Lancaster was still inhabited. Lancaster was on the fringes of the kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia, and over time control may have changed from one to the other. Archaeological evidence suggests that there was a monastery on or near the site by the 700's or 800's of today's Lancaster Priory. For example, an Anglo-Saxon runic cross found at the Priory in 1807, known as "Cynibald's cross", is thought to have been made in the late 800's. Lancaster town was probably one of the numerous monasteries founded under Wilfrid.
Following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Lancaster town fell was under the control of William I, as stated in the Domesday Book of 1086, which is the earliest known mention of Lancaster in any document. The founding charter of the Priory, dated 1094, is the first known document which is specific to Lancaster. By this time William had given Lancaster and its surrounding region to Roger de Poitou. This document also suggests that the monastery had been refounded as a parish church at some point prior to 1066.
Lancaster town became a borough in 1193 under King Richard I. Its first charter, dated the 12 June 1193, was from John, Count of Mortain, who later became King of England.Lancaster town Castle, partly built in the 13th century and enlarged by Elizabeth I, stands on the site of a Roman garrison. Lancaster Castle is well 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 of London, earning Lancaster the nickname, "the Hanging Town".
The traditional emblem for the House of Lancaster is a red rose, the red rose of Lancaster, similar to that of the House of York, which is a white rose. These names derive from the 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.
In more recent times, the term "Wars of the Roses" has been applied to rivalry in sports between teams representing Lancashire and Yorkshire, not just the cities of Lancaster and York. It is also applied to the Roses Tournament in which Lancaster and York universities compete every year.
Lancaster town gained its first charter in 1193 as a market town and borough, but was not given city status until 1937. Many buildings in the city centre and along St. George's Quay date from the 19th century, built during a period when the port became one of the busiest in the UK; the fourth most important in the UK's slave trade. However, Lancaster's role as a major port was short lived, as the river began to silt up. Morecambe, Glasson Dock and Sunderland Point served as Lancaster's port for brief periods. Heysham now serves as the district's main port.
Lancaster is primarily a service-oriented city. Products of Lancaster include animal feed, textiles, chemicals, livestock, paper, synthetic fibre, farm machinery, HGV trailers and mineral fibres. In recent years, a high technology sector has emerged, as a result of Information Technology and Communications companies investing in the city.On March 5, 2004, Lancaster was granted Fairtrade City status.Lancaster was also home to the European headquarters of Reebok. Following their merger with Adidas, Reebok moved to Bolton and Stockport in 2007.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org