Lancaster: A History

by Andrew White

Lancaster, the county town of Lancashire, stands at the lowest bridging point of the river Lune. A chartered borough since 1193 and a city since 1937 it has had a long and turbulent history. Since the Roman army first saw the strategic possibilities of a low hill by the river, it has housed garrisons and acted as a fortress. Its position on the main west-coast road to and from Scotland has witnessed the passage of many hostile armies. As a consequence its medieval documentary record has suffered and few ancient buildings survive. Its position has also ensured a rich transport history, which includes the intriguing route over the sands of Morecambe Bay which changes daily. As county town and seat of the Assizes, Lancaster has seen all the principal criminal cases for Lancashire tried in its magnificent Castle over the last eight centuries. Next to the Castle, in a typical juxtaposition of Church and State, stands the Priory church with its own history reaching back over some thirteen centuries. The author of this new and important work has based his account on original sources, which he has been researching for nearly 20 years, including the archives of the Castle and Priory, as well as the rich borough records and local newspapers.  His entertaining text takes a thematic rather than chronological approach, examining such themes as House and Home, Working for a Living, or Where do you come from?, the last of which is a study of all the people who have come from elsewhere to live in Lancaster over the centuries. His splendid illustrations have been carefully selected to reveal much that is "new" and not previously published. In readable words and powerful pictures he tells the entire story of Lancaster's past in a book that will be warmly welcomed.

164 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

The Reverend Canon Andrew White is often known as the Vicar of Baghdad due to his post at St. George's Church there from 2005-2014. White has worked to mediate between conflicting parties in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, and to draw attention to the plight of persecuted people.
He is an experienced hostage negotiator.
He was CEO of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (FRRME) from 2005 to 2016.