Lancashire
§ This page provides an overview of an England's ceremonial county. Our website has 48 such county pages.
Overview ⁞ Lancashire is a historic county with a strong industrial legacy, especially in textiles and manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution. Today, it blends urban centres like Preston (the administrative centre), Blackburn, and Burnley with scenic countryside and coastline, including parts of the Forest of Bowland and Morecambe Bay. The ceremonial county includes both Lancashire County Council and two unitary authorities: Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool, which are administratively separate but ceremonially part of Lancashire.
Is Lancashire a historic county? Yes—Lancashire is a historic county. Administratively, the ceremonial county consists of Lancashire County Council (with its districts) alongside the unitary authorities of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.
Lancashire has 14 Local Authority Districts. The chart below shows how this compares with other counties in England.
Local Authorities in Lancashire
- Lancashire County Council (County Council) 🔗 lancashire.gov.uk
- Burnley Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 burnley.gov.uk
- Chorley Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 chorley.gov.uk
- Fylde Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 fylde.gov.uk
- Hyndburn Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 hyndburnbc.gov.uk
- Lancaster City Council (District Council) 🔗 lancaster.gov.uk
- Pendle Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 pendle.gov.uk
- Preston City Council (District Council) 🔗 preston.gov.uk
- Ribble Valley Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 ribblevalley.gov.uk
- Rossendale Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 rossendale.gov.uk
- South Ribble Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 southribble.gov.uk
- West Lancashire District Council (District Council) 🔗 westlancs.gov.uk
- Wyre Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 wyre.gov.uk
- Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council (Unitary Authority) 🔗 blackburn.gov.uk
- Blackpool Council (Unitary Authority) 🔗 blackpool.gov.uk
Lancashire, in England’s North West region, has a two-tier system of local government with Lancashire County Council providing county-wide services such as education, transport, and social care, supported by 12 district and borough councils that manage local responsibilities including planning, housing, and waste collection. These are Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire, and Wyre. In addition, the county contains two unitary authorities—Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Blackpool Council—which operate independently of the county council, handling all local services within their areas. Together, these councils govern a county known for its industrial heritage in towns like Blackburn and Burnley, the seaside resort of Blackpool, the historic city of Lancaster, and the rural landscapes of the Ribble Valley and Forest of Bowland, balancing strategic oversight with locally focused governance.
Districts in Lancashire
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Blackpool
- Burnley
- Chorley
- Fylde
- Hyndburn
- Lancaster
- Pendle
- Preston
- Ribble Valley
- Rossendale
- South Ribble
- West Lancashire
- Wyre
(ITL 1) North West
(ITL 2) ⇒ Lancashire
(ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Blackburn with Darwen ⁞ Blackpool ⁞ Lancaster and Wyre ⁞ Mid Lancashire ⁞ East Lancashire ⁞ Chorley and West Lancashire
Constituencies in Lancashire
- Blackburn
- Blackpool North and Fleetwood
- Blackpool South
- Burnley
- Chorley
- Fylde
- Hyndburn
- Lancaster and Wyre
- Morecambe and Lunesdale
- Pendle and Clitheroe
- Preston
- Ribble Valley
- Rossendale and Darwen
- South Ribble
- Southport
- West Lancashire
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, 16 of them are in Lancashire.