Lancaster, the county town of Lancashire, stands at the lowest bridging point of the river Lune. A chartered borough since 1193, 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-east coast road to an from Scotland has led on numerous occasions to the passage of hostile armies.
As country town and seat of the Assizes, it 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 running back some twelve or thirteen centuries.
In this book, based wherever possible on original material, such as the rich resources of the borough records or the local newspapers, the Head of Lancaster City Museum for the past 18 years employs a thematic approach to present much new information in a readable style.
