During the Iron Age the lands now
known as Lancashire were part of the territory of a loose confederation
of ancient Celtic tribes known as the Brigantes , including
the Setantii, who lived along the Fylde Coast of Lancashire, and the
Carvetii who occupied lands around Carlisle. Several Brigantian hill
forts are known to exist in the county, including those at Warton
Crag, Skelmore Heads in Cumbria and Ingleborough and Stanwick in Yorkshire.

Tribal sociology tended to revolve around a predominantly agricultural
lifestyle in small settlements, surrounded by small fields and pastures.
Archaeological
excavations at Lathom have revealed at least two houses dating from
around 2000 BC. Roadways, such as existed at all, would have been
little more than footpaths and animal droving routes which linked
farmsteads and settlements. Apparently Brigantian tribes operated
more-or-less autonomously and independently, only coming together
for ceremonial purposes, or in the event of war, when they combined
to form powerful guerrilla armies.

Celtic & Saxon Lancashire

Repeated frequent raids over two centuries by Scandinavians
(Danes, Norsemen or sometimes called Vikings) had a depressive effect
on the maintenance, administration and security of the region, so that
by the 9th century they were in a very vulnerable condition and ripe
for invasion and plunder. The Book of Common Prayer for several centuries
following contained the prayer that God would “…deliver us from the
North Man (Norseman)”. By 874 AD, Mercia to the south had fallen
to the Danes and it was not until the end of the century that the lands
would be reclaimed by King Alfred of Wessex (Alfred the Great). Irish
Norse settlers were later granted lands on the Fylde Coast and south
of the Ribble by King Eathelred, (who had married Alfred’s daughter,
Aethelflaed) in an attempt to halt Danish raids and to reach a peaceful
accommodation with them.
Over time, Danish settlements were to contribute greatly to the wealth
and prosperity of the region. As accomplished sailing peoples, they
traded with Ireland and Europe and amassed considerable wealth in the
region, becoming an important economic ingredient in an otherwise rural
farming culture. Their wealth was evidenced when, in 1840, the largest
collection of Scandinavian jewellery, coins and silver ever unearthed
was excavated from the banks of the River Ribble near Preston.
Thus Scandinavians were gradually absorbed into the racial mix that
would eventually become so distinctively Lancastrian. Norse influence
is also, unsurprisingly, reflected in place names. Places ending in
“-by” (such as Formby, Crosby, etc) and “-dale” (as in
Ainsdale and Birkdale) are decidedly Scandinavian in origin. Norse immigrants
were also converted to Christianity as evidenced in many Scandinavian
religious place names. Names like Kirkham, Ormskirk and Kirkby demonstrate
the prevalence of religious institutions – “kirk” being old Norse
word for church. There is actually evidence for many Christian churches
existing well before the Norman Conquest of 1066, including Bolton,
Burnley, Hornby, Poulton-le-Fylde, Prescott, Gressingham and Heysham,
to name but a few.
A well established parochial system seems to have been in place by 850
AD – the Parish of Whalley in Lancashire being the second largest in
England, encompassing 45 townships under its authority, including Whalley
itself, as well as Accrington, Haslingden, Colne and Clitheroe. Evidently,
Scandinavians also eventually took to agriculture and farming and many
place name endings reveal their association with the land. Endings like
“-scale” (as in Windscale), or “-side” (as in Woodside,
Ambleside and Affetside), all come from the Norse meaning ‘grazing land’.
In north Lancashire the Norse ending “-thwaite” (as in Rosthwaite
and Seathwaite) indicates a clearing in a wood.
By 900 AD the Northumbrian Kingdom had collapsed and the lands were
reclaimed by the Mercians, who set about defending them against potential
threats from the Viking Kingdom based at York (Jorvik) in the east,
by building fortified settlements throughout Lancashire and along the
River Mersey border with Cheshire, or by reinforcing existing or dilapidated
city fortifications and strongholds.
These ” burhs”, “burghs” or “burys” (from which
we get the modern word “borough”), are also evidenced in place names
– for example, Bury, Disdsbury, Esddisbury, Pendlebury (the latter indicating
a stronghold on a hill). The map of Mercian Cheshire Forts clearly shows
their determination to protect their reclaimed lands. Even, the fort
in Manchester (Castlefield) was strengthened after almost five centuries
of dereliction, and at least one new fort was created at Penwortham
in the Ribble Valley. When, in 919 AD, the Mercian Kingdom was annexed
by the Kingdom of Wessex, all but one remaining ingredient had been
added to a people who were to become Lancastrians, and recognisable
in every sense as English – it’s people a mixture of Celtic Britons,
Romans, Saxons, Irish, Scandinavians and, finally, by the addition of
the Norman French into the melting pot

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Lancashire after the Norman Conquest ©
John Moss 2003.