Lancashire Archives and Local History

22/08/2026

20/08/2026

Here's a cheerful fellow to welcome in a Thursday from our irregular series of things-we-see-when-walking-through-the-searchroom... a lovely little detail from a very long account roll...

19/08/2026

With the Tour of Britain women's cycling race coming to Lancashire for the first time this Thursday we thought we'd share a few items from the collections that document the fascinating history of women's cycling.

With the mass market production of bicycles, cycling played a part in women’s liberation, as a viable form of transport that allowed for mobility, independence and the freedom to move around without being accompanied. The Clarion Cycling Clubs in many parts of Lancashire were open to men and women and tell the story of the part cycling played in campaigning for equality.

The Archives holds some fascinating records for the North Lancashire Union and the Nelson Clarion Cycling Club: https://archivecat.lancashire.gov.uk/records/DDX1470

Images show:
Ermyntrude Frances De Trafford (of Croston Hall), around 1910, Red Rose Collections, SCH20130219006
Nelson Clarion Cycling Club, c. 1940, Red Rose Collections, ENE-N01-W615-4-1

Spring Hill Cycling Club Members, Accrington, c. 1900,
HAC-H01-W615-3356-1

13/08/2026

Good luck to all the students getting their exam and course results today!

Here's a great photograph of Danish Exchange students visiting Colne in 1950, digitised as part of the Keeping East Lancashire in the Picture project. This and many more images are available our Red Rose Collections website: https://redrosecollections.lancashire.gov.uk/

Image reference: ECO-N02-P61-2-ii-1

12/08/2026

🧐These folks look like the knew a good story when they read one...Have you got a Lancashire local or family history story to tell? 📚📜✒️ Why not get writing and submit an article for our Lancashire local history magazine, Archives?

The deadline for contributions to the next edition is: 👉1 September 2026👈

Our local history magazine celebrates the rich and diverse history of Lancashire. It is full of stories about the people, places and events that shaped the county - all written by people with a passion for Lancashire history, volunteers, local and family historians.

Anyone can submit an article and we're very happy to answer questions on any ideas you have before you put pen to paper at [email protected]

You can find information on submission criteria here: https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/archives/archives-magazine/

Photograph shows the premises of John Threlfall, bookseller, stationer, of Leyland, around 1900, from the Red Rose Collections (https://redrosecollections.lancashire.gov.uk/ - image CLE20110531001)

The magazine is on sale now at Lancashire Archives and all Lancashire Libraries priced at £3. Please contact Lancashire Archives for postal orders of the magazine, email us at [email protected] or call 01772 533039.



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12/08/2026

Great to be involved at the fabulous Gawthorpe Hall Lancashire Museums!

Today you step into a Victorian world inside Gawthorpe Hall - but it didn’t always look like this. Discover how the Hall was changed in the 1850s from the original 17th century building to the one we see today, in this talk by Public historian Rachel Pilling.

Using surviving architectural drawings, letters and other documents she details the extensive changes made in the 1850s, the problems they came across, the solutions and the influence of the Shuttleworth family. There may also be a couple of the original drawings by Sir Charles Barry on show, thanks to Lancashire Archives and Local History.

Thursday 24 September at 1pm
Booking essential
£8 per person, includes entry to the Hall.
More details in the link below.
http://tiny.cc/EventsAtGawthorpeHall

11/08/2026

Still plenty of time to get involved with this brilliant project Age UK Age UK Lancashire!

11/08/2026

Did you know, you can explore South Asian links in sport, arts and culture in Lancashire and the North West through our collections? These books and more are available at Lancashire Archives and selected Lancashire Libraries. More information available on the library catalogue: https://prism.librarymanagementcloud.co.uk/lancashire/


Images show front covers for:
Five Guys Named Zaika
Under the Shade of the Mango Tree
Cricket in Us Project

10/08/2026

WARNING - Look away now if insects aren't your thing...!🐾🪳

One of our lovely Monday afternoon Poor Law Union indexing volunteers came across an unexpected visitor last week... We will quickly add that said visitor had been in situ in the pages of the poor law guardian minute book for quite some time, 150 years quite possibly. We suspect it was happily skuttling across the page when it caught the eye of the file clerk, who brought the book down on it...

Aside from the odd historical find between the pages, our strongrooms are kept very clean, with bug traps regularly monitored, to ensure no pests are present and posing a risk to the collections in our care.

Lancashire Museums

04/08/2026

We hopefully know how to please our loyal social media followers, and it usually involves delving into the map collection!

🗓📱💻👉So to share another edition of our monthly newsletter, News from the Archives, here's another marvellous map of the county. This one isn't a historic map as such, but shows the Hundreds and Parishes that Lancashire was formed into in the thirteenth century.

And here's the usual link to News from the Archives for you to enjoy as well!

https://sway.cloud.microsoft/9BsZx1O4oNM6ZS60?ref=email

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