The Lancashire Historic Landscape Characterisation Programme

Click on cover to downloadversion.

This report summarises the results from a two-year study of the historic landscape character of Lancashire, including the unitary authority areas of Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool Borough Councils, which commenced in 1999. The work forms part of a national programme sponsored by English Heritage and carried out in partnership with the English local authorities, usually at a county level.

The aim of the Lancashire programme was to characterise the distinctive, historic dimension of today's urban and rural environment in Lancashire. This was achieved largely through desk-based research, which first identified a range of attributes within the landscape (such as fields, boundaries, current and historic landuse) and then grouped them into historic landscape types of common and recognisable character.

The Lancashire project was originally conceived for two principal reasons:

• to provide area-based information on the historic environment as a part of the Lancashire Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) – the primary database used for conservation decision-making;
  
• and specifically to input into the Lancashire Landscape Strategy and the preparation of the Lancashire Joint Structure Plan policy.

The HLC work can also be used to inform the preparation of other strategies, for development control and other land-use planning purposes and for agri-environment schemes. The County Council are involved in promoting HLC to local communities, both within Lancashire and to other European partners as a part of an EU funded Culture 2000 project.

The report is in three parts: the circumstances of the project are outlined in Part I followed by a brief overview of Lancashire's diverse historic landscape. Part II includes an explanation and justification of the methodology employed for the identification and mapping of historic landscape character (HLC) types, and is supported by technical data presented in the Appendix.

Part III of the report describes the 21 separate historic landscape character types that are based upon the criteria of date and current landuse:

• Ancient (pre-AD1600) Enclosure
• Post-Medieval (AD1600-1850) Enclosure
• Modern (post-AD1850) Enclosure
• Ancient and Post-Medieval (Pre-AD1850) Woodland
• Modern Woodland
• Ancient and Post-Medieval Settlement
• Modern Settlement
• Modern Recreation
• Ancient and Post-Medieval Ornamental Land
• Modern Ornamental Land
• Ancient and Post-Medieval Industry
• Modern Industry
• Modern Military
• Modern Communications
• Moorland
• Reverted Moorland
• Lowland Moss and Grassland/Scrub
• Water
• Saltmarsh
• Dunes
• Sand and Mudflats
  

The types are assessed in terms of the historical processes from which they derive, the historical and archaeological components that they contain, the characteristics that distinguish them from similar types and the rarity of the type across the county. Finally, recommendations for enhancing and safeguarding each type, including their attributes, are included alongside a summary bibliography that lists key sources.