South-West Lancashire Research Articles

Artisanal Skills, Watchmaking, and the Industrial Revolution: Prescot and Beyond

The role of skills and human capital during England’s Industrial Revolution is the subject of an old but still ongoing debate. This paper contributes to the debate by assessing the artisanal skills of watchmakers and watch tool makers in southwest Lancashire in the eighteenth century and their links to apprenticeship. The flexibility of the training regime and its evolution are discussed, as is the decline of the industry.

Abstracts of Articles

STEPHEN M. LEWIS, ‘Vikings on the Ribble: Their Origin and Longphuirt’. Parts of north-west England were settled by groups of Scandinavians in the tenth century, certainly Cumbria and the Wirral. South-west and northern Lancashire also witnessed Scandinavian immigration. Some, but very likely not all, of these Scandinavians had come from Dublin after they were temporarily expelled by the Irish in 902. But where did these Irish Northmen establish their initial winter camps and their first ship-bases, what were called longphuirt (sing. longphort) in Ireland? There is little doubt that such bases existed before some of these Irish exiles stopped being a raiding force and started to settle down. Not one ship-base has ever been found in north-west England, unlike in Ireland or even in other parts of England. Based on an examination of geography and longphort site-types, this article proposes and evaluates the three most likely sites for such longphuirt along the Ribble estuary. The historical background and context for Scandinavian activity and settlement in south-west Lancashire is also discussed; as are related events in Ireland and Northumbria. The period covered is roughly 902 to 919.

Vikings on the Ribble: Their Origin and Longphuirt

Parts of north-west England were settled by groups of Scandinavians in the tenth century, certainly Cumbria and the Wirral. South-west and northern Lancashire also witnessed Scandinavian immigratio...

Making Good Land from Bad: The Drainage of West Lancashire, c. 1650–1850

AbstractThis article investigates the changing administrative context of drainage in south-west Lancashire from the mid-seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. Successive schemes managed by Commissions of Sewers, piecemeal reclamation and private agreement were characterised by primitive technology, under-investment and poor management. Consequently, their achievements were limited. Large scale drainage schemes under the control of single individuals or powerful syndicates enjoyed greater success, but to coordinate drainage across an ecosystem that went beyond estate boundaries required state intervention in the form of an Act of Parliament of 1779. After some initial success the drainage commissioners found themselves immersed in legal wranglings with landowners and maintenance of the drainage system largely fell into abeyance. It was not until the landlords provided the administrative and financial resources to invest in technological solutions in the 1840s that the land achieved its full potential. It is argued that drainage of this land, resulting in its transformation from some of the worst land in the country to some of the best, was a major contributor not only to the agricultural success of the region, but also to Lancashire's industrial success.

Thermoluminescence dating of the british coversand deposits

Coversand deposits, thought to be of Lateglacial age are found in Britain in North Lincolnshire, South-West Lancashire and Central East Anglia. A comprehensive dating study of them, using thermoluminescence (TL) techniques, is currently underway in an attempt to link the British coversand deposits to the European coversand chronology. Initial results from four of the British coversand sites sampled are presented. The 26 TL dates from 14 samples show that in Lincolnshire aeolian deposition took place from 12.5 ka to I1 ka. Cessation of the initial sand deposition was synchronous with this in Lancashire, but sand deposition occurred significantly earlier in East Anglia. The upper layers of aeolian sand in Lancashire are much younger and are attributed to Holocene reworking. On the basis of these dates, Lincolnshire and Lancashire coversand deposition occurred at a similar time to the Younger Coversand II, whilst East Anglian coversand deposition coincided with the Younger Coversand I phase in the European coversand chronology.

Coastal environmental changes and morphostratigraphy in southwest Lancashire, England

The coastal lowlands of southwest Lancashire contain a record of coastal and sea-level changes dating back to at least 8500 years bp, and include one of the classic sites in the UK at Downholland Moss for sea-level investigations. A chronostratigraphic framework has been established by radiometrically dating transgressive and regressive overlaps, and tendencies of sea-level movement have been interpreted from the bio- and lithostratigraphy. These data have been enhanced by detailed foraminiferal analyses, stratigraphie descriptions of new sections and a description of the morphostratigraphy. The origin of the marine sediments on Downholland Moss is the proto-Alt estuary, and the evidence indicates a beach and sand dune barrier in place to the west for much of the Holocene, explaining the change in direction of Downholland Brook from east-west to north-south. The pattern of old tidal creeks or roddons focuses on Downholland Brook and the River Alt indicating persistence during the Holocene. Despite new data for this classic site there are still problems relating to the chronology of the dune development, the persistence and origin of the barrier to the west and the areal distribution of associated sedimentary environments.

Monitoring populations of the carrot fly, Psila rosae, with sticky and water traps

SummaryThe relative, effectiveness of Rebell®, small cylinder, large cylinder, windmill and water traps, the five types of trap used currently for monitoring populations of the carrot fly, Psila rosae, was assessed in nine field experiments, three in south west Lancashire, four in the Fens (Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire), one in East Suffolk and one at Wellesbourne, Warwickshire. Regression analysis of the numbers of flies caught on each type of trap against the numbers caught on the Rebell® trap indicated that each trap samples a constant proportion of the fly population relative to the other traps. Therefore, provided the fly population was sufficiently large for insects to be caught on the least effective traps, any of the five traps would monitor adequately fluctuations in carrot fly populations. However, the Rebell® trap caught 4–17 times as many flies/trap and 5–7 times as many flieshnit area of trap as any of the other traps tested.Operators considered the Rebell® trap to be the easiest to use. However, it was more expensive than any of the other traps tested.

The Gentry of South-West Lancashire in the Later Sixteenth Century

AbstractWe in England divide our people commonly into four sorts, as gentlemen, citizens or burgesses, yeomen, and artificers or labourers. Of gentlemen the first and chief …are called the gentlemen of the greater sort, or lords and noblemen; and next unto them be knights, esquires, and, last of all, they that are simply called gentlemen; so that in effect our gentlemen are divided into their conditions.William Harrison, Description of England

Book Reviews

Books reviewed in this article: Baltimore: The Building of an American City. Sherry H. Olson. From Fire to Flood: Historic Human Destruction of Sonoran Desert Riverine Oases. Henry F. Dobyns. Seats, Votes and the Spatial Organization of Elections. G. Gudgin and P. J. Taylor Crime: A Spatial Perspective. Daniel E . Georges-Abeyie and Keith Harris, eds. Geographical Perspectives on Juvenile Delinquency. David J. Evans. The Mapmakers. John Noble Wilford. The Urban Land Nexus and the State. A. J. Scott. Geographical Change and the Industrial Revolution: Coalmining in South West Lancashire. John Langton. Mountain Weather and Climate. Roger G. Barry. Farming, Development and Space: A World Agricultural Geography. Bernd Andreae (Translated from the German by Howard F. Gregor). Rational Landscapes and Humanistic Geography. Edward Relph.

Sea-level changes in northern England

The terms transgressive and regressive overlap current in solid rock geology since the early nineteenth century are applied as descriptive terms to stratigraphic successions in northern England. Two methods of displaying radiocarbon dates from overlap sequences are described and a chronostratigraphic subdivision of marine and terrestrial sediments is proposed: 12 periods, during which transgressive overlap occurred, and 12 periods, during which regressive overlap occurred, are recognised, and supercede the transgression sequences Lytham I to IX. Two new time-depth graphs are described from southwest Lancashire and the Morecambe Bay area, and each radiocarbon date is shown in relationship to its position in a transgressive or regressive overlap. Tentative interpretations are made about the form of the curve of sea-level changes.

Geographical Change and Industrial Revolution: Coalmining in South West Lancashire, 1590-1799.

The economic changes of the industrial revolution came to different parts of England at different times. By examining the geography of these changes, this book shows how the pattern of production in an important coalfield changed as it became part of the regional economic system developing around the port of Liverpool. In the first part of the book the author develops a model for studying the geography of economic change by combining the economic location theory of August Losch with concepts from systems theory. He concludes that normative theories possess great value in allowing an ordered description of the process of growth, if not an explanation of it. The theoretical model allows the author to analyse the complex process of change in the coalfield. The combination of theoretical enquiry and detailed archival work provides a thorough account of the transformation of an important industry. In doing so, the book casts considerable light on the process of regional economic development in the English industrial revolution.

Petrography, origin and environment of deposition of the Shirdley Hill Sand of southwest Lancashire, England

A sedimentological study of the Late Devensian Shirdley Hill Sand clarifies its origin and mode of deposition. Mineralogical analyses show the sand was derived almost exclusively from fluvioglacial debris, but considerably changed by subsequent weathering. Particle size analyses, scanning electron microscopy of quartz grain surfaces and sedimentary structures all suggest that the deposit is aeolian. Rather than long-distance transport, repeated local redistribution of the fluvioglacial sand by multidirectional winds is suggested.

Traditional Domestic Architecture of South-West Lancashire

AbstractIn the study of vernacular architecture the interdependence of general information obtained from broad surveys of defined areas and specific information obtained from detailed investigation of selected examples is usually acknowledged even though some students prefer one form of study to another. Here the two are presented together in the general study of traditional domestic architecture in part of West Lancashire and the detailed study of a single example which is of particular interest. The study area consisted of the parishes of Scarisbrick, Halsall, Downholland, Altcar and Lydiate which lie between Ormskirk and the coastal towns of Southport, Ainsdale and Formby. The single example given detailed consideration was Stock Cottage at Haskayne in Downholland Parish near the middle of the survey area.

The Disappearing Natterjack

The natterjack toad is decreasing rapidly in Britain. This is particularly true of its largest population on the dunes of south-west Lancashire, where developments in the form of houses, roads and a holiday camp have deprived it of habitat. Even more serious, say the authors, who have made a survey of this toad in Britain for WWF, is the drying out of the dune slacks, the freshwater pools where the natterjacks breed, as a result of the lowering of the water table by drainage and abstraction. The artificial substitutes provided so far are not adqeuate and the authors urge the need to create large and suitable breeding pools for the toads.

Anencephalus and water hardness in south-west Lancashire.

The well-known regional variation in the incidence of anencephalus in England and Wales, whereby the defect occurs more frequently in Wales and in northern England than in East Anglia and south east England, has suggested a possible relationship to water hardness (Penrose, 1957; Stocks, 1970; Fedrick, 1970). When the whole area of England and Wales is examined, a strong negative correlation is found between these two variables. In order to establish whether the connexion is causal, further information is needed. First, corre lations between water hardness and anencephalus need to be sought within much more circumscribed areas, as has been done in South Wales by Lowe, Roberts, and Lloyd (1971). Second, correlations need to be sought between annual variations in water hard ness and anencephaly within one area, especially where water hardness has been deliberately altered by the introduction of water-softening plant. If soft water does indeed contribute towards a higher incidence of anencephalus, it remains a matter of conjecture as to when and how this effect is brought about. Serial observations over a period shorter than a generation can only shed light on the possi bility of short-term effects, i.e., the possibility that the hardness of the water consumed by a parent at the time of relevant gametogenesis, or by a pregnant woman in early pregnancy, may affect neural-tube closure in the embryo. The possibility of an effect operative during the mother's prenatal life or early childhood could be investigated only over a much longer period. Congenital malformations have been ascertained systematically in the population of Liverpool since 1960 (Smithells, 1962). From July 1963 until June 1968, the area of ascertainment was extended to include neighbouring parts of south-west Lancashire. This is a predominantly soft-water area but includes Southport, where the water is hard, and St. Helens, where it was hard at the beginning of the study period but was softened after three years (Table I). All data on anencephalic births have Deen checked by reference to maternity department records. These sources were also used to provide information

Liverpool and Merseyside: Essays in the Economic and Social History of the Port and Its Hinterland

The 17th-century origins of watchmaking in south-west Lancashire, F.A. Bailey and T.C Barker the permanent poor in south-west Lancashire under the old poor law, G.W. Oxley the attorney and the early capital market in Lancashire, B.L. Anderson early Liverpool canal controversies, J.R. Harris the Liverpool campaign against the order in council and the war of 1812, B.H. Tolley Liverpool shipping in the early 19th century, F. Neal Liverpool merchants and the cotton trade 1820-1850, D.M. Williams the African steam ship company, P.N. Davies the general strike on Merseyside, D.E. Baines and R. Bean.

The origin of the Mersey anD Dee Estuaries

AbstractThe present coastal configurations of these estuaries are contrasted with known fluvial drowned estuaries and attention is drawn to their non‐fluvial characteristics. Two other sub‐parallel depressions in Wirral and southwest Lancashire are described, together with the sub‐glacial surfaces of all four. Their floors are found to contain irregular rock‐bound hollows, and other features reminiscent of glaciated areas. It is suggested that they are escape routes taken by Irish Sea ice hemmed in by the mountains of Wales and the outliers of the Pennines. The term “iceways” is suggested for such ice‐gouged features. A rock shelf in the University area of Liverpool is also tentatively attributed to the same ice erosion.

The Relation of Crop Distributions to the Drift Pattern in South-West Lancashire

The Relation of Crop Distributions to the Drift Pattern in South-West Lancashire

The Dent Line in Lancashire

Comments on the location of the Dent line in Lancashire, noting the significance of its continuation into southwest Lancashire for interpreting Variscan tectonics in northern England.

Historical Geography of South-West Lancashire before the Industrial Revolution

Historical Geography of South-West Lancashire before the Industrial Revolution