Lancastrians: Mills, Mines and Minarets: A New History Hardcover – 29 June 2023

Part of the sub-title of ‘Lancastrians’ is ‘A New History’. My own view is that it is not a history in the sense that it replaces histories that have been produced by earlier authors, but it is new in that it supplements other works. Traditional histories perhaps apply overly emphasise the influence and effects of the better-known Lancastrians, the ‘worthies’ as they were often referred to in the past.The author takes a different approach with this history. Salveson’s ‘Lancastrians’ presents a story of Lancashire that is more ‘of the people’. It is a ‘bottom-up’ cultural, social, and political timeline, punctuated not by the cotton barons, but by the sometimes lesser-known figures of the past. These were people locally appreciated for their efforts in trying to improve the daily lives of the people, but perhaps not nationally recognised. The book is not a story of famous Lancastrian inventions and wealthy industrialists. It is an 18-chapter tour of Lancashire’s history and its inhabitants that ordinary folk would recognise, and relate to.On reading the book it occasionally struck me that the emphasis of the narrative was often geared towards the industrial powerhouse region; East Lancashire, the areas around Manchester, and Liverpool. I asked myself whether there should be more on the north of the county, but then thought otherwise. The simple fact is that the rump of the population resided, and still resides, in these areas so the emphasis is clearly appropriate. I also wondered whether there should be more on more recent culture, the twentieth century music of Liverpool and Manchester which have had such an influence over the UK’s music scene. Twentieth and twenty-first century artists and musicians are mentioned but not discussed at length. At close to 175,000 words already, and as an author myself, I do understand that there are limits to what it is feasible to include. It is simply not possible, or necessarily wise, to include everything and everyone. And in some respects, more recent history is not always the easiest to get right. The effluxion of time often changes perspectives.I found myself in robust agreement with the points raised in the last chapter. Lancashire has been stripped of some of its wider identity by cack-handed 1970s administrative excisions of large parts the county – the ‘Greater Manchester’ nonsense still persist a generation into the twenty first century. It really needs to rejoin the traditional county, along with ‘Merseyside’, to form what could again be an industrial and commercial super region.The book is well written and easy to read. As a history it fills a gap in our knowledge of the development of the county. It elevates to prominence those Lancashire characters who played just as important a part in the social, political, and cultural development of our county, as did the inventors and capitalists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In time it will take its place along with the Victorian history writers of an earlier age. A highly recommended read.

The book has just arrived and I am having a quick glance through. One mention of Earlestown as a railway engineering centre and two references to Parkside near Newton-le-willows. Missing as a place when referencing carnegie libraries as well. Geographical describes are given as between St Helens and warrington which is where Newton-le-Willows sits. vulcan foundry mentioned nearby to Warrington, again its in newton-le-willows the industrial village is called Vulcan village. As well as Haydock racecourse being the replacement for Newton racecourse and the oldest horse racing cup being the Newton Cup. Earlestown and Newton-le-willows missing from glossary as references. Feels almost purposeful when reading a sentence like St Helens, Warrington, Haydock,Ashton, Leigh - the town in the centre of that circle Newton-le-Willows there's over 20,000 people living there it's not a small place.