The Pride of Lancashire

So for everyone not familiar with Lancashire this is it. Quite a few good teams to come out of this part of England, some more famous than others.

Happy Lancashire Day

On this day in 1295 the first elected representatives from Lancashire were called to Westminster by King Edward I to attend what later became known as "The Model Parliament".
The Lancashire Day proclamation is read out by town criers throughout the county on 27th November.

A brief history of Lancashire
At the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 the County of Lancashire had not yet been defined, but its subsequent components already existed as administrative areas.
Six or seven years after the conquest (1072/3) King William gave the land between the Ribble and the Mersey, together with Amounderness to Roger of Poitou. In the early 1090s King William II (William Rufus) added Lonsdale, Cartmel and Furness to Roger's estates, thereby giving him control of all the land between the river Mersey in the south and the river Duddon in the north. Roger chose Lancaster as the site for his castle which thereby became the centre of administration for the lands that he controlled. As the area of lands held by a lord were known as his 'honour', Roger's lands became known as the Honour of Roger of Poitou or the Honour of Lancaster.
In 1102 Roger supported his brother Robert of Bellene in an unsuccessful rebellion against King Henry I and all his English estates were confiscated and given to Stephen of Blois the grandson of the Conqueror.
In 1168 Lancashire was first termed 'the county of Lancashire' under King Henry II.
1267 Edmund Crouchback was created 1st Earl of Lancaster.
In 1351 Henry, Earl of Lancaster, was made a Duke and was also granted Palatinate powers - the royal powers, or the powers belonging to the palace.
These powers lapsed with Henry's Death, but were restored to the most famous Duke of Lancaster, John of Gaunt and were made hereditary.
Palatinate status was granted to Lancashire because of its strategic position in defending England from the Scots and conferred legal recognition of the extraordinary powers of the Duke within Lancashire. The county developed its own chancery, could issue writs under its own seal and even had its own dating year running from 6th March 1351, the date of the establishment of the palatine. The Duke was able to appoint his own sheriff who was answerable to the Duke, not the King. Lancaster had its own justices and the king's writ did not run within the palatine county. The king did however still collect the taxes and reserved the right to correct 'errors of judgement' in the duke's courts.
For a short period in the 16th century the Duke appointed a butler to collect dues payable to him for wine brought into the county.

From  http://www.forl.co.uk/history.html

History lesson with uncle Bill

The Vikings are alive and well and living in the North West of England, if we are to belive our friend William "Bill" Routledge. We asked him for an interview on one of our common favorite subject; the relationship between our two great nations. Bill was willing to share his thought on the matter.

The North West has long been known to have special links with the Vikings going back over a thousand years, through archaeological evidence, ancient manuscripts, local surnames and place-names. It’s believed many of the Vikings, of mainly Norwegian origin, ended up in the region after being expelled from Ireland in AD902. Also, recent research of nearly 50 per cent of men that volunteered to have their DNA collected from within and just outside the boundaries of Lancashire, whom had surnames names dating back thousands of years connected and to the county, found out that their ancestry was indeed Viking in origin. I too, myself, have blonde eyebrows and blue eyes!

On the move - Viking style

Anyway, from a very early age I’ve always had an interest and fascination for travelling to far off shores, boats and Vikings: Since being knee-high to a grasshopper I would pester my Dad to regale me with stories of his years in the Royal Navy during WWII and the foreign countries that he visited while serving for Queen and country. I didn’t grasp the severity of what real wars were and there consequences but, at an age of innocence, nevertheless, I grasped that there were places around the globe that were accessible by taking to the ocean waves and setting sail. I also sat glued to the TV every Christmas Day transfixed by ‘Jason and the Argonauts’  and the swashbuckling involved while occurrences occurred in their quest for the ‘Golden Fleece.’ All this to place while being watched over from the clouds above by the ancient Gods. (I’ll let you in to a secret, I really thought Jason and the lads were Vikings back in the day.)
        

Far from the Scandinavian dresser

Moving on a few years: History lessons at school never went to in-depth on what the Vikings had done for us, unlike what the Romans had; this apart from the dark side of their exploits. We were informed that the Norse warriors had raided Britain for their self gain leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, akin to land pirates.

Once old enough, I tapped the local newsagents for a morning paper round, whereupon I was taken on due to an older lad retiring at the end of the week. Mornings would be spent wandering aimlessly while supping a pint of gold top milk that I’d ‘borrowed’ from a doorstep and reading such delights as the ‘Hagar the Horrible’ comic strip in the Sun newspaper chuckling to myself before posting a percentage of the papers and dumping the rest in the bushes. It wasn’t long before a coped the bullet.

Leading to today: Stepping over the threshold from where I live nowadays, Grimsargh, Lancashire, there has been many a historical happening since the village was listed in the Domesday Book. Within a mile or two of my humble abode, and even under the foundations of where I sat typing these notes up, events took place that have connections to the Vikings.

Grimsargh, East of the City of Preston

*Grimsargh is a semi-rural village to the East of the City of Preston, whose name is said to deprive from an Old Norse name Grimr, with ‘argh’ added* (NB: Grim also meaning ugly in modern Norwegian. Grym in Sweden meaning both ugly and cool.)

After the Romans had left Blighty, the Celtic influence prevailed; boatloads of Norwegians and Viking Norsemen, from Scandinavia, sailed across the North Sea in the early part of the tenth century to our fair shores, possibly via Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man on their jollies, before landing on North of England beaches - no doubt with a bit of lumber and pillaging on the way. Some of these Vikings then dodged the Spivs selling snide sunglasses and sticky toffee apples on Blackpool’s Golden Mile and set up camp near to the River Ribble, not too far from a Anglo Saxon gaff, Brockholes. Both of these settlements being a stone’s throw from Princeps Pacis, Prince of Peace or Preston-Preston more commonly known as just, Preston. The two encampments seemingly kept themselves to themselves and co-existed – it’s nice to be nice, isn’t it?

A Viking mansion

The Norsemen knocked up shed-like-huts, ploughed the fallowed land and planted crops. Without going round the houses to explain Old Norse, Danish and Saxon meanings of the aforementioned, the name of Grimsargh for their settlement had been established. Also, the only boozer in the village to this day is called The Plough, in reference to Grimsargh’s past inhabitants.

Proud of our local Scandinavian heritage, Vikings have been hewn in old stone farmers gateposts and new, pristine Viking heads have been commissioned too.

Bill the protector

Apart from being a member of the Scandinavian forum Our Culture, amongst others, I’ve also a passion for Preston North End. And recently, through a mutual friend, Minty, I was introduced to The PNEFC Norwegian Branch of supporters while having a pint in the Old Black Bull in Preston – what a cracking bunch of lads they were too. Hopefully, one day soon, I will cross the North Sea for a flagon or two of ale with our Scandinavian brethren – if my Lotto numbers come-up, that is.

Wearing the colours

We thank you for the history lesson, Bill. Looking forward to seeing you again and talk about our fellow ancestors over a horn of ale or two.

What makes us special?

In the past Preston was famously successful, being the first winner of "The Double" in English football. In 1888/-89 Preston became the only team to go throughout an entire season unbeaten in both the league and FA cup – also with the record of never conceding a goal in the FA Cup. Arsenal, in 2003/-04, also managed to have an unbeaten season in the top flight (although Arsenal played 38 games to Preston's 22) but went out of the FA Cup at the semi-final stage.   Wikipedia

What makes us special?

Preston North End is 1 out of 6 teams that have won the Football League War Cup (1941). The other teams being West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Blackpool, Charlton Atlethic/Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers.


(The picture is ment as an illustration and doesn`t necessarily have anything to do with the fact or quote bellow it.)

From around the block

Our club has had managers from England, Scotland and Ireland. When will the first manager from outside the islands make his entry?

Sir Scored Alot

The highest goalscoer in the club`s history is Sir Tom Finney who between season 1946 and 1960 had scored 210 league and cup goals for the mighty North End.

More Deepdale

Deepdale stadium was built in 1860 and was first used for association football in 1878.
Deepdale is the longest continuously used football ground in the world, and in 2011 it has been used for 135 years.

Biggest crowd at Deepdale

On the 23rd of April in 1938 42.684 people found their way to Deepdale to see the game against Arsenal. The Londoners won the game 3-1.

Almost there

Only Notts County FC have played more Football League games than us.

Youngest player

The youngest player to ever play for Preston North End FC is Doyle Middleton. He was 16 years and 122 days old when playing Stockport away last season. The former record holder was Steven Doyle. When he entered the pitch on Prenton Park (Tranmere Rovers) on the 15th of November 1975 he was 16 years and 166 days old.

The history

Preston North End FC have got a rich history and now and then we will throw some historical facts your way. Let`s start out with one it`s easy to appreciate:

"In 1922 goalkeeper JF Mitchell became the first and last player to wear glasses in an FA Cup Final"

Priceless!