Exploring LANCASHIRE with author Chris Moss

4th March 2026

Lancashire: Exploring the historic county that made the modern world by Chris Moss.

Lancashire came into being during the reign of the Plantagenets and has “given birth to cuisine, newspapers and magazines, regiments and dialects”. The author himself was born in Burtonwood and it is clear that he has a tremendous fondness for the county of his birth.

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There is an incredible level of research in this book that brings the county to vibrant life, from the Roman period to its heyday around the Industrial Revolution, followed by a dip, although a renaissance has taken place in Liverpool and Manchester, the two main cities.

He opens with a look at Warrington, which was the ‘wire’ capital for quite some time (who knew!) and in recent times it was the location of the first IKEA to open in the UK. St Helen’s is up next and he notes that Nikolaus Pevsner (known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, The Buildings of England) dismissed it – “architecturally, there is nothing to be said for it…” In contrast, the author finds a lot to say about the town and he drills down into considerable detail, almost as a way of compensating for Pevsner’s dismissal, I imagine.

He goes on to look at the primal energy and history of Liverpool, with its smattering of Roman roots and moves on to explore cotton production, slavery, the seaside and multiple facets that are part and parcel of Lancashire.

This is certainly an in-depth look at the county and would be a wonderful gift for anyone who has associations with this part of England. The research is fantastic and the writing style is very engaging.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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