encouraging and promoting interest in archaeology and history, particularly of the County Palatine of Lancashire. There is a yearly programme of 5 evening talks, plus a members' evening, and visits to sites of interest, as these photographs show.

BJN Edwards at Ribchester

The ruinous Halton Castle

Trenching at Brindle Workhouse

Derek gets ahead of himself

The reredos at Gorton Monastery

The world's first Railway Station!

Prehistoric footprints at Formby Point

Bolton Castle

The Green Man, Whalley Abbey

Limestone knolls, Downham Green

This page was last updated on 13th May 2012

The Society Secretary:

Mrs Mavis Shannon
telephone: Preston (01772) 709187
or email

The current Membership of the Committee is shown on this page.

The Society meets at
The Fulwood United Reformed Church
shown on this map.

Meetings begin at 7.45pm

Information about accessing the venue for our meetings by public transport is shown on the map page.

Membership of the Society is open to all. Annual Membership runs from 1st February to 31st January. Annual Membership fees are: Family - £13.00, Individual - £9.00 and Student - £3.00. Visitor fee: £2.00. Other fees (such as charges for coach travel, site entry on visits, tickets for the Annual Dinner etc) will be posted here, as necessary. Please note: if you are joining the Society for the first time, or if your personal details have changed, please provide your contact information on this form. To pay Membership Fees or other charges by PayPal or by credit or debit card, please select from the drop-down list alongside and click the "Subscribe" button. The payment-by-card facility is at the bottom of that new page.

Programme of events for 2012

Click the blue links for details and follow-up reports.

January

AGM and members' evening.

February

Haslingden Grane - a valley, its landscape and people

March

What did the Romans really do at Walton-le-Dale?

April

Viking DNA and the North of England Project

May

Annual dinner, at Amelie's Restaurant

June

Excursion, a Study Day in memory of BJN Edwards

July

Excursion, Castleshaw Roman Fort etc.

September

Excursion, Liverpool Docks and Tunnels

October

Bronze Age burials

November

Dispute Maps in Tudor Lancashire

The Programme for 2013 is in course of preparation. Details of previous years' programmes can be seen here.

The Ben Edwards LAS Fund

The Society is enabled, through the Ben Edwards LAS Fund, named in honour of our Founder Member and former President, to grant on occasion some small financial support or assistance, up to a maximum of £200.00 per project, to individuals or organisations who are working, on an amateur basis, on archaeological or historical research projects which are intended to further the knowledge and understanding of the (pre-)history of the North-west of England. Anyone may apply for a grant from the Fund, by completing and submitting an electronic Grant Application Form, available here. Each Application must be supported by appropriate information and documentation, and must also be accompanied where necessary by proof of approval and/or permission from the relevant authority(ies) to carry out the work.

In return for the receipt of a grant from the Fund, each successful applicant will be required to provide to the Society a full, timely and well-presented illustrated account of the outcome of the Project, accompanied where possible by photographs, drawings and other supporting documentation and in a form suitable for display on the Society's website. Additionally the support from the Society is to be formally acknowledged in the Project Report and in any other associated publications.

The information provided on the Grant Application Form will be sent to the Secretary when the "Submit" button is pressed. Other information in support of the Application is to be sent to the Secretary by post, to the address above.

Society news and announcements

The Dragon Ship sails again!

The largest "copy" of a Norse Dragon ship ever made is currently in course of construction in Norway. The Dragon Harald Fairhair Viking Longship will have 25 pairs of 2-man oars, as well as the distinctive Viking sail. In 2013, it will be rowed across the North Sea and round the top of Scotland, to dock in Liverpool, and visit Wirral. Volunteer rowers are required - see here.

Annual Dinner 2012

To take place at Amelie's, 311 Preston Road, Coppull: FRIDAY, 18th May 2012.

Amelie's was formerly known as The Coppull Moor and is easy to find. It is on the A49 between Coppull and Standish. If you are coming from the Preston direction, take the M6 as far as the Standish turnoff (junction 27), then north on the A49 towards Chorley and Preston, to Coppull Moor. Amelie's is on the right hand side. If you have SatNav, the post code is PR7 5DU. All are welcome - bring a friend if you wish - it's a good opportunity to get to know some of the other members.

We will assemble in the bar at Amelie's from 7.30pm for 8.00pm. There is a wide choice of meals. The table d'hote menu is £17.50 for three courses, to be paid on the night - or a two-course table d'hote or an a la carte menu is available. Drinks extra (and to be paid for separately). Email us if you wish to come. If you have any special dietary requirements, please let us know in advance.

A Life in North-West Archaeology - Commemorating Ben Edwards

The Centre for North-West Regional Studies at Lancaster University is hosting a "study day" on Saturday 9th June 2102 in the Faraday Lecture Theatre. Information about this event, and an enrolment form can be seen here. Click on the red link.

Emma Heslewood

Emma is currently Curator of History at Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Preston, she is an established member of the Society, and the Committee hope that her knowledge and experience will prove to be a great asset.

Placename Studies

If you are interested in place names - their origins, meanings and usages - there are several organisations (local and national) holding huge stores of information. Some of these organisations would like some extra help.

The Lancashire Place Name Survey. This local group is headquartered at the Lancashire Record Office, in Bow Lane, Preston. They don't have a website yet but the secretary can be contacted here, if you would like to take part.
The Society for Name Studies in Britain & Ireland (SNSBI). The Society's website here is self-explanatory.
The English Place Name Society. This is headquartered at Nottingham University and their website here gives all the details. This Society is the national umbrella organisation for the County surveys, including Lancashire, as above.

"A History of Chipping".

This book, by T. C. Smith, published in 1894, is full of interesting data about the village, the surrounding area and some of its more notable inhabitants over a period of some 600 years. It is now freely available in digitised form in PDF format on the internet here for anyone to read and download. Local family historians will find it a useful source.

Snippets

....The "Victoria County History of Cumbria" Project. The Victoria County History for Cumberland was started, and 2 volumes were published, but the work was not completed, and for Westmorland was never started. A new Project has been set up, (a) to update the existing volumes and (b) to prepare and publish the "missing" volumes. Details of the Project can be found on the Project website

....The Lancashire Local History Network has a new sub-group - The Fylde History Network - which is intended to provide a liaison and co-ordination function in the activities of the area's local historians. Contact details are on the page.

....The Lancashire County Council, with additional external funding, is running a project on the history and culture of the Forest of Bowland AONB.

....The Bibliography of our former President BJN Edwards is now on line here.