Lancashire is situated in the north west of England being bordered by Cumbria to the north, West and North Yorkshire to the east and Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the south; the latter being formed when the cities of Liverpool and Manchester were removed in the boundary reform of 1974.
The Irish Sea forms the boundary to the west into which the main rivers of the Ribble, Wyre, which leads into the Fylde coastal plain, and Lune, leading to Morecambe Bay, drain.
The Red Rose of Lancaster represented the House of Lancaster which battled with York in the 15th Century War of the Roses for the crown of England.
In the 19th century Manchester was known as Cottonopolis as it was the centre of the cotton industry. No doubt this is why our maternal ancestor John WOOD, who was a lace and cotton salesman, moved up there in the mid 19th century and why his children were born in this county, although the family later moved back down south to Essex.
Gillard / Wood Family History 