University of Central Lancashire

The University of Central Lancashire (abbreviated UCLan) is a public university based in Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge founded in 1828. Subsequently known as Harris Art College, then Preston Polytechnic, then Lancashire Polytechnic, in 1992 it was granted university status by the Privy Council. The university is the 19th largest in the UK in terms of student numbers.

History

The Institution for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge was founded in 1828 by Joseph Livesey's Temperance Society. The society was born from a pledge made by seven Preston working men (whose names can be seen on a plaque in the university's library) to never again consume alcohol.

The institute was housed in a classical-revivalist building on Cannon Street, before eventually expanding under the endowment of a local lawyer, Edmund Robert Harris, who died in 1877. The expansion brought with it several new buildings and houses in the nearby Regent Street were purchased and demolished as a consequence. The institute became a regional centre of excellence for the arts and sciences.

Lancashire

Lancashire (/ˈlæŋkəʃər/, /ˈlæŋkəʃɪər/ or, locally, [ˈɫaŋkɪʃə(ɻ)]; archaically the County Palatine of Lancaster; abbreviated Lancs.) is a county in north west England. Although Lancaster is still the county town, the county's administrative centre is Preston. The county has a population of 1,449,300 and an area of 1,189 square miles (3,080 km²). People from the county are known as Lancastrians.

The history of Lancashire begins with its founding in the 12th century. In the Domesday Book of 1086, some of its lands were treated as part of Yorkshire. The land that lay between the Ribble and Mersey, Inter Ripam et Mersam was included in the returns for Cheshire. When its boundaries were established, it bordered Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire and Cheshire.

Lancashire emerged as a major commercial and industrial region during the Industrial Revolution. Manchester and Liverpool grew into its largest cities, dominating global trade and the birth of modern capitalism. The county contained several mill towns and the collieries of the Lancashire Coalfield. By the 1830s, approximately 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire.Accrington, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Chorley, Colne, Darwen, Nelson, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale and Wigan were major cotton mill towns during this time. Blackpool was a centre for tourism for the inhabitants of Lancashire's mill towns, particularly during wakes week.

Central Lancashire

Coordinates: 53°42′36″N 2°38′35″W / 53.710°N 2.643°W / 53.710; -2.643

Central Lancashire is a term used since 2008 for joint planning by the Lancashire districts of the City of Preston, the Borough of South Ribble and the Borough of Chorley, referring to the area covered by the three districts. A joint Local Development Framework is being prepared.

Previously, Central Lancashire New Town was the largest of the English new towns, designated in 1970 and covering 35,255 acres (143 km²): the County Borough of Preston, parts of Chorley, Fulwood, Leyland, Walton-le-Dale, Chorley Rural District and Preston Rural District.

Its Development Corporation, abolished in 1986, pioneered Shared Ownership (a form of property ownership introduced by the Housing Act 1980) and also witnessed the first transfer of social housing stock to registered Housing Associations following tenant consultation and ballots.

The officially estimated population in 2009 was 347,600.

The Office for National Statistics gives the 2011 population of the Preston Built-up Area, covering Preston, Leyland, Chorley, Bamber Bridge, Fulwood, Hutton, Longton, Adlington, Grimsargh and Euxton, as 313,322. This area replaced the 2001 definition of Preston Urban Area which then had a population of 264,601.