Local interest books

For those who have often wondered what stories lie behind the simple headstone inscriptions in Lancashire’s country churchyards and town cemeteries, here is a book which can answer some of the questions.  Elizabeth Ashworth, has travelled across the county with notebook, pen and camera, and has brought to life some intriguing life histories.

Lancashire has a great wealth of stories from the past. Some are ancient legends such as the sad tale of the White Lady of Samlesbury Hall. Others are drawn straight from the pages of history as with the Siege of Lathom House during the Civil War.  All bring to life moments of drama and mystery, romance and heroism. The local characters involved include a hermit, a saint, a highwayman, knights, witches and ghosts. Elizabeth Ashworth has written an absorbing and highly readable collection of colourful tales.

Champion Lancastrians looks at the lives of local characters from when the county was first created until the present day. It includes John of Gaunt; Humphrey Chetham, who helped found the first public library in Manchester; the inventors of the Industrial Revolution; Robert Peel the founder of the modern police force; the sugar magnate Henry Tate; Lord Leverhulme the inventor of Sunlight Soap; Emmaline Pankhurst; Wallace Hartley, the hero of the Titanic; and Richmal Crompton, the writer of theJust William stories. There are also well-known entertainers like Gracie Fields and Eric Morecambe. Modern champions include best selling author Josephine Cox; Nick Park, the inventor of Wallace and Gromit; and former fashion designer Wayne Hemingway, who is campaigning for better housing. And what do these people have in common? They are all Lancastrians