50 years of Lancashire County Council

This year marks a major milestone for the council, as we celebrate 50 years since the modern Lancashire County Council was formed in 1974.

Across five decades we have been proudly dedicated to enhancing the lives of residents through our services.

During the year we will be sharing opportunities to get involved, holding events and giving you a peek into times gone by as well as looking ahead to what the next 50 years might hold.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the formation of the modern county council and museum service our conservation and collection team have curated a selection of 50 Lancashire objects. We will be exploring the history of Lancashire, its people, places and traditions through 50 objects in our collections.

Covering 9000 years of history and spanning the geography of the county, we will tell the story of Lancashire's origins including its settlers and invaders, our industries, our military heritage, our food and our famous seaside!

Every Wednesday from Wednesday 22 May 2024 we will reveal a new object representing a different aspect of the county and its history, celebrating the wealth and diversity of our heritage.

See latest object from '50 Lancashire objects' 

Follow @LancsMuseums and see #50LancashireObjects on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) for the latest reveal. 

Find out more about the work of Lancashire County Council's conservators on the Lancashire Conservation studios website. 

Events and activities will be taking place throughout the year as many of our services are getting involved to mark the anniversary. 

Our Lancashire libraries will be hosting a range of events and will be showcasing a selection of Lancashire objects from the 50 objects project during the year. 

See our events website to find a 50th anniversary event near you and check back throughout the year for the latest updates.

Search events

Heritage Open Day, Saturday 14 September

On Saturday 14 September we opened our doors to celebrate Heritage Open Days. Visitors learnt about the history of County Hall, designed by the Manchester architect, Henry Littler and discovered fascinating insights about Christ Church and its role as the county council Chapel.

As part of Lancashire County Council's 50th year celebrations, Lancashire library service has put together a list of 50 influential Lancashire authors.  The list is a mix of historical and contemporary writers who have had an impact on Lancashire and includes established names and up and coming new authors.  While not all the people on the list are Lancashire born all have contributed to the literary landscape of the county and we hope you will enjoy rediscovering old favourites as well as finding out about new and upcoming writers. 

View 50 authors 

We are delighted to relaunch The Great Lancashire Debate in our 50th anniversary year and support UK Parliament Week 2024.

Once again we are looking for schools in Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool with the best public speakers – and your school could be one of them!

Entries for The Great Lancashire Debate 2024 are now open and your can find out more on The Great Lancashire Debate website.

If you have any questions not answered within the terms and conditions or the information on the website, please contact TheGreatLancashireDebate@lancashire.gov.uk.

Once you have entered, your school can tweet us using #TheGreatLancashireDebate to let us know!