Historic Environment Record

The Historic Environment Record (HER) contains information on over 40,000 known sites across the county. This includes standing ruins, prehistoric and medieval earthworks, features identified on an aerial photograph and medieval pottery in fact any material remains of Lancashire's past. Historic landscape, townscape and buildings information is also held as well as aerial photographs and reports on archaeological fieldwork and building recording.

Each site is recorded on a computer to be displayed on a map or table, allowing fast searching, indexing and printing of information. The records held include details of all scheduled monuments and listed buildings in the county, as well as information from the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

The Lancashire Historic Environment Record is continually being updated. Information on new sites and finds and additional details about existing sites has been provided by professional archaeologists, museums, local researchers and the general public. We welcome contributions that would add to the record, and you can submit information by writing to us, by email at archaeology@lancashire.gov.uk providing as much detail as possible about the site.

Consulting the Historic Environment Record

Access to the Lancashire Historic Environment Record (HER) is available and any visits to inspect the HER should always be arranged in advance, as there is no dedicated public access terminal, and the HER has to be searched and material extracted by a Lancashire County Council staff member.

Contact details

Post: Lancashire Historic Environment Record, Planning and Environment Service, PO Box 100 County Hall, Pitt Street, Preston PR1 0LD 

E-mail: archaeology@lancashire.gov.uk

The HER holds a considerable range of historic information which can be made available to partners and users. Where possible we will try and provide data for non-commercial use free of charge.

Information supplied in response to requests for commercial use of data will usually be subject to a charge. Fees are calculated using the LHER Scale of Charges.

Scale of charges

Lancashire Historic Environment Record charging policy

The HER is often used as a tool in the planning process.

Historic Town Survey Reports and Historic Landscape Character Reports

Previously copies of 33 Historic Town Survey Reports and several Historic Landscape Character Reports were available as PDF downloads from this website, but this is no longer possible. Printed copies of the reports are often available at reference libraries, and copies can be made available on CD (subject to charges for commercial users). The following reports are available:

Historic Towns Survey:

Accrington, Bacup, Barnoldswick, Blackburn, Blackpool, Carnforth (and Warton), Chorley, Church and Oswaldtwistle, Clitheroe, Colne, Darwen, Fleetwood, Garstang, Great Harwood, Haslingden, Hornby, Kirkham, Lancaster (does not cover the town centre), Leyland, Longridge, Lytham St Annes, Morecambe, Nelson, Newburgh, Oswaldtwistle (with Church), Ormskirk, Padiham, Poulton-le-Fylde, Preston, Rawtenstall, Ribchester, Slaidburn, Warton (Lancaster, with Carnforth), Whalley

Lancashire Historic Landscape Characterisation Programme:

Main Project Report (2002), Perceptions of the Historic Landscape (2003), The Historic Landscape of the Forest of Bowland and the Lune Valley (2004), The Historic Landscape of Chipping Parish (2004); The Historic Landscape of Whittington Parish (2004). A collection of historic landscape documents, including those noted here, can be found on the web at the Pathways to cultural landscapes.