Lancaster, urban area (from 2011 built-up area) and city (district), administrative and historic county of Lancashire, northwestern England, at the head of the estuary of the River Lune, 7 miles (11 km) from the Irish Sea.
Lancaster grew on the site of a Roman station, and traces of the Roman fortification walls remain. In the 11th century a feudal landowner, Roger of Poitou, founded or enlarged a castle on an eminence there and also founded the Priory of St. Mary as a cell of his Benedictine priory. The town grew around these institutions and was granted its first charter in 1193. Although twice destroyed by the Scots (in 1322 and 1389), Lancaster became a market centre, and in 1688 six trade companies were incorporated. It flourished briefly as a port in the late 18th century, but silting of the estuary caused its decline. In the English Civil Wars of the mid-17th century the castle, held by the Parliamentarians, was three times besieged by Royalist forces.
The city has a range of industries, including furniture and linoleum manufacture. Because of its distance from the great urban centres of Manchester and Liverpool, attempts to found a cotton textile industry proved abortive, but synthetic fibres became established, and the city served for a time as the headquarters of Reebok. Lancaster remains a major market centre, having one of the largest livestock markets in northwestern England. A high proportion of professional, distributive, and retail employment reflects its traditional status as a regional centre for northern Lancashire. Lancaster lies on the railway line between southern Lancashire and the city of Carlisle and on the major British motorway between the city of Birmingham and Scotland.
Lancaster’s buildings include a castle on the site of the Roman castrum, St. Mary’s Church (mainly 15th-century), and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Peter (built in 1859). The University of Lancaster (founded in 1964) is located in the city. The Storey Institute has technical and art schools, an art gallery, and a museum. Market Square contains a civic and regimental museum. In addition to the town of Lancaster, the city (district) includes a substantial rural and agricultural area and the seaside resort of Morecambe. Area 223 square miles (577 square km). Pop. (2001) urban area, 45,952; city, 133,914; (2011) built-up area, 48,085; city, 138,375.