Friends of Real Lancashire
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| Abbreviation | FORL |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1995 |
| Founder | Mr Chris Dawson |
| Purpose | Promote, protect and preserve what it views as the true identity of Lancashire |
| Location | |
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President
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Mr Chris Dawson |
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Chairman
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Mr Philip Walsh |
| Affiliations | Association of British Counties |
| Website | www |
The Friends of Real Lancashire (FORL) are a pressure group affiliated to the Association of British Counties calling for the wider recognition of the historic boundaries of Lancashire in England. Its chairman is Chris Dawson.
The Friends of Real Lancashire are concerned to promote what they view as, the true boundaries of the county, namely those of the County Palatine of Lancaster. The current local government boundary of Lancashire was established in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. Lancashire saw more upheaval from this Act than most counties, having most of its population transferred to the new counties: Manchester and the rest of south east Lancashire became part of Greater Manchester; Liverpool and the rest of south west Lancashire became part of Merseyside; Furness became part of Cumbria; and Warrington and Widnes became part of Cheshire.
According to the FORL website, in 1974 "the Government at that time stated that the "new counties" were administrative areas only, and that the boundaries of traditional counties such as Lancashire had not been changed. Unfortunately, the media refer to these administrative areas all too frequently and ignore the fact that places such as Barrow-in-Furness, Liverpool, Manchester, Warrington, etc. are still in Lancashire."
The boundary changes were not intended to affect loyalties but they caused concern in some areas and in practice it is the new boundaries which are now shown on maps and marked by road signs. They have also been widely adopted by the media as geographical designations, despite that many within the new counties continue to regard themselves as Lancastrians. The historic county boundaries continue to be used as the basis for organisations such as the Duchy of Lancaster, Lancashire County Cricket Club and Lancashire Football Association (although its area overlaps with Manchester Football Association).
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Wikipedia