Lancaster is historic city, from its beginnings has been involved in important events of England’s history. The first traces of the past of Lancaster dates back nearly to 2000 year ago when the Roman established a settlement, remains of one of their buildings are still visible on Castle Hill close to the Priory.

After the Romans leave the country, the Anglo-Saxons come, whose fortifications on the same site formed the foundations of the present Norman castle, begun in the 11th century. At the same time, the Priory was founded, initially as a cell of a Benedictine monastery.

Lancaster was declared as a market town and borough in 1193, and gained the status of city 1937 with de coronation of the King George VI. The Duchy of Lancaster, still held by Her Majesty owns the castle. One of the best known names associated with historic Lancaster is that of John O'Gaunt, the second Duke, whose son became King Henry IV in 1399.

Within its history the most memorable events occurred in Lancaster we can mention the sacked of the city by the Scots for twice during the 1300s, also the city is associated with the House of Lancaster during the bitter Wars of the Roses in the latter half of the 15th century. A hundred or so years later, the Castle was three times besieged by Royalist forces during the English Civil Wars, and in 1745 it was the turn of the Scots again, when Bonnie Prince Charlie briefly occupied the town during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.

At the end of the 18th century the city began to undergoing several changes, grew and developed and the town prospered, Lancaster’s port was one of the most important ports in these times from where tobacco, slaves, timber, coffee, and other staples of the expanding British Empire were shipped. Most notable among these are the former Town Hall in Market Square, now the City Museum, and the fine Palladian-style Custom House of 1764, which now serves as the Maritime Museum.

Nowadays Lancaster is known as an important educational centre. The University was founded in the mid-1960s, while technical and artistic subjects are taught at the Storey Institute. Heysham has grown into an important Irish Sea port in its own right, while the extensive rural areas inland from the city itself are significant for their agriculture.