The City of Lancaster is a local government district and city in Lancashire in North West England. Its main town is Lancaster, from which it obtained its city status (see the Lancaster article for the main description of the town). Other towns in the district include Morecambe, Heysham, Slyne , and Carnforth.
The etymology of Lancaster is thought to have arrived from its large and imposing castle, and one of the two rivers than run through it, the River Lune (the other being the Ribble). In Roman times, the word "caster" would have been used in place of "castle", thereby supposing the descriptive name "Lune-Caster". Language development over the centuries may have morphed this into the modern name "Lancaster".
Despite the similarity of name between Lancaster and the county in which it resides Lancashire, Lancaster is no longer the county town of the county as this changed in 1974 to Preston.
The traditional emblem for the House of Lancaster is a red rose, similar to that of the House of York, which is instead a white rose.
Lancaster together with York form the two houses of the North of England, and historically are the two "roses". Historically the two were rivals to the throne, and today the rivalary of the Wars of the Roses is continued between the two cities' universities in an annual athletics match called the Roses Tournament. One may note that the roses refer not to the counties Yorkshire and Lancashire but instead to the House of York and the House of Lancaster.
 The coat of arms of the District of Lancaster in 1908 |
