A guide to the blue plaques in Lancashire

Lancashire has welcomed many notable figures during its history, with blue plaques marking the places that hosted these people and events. Here are some of the plaques that mark the history of the Lancashire streets...

1. Thomas Miller Located in Winckley Square in Preston, this plaque commemorates the cotton manufacturer who donated the land for Miller Park in 1864.

2. Benjamin Franklin Also known as "the First American", Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A blue plaque in Orchard Street marks the place Franklin stayed when he visited his daughter and grandchild before leaving for America in 1775.

3. Ghandi In Darwin a plaque remembers the house Mahatma Ghandi stayed in in Garden Village during a visit to the town in 1931.

4. Prince Charles Edward A plaque observes the Preston pub that Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed in during his failed attempt to become King of England.

5. Sooty Harry Corbett OBE is honoured on the North Pier in Blackpool, the place he found Sooty the puppet he became famous for. Corbett bought the yellow glove-puppet while on holiday in 1948 in order to entertain his family, before using soot to blacken its ears and nose.

6. Charles Dickens This famous writer gave us Oliver Twist and Christmas Carol and stayed in the building which his blue plaque was placed during a visit to Preston. However, in recent times the plaque has mysteriously disappeared from the Old Bull hotel on Church Street.

7. Edith Rigby A prominent suffragette, Edith Rigby founded a school in Preston to educate women and girls.

8. Brontë sisters A stone plaque is dedicated to Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte and Emily Brontë on the former Clergy Daughter's School at Cowan Bridge. It's believed the school was portrayed as 'Lowood School' in Jane Eyre.

There are even more blue plaques spread across Preston and further Lancashire, why not hunt them down?

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