Leyland is situated in the beautiful county of Lancashire in the Northwest of England. Its prosperity founded from the mills of Lancashire and the local firm of Leyland Motors who produced their first bus in 1927, to mention only a couple of the prestigious businesses which have made Leyland one of Lancashire’s foremost Industrial towns of the past.

Lancashire being the shortened form of Lancaster-shire, which means “the region of the camp on the Lone”. Before the ‘shires’, areas of Land were called Hundreds, a Saxon name, capable of supporting a hundred families and also capable of providing 100 fighting men, the Leyland Hundred was mentioned in the Domesday Book, of 1086. Leyland was then the center of the Hundred which extended as far as Standish and Rufford. It was also a detailed record of the tenants and land, used for the purpose of taxation.

The town is probably best known for its associations with the manufacture of cars and lorries and the British Commercial Vehicle Museum the largest such museum in Europe is well worth a visit. Housed on the site of the former Leyland South Works where commercial vehicles were produced for many years., there are many restored vans and lorries on display with exhibits ranging from the horse drawn era, through steam-powered wagons right up to the present day vans and lorries.

Leyland is however an ancient settlement and documentary evidence has been found which suggest that the town was a Crown possession in Saxon times owned by Edward the Confessor. The village cross marks the centre of the old settlement, around which the town expanded and it is in this area of Leyland that the older buildings can be seen. Founded in the 11th century much of the present St Andrew's Church dates from 1220 although there was some restoration work undertaken in the 15th century.

The Eagle and Child Inn is almost as old, said to date from around 1230 and it served the needs of travellers journeying along the ancient highway which passed through the town.

Whilst not one of the towns oldest buildings, the old Grammar School, parts of which date from the late 16th century, it is hardly modern.

This is one of the oldest buildings in Leyland - Charnock Hall. When William Charnock died in 1598, his son Roger then aged 11 was left the estate. These Charnocks were a well-known Roman Catholic family, this being a period when this was not a politically correct position to be in. The estate then passes to Robert Charnock, a Roman Catholic priest, who rebuilt the Hall in 1660 as denoted by the coat of arms above the door and the letters “ I.H.S. A.M. R.C.1660”.

A view down Towngate at Mrs Jollys Corner with "The Ship Inn" in the background. This terrace included many old shops including Jack Thackers newsagents (brother of Bert Thacker), Singleton & Pickering confectioners, Hindles “White Shop” the butchers - later owned by Jimmy Walker, while the row on the bend itself, known as Mrs Jolly's stuck out almost to the edge of the present pavement. Mrs Jolly's was a small sweet shop.

Looking down Worden Lane towards The Cross with Clough House in the foreground on the right. This eighteenth century house has been much altered and extended over recent years. A family called Clough appears in the Farington documents relating to the upkeep of Worden Lane or Whittaker Lane, as it was known then.

The view from the sunken garden of the front of Worden Hall at the turn of the last century. This was the principal home of the Farington family from 1715 - 1947, following their move from the old Worden Hall, now in the grounds of the Royal Ordnance Factory. The hall, previously known as Shaw Hall, was largely rebuilt by Anthony Salvin in 1847 for James Nowell Farington. The gardens were also landscaped at this time by Salvin's brother-in-law William Andrew Nesfield.

The hall was extensively damaged by fire in April 1941 and following the death of the last squire in 1946, the remaining furniture, tapestries, art treasures etc., were sold at a public sale in 1948. In November 1950, Leyland Urban District Council brought Worden Park and opened it to the public on June 18th 1951. The main part of the building was eventually demolished in the early 1960's. Now only the oldest part of the hall, the Derby Wing, remains intact. Here was where the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England has their Lancashire headquarters

The view from the Cross looking down Towngate with Heatons hardware shop in the foreground. The village cross probably dates back to Saxon times and is the oldest construction known to exist in Leyland. There were four steps, though the shaft and cross have been replaced many times after numerous collisions with different forms of transport.

Leyland Cross and the junction with Worden Lane, the steeple of St Marys Church can just be seen behind Occleshaw House and Pollard Hall. Until 1887, there were two gas lamps attached to the top of the shaft, these lamps were removed and the cross restored. The stocks were removed that year and a new fountain and water trough were set up and connected to the main water supply to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, replacing the old iron pump and stone water trough which were removed. The fountain stands approximately over the old well though recent investigations have found that the cross has been moved about a foot on its base.