Goosnargh has a diverse and interesting history unique to the rolling hills and agricultural roots of this beautiful part of the Lancashire countryside. A quiet part of Preston , Goosnargh has not always been a bustling parish with three growing villages. It has always had agricultural roots usually for farming livestock due to the soil type and this has been true right back to prehistory. Formerly in the parish of Kirkham in the Amounderness Hundred Goosnargh is now one of the largest parish’s in Lancashire and comprises a handful of villages and hamlets in its boarders.
This is not to say that people had not settled in this area before the Norman conquest and consequential Doomsday book. Although no prehistoric evidence has been found this should not be overlooked due to the agricultural potential of the landscape and the Bronze Age and Iron Age Brigantes tribe occupying most of modern-day Lancashire.
Roman trade routes passed around the parish due to the forts at Ribchester and Lancaster, making it easy to assume some form of Romano-British life touched the parish within the 400 years of Roman occupation.
Afterwards with the Saxon and Viking occupations the parish fell into the its first stages of hamlet life with place names suggesting Scandinavian and Saxon influence from the Kingdom of Northumbria which encompassed Goosnargh.
The Doomsday Book is the first recorded instance of the parish being accounted for in 1086 within the area of Preston as GUSANARGHE. The village etomology is from the Scandinavian ‘argh’ meaning ploughed field and the Saxon ‘Goosen’ meaning geese, meaning it was called Goose field.
The Norman establishment of the Amounderness Hundred and the Goosnargh carucate the new Duke of Lancaster Roger de Poictou establish the Lord of Goosnargh, with Robert de Goosnargh being the first recorded Lord in 1385 through to his descendant Alexander Gosenor in 1564. The Goosnargh title was passed to female heirs and so the parish was split between the ancient families of the Catteralls, Threlfalls, Heskeths and many more of the medieval period. Part of the parish which later became Whitechapel was actually gifted to the Order of St John Jerusalem, Religious Knights in 1190.
Goosnargh and specifically Inglewhite was renowned for its ancient market fairs. Predominantly the horned cattle fair before Easter, then the sheep fair in April and the calves fair in October. Inglewhite green was used as the central hub and people from across the county would attend. Tolls where erected from the village for the fairs and most of that money went to the manorial families.
There was little Tudor change aside from the national tithe alterations from Henry VIII rule and religious upturn. The civil war came within the Parish boarders as Cromwell reportedly stayed at the Grapes Inn as skirmishes happened throughout the area in the 1642-49.
After this cotton and silk production through domestic work and water wheels brough industry to the village and it prospered. Meaning more crafts people flocked to Goosnargh to assist with the building of new houses and supplying goods for all the village families. However, the parish had to adjust with the invention of Preston born Arkwright’s factory system and steam powered mills that out competed the villages water supplies throughout the 19th century. The area turned back to it’s agricultural roots and during the world wars saw food distributed for the war efforts.
In the 21st century the parish still relies on agriculture and its local crafts to thrive in the quintessential landscape. With the area becoming famous for its cheese dairies, independent businesses and outdoor activities.