Lancashire

qas: question: In what year did Blackpool and Blackburn become independent unitary authorities?
answers: text: 1998

question: In what year was Simonswood transferred from Knowsley to West Lancashire
answers: text: 1994

question: Which places were added to the new county of Cheshire?
answers: text: Warrington and Widnes

question: Where were the boroughs of Liverpool, Knowsley, St Helens and Sefton included?
answers: text: Merseyside

question: Which parish was transferred from Knowsley to the district of West Lancashire?
answers: text: Simonswood

question: Besides Greater Manchester, to what other county was a part of Oldham incorporated into?

question: In what year was Liverpool made a part of Merseyside?

question: In what year was Skipton Rural District made part of Lancashire?

question: In addition to Greater Manchester, part of Tameside became a portion of what other county?

question: When was Sefton included as part of Merseyside?
context: The boroughs of Liverpool, Knowsley, St Helens and Sefton were included in Merseyside. In Greater Manchester the successor boroughs were Bury, Bolton, Manchester, Oldham (part), Rochdale, Salford, Tameside (part), Trafford (part) and Wigan. Warrington and Widnes, south of the new Merseyside/Greater Manchester border were added to the new non-metropolitan county of Cheshire. The urban districts of Barnoldswick and Earby, Bowland Rural District and the parishes of Bracewell and Brogden and Salterforth from Skipton Rural District in the West Riding of Yorkshire became part of the new Lancashire. One parish, Simonswood, was transferred from the borough of Knowsley in Merseyside to the district of West Lancashire in 1994. In 1998 Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen became independent unitary authorities.

qas: question: When did the administrative boundaries for the Duchy of Lancaster change?
answers: text: 1970s

question: What is the Duchy of Lancaster?
answers: text: one of two royal duchies in England

question: What does the Duchy of Lancaster operate as?
answers: text: a property company

question: Who are appointed within the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancater?
answers: text: High Sheriffs

question: Who exercises the right of the Crown in the County Palatine of Lancaster?
answers: text: The Duchy of Lancaster

question: In what decade was the County Palatine of Lancaster established?

question: What is the other royal duchy of England beyond the Duchy of Lancaster?

question: When was the Duchy of Lancaster established?

question: What county lies to the east of Lancashire?
context: The Duchy of Lancaster is one of two royal duchies in England. It has landholdings throughout the region and elsewhere, operating as a property company, but also exercising the right of the Crown in the County Palatine of Lancaster. While the administrative boundaries changed in the 1970s, the county palatine boundaries remain the same as the historic boundaries. As a result, the High Sheriffs for Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside are appointed "within the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster".

qas: question: How many state grammar schools are in Lancashire?
answers: text: four

question: How many state schools are in Lancashire?
answers: text: 77

question: How many independant schools are in Lancashire?
answers: text: 24

question: Who has the largest school population?
answers: text: South Ribble

question: Who has the smallest school population?
answers: text: Fylde

question: How many sixth form colleges are there in Lancashire?

question: How many schools are there in total in the Clitheroe area?

question: What's the size of the South Ribble school population?

question: In what year was the Church of England established?

question: How many Catholic faith schools are there in Lancashire?
context: Lancashire has a mostly comprehensive system with four state grammar schools. Not including sixth form colleges, there are 77 state schools (not including Burnley's new schools) and 24 independent schools. The Clitheroe area has secondary modern schools. Sixth form provision is limited at most schools in most districts, with only Fylde and Lancaster districts having mostly sixth forms at schools. The rest depend on FE colleges and sixth form colleges, where they exist. South Ribble has the largest school population and Fylde the smallest (only three schools). Burnley's schools have had a new broom and have essentially been knocked down and started again in 2006. There are many Church of England and Catholic faith schools in Lancashire.

qas: question: What years did the Lancashire League competition run from?
answers: text: 1895 to 1970

question: Which county was once the focal point for many professional competitions?
answers: text: Lancashire

question: Which year was the Lancashire County Cup abandoned?
answers: text: 1993

question: What year did Rugby League start?
answers: text: 1895

question: when were the first games played in the St Helens super league?

question: When was the first Lancashire County Cup held?

question: How many rugby teams are there in Lancashire?

question: What super league do the Blackpool Panthers play in?

question: In what super league do the Chorley Panthers play in?
context: Lancashire produced well known teams in super league such as St Helens, Wigan, and Warrington. The county was once the focal point for many of the sport's professional competitions including the Lancashire League competition which ran from 1895 to 1970, and the Lancashire County Cup which was abandoned in 1993. Rugby League has also seen a representative fixture between Lancashire and Yorkshire contested 89 times since its inception in 1895. Currently there are several rugby league teams that are based within the ceremonial county which include Blackpool Panthers, East Lancashire Lions, Blackpool Sea Eagles, Bamber Bridge, Leyland Warriors, Chorley Panthers, Blackpool Stanley, Blackpool Scorpions and Adlington Rangers.

qas: question: Where was the first open competition for brass bands held?
answers: text: Manchester

question: What year was the first open competition for brass bands held?
answers: text: 1853

question: Where was David Atherton born?
answers: text: Blackpool

question: What did David Atherton co-found?
answers: text: the London Sinfonietta

question: Who began their musical career as organist of Salford Cathedral?
answers: text: Leslie Stuart

question: How many local church choirs were there in Lancashire in the 17th century? 

question: Where was Sir Thomas Beecham born?

question: Who founded the London Sinfonietta with David Atherton?

question: Where is the Salford Cathedral?

question: In what city did Handel primarily perform?
context: Lancashire had a lively culture of choral and classical music, with very large numbers of local church choirs from the 17th century, leading to the foundation of local choral societies from the mid-18th century, often particularly focused on performances of the music of Handel and his contemporaries. It also played a major part in the development of brass bands which emerged in the county, particularly in the textile and coalfield areas, in the 19th century. The first open competition for brass bands was held at Manchester in 1853, and continued annually until the 1980s. The vibrant brass band culture of the area made an important contribution to the foundation and staffing of the Hallé Orchestra from 1857, the oldest extant professional orchestra in the United Kingdom. The same local musical tradition produced eminent figures such as Sir William Walton (1902–88), son of an Oldham choirmaster and music teacher, Sir Thomas Beecham (1879–1961), born in St. Helens, who began his career by conducting local orchestras and Alan Rawsthorne (1905–71) born in Haslingden. The conductor David Atherton, co-founder of the London Sinfonietta, was born in Blackpool in 1944. Lancashire also produced more populist figures, such as early musical theatre composer Leslie Stuart (1863–1928), born in Southport, who began his musical career as organist of Salford Cathedral.

qas: question: What are the biggest cities in Lancashire?
answers: text: Manchester and Liverpool

question: By the 1830's, how much of all cotton was processed in Lancashire?
answers: text: 85%

question: Where was a center for tourist for the people of Lancashire's mill towns?
answers: text: Blackpool

question: What week was most popular to visit Lancashire's mill towns?
answers: text: wakes week

question: When did Lancashire emerge as a major commercialand industrial region?
answers: text: during the Industrial Revolution

question: In what decade was Liverpool founded?

question: When did the Industrial Revolution start?

question: What percentage of all global trade went through Liverpool in the 1830's?

question: What percentage of the cotton was milled in Oldham?

question: What was the centre of tourism for those living in Bolton?
context: Lancashire emerged as a major commercial and industrial region during the Industrial Revolution. Manchester and Liverpool grew into its largest cities, dominating global trade and the birth of modern capitalism. The county contained several mill towns and the collieries of the Lancashire Coalfield. By the 1830s, approximately 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire. Accrington, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Chorley, Colne, Darwen, Nelson, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale and Wigan were major cotton mill towns during this time. Blackpool was a centre for tourism for the inhabitants of Lancashire's mill towns, particularly during wakes week.

qas: question: When was Liverpool and Manchester removed from Lancashire boundaries?
answers: text: 1974

question: How many miles of land did Lancashire lose to other countries?
answers: text: 709

question: What is to the north of Lancashire today?
answers: text: Cumbria

question: What is to the east of Lancashire today?
answers: text: West Yorkshire

question: Who exercises sovereignty rights for Lancashire?
answers: text: Duke of Lancaster

question: How much land did Lancashire gain from West Riding of Yorkshire?

question: How large is the metropolitan county of Merseyside?

question: What county borders Cumbria to the east?

question: When did the current Duke of Lancaster start his reign?

question: How big was the West Riding of Yorkshire prior to 1974?
context: The county was subject to significant boundary reform in 1974 that removed Liverpool and Manchester and most of their surrounding conurbations to form the metropolitan counties of Merseyside and Greater Manchester. The detached northern part of Lancashire in the Lake District, including the Furness Peninsula and Cartmel, was merged with Cumberland and Westmorland to form Cumbria. Lancashire lost 709 square miles of land to other counties, about two fifths of its original area, although it did gain some land from the West Riding of Yorkshire. Today the county borders Cumbria to the north, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south and North and West Yorkshire to the east; with a coastline on the Irish Sea to the west. The county palatine boundaries remain the same[clarification needed] with the Duke of Lancaster exercising sovereignty rights, including the appointment of lords lieutenant in Greater Manchester and Merseyside.

qas: question: When was the administrative county of Lancashire created?
answers: text: 1889

question: What is the area served by the Lord-Lieutenant called now?
answers: text: ceremonial county

question: Where is the ancient border between Lancashire and Yorkshire located?
answers: text: the western part of Todmorden

question: Why is Lancashire smaller than its historical extent?
answers: text: reform of local government

question: What area is covered by the Lord-Lieutenant?
answers: text: the administrative county and the county boroughs

question: When was the city of Liverpool established?

question: What county lies north of Lancashire?

question: What's the main river in Todmorden?

question: What county lies north of the River Mersey?

question: In what year was Cheshire made a county?
context: Lancashire is smaller than its historical extent following a major reform of local government. In 1889, the administrative county of Lancashire was created, covering the historical county except for the county boroughs such as Blackburn, Burnley, Barrow-in-Furness, Preston, Wigan, Liverpool and Manchester. The area served by the Lord-Lieutenant (termed now a ceremonial county) covered the entirety of the administrative county and the county boroughs, and was expanded whenever boroughs annexed areas in neighbouring counties such as Wythenshawe in Manchester south of the River Mersey and historically in Cheshire, and southern Warrington. It did not cover the western part of Todmorden, where the ancient border between Lancashire and Yorkshire passes through the middle of the town.

qas: question: When did the county become more urbanised?
answers: text: 20th century

question: Which part in particular became urbanised in the 20th century?
answers: text: the southern part

question: When was Warrington added to Lancashire?
answers: text: 1900

question: When was Southport added?
answers: text: 1905

question: When was Blackpool added to the county?
answers: text: 1904

question: When was the county borough of Liverpool created?

question: What was the county borough of St Helens created?

question: What a county bureau that lies in the southern part of Lancashire?

question: Where does Bootle lie in Lancashire?

question: In what year was Oldham made part of Lancashire?
context: During the 20th century, the county became increasingly urbanised, particularly the southern part. To the existing county boroughs of Barrow-in-Furness, Blackburn, Bolton, Bootle, Burnley, Bury, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale, Salford, St Helens and Wigan were added Blackpool (1904), Southport (1905), and Warrington (1900). The county boroughs also had many boundary extensions. The borders around the Manchester area were particularly complicated, with narrow protrusions of the administrative county between the county boroughs – Lees urban district formed a detached part of the administrative county, between Oldham county borough and the West Riding of Yorkshire.

qas: question: What is most of the lowland in the county devoted to?
answers: text: dairy farming and cheesemaking

question: What is the higer ground in the county devoted to?
answers: text: sheep

question: What is in the highest ground?
answers: text: uncultivated moorland

question: Where is the Lancashire Coalfield located?
answers: text: modern-day Greater Manchester

question: where is Beacon Fell County Park located?
answers: text: North of the Ribble

question: What does AONB stand for?

question: What are the valleys of the River Ribble used for?

question: What is the area around Ormskirk used for?

question: What's to the west of the county?

question: What is cultivated in the Forest of Rossendale?
context: To the east of the county are upland areas leading to the Pennines. North of the Ribble is Beacon Fell Country Park and the Forest of Bowland, another AONB. Much of the lowland in this area is devoted to dairy farming and cheesemaking, whereas the higher ground is more suitable for sheep, and the highest ground is uncultivated moorland. The valleys of the River Ribble and its tributary the Calder form a large gap to the west of the Pennines, overlooked by Pendle Hill. Most of the larger Lancashire towns are in these valleys South of the Ribble are the West Pennine Moors and the Forest of Rossendale where former cotton mill towns are in deep valleys. The Lancashire Coalfield, largely in modern-day Greater Manchester, extended into Merseyside and to Ormskirk, Chorley, Burnley and Colne in Lancashire.

qas: question: What does the Duchy administer within the County Palatine?
answers: text: bona vacantia

question: What serves as the county town of the county palatine?
answers: text: Lancaster

question: When did the title of Duke of Lancaster merge into the Crown?
answers: text: many centuries ago

question: Who is the Duchy administered by?
answers: text: the Queen

question: In what year did the title of Duke of Lancaster get merged into the Crown?

question: When was the Loyal Toast first used?

question: What's the term for when legal ownership can be ascertained?

question: Where does the Queen primarily live?

question: How long has there been a Queen in the UK?
context: The Duchy administers bona vacantia within the County Palatine, receiving the property of persons who die intestate and where the legal ownership cannot be ascertained. There is no separate Duke of Lancaster, the title merged into the Crown many centuries ago – but the Duchy is administered by the Queen in Right of the Duchy of Lancaster. A separate court system for the county palatine was abolished by Courts Act 1971. A particular form of The Loyal Toast, 'The Queen, Duke of Lancaster' is in regular use in the county palatine. Lancaster serves as the county town of the county palatine.

qas: question: What does the Lancashire economy rely on?
answers: text: the M6 motorway

question: Which direction does the M6 motorway run?
answers: text: north to south

question: What road connects Preston to Blackpool?
answers: text: The M55

question: Which road crosses the part of the county furthest south?
answers: text: M58

question: How many miles is it from Lancaster to Preston?

question: How far is it in miles from Blackburn to Preston?

question: In what geographic region of Lancashire does Blackpool lay?

question: How far is Chorley away from the nearest county boundary?

question: What is the length of the M6 motorway?
context: The Lancashire economy relies strongly on the M6 motorway which runs from north to south, past Lancaster and Preston. The M55 connects Preston to Blackpool and is 11.5 miles (18.3 km) long. The M65 motorway from Colne, connects Burnley, Accrington, Blackburn to Preston. The M61 from Preston via Chorley and the M66 starting 500 metres (0.3 mi) inside the county boundary near Edenfield, provide links between Lancashire and Manchester] and the trans-Pennine M62. The M58 crosses the southernmost part of the county from the M6 near Wigan to Liverpool via Skelmersdale.

qas: question: Where are the major settlements in the ceremonial county located?
answers: text: Fylde coast

question: Where is the Fylde coast?
answers: text: Blackpool Urban Area

question: Which part of the county is rural and sparsely populated?
answers: text: north

question: How many people live in Lancaster and Morecambe?
answers: text: 100,000

question: What percentage of Lancashire is Asian?
answers: text: 6%

question: In what year was the Blackpool Urban Area established?

question: How many people lived in Preston as of 1970?

question: What percentage of the population lives in north Lancashire?

question: What cities are north of Preston?

question: In what year did Asians start emigrating to Lancashire?
context: The major settlements in the ceremonial county are concentrated on the Fylde coast (the Blackpool Urban Area), and a belt of towns running west-east along the M65: Preston, Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Nelson and Colne. South of Preston are the towns of Leyland and Chorley; the three formed part of the Central Lancashire New Town designated in 1970. The north of the county is predominantly rural and sparsely populated, except for the towns of Lancaster and Morecambe which form a large conurbation of almost 100,000 people. Lancashire is home to a significant Asian population, numbering over 70,000 and 6% of the county's population, and concentrated largely in the former cotton mill towns in the south east.

qas: question: Where was pop star Frankie Vaughan from?
answers: text: Liverpool

question: How many bands were active in the Liverpool area in the 1960s?
answers: text: 350

question: What was the first act to break through in the UK, not from Liverpool or managed by Brian Epstein?
answers: text: Freddie and the Dreamers

question: Where were Freddie and the Dreamers based?
answers: text: Manchester

question: Where were Herman's Hermints and the Hollies from?
answers: text: Manchester

question: When was Billy Furry born?

question: In what year did Freddie and the Dreamers get their first hit?

question: How many active bands did Manchester have in the 1960's?

question: How many local bands were still in Liverpool in the late 1960s?

question: What was the name of one of the band members in the Beatles?
context: Liverpool produced a number of nationally and internationally successful popular singers in the 1950s, including traditional pop stars Frankie Vaughan and Lita Roza, and one of the most successful British rock and roll stars in Billy Fury. Many Lancashire towns had vibrant skiffle scenes in the late 1950s, out of which by the early 1960s a flourishing culture of beat groups began to emerge, particularly around Liverpool and Manchester. It has been estimated that there were around 350 bands active in and around Liverpool in this era, often playing ballrooms, concert halls and clubs, among them the Beatles. After their national success from 1962, a number of Liverpool performers were able to follow them into the charts, including Gerry & the Pacemakers, the Searchers and Cilla Black. The first act to break through in the UK who were not from Liverpool, or managed by Brian Epstein, were Freddie and the Dreamers, who were based in Manchester, as were Herman's Hermits and the Hollies. Led by the Beatles, beat groups from the region spearheaded the British Invasion of the US, which made a major contribution to the development of rock music. After the decline of beat groups in the late 1960s the centre of rock culture shifted to London and there were relatively few local bands who achieved national prominence until the growth of a disco funk scene and the punk rock revolution in the mid and late 1970s.

qas: question: Who was "The Ballad of Chevy Chase" composed by?
answers: text: Richard Sheale

question: Where was Richard Sheale from?
answers: text: Lancashire

question: What is Lancashire's long and productive tradition?
answers: text: music making

question: What did the county share with it's national traditions?
answers: text: balladry

question: What is the finest border ballad?
answers: text: The Ballad of Chevy Chase

question: Besides "The Ballad of Chevy Chase" what was another composition written by Richard Sheale?

question: Who composed "Warrington Ale"?

question: What is one of the local Wassailing songs called?

question: What was "The Ballad of Chevy Chase" about?

question: What type of dancing is associated with "The Leaving of Liverpool"?
context: Lancashire has a long and highly productive tradition of music making. In the early modern era the county shared in the national tradition of balladry, including perhaps the finest border ballad, "The Ballad of Chevy Chase", thought to have been composed by the Lancashire-born minstrel Richard Sheale. The county was also a common location for folk songs, including "The Lancashire Miller", "Warrington Ale" and "The soldier's farewell to Manchester", while Liverpool, as a major seaport, was the subject of many sea shanties, including "The Leaving of Liverpool" and "Maggie May", beside several local Wassailing songs. In the Industrial Revolution changing social and economic patterns helped create new traditions and styles of folk song, often linked to migration and patterns of work. These included processional dances, often associated with rushbearing or the Wakes Week festivities, and types of step dance, most famously clog dancing.

qas: question: When was Lancashire established?
answers: text: 1182

question: When was the area part of Brigantes tribal area?
answers: text: Roman times

question: In what year did the northern parts of the country form the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged?
answers: text: 410AD

question: What is the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged?
answers: text: a successor entity to the Brigantes tribe

question: When was the area incorporated into Northumbria?
answers: text: mid-8th century

question: When did the Romans enter the area of Manchester?

question: When was Lancaster established?

question: In what year did Brigantes tribe become the Brythonic Kingdom of Rheged?

question: In what century were Roman forts first established?

question: When was the town of Castleshaw founded?
context: The county was established in 1182, later than many other counties. During Roman times the area was part of the Brigantes tribal area in the military zone of Roman Britain. The towns of Manchester, Lancaster, Ribchester, Burrow, Elslack and Castleshaw grew around Roman forts. In the centuries after the Roman withdrawal in 410AD the northern parts of the county probably formed part of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a successor entity to the Brigantes tribe. During the mid-8th century, the area was incorporated into the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, which became a part of England in the 10th century.

qas: question: How many people lived in Lancashire in 1971?
answers: text: 5,129,416

question: What is the most populous geographic county in the UK?
answers: text: Lancashire

question: When was the administrative county abolished?
answers: text: 1 April 1974

question: What did the southern part of Lancashire turn into?
answers: text: Merseyside and Greater Manchester

question: What incorporated the Furness exclave?
answers: text: Cumbria

question: How many people like in the UK?

question: In what geographic region of Lancashire is Cumbria county?

question: How many people lived in Merseyside according to the 1971 census?

question: How many people lived in Lancashire in 1961?

question: How many people lived in Cumbria after it was made into a county in 1974?
context: By the census of 1971, the population of Lancashire and its county boroughs had reached 5,129,416, making it the most populous geographic county in the UK. The administrative county was also the most populous of its type outside London, with a population of 2,280,359 in 1961. On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the administrative county was abolished, as were the county boroughs. The urbanised southern part largely became part of two metropolitan counties, Merseyside and Greater Manchester. The new county of Cumbria incorporates the Furness exclave.

qas: question: Who was a local pioneer of folk song collection?
answers: text: James Orchard Halliwell

question: Who did the most to popularize folk songs of the county?
answers: text: Harry Boardman

question: Who were the most influential fold artists from the region in the 20th century?
answers: text: The Spinners

question: Who do the many folk clubs today cater to?
answers: text: Irish and Scottish folk music

question: What is one of the regular folk festivals called?
answers: text: Fylde Folk Festival

question: In what year was James Orchard Halliwell born?

question: In what year did The Spinners release their first folk music album?

question: When was the first Fylde Folke Festival at Fleetwood held?

question: What city was Harry Boardman from?

question: Where was James Orchard Halliwell from?
context: A local pioneer of folk song collection in the first half of the 19th century was Shakespearean scholar James Orchard Halliwell, but it was not until the second folk revival in the 20th century that the full range of song from the county, including industrial folk song, began to gain attention. The county produced one of the major figures of the revival in Ewan MacColl, but also a local champion in Harry Boardman, who from 1965 onwards probably did more than anyone to popularise and record the folk song of the county. Perhaps the most influential folk artists to emerge from the region in the late 20th century were Liverpool folk group The Spinners, and from Manchester folk troubadour Roy Harper and musician, comedian and broadcaster Mike Harding. The region is home to numerous folk clubs, many of them catering to Irish and Scottish folk music. Regular folk festivals include the Fylde Folk Festival at Fleetwood.

qas: question: What is the county flower of Lancaster?
answers: text: The Red Rose of Lancaster

question: Where can the red rose of lancaster be found?
answers: text: on the county's heraldic badge and flag

question: What is on the traditional Lancashire flag?
answers: text: a red rose on a white field

question: What is on the official Lancashire flag?
answers: text: red rose on a gold field

question: Whos flag officially is a red rose on a white field?
answers: text: Montrose in Scotland

question: In what century was the traditional Lancashire Flag established?

question: In what century was the Flag Institute founded?

question: In what century did Montrose register the Lancaster Flag?

question: What was Montrose's heraldic flag?
context: The Red Rose of Lancaster is the county flower found on the county's heraldic badge and flag. The rose was a symbol of the House of Lancaster, immortalised in the verse "In the battle for England's head/York was white, Lancaster red" (referring to the 15th-century Wars of the Roses). The traditional Lancashire flag, a red rose on a white field, was not officially registered. When an attempt was made to register it with the Flag Institute it was found that it was officially registered by Montrose in Scotland, several hundred years earlier with the Lyon Office. Lancashire's official flag is registered as a red rose on a gold field.

qas: question: In what year was Hugh Wood born?
answers: text: 1932

question: Where was Sir Peter Maxwell Davies born?
answers: text: Salford

question: When was the Royal Manchester College of Music founded?
answers: text: 1893

question: When was the Royal Northern College of Music formed?
answers: text: 1972

question: What did the Royal Manchester College of Music merge with?
answers: text: the Northern College of Music

question: Who founded the Royal Manchester College of Music?

question: Who founded the Northern College of Music?

question: Who was the first head of the Royal Northern College of Music?

question: In what year did Harrison Birtwistle receive the Sir title?

question: In what year did Peter Maxwell Davies attain the title of Sir?
context: More recent Lancashire-born composers include Hugh Wood (1932- Parbold), Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (1934-, Salford), Sir Harrison Birtwistle (1934-, Accrington), Gordon Crosse (1937-, Bury),John McCabe (1939-2015, Huyton), Roger Smalley (1943-2015, Swinton), Nigel Osborne (1948-, Manchester), Steve Martland (1954-2013, Liverpool), Simon Holt (1958-, Bolton) and Philip Cashian (1963-, Manchester). The Royal Manchester College of Music was founded in 1893 to provide a northern counterpart to the London musical colleges. It merged with the Northern College of Music (formed in 1920) to form the Royal Northern College of Music in 1972.