14 AUGUST 1920, Page 25

Lancashire. By F. H. Cheetham. (Methuen. 6s. net.)— This new

volume of the " Little Guides " series gives a surprising amount of information in a small space about the antiquities of Lancashire. It is arranged in the form of a gazetteer, with introductory chapters on the history and geography, climate and industries of the county, and with many photographs and a good map. Lancashire is not strong in ancient churches, possessing only eighty which can be shown to have existed before the Reformation, whereas Kent has four times as many. The county was but sparsely settled at the Conquest, as Domes- day Book shows, and its wastes were not filled up for centuries, so that the parish churches were few and far between. Still Mr. Cheatham has found a good many interesting buildings to describe, including, besides Furness and Whalley Abbeys, some of the fine old halls and manor houses in North Lancashire. His summary account of the recent excavations of the Roman camp at Ribchester may also be mentioned.