A part-volume detailing the religious houses of the county, including the major Cistercian house of Furness, and the early history of the parish church (later cathedral) of Manchester.

The local history of most of Merseyside east of the Mersey, from Sefton in the north to Speke in the south, and including Warrington, Widnes and Ormskirk. The City of Liverpool itself is covered separately in volume 4.

Detailed local histories of the city of Liverpool, Wigan and most of greater Manchester. The rest of Merseyside is treated in volume III.

Continues the account of Salford hundred begun in volume 4. It includes accounts of the parishes of Bury, Bolton-le-Moors, Prestwich-with-Oldham and Rochdale.

Describes the history of the hundred of Leyland, including the parishes of Chorley and Standish. It also covers part of the hundred of Blackburn, including the parish of Blackburn itself. The rest of the hundred is treated in volume 7.

This volume is mostly taken up with the history of Amounderness hundred, lying north of the Ribble and south of Lonsdale. It covers the coastal town of Lytham, as well as giving an account of major towns including Preston and Garstang. It also concludes the account of Blackburn hundred, mostly covered in volume 6, including the parishes of Ribchester and Chipping.

Covers Lonsdale hundred, the northernmost part of the historic county. To the north it includes the parishes of Cartmel, Hawkshead and Ulverston (now in Cumbria). Further south it covers the parish and city of Lancaster, and the rest of the county as far south as Cockerham, where the hundred bordered that of Amounderness (volume 7).