The earliest record of the town is in Saxon times, when the land was in the possession of Edward the Confessor. The name was then Lailande, denoting cultivated grass land. It was part of the shire called the Leyland Hundred. A hundred was an area that had the capability of supporting 100 families from the land.

Centuries of farming were followed by the weaving and spinning of the Industrial Revolution. During the 20th century, the expansion of the local firm, Leyland Motors, was the keystone in the industrial and commercial prosperity of the town. It commenced in 1890, with the first Leyland bus being manufactured in 1927. Engineering and the production of paint are also important industries.