The division was initially known as North-West East 2 when it was created in 1987, and had a number of different names since with North Lancashire 2 being the longest running.

When league rugby began in 1987 this division contained the following teams based in Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire: The original incarnation of North Lancashire 2 was known as North-West East 2, and was a tier 11 league with promotion up to North-West East 2.

Initially, there was no relegation until the creation of North-West East 3 for the 1989–90 season.

The league system was restructured from top to bottom by the Rugby Football Union for the start of the 1996–97 season.

North Lancashire 2 was cancelled at the end of the 2014–15 season as part of restructuring by the RFU who decided to break up the North Lancashire and South Lancs/Cheshire leagues into 3 different zones - Cheshire (South), Lancashire (North) and Merseyside (West).