Town in Cumbria, England
Barrow-in-Furness
A hamlet that exploded into a Victorian boomtown, then built Britain's nuclear submarines at the far end of a very long road.
Key information
- County
- Cumbria
- Nation
- England
- Known for
- Building Royal Navy submarines, Victorian shipyards and iron
- What locals are called
- Barrovians
- Famous people
- Dave Myers (the Hairy Bikers), James Ramsden, Henry Schneider
- Football clubs
- Barrow AFC (the Bluebirds)
About Barrow-in-Furness
The town that grew faster than a gold rush
In the 1840s, Barrow was a scatter of cottages beside a quiet channel on the Furness peninsula. By 1881 it held nearly 47,000 people. Few English towns have ever grown so fast. The reason lay underground. Furness had some of the richest haematite iron ore in Britain, and the Furness Railway was built to haul it to the coast. Two men turned a mining line into a metropolis: the railway manager James Ramsden and the industrialist Henry Schneider. They laid out a grid of streets, built docks, and opened ironworks and a huge Bessemer steelworks. Barrow became a place of broad avenues, tall terraces and big ambitions.
Where the Royal Navy's first submarine was launched
When iron ore faded, the shipyard took over. Vickers built HMS Holland 1, the Royal Navy's first submarine, at Barrow, launching it in 1901. Barrow's engineers have kept building underwater ever since. The giant Devonshire Dock Hall, where modern nuclear submarines are put together under cover, is one of the biggest structures on the Cumbrian coast. Astute-class submarines have been built at the yard, which is also constructing the new Dreadnought class. The yard also built an airship. In 1911 the Navy's first rigid airship, nicknamed the Mayfly, was built at Barrow. It never flew, because it was damaged while being pulled out of its shed.
A town hall fit for a boom
Barrow's Town Hall, with its Gothic clock tower, was opened in 1887 and tells you how confident the Victorian town was. It stands near Ramsden Square, named after the man who did most to create the place. The Dock Museum is built over a real graving dock. It tells the story of the shipyard, the steelworks and the people who worked there. On Walney Island, Vickerstown was built early in the twentieth century to house shipyard workers. Its neat terraces were planned as a company town, and the island has been linked to the mainland by a bridge since 1908.
Monks, pretenders and the King of Piel
Just north of town stand the red sandstone ruins of Furness Abbey, founded in the twelfth century. It was once one of the wealthiest monasteries in England. Out in the bay is tiny Piel Island, with a ruined castle. In 1487 the pretender Lambert Simnel landed here with an army from Ireland to challenge Henry VII. The island still has a quirky tradition. The landlord of the Ship Inn is crowned the King of Piel in a ceremony involving a chair and a drink.
Seals, shrimps and the Bluebirds
Walney Island has long sandy beaches and nature reserves, and is home to grey seals and the rare Walney geranium, a pale-pink, dark-veined form of bloody crane's-bill found in the island's coastal dunes. Local food comes from the bay. Morecambe Bay potted shrimps are a regional speciality, and the Lake District's sticky toffee pudding is never far away. Barrow AFC, the Bluebirds, spent decades in the Football League, from 1921 to 1972, and returned in 2020 after promotion. The town's rugby league side, Barrow Raiders, have a loyal following too. Locals, Barrovians, often shorten the town's name to Barra. TV viewers know Barrow as the birthplace of Dave Myers, one half of the Hairy Bikers.