Backbarrow is a village in the
Lake District National Park in England. It lies on the
River Leven about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of
Ulverston
Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census to ...
in
Furness
Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire.
The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vill ...
in the county of
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...
.
History
Backbarrow probably grew during the
Elizabethan period, due to the corn mills that were built along the river. Earlier mills at the site had been owned by
Furness Abbey
Furness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness, is a former Catholic monastery located to the north of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second-wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the cou ...
, which by this time had been dissolved. Development increased due to the
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
furnace that was built in Backbarrow in 1711. The furnace has been described as the first efficient
blast furnace. The cotton mills continued to grow in size during the Victorian period.
In 1868 an extension of the
Furness Railway
The Furness Railway (Furness) was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.
History
Formation
In the early 1840s, the owners of iron ore mines in the Furness district of Lancashire became interested i ...
was built through the village to transport iron and products from the mills. Though the line was closed in the 1960s with the demise of the ironworks, the section from
Haverthwaite
Haverthwaite is a small village and civil parish in the Furness region of Cumbria, England. It is also within the boundaries of the Lake District National Park. It is located several miles east of Ulverston and is near the southern end of Winde ...
to
Lakeside, which passes through Backbarrow, remains open as a
heritage railway (see
Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
The Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway (L&HR) is a heritage railway in Cumbria, England.
Location
The L&HR runs from Haverthwaite at the southern end of the line via Newby Bridge to Lakeside at the southern end of Windermere. Some services a ...
).
Backbarrow was particularly associated with the production of the blue pigment
ultramarine
Ultramarine is a deep blue color pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. The name comes from the Latin ''ultramarinus'', literally 'beyond the sea', because the pigment was imported into Europe from mines in Afg ...
, or "
dolly blue". The ultramarine factory was established in an old mill building by the Lancashire Ultramarine Company, then purchased by
Reckitt & Sons
Reckitt and Sons was a leading British manufacturer of household products, notably starch, black lead, laundry blue, and household polish, and based in Kingston upon Hull.
Isaac Reckitt began business in Hull in 1840, and his business bec ...
in 1928. The 'blue mill' was well-known locally, as dust from its production gave a blue tint to most of the village. Production of this continued until 1981. The factory site, which was known locally as "the bluemills", now accommodates a popular hotel and two blocks of apartments. A display of machinery used in the old factory is maintained by the hotel's proprietors while the old furnace, believed to be the only remaining example of its type, has been declared a Scheduled Ancient Monument and preserved as part of the Ironworks Apartments development.
Backbarrow was hit by the
nationwide floods of November 2009, as the River Leven overflowed causing severe damage to the bridge's walls and both parts of the Whitewater Hotel, as well as the Swan Hotel in
Newby Bridge
Newby Bridge is a small hamlet in the Lake District, Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is located several miles west of Grange-over-Sands and is on the River Leven, close to the southern end of Windermere.
The hamlet is the site ...
, 1.3 miles further up the river.
In 2010 the
Lakeland Motor Museum
The Lakeland Motor Museum is a museum now located at Backbarrow, Cumbria, England which houses a collection of classic cars, motorcycles, bicycles, pedal cars and motoring related items and memorabilia and an exhibition dedicated to the land and ...
relocated from
Holker Hall
Holker Hall (pronounced Hooker by some) is a privately owned country house located about 2 km to the southwest of the village of Cartmel in the ceremonial county of Cumbria and historic county of Lancashire, England. It is "the grandest ...
to the former site of the Reckitt's Blue Dye Works carton packaging sheds in Backbarrow.
Geography and environment
The growth of the National Park led to an increase in tourism in the region. In particular, Backbarrow has great views of the turbulent nature of the River Leven, just south of
Windermere
Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...
. The river has also been used to develop a small
hydro-electric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
plant, installed in 2000, generating electricity for the
National Grid.
Notable people
*
Wilfred Lancaster (1904 – 1987), professional association footballer
See also
*
Listed buildings in Haverthwaite
Haverthwaite is a civil parish in the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England. It contains ten listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade II*, the middle of the thre ...
References
External links
Cumbria County History Trust: Upper Holker(nb: provisional research only - see Talk page)
BBC page about the Dolly Blue (ultramarine) factory
{{authority control
Villages in Cumbria
South Lakeland District
Furness