Dalton-in-Furness is a town and former
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
Borough of Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a local government district with borough status in Cumbria, England. It is named after its main town, Barrow-in-Furness. Other settlements include Dalton-in-Furness and Askam-in-Furness. It is the smallest district in the ...
,
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. Cumb ...
, England. In 2011 it had a population of 7,827. It is located north east of
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
.
History
Dalton is mentioned in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
, written as "Daltune" as one of the townships forming the
Manor of Hougun
The Manor of Hougun is the historic name for an area which now forms part of the county of Cumbria in North West England. Of the three most northern counties of England surveyed in the Domesday Book of 1086 (Northumbria, Durham and Cumbria), only t ...
held by
Tostig Godwinson
Tostig Godwinson ( 102925 September 1066) was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson. After being exiled by his brother, Tostig supported the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada's invasion of England, and was killed ...
,
Earl of Northumbria
Earl of Northumbria or Ealdorman of Northumbria was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Scandinavian and early Anglo-Norman period in England. The ealdordom was a successor of the Norse Kingdom of York. In the seventh century, the Anglo-Saxo ...
. Historically, it was the capital of
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 ...
. The ancient parish of Dalton covered the area which is now occupied by the borough of
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
. The town is now in the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
of
Dalton Town with Newton
Dalton Town with Newton is a civil parish in the Barrow-in-Furness district, in the county of Cumbria, England. The parish includes the town of Dalton-in-Furness and the hamlet of Newton. In 2011 it had a population of 8,125. The parish touches A ...
.
Historically
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
a part of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, the town is associated with a number of famous artists, including
George Romney.
In 1961 the parish had a population of 10,316. Dalton in Furness was formerly a civil parish, it was abolished in 1974 and became an
unparished area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparish ...
, on 1 April 1987 the unparished area was abolished to form the parishes of "
Askam and Ireleth
Askam and Ireleth is a civil parish close to Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, in North West England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Lancashire, it originally consisted of two separate coastal villages with differen ...
", "Dalton Town with Newton" and "
Lindal and Marton
Lindal-in-Furness is a village on the Furness peninsula of Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies eight miles to the north-east of Barrow-in-Furness, on the A590 trunk road. The civil parish is Lindal and Marton which had a popu ...
".
The Drill Hall was officially opened in July 1929 as a Regular Army Centre for military training, and was used as a military headquarters in the years leading up to the war in 1939. During the war years (1939-1945) it was a centre for the Home Guard. It had a rifle range until 2009. After the war it was a Territorial and Army Cadet Headquarters. In addition the Drill hall was used as an annexe to Nelson Street Junior School. Since the early 1990s it has been used as a community and youth centre.
Geography
The town is situated near the centre of Low
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 ...
, on the eastern crest of a
glaciated valley
U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...
which runs obliquely across the peninsula. Just over a mile to the south lie the ruins of
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 ...
, and four miles to the south west is the nearest major town,
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
. The area is generally reached by the A590, the link road from the
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...
to the Furness region, which now by-passes the town, reducing the traffic flow, and enabling traffic calming measures which have proved to be rather controversial.
![Dalton Castle - Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Dalton_Castle_-_Dalton-in-Furness%2C_Lancashire.jpg)
Dalton with Newton Town Council was the first corporate member of the Friends of Real Lancashire, an organisation dedicated to recognising the traditional county boundaries of Lancashire.
Transport
Dalton railway station
Dalton is a railway station on the Furness Line, which runs between and . The station, situated north-east of Barrow-in-Furness, serves the town of Dalton-in-Furness in Cumbria. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
H ...
, which serves the town, is located on the
Furness Line
The Furness line is a British railway between and , joining the West Coast Main Line at . A predominantly passenger line, it serves various towns along the Furness coast, including Barrow-in-Furness, Ulverston and Grange-over-Sands. It runs th ...
, giving connections to Barrow,
Ulverston
Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few mi ...
,
Grange-over-Sands
Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parish located on the north side of Morecambe Bay in Cumbria, England, a few miles south of the Lake District National Park. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,042, increasing at the 2011 ...
and
Lancaster. There are longer distance services to
Preston and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
.
Sport
The local football teams
Dalton United and Crooklands Casuals (also known as the Orangemen) play in the
West Lancashire Football League
The West Lancashire Football League is a football competition based in northern England, consisting of five divisions – three for first teams (Premier, One and Two), and two for reserve teams. The league is currently sponsored by Lancaster- ...
.
Girls' and women's football in the town is provided by Dalton Girls and Ladies F.C. who have junior and open age teams competing in a various Cumbrian leagues.
There is also a 2 junior football clubs, Crooklands Casuals boast the larger set up with teams from under 8s through to under 16s whilst, Dalton Junior F.C. provide mini league football (under 8s, under 9s and under 10s); Dalton JFC currently plays on Dowdales School fields.
Dalton Rugby League Football Club is located at the entrance to the town on Crooklands Brow. Currently in the first division of the North West Counties League. Their ground was recently renamed Kelland Park, in memory of Dalton rugby league stalwart, Ivor Kelland.
Dalton Cricket Club plays in the North Lancs. & Cumbria Cricket League. Dalton won the first organized cricket match played in Furness, beating Barrow.
The Cricket Club also has many junior sides, such as The Under 11's & Under 13's. It also now has a table tennis club, located at the Seventh Day Adventist Church .
Education
Dowdales School is the town's secondary school with approximately 1,050 pupils. The school does not have a sixth form, but pupils transfer either to the
Sixth Form College
A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...
in Barrow, or to
Barrow and
Kendal College
Kendal College is a further education college situated in Kendal on the edge of the Lake District National Park. The college provides a range of training and education programmes, including Further Education, Higher Education and training cour ...
s of Further Education.
There are four primary schools in the town, Chapel Street School, George Romney Junior School, Dalton St Mary's Church of England Primary School and Our Lady of The Rosary Catholic School.
Attractions
In addition to being a quarter hour's journey from the boundary of the Lake District National Park, Dalton has a number of tourist attractions within its own borders, including:
*
Dalton Castle Dalton Castle may refer to:
*Dalton Castle, Cumbria
*Dalton Castle (wrestler)
Brett Giehl (born March 4, 1986), better known by the ring name Dalton Castle, is an American professional wrestler who is best known for his tenure in Ring of Honor ...
(
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
)
*
South Lakes Safari Zoo
South Lakes Safari Zoo (formerly South Lakes Wild Animal Park) is a zoo established in 1994 by David Gill, and located in Cumbria, England. Its name refers to its proximity to the Lake District, though it lies entirely within the Borough of Ba ...
Twin towns
Dalton is twinned with:
*
Dalton, Pennsylvania
Dalton is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located approximately eight miles north of the city of Scranton in a suburban area known as “the Abingtons." Dalton is also approximately th ...
, United States
Notable residents
In 1614
Margaret Fell
Margaret Fell orMargaret Fox ( Askew, formerly Fell; 1614 – 23 April 1702) was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends. Known popularly as the "mother of Quakerism," she is considered one of the Valiant Sixty early Quaker preachers and m ...
(also known as Margaret Fox), founder of the
Religious Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
(Quakers), was born in Dalton with the birth name Askew. Known popularly as the "mother of Quakerism," she is considered one of the
Valiant Sixty
The Valiant Sixty were a group of early activists and itinerant preachers in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Mainly from northern England, they spread the ideas of the Friends in the second half of the 17th century. They were also call ...
early Quaker preachers and missionaries. She died on 23 April 1702 at age 87 or 88.
Dalton was the birthplace and early home of
George Romney in the 1700s, as well as
Miles Romney
Miles Romney (July 13, 1806 – May 3, 1877) was a British convert to Mormonism, Mormon pioneer and early settler of the American west, including St. George, Utah. In 1837, Romney and his wife, Elizabeth, joined the Church of the Latter Day Sa ...
in the early 1800s, the latter of whom is a direct ancestor of U.S. politician and former presidential candidate
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
.
William Ashburner (1737–1793), from Dalton-in-Furness, became the ancestor of a noted family of merchants and administrators in British-ruled India during
company rule, the
Ashburner family.
Steve Dixon,
Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...
presenter, was born in
Newton-in-Furness
Newton is a village in the civil parish of Dalton Town with Newton, in the Barrow-in-Furness district, in the county of Cumbria, England. It is located on the Furness peninsula north-east of the port of Barrow-in-Furness and south of the town of ...
, as was
Richard T. Slone (b. 23 January 1974), an award-winning artist. Both were in the same year at school and were educated firstly in Newton and then in Dalton-in-Furness.
Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...
winner
Keith Tyson
Keith Tyson (born Keith Thomas Bower,[Keith Tyson ...](_blank)
(b. 23 August 1969) grew up and attended school here as well.
E.B. Ford
Edmund Brisco "Henry" Ford (23 April 1901 – 2 January 1988) was a British ecological geneticist. He was a leader among those British biologists who investigated the role of natural selection in nature. As a schoolboy Ford became interested i ...
, an eminent scientist and author of the very popular
New Naturalist
The New Naturalist Library (also known as ''The New Naturalists'') is a series of books published by Collins in the United Kingdom, on a variety of natural history topics relevant to the British Isles. The aim of the series at the start was: "To ...
book on butterflies, was born in Dalton in April 1901.
Tommy Johnson, a footballer and the third highest goal scorer for Manchester City, was born in Queen Street, Dalton in Furness, in 1901.
He made five appearances for England’s national team scoring in each game.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Dalton Town with Newton
Dalton Town with Newton is a civil parish in the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, England. The parish contains the market town of Dalton-in-Furness, the hamlet of Newton-in-Furness, Newton and surrounding countryside. The civil parish c ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
Cumbria County History Trust: Dalton-in-Furness(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
Dalton with Newton Town Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalton-In-Furness
Towns in Cumbria
Former civil parishes in Cumbria
Furness