![Furness map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Furness_map.png)
Furness ( ) is a
peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
and region 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. Cumb ...
in northwestern England. Together with the
Cartmel Peninsula
Cartmel Peninsula is a peninsula in Cumbria in England. It juts in a southerly direction into Morecambe Bay, bordered by the estuaries of the River Leven to the west and the River Winster to the east. It is, along with the Furness Peninsula, ...
it forms
North Lonsdale
The Lonsdale Hundred is an historic hundred of Lancashire, England. Although named after the dale or valley of the River Lune, which runs through the city of Lancaster, for centuries it covered most of the north-western part of Lancashire aro ...
,
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 ...
an
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
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 Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of villages, agricultural land and low-lying
moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...
, with the industrial town of
Barrow at its head. The peninsula is bordered by the estuaries of the
River Duddon
The Duddon is a river of north-west England. It rises at a point above sea level near the Three Shire Stone at the highest point of Wrynose Pass (). The river descends to the sea over a course of about before entering the Irish Sea at the Du ...
to the west and the
River Leven in
Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...
to the east. The wider region of Furness consists of the peninsula and the area known as ''High Furness'', which is a relatively mountainous and sparsely populated part of England, extending inland into the
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
and containing the
Furness Fells
The Furness Fells are a multitude of hills and mountains in the Furness region of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Lancashire, the Furness Fells or High Furness is the name given to the upland part of Furness, that is, that part of Furness ...
. The inland boundary of the region is formed by the rivers Leven, Brathay and Duddon, and the lake 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 ...
. Off the southern tip of Furness is
Walney Island
Walney Island, also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. It is part of Barrow-in-Furness, separated from the mainland by Walney Channel, which is spanned b ...
, long, as well as
several smaller islands.
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 ...
, which developed when the Furness iron industry flourished in the 19th century, is the region's largest settlement, with a population of over 91,000. The remainder of Furness is predominantly rural, with
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 ...
the only other settlement with more than 10,000 people. Much of High Furness consists of moorland, mountain or woodland environments.
Etymology
The name, which is first recorded in 1150 as ''Fuththernessa'', is interpreted as "headland by the rump-shaped island," from Old Norse ''futh'' (genitive ''futhar''), meaning rump, and ''nes'', meaning headland. The island in question may be
Piel Island
Piel Island lies in Morecambe Bay , around off the southern tip of the Furness peninsula in the administrative county of Cumbria, England. It is one of the Islands of Furness, three of which sit near to Piel at the mouth of Walney Channel. Th ...
, with the name originally referring to the headland immediately opposite (where
Rampside
Rampside is a village in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is located a few miles south-east of the town of Barrow-in-Furness, in the north-western corner of Morecambe Bay on the Furness peninsula.
History
There is evidence t ...
is), before being extended to the entire region.
Alternatively it could be
Walney Island
Walney Island, also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. It is part of Barrow-in-Furness, separated from the mainland by Walney Channel, which is spanned b ...
: though it little resembles a rump today, erosion could have altered its shape over time.
Geography
![Holiday2005b 052](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Holiday2005b_052.jpg)
Furness's border follows the River Duddon up to
Wrynose Pass
The Wrynose Pass is a mountain pass in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England between the Duddon Valley and Little Langdale.
Etymology
The unusual name of the pass is taken from that of the adjacent Wrynose hill, also called W ...
, and then the
Brathay until it flows into
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 mere forms most of the eastern boundary, with the rest being made up of the
Leven Leven may refer to:
People
* Leven (name), list of people with the name
Nobility
* Earl of Leven a title in the Peerage of Scotland
Placenames
* Leven, Fife
Leven ( gd, Inbhir Lìobhann) is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central ...
, from its source at Windermere's southern tip to its mouth at Morecambe Bay.
[ In total Furness has an area of about .]
The Furness Fells are formed of Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...
volcanic rocks, and Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...
shales and slates to the south. They are cut through by Windermere, Coniston Water
Coniston Water in the English county of Cumbria is the third-largest lake in the Lake District by volume (after Windermere and Ullswater), and the fifth-largest by area. It is five miles long by half a mile wide (8 km by 800 m), has ...
, and numerous valleys which drain into the Esk, the Duddon, and Morecambe Bay.[ The higher ground is rocky heathland, with frequent tarns, while the lower ground supports pasture and woodland.][ In the east there are two main chains of hills: one overlooking Windermere, with ]Latterbarrow
Latterbarrow is a hill in the English Lake District, east of Hawkshead, Cumbria. It is the subject of a chapter of Wainwright's book ''The Outlying Fells of Lakeland
''The Outlying Fells of Lakeland'' is a 1974 book written by Alfred Wainw ...
(245 m) as its highest point, and the other, which reaches 300 m, overlooking Coniston Water. Between them is flat country and Esthwaite Water
Esthwaite Water is one of the smaller and lesser known lakes in the Lake District National Park in northern England. It is situated between the much larger lakes of Windermere and Coniston Water, in the traditional county of Lancashire; since 1 ...
. West of Coniston Water is the highest range, the Coniston Fells, with the Coniston Old Man
The Old Man of Coniston is a fell in the Furness Fells in the Cumbria, English Lake District and is the highest point (county top) of the historic county of Lancashire. It is at least high, and lies to the west of the village of Coniston and t ...
(803 m) as its highest point (and historically the highest point in Lancashire).[ A lesser range extends from ]Torver
Torver is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south west of the village of Coniston, Cumbria, Coniston and west of Coniston Water.
Farming has always played an important par ...
to just north of Dalton, but south of that the landscape is flat; this area is also called Plain Furness. The low rolling hills of Low Furness are formed of glacial deposits, mainly boulder clay, above Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
sandstone and Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...
limestone. There are large deposits of iron ore here, of very pure quality.[
The human geography of the area is dominated by the town 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 ...
. Barrow is located on the tip of the peninsula and Walney Island
Walney Island, also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. It is part of Barrow-in-Furness, separated from the mainland by Walney Channel, which is spanned b ...
, and 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 ...
, which includes the small town of Dalton-in-Furness
Dalton-in-Furness is a town and former civil parish in the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. In 2011 it had a population of 7,827. It is located north east of Barrow-in-Furness.
History
Dalton is mentioned in the Domesday Book, w ...
and the town of Millom
Millom is a town and civil parish on the north shore of the estuary of the River Duddon in southwest Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, England. It is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, about north of Barrow-in-Furnes ...
(the latter of which, although statistically in "Furness" for this purpose, is not actually part of the defined geographic area known as Furness) has a population of 69,100. Barrow, which grew from a small village to a large town during the 19th century, is characterized by a grid pattern
In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid.
Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogo ...
of streets of terraced houses
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
, surrounded by more contemporary suburbs. Though the Port of Barrow
The Port of Barrow refers to the enclosed dock system within the town of Barrow-in-Furness, England. Morecambe Bay is to the east of the port and the Irish Sea surrounds it to the south and west. The port is currently owned and operated by ...
still contains much industry, there has also been significant redevelopment of former dock areas into retail parks, office blocks and spaces of light industry. The other major town in the area is 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 ...
, at the border of Low and High Furness, and the population of Ulverston and its surrounding villages is 17,307. The corridor along the main A590 road
The A590 is a trunk road in southern Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It runs north-east to south-west from M6 junction 36, through the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness to terminate at Biggar Bank on Walney Island.[BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...]
, Kimberly-Clark (both Barrow) and GlaxoSmithKline
GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...
(Ulverston) the largest employers. In Barrow and up the west coast of Furness, the Sellafield Nuclear site is also a significant employer. The rest of Furness is rural, with the mountainous, wooded and lacustrine environments. To the west, the main settlements of Kirkby-in-Furness
Kirkby-in-Furness, generally referred to simply as Kirkby locally, is a village in the Furness area of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it's located close to the Lake District National Park. It is about south of Broughto ...
and Broughton-in-Furness
Broughton in Furness is a market town in the civil parish of Broughton West in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It had a population of 529 at the 2011 Census. It is located on the south western boundary of England's Lake District ...
are dominated by farming and commuting. The Lake District National Park covers most of High Furness, with Coniston and Hawkshead
Hawkshead is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, which attracts tourists to the South Lakeland area. The parish includes the hamlets of Hawkshead Hill, to the north west, and Outgate, a similar distance north. Hawkshead contains on ...
the main centres for tourism, while major tourist attractions include Grizedale Forest
Grizedale Forest is a 24.47 km2 area of woodland in the Lake District of North West England, located to the east of Coniston Water and to the south of Hawkshead. It is made up of a number of hills, small tarns and the settlements of Grizeda ...
, the Aquarium of the Lakes
The Lakes Aquarium is an aquarium in the village of Lakeside on the southern shore of Windermere, Cumbria, England. It is one of the docking points of Windermere Lake Cruises and also at one end of the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. It i ...
, 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 ...
and the 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 ...
. The northern and eastern communities of Furness share more in common with the Lake District towns of Ambleside
Ambleside is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, in Cumbria, in North West England.
Historically in Westmorland, it marks the head (and sits on the east side of the northern headwater) of Windermere, England's larges ...
and Bowness, outside of the region, than with the more urban areas of Low Furness. Mining was once a major part of the local economy, but today only the Burlington Slate Quarries
Kirkby Slate Quarries, formally known as Burlington Slate Quarries, are located near Kirkby-in-Furness in Cumbria, England. The quarries have produced a characteristic blue-grey slate for hundreds of years, with large-scale production starting in ...
at Kirkby remain of note.
The A590 is the main road into the region 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 ...
. The A595 is the main route up the western coast of Furness, and the A593/A5084 run north-south from Low Furness to High Furness. 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 ...
provides railway connections to the West Coast Mainline
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
through the south of Furness, and the Cumbria Coast Line is a slow rural branch line with services running north to Copeland and Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
. The Windermere Ferry
The Windermere Ferry is a vehicular cable ferry which crosses Windermere, a lake in the English county of Cumbria. The ferry route forms part of the B5285 road and crosses the lake at about its midpoint, from Ferry Nab in Bowness-on-Windermere to ...
in the east of Furness is England's only vehicular lake ferry.
History
Furness seems to have been scantly populated in ancient times.[ A handful of ]Brittonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
placenames survive around Barrow, suggesting this part was settled earliest.[ Anglo-Saxons arrived in Low Furness in the 7th century, but do not seem to have spread to High Furness, which remained almost empty until it was populated by incoming Scandinavians in the 10th century.][ It has been suggested that they had a small mountain kingdom there, centred on Coniston (which means "king's town").][ The prevalence of names with the element "thwaite" in High Furness (from Norse ''thveit'', "clearing"), and the absence thereof in Low Furness, suggests that the latter had already been deforested by the time the Scandinavians arrived.][ Scandinavians probably formed the majority of the Furness population, and Old Norse remained a living language in the region until at least the late 12th century.][
Before the Conquest, Furness, assessed to contain 82 ]ploughland
The carucate or carrucate ( lat-med, carrūcāta or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms ...
s, was part of 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, Earl of Northumbria.[ By 1086, Furness was in the possession of the crown. In 1127 Prince Stephen founded ]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 ...
, granting the abbot most of the land in Furness and giving the rest to a Fleming named Michael. Henry III later granted the rent due from the lord of Michael's Land (£10 per year) to the abbot of Furness, making him the sole tenant-in-chief
In medieval and early modern Europe, the term ''tenant-in-chief'' (or ''vassal-in-chief'') denoted a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as op ...
,[ and thus one of the most powerful abbots in the country.
In the 14th century ]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 ...
and Piel Castle
Piel Castle, also known as Fouldry Castle or the Pile of Fouldray, is a castle situated on the south-eastern point of Piel Island, off the coast of the Furness Peninsula in north-west England. Built in the early-14th century by John Cockerham, ...
were built by the abbots of Furness to defend the market town of Dalton and the port of Barrow respectively. The area had been raided by Scots in 1316 and again in 1322,[ though in the latter year the abbot paid ]Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
a ransom to stop his men harrying Low Furness.
The pretender Lambert Simnel
Lambert Simnel (c. 1477 – after 1534) was a pretender to the throne of England. In 1487, his claim to be Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, threatened the newly established reign of Henry VII (1485–1509). Simnel became the ...
landed with his army at Piel Island in 1487. A few locals joined him, including Sir Thomas Broughton of Broughton Tower, who would be killed at the disastrous Battle of Stoke Field
The Battle of Stoke Field on 16 June 1487 may be considered the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, since it was the last major engagement between contenders for the throne whose claims derived from descent from the houses of Lancaster and Yo ...
.
The abbey was closed in 1536 after the monks lent their support to the Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...
, and the abbot's lands were seized by the crown, becoming part of the royal duchy of Lancaster
The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of ...
.[ Later they were granted to the dukes of ]Buccleuch Buccleuch may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Places Australia
* Buccleuch County, an administrative division in New South Wales, Australia
* Buccleuch, South Australia, a small locality and railway station
* County of Buccleuch, an administrative division in ...
[ and ]Devonshire
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, ...
.[
In May 1643, Furness was occupied and plundered by a large Royalist force commanded by Richard Viscount Molyneux. Later that year they prepared to march to the relief of ]Thurland Castle
Thurland Castle is a country house in Lancashire, England which has been converted into apartments. Surrounded by a moat, and located in parkland, it was originally a defensive structure, one of a number of castles in the Lune Valley. It is reco ...
in South Lonsdale, then besieged by Colonel Rigby, but Rigby took some of his men over the sands and met the Royalists at Lindal, where they were routed. The Parliamentarians looted the Dalton neighbourhood before retreating to Cartmel the same night. In 1644 the Royalists remained in control of Furness, though the country folk were hostile to them, and Parliament ships landed at Piel Island to aid in a rising. After a fight at Hawcoat
Hawcoat is an area and electoral ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it is one of Barrow's most northerly wards and is bordered by Roose, Newbarns, Parkside, Ormsgill and the town of Dalton-in-Furness ...
the resistance was quashed, and the Parliament ships left for Liverpool. After collecting the king's rents, the Royalists left for Cartmel. After the Restoration of the monarchy, one Furness landowner, Colonel Sawry, attempted a rising.[
]
Iron had been mined in Furness since prehistory, and by the late 18th century ore was being exported from Barrow. 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 in the 19th century to cater to the increasing demand. Iron and steelworks were established at Barrow, and the town's population grew from 325 in 1847 to 51,712 in 1891, surpassing Dalton's and Ulverston's. Mining in Furness reached its peak in 1882, when 1,408,693 tons of ore were won. At the same time, tourism in the Lake District increased, popularised in part by the work of John Ruskin
John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...
and William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798).
Wordsworth's ' ...
.
Tourism in High Furness was promoted by the writings of Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was he ...
in the early 20th century. Potter was one of the largest landowners in the area, eventually donating her many properties to the 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 ...
.
Shipbuilding later replaced iron and steel as Low Furness's main industry, and Barrow's shipyards became the largest in England. In particular, submarine development became a specialty of the town, with the Royal Navy's first submarines built there. During the wars this allowed Furness to escape many of the economic problems that other areas suffered, due to the constant work provided by the military.
After World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
demand for ships and submarines remained high, while the development of the Lake District National Park further fostered tourism. Attractions such as the 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 ...
, steamers on Windermere and Coniston Water, and fell walking, caused parts of Furness to become dependent on the tourist trade.
In the early 1990s, the decline of shipbuilding led to mass redundancies in the area. The shipyard's employment figures fell from 20,000 to 3,000 in a 20-year period. However, the shipyard at Barrow remains England's busiest and the only nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...
facility in the country. Tourism has increased even more, with the Aquarium of the Lakes
The Lakes Aquarium is an aquarium in the village of Lakeside on the southern shore of Windermere, Cumbria, England. It is one of the docking points of Windermere Lake Cruises and also at one end of the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. It i ...
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 ...
among the newer attractions.
Transport has become an increasingly controversial issue, with conservation groups and local business clashing over the need for improvements to the A590
The A590 is a trunk road in southern Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It runs north-east to south-west from M6 junction 36, through the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness to terminate at Biggar Bank on Walney Island.[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 ...]
. Proposals for a road bridge over Morecambe Bay have appeared, but are yet to progress beyond the planning stages.
Administration
Furness formed the greater part of the North Lonsdale exclave of the historic county of Lancashire, which bordered Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
to the northwest and Westmorland
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
to the northeast (the point where the three counties met is marked by the Three Shire Stone at the head of the Duddon). North Lonsdale is also called "Lancashire North of the Sands".
In 1974, North Lonsdale – along with Cumberland, Westmorland, and part of the West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
(around Sedbergh
Sedbergh ( or ) is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, England. The 2001 census gave the parish a population of 2,705, increasing at the 2011 census to 2,765. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies about east of Kendal, nor ...
) – became part of the new administrative 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. Cumb ...
.
At the district level, it now consists of the borough of Barrow and part of South Lakeland
South Lakeland is a local government district in Cumbria, England. The population of the non-metropolitan district was 102,301 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 103,658 at the 2011 Census. Its council is based in Kendal. It includes ...
.
From April 2023, Furness will form part of the new unitary council area of Westmorland and Furness
Westmorland and Furness is a future unitary authority area in north-west England, which will come into being on 1 April 2023 on the abolition of Cumbria County Council, together with Cumberland. The council will cover the areas currently served ...
, which will replace Cumbria County Council
Cumbria County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in the North West of England. Established in April 1974, following its first elections held the previous year, it is an elected local government body respon ...
and the districts of Barrow and South Lakeland
South Lakeland is a local government district in Cumbria, England. The population of the non-metropolitan district was 102,301 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 103,658 at the 2011 Census. Its council is based in Kendal. It includes ...
, all of which will be abolished.
Low Furness and the western part of High Furness are in the Barrow and 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 ...
parliamentary constituency, while eastern High Furness is in Westmorland and Lonsdale
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
.
Notable people
* Myles Burton Kennedy
* Ben Palmer
Ben Palmer (born 1976) is a British film and television director.
His television credits include the Channel 4 sketch show '' Bo' Selecta!'' (2002–2006), the second and third series of the E4 sitcom ''The Inbetweeners'' (2009–2010) and the Sk ...
* Henry Robinson Hall
Henry Robinson Hall (1859–1927) was a Victorian and Edwardian landscape painter in oils and watercolours noted for his Highland cattle.
Life
Hall was born to Eliza Robinson in the City of York in 1859 and died on 31 May 1927 at Barrow-in- ...
* George Romney
* 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 ...
Gallery
File:Jubilee.JPG, Jubilee Bridge, linking Barrow Island and Walney Island
File:ConisheadPriory.JPG, Conishead Priory
Conishead Priory is a large Gothic Revival building on the Furness peninsula near Ulverston in Cumbria. The priory's name translates literally as "King's Hill Priory". Since 1976, the building has been occupied by a Buddhist community.
History ...
, near Ulverston
File:The White House And The Castle.jpg, Piel island and castle
File:Looking over bracken slopes to Longfield Wood and Heathwaite Moss - geograph.org.uk - 667080.jpg, Scenery near Broughton in the winter
File:Ascent of Coniston Old Man (1) - geograph.org.uk - 1540675.jpg, The Old Man of Coniston from Coniston village
File:Lake Coniston - geograph.org.uk - 10174.jpg, Coniston Water
File:On Latterbarrow - geograph.org.uk - 1160333.jpg, View of Windermere from Latterbarrow
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 54.27004, N, 3.08853, W, dim:30000, display=title
Geography of Cumbria
Regions of England
Peninsulas of England