Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the

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 ...

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 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 ...

in Lancashire, it lies a few miles south of 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 ...

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

and just north-west of Morecambe Bay, within the

Furness Peninsula 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 ...

. Lancaster is to the east, Barrow-in-Furness to the south-west and

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...

to the north-east.

History

The name ''Ulverston'', first noted as ''Ulurestun'' in the Domesday Book of 1086, consists of an Old Norse personal name, ''Úlfarr'', or the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''Wulfhere'', with the Old English ''tūn'', meaning farmstead or village. The

personal names A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known, ...

''Úlfarr'' and ''Wulfhere'' both imply "wolf warrior" or "wolf army", which explains the presence of a wolf on the town's coat of arms. The loss of the initial W in ''Wulfhere'' can be linked to Scandinavian influence in the region. Locally, the town has traditionally been known as ''Oostan''. Other variants include ''Oluestonam'' (1127), and ''Uluereston'' (1189). The market charter granted in 1280 by

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

was for a market on Thursdays. The town retains its market-town appearance; market days are now Thursdays and Saturdays. The charter also allowed public houses to open from 10:30 am to 11:00 pm, regardless of other statute on the books. The present Saturday market includes in the summer craft stalls, charity stalls and locally produced ware on ''"Made in Cumbria"'' stalls.

Town Bank Grammar School Town Bank grammar school was an Early Modern grammar school in Ulverston, Lancashire from its foundation in 1658 until 1900. It was founded through a benefaction in the will of Thomas Fell. A pupil's view in the late 18th century was: From 187 ...

was founded in 1658 from a benefaction by

Thomas Fell Thomas Fell (1598 – 8 October 1658), was a lawyer, member of parliament and vice-chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. Biography Personal Fell was born at Hawkshead, near Ulverston. He was the son of George Fell, a gentleman of ancient Lanca ...

. The

Victoria Road drill hall The Victoria Road drill hall is a former military installation in Glasgow. History The building was designed by John Bennie Wilson as the headquarters of the 3rd Lanarkshire (1st Glasgow Southern) Rifle Volunteer Corps and completed in 1884. It ...

opened in 1873. Laurel and Hardy Statue

Historically, the parish included chapelries and townships that later became separate civil parishes: Blawith, Church Coniston,

Egton Egton is a village and civil parish in the Scarborough local administration district of North Yorkshire county, England, about west of Whitby, and located within the North York Moors National Park. There is a nearby village called Egton Bridge ...

with Newland, Lowick, Mansriggs,

Osmotherley Osmotherley may refer to: *Osmotherley, North Yorkshire, an English village and civil parish *Osmotherley, Cumbria Osmotherley is a civil parish in South Lakeland, Cumbria, England, extending north from Ulverston. The village of Broughton Bec ...

, Subberthwaite and

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 ...

. From 1894 to 1974 the town served as an

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

in the administrative county of Lancashire. Under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

it became a successor parish in the Cumbria district of South Lakeland. The High Carley Hospital and Ulverston Joint Hospital Board built an infectious disease hospital at High Carley, Pennington, in 1884. It was initially a fever hospital for paupers. In 1916 a second hospital, run by Lancashire County Council, was built to treat tubercular patients. From 1949 a children's annexe was built. In the 1950s, as the number of tubercular patients decreased, the hospital was run as an acute hospital. In 1984, after the building of the new Furness General Hospital, High Carley was closed. In 2009, the comedian Ken Dodd unveiled a statue of

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

(by

Graham Ibbeson Graham Ibbeson (born 1951) is a British artist and sculptor, known for the realistic figurative sculptures he has created for public commissions in the United Kingdom. Biography Ibbeson was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and from 1972 to 1 ...

) outside Coronation Hall in the town centre.

Earthquake

On 28 April 2009, Ulverston was near the epicentre of an earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter magnitude scale. Tremors were felt across south Cumbria and parts of north Lancashire at 11.22, but virtually no damage was caused. A spokesman for the

British Geological Survey The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. The BGS h ...

stated that earthquakes of such magnitude occur roughly once a year in Britain. Regionally, it was the strongest seismic event since a magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck Lancaster in 1835.

Governance

Ulverston is within the area of

South Lakeland District Council South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

(SLDC) in the county of Cumbria. Some local government responsibilities fall to SLDC, while others are handled by Cumbria County Council. Ulverston Town Council covers some parochial matters. The town is in the wider civil parish of Ulverston. This is bounded in the east by the

Leven estuary The River Leven (pron. ) is a short river in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, falling within the historic boundaries of Lancashire. It drains Windermere from its southernmost point and flows for approximately into the northern reaches of Mo ...

, the River Crake, Coniston Water and Yewdale Beck. To the west the boundary follows a chain of hills, and beyond lie the towns 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 Broughton i ...

and Askam and Ireleth. To the south is relatively low land that rises quickly. In the north are hills such as Coniston Old Man. The parish settlements are mainly in the eastern part.

Places of interest

The Laurel & Hardy Museum is situated in Ulverston. The limestone

Hoad Monument Hoad Monument (proper name: the '' Sir John Barrow Monument'') is a tower at the top of the Hoad Hill, near Ulverston in the Cumbria. England. It commemorates Sir John Barrow (1764-1848), who was born in Ulverston, and was built in 1850 at a cos ...

(proper name: the Sir John Barrow Monument) was built in 1850 in honour of the statesman

Sir John Barrow Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1764 – 23 November 1848) was an English geographer, linguist, writer and civil servant best known for term as the Second Secretary to the Admiralty from 1804 until 1845. Early life Barrow was born ...

. It offers views that include Morecambe Bay and parts of the

Education

Ulverston Victoria High School Ulverston Victoria High School (UVHS) is a secondary school and sixth form located in the town of Ulverston, Cumbria, England. It is the successor school to Ulverston Grammar School and Victoria Secondary Modern, which were combined in 1967 to ...

(UVHS), the town's secondary school, with some 1,200 pupils, includes a sixth form college with about 400. There are four main primary schools; Croftlands Junior (secular), St Mary's (Catholic), Church Walk (Church of England) and Sir John Barrow (secular) and a

special education school Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

, near Sandside.

Transport

Ulverston railway station Ulverston is a railway station on the Furness Line, which runs between and . The station, situated north-east of Barrow-in-Furness, serves the market town of Ulverston in Cumbria. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains. H ...

, a short walk from the town centre, lies on the Furness Line between and , which leads on to . Some trains continue along the Cumbrian Coast line to . The town's several bus services include the X6 between

and Barrow-in-Furness via Grange-over-Sands, the X12 to Coniston and

Spark Bridge Spark Bridge is a former mill village in Cumbria, England, within the Lake District National Park, and within the historic boundaries of Lancashire. The village is situated away from the main road on the river Crake which flows from Coniston W ...

, and the 6A and 6 to Barrow-in-Furness.

Twin towns

Ulverston is twinned with Albert in France. They meet alternately at Easter each year to play football for the Cyril Barker Shield. In July 2016 Ulverston, as the birthplace of the film comedian

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...

, was officially twinned with

Harlem, Georgia Harlem is a city in Columbia County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Augusta metropolitan area. The population was 2,666 at the 2010 census, up from 1,814 in 2000. This city was named after the neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan ...

, United States, birthplace of Laurel's screen partner

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his c ...

Festivals

The many festivals held at Ulverston include: *Another Fine Fest, celebrating Ulverston and the birth of

. *

Dickensian Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

Festival. *Furness Tradition. *Retro Rendezvous

Sport

Football

Ulverston Rangers association football team has existed since 1945. It currently plays in the West Lancashire Football League and the Furness Football League.

Rugby League

Ulverston Amateur Rugby League Football Club plays home games at Dragley Beck, it belongs to the North West Counties Rugby League. It has produced several professional rugby players, including

Derek Hadley Derek Hadley (born 6 June 1954) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and Rugby league match officials, referee. He played at representative level for Cumbria rugby league team, Cumb ...

Other sports

The town's two field hockey clubs, South Lakes and Ulverston, are based at Ulverston Leisure Centre. The town regularly has events run by Lakeland Orienteering Club. A parkrun event has been held every Saturday at Ford Park since 2018.

International links

The Royal Norwegian Honorary Consulate in Barrow-in-Furness, one of the numerous consulates of Norway, is actually located on the outskirts of Ulverston. The town of Ulverstone in Tasmania,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

is named after Ulverston and likewise built at the mouth of a River Leven.

Freedom of the Town

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Town of Ulverston.

Individuals

*Peter Winston: 15 May 2019.

Military units

*The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment: 7 May 2011. *2223 (Ulverston) Squadron Air Training Corps: 18 April 2015.

Notable people

In alphabetical order: * Ella Blaylock Atherton (1860–1933), physician *

Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr (March 29, 1831 – March 10, 1919) was a British novelist and teacher. Many of the plots of her stories are laid in Scotland and England. The scenes are from her girlhood recollection of surroundings. Her works includ ...

(1831–1919), novelist, was born in Ulverston. *

(1764–1848),

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

, was born at Dragley Beck, he was the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

's Second Secretary. A monument to him; a replica of the third Eddystone Lighthouse, stands on Hoad Hill overlooking the town. *

Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett, (6 September 1883 – 10 February 1962) was a British barrister, judge, politician and preacher who served as the alternate British judge during the Nuremberg Trials. Birkett received his education ...

(1883–1962), judge, politician and preacher who served as alternate British judge in the Nuremberg Trials, was born in Ulverston. * Norman Gifford (born 1940), international cricketer *

Jess Gillam Jess Gillam (born 24 May 1998) is a British saxophonist and BBC radio broadcaster from Ulverston, Cumbria. Gillam hosts ''This Classical Life'' on BBC Radio 3. Education Gillam attended the Junior Royal Northern College of Music while at se ...

(born 1998), saxophonist *Maude Green, mother of the Rock and Roll music legend, Bill Haley *

Francis Arthur Jefferson Lance Corporal Francis Arthur Jefferson VC (18 August 1921 – 4 September 1982) was a British Army soldier and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to Brit ...

VC (1921–1982), a Victoria Cross-winning soldier born in Ulverston *

(1890–1965), actor born at 3 Argyle Street, Ulverston * Selina Martin (1882–1972), suffragette * Christine McVie (1943–2022), singer and songwriter born in the nearby village of Bouth * James Penny (1741–1799), slave-ship owner, who became a prominent anti- abolitionist * Bob Shaw (1931–1996), science fiction writer, lived in Ulverston. *

William Basil Weston William Basil Weston (3 January 1924 – 3 March 1945) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Detai ...

VC (1924–1945), a Victoria Cross-winning officer, was born in Ulverston. There is a memorial to him in the town's Catholic Church.

Gallery

File:Market Street, Ulverston.jpg, Market Street, Ulverston File:Marketplace1860.jpg, Market Place in 1860 File:View over to Hoad Hill.jpg, View over to Hoad Hill File:Hoadback3.JPG, Hoad Hill with Sir John Barrow monument File:Ulverston Church Side Door.jpg, Side door of Ulverston Church of England File:Town Clock 1845.jpg, Town Clock of Ulverston, 1845 File:Welfare State International Home.jpg, The Lanternhouse, once the premises of the arts firms Welfare State International and Lanternhouse International File:UlverstonCanal.JPG, Ulverston Canal

Arms

References

External links

* *
Cumbria County History Trust: Ulverston
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page) *
Heritage First (formerly Ulverston Heritage Centre)Ulverston Victoria High School (UVHS)Ulverston International Music FestivalVisit UlverstonUlverston carnival parade
{{Authority control Towns in Cumbria Market towns in Cumbria Furness Civil parishes in Cumbria United Kingdom South Lakeland District