Ulverston is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

and a

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 authorit ...

in the South Lakeland district 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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. 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 ...

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 Lancash ...

, it lies a few miles south of the Lake District National Park and just north-west of

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 ...

, within the Furness Peninsula. Lancaster is to the east,

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of 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 B ...

to the south-west and Kendal to the north-east.

History

The name ''Ulverston'', first noted as ''Ulurestun'' 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 manus ...

of 1086, consists of an

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...

''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 A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

granted in 1280 by Edward I was for a

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

on Thursdays. The town retains its market-town appearance; market days are now Thursdays and Saturdays. The charter also allowed

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s 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 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. I ...

opened in 1873. Laurel and Hardy Statue

Historically, the parish included chapelries and

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

s 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 Mansriggs is a settlement and civil parish in the South Lakeland district, in the county of Cumbria, England. Because of its small population, in the 2011 census the parish was grouped with Osmotherley. It has a joint parish council with Egton ...

, Osmotherley, Subberthwaite and Torver. 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

. Under the Local Government Act 1972 it became a

successor parish Successor parishes are civil parishes with a parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of urban districts and municipal boroughs: a total of 300 successor parishes were formed from the ...

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 Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian, singer and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer", and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances. A lifel ...

unveiled a statue of Laurel and Hardy (by Graham Ibbeson) outside Coronation Hall in the town centre.

Earthquake

On 28 April 2009, Ulverston was near the

epicentre The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...

of an earthquake measuring 3.7 on the

Richter magnitude scale The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...

. Tremors were felt across south

and parts of north

at 11.22, but virtually no damage was caused. A spokesman for the British Geological Survey 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 (SLDC) in the county of Cumbria. Some local government responsibilities fall to SLDC, while others are handled by

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 ...

. Ulverston

Town Council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second t ...

covers some parochial matters. The town is in the wider

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 The River Crake is a short river in the English Lake District. The name probably derives from the Celtic languages (most likely Brythonic languages; ie Cumbric language) and means ''rocky stream''. The river drains Coniston Water from its southe ...

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 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 Broughto ...

and

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 ...

. To the south is relatively low land that rises quickly. In the north are hills such as

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 ...

. 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

and parts of the Lake District.

Education

Ulverston Victoria High School (UVHS), the town's secondary school, with some 1,200 pupils, includes a

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

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, 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. Hi ...

, a short walk from the town centre, lies 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 ...

between and , which leads on to . Some trains continue along the

Cumbrian Coast line The Cumbrian Coast line is a rail route in North West England, running from Carlisle railway station, Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness via Workington and Whitehaven. The line forms part of Network Rail route NW 4033, which continues (as the Furnes ...

to . The town's several bus services include the X6 between Kendal and Barrow-in-Furness via

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 ...

, 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 ...

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

Twin towns

Ulverston is twinned with

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

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, 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.

Festivals

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

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 Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team has existed since 1945. It currently plays 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- ...

and the Furness Football League.

Rugby League

Ulverston Amateur

Rugby League Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

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.

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 Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior 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 ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, Australia 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 The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) (LANCS) is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army, part of the King's Division. Headquartered in Preston, it recruits throughout the North West of England. The Du ...

: 7 May 2011. *2223 (Ulverston) Squadron

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...

: 18 April 2015.

Notable people

In alphabetical order: *

Ella Blaylock Atherton Ella Blaylock Atherton (January 4, 1860 – September 4, 1933) was a British-born American physician. Atherton was the first woman in the province of Quebec to receive a diploma in medicine from a Canadian institution. She was the first woman ad ...

(1860–1933), physician * Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr (1831–1919), novelist, was born in Ulverston. *

(1764–1848), statesman, 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, Traf ...

's Second Secretary. A monument to him; a replica of the third

Eddystone Lighthouse The Eddystone Lighthouse is a lighthouse that is located on the dangerous Eddystone Rocks, south of Rame Head in Cornwall, England. The rocks are submerged below the surface of the sea and are composed of Precambrian gneiss. View at 1:50000 ...

, 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 The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded m ...

, was born in Ulverston. *

Norman Gifford Norman Gifford (born 30 March 1940) is a retired English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. Gifford played county cricket for Worcestershire, and Warwickshire County Cricket Clubs, and represented England in fifteen Test ...

(born 1940), international cricketer * Jess Gillam (born 1998), saxophonist *Maude Green, mother of the

Rock and Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

music legend,

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

* Francis Arthur Jefferson VC (1921–1982), a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

-winning soldier born in Ulverston * Stan Laurel (1890–1965), actor born at 3 Argyle Street, Ulverston *

Selina Martin Selina Martin (21 November 1882 – 1972) was a member of the suffragette movement in the early 20th century. She was arrested several times. Her Hunger Strike Medal given 'for Valour' by the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was sold at ...

(1882–1972), suffragette *

Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; née Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician and songwriter. She was best known as keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, nota ...

(1943–2022), singer and songwriter born in the nearby village of

Bouth Bouth is a village in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically, it was part of the county of Lancashire. Christine McVie (née Perfect), rock singer, keyboardist and songwriter of Fleetwood Mac was born in the village, t ...

James Penny James Penny (died 1799) was a merchant, slave ship owner, and prominent opponent of the abolition of slavery in Liverpool, England. He defended the slave trade to the British Parliament. The famous Penny Lane has been associated with him although ...

(1741–1799), slave-ship owner, who became a prominent anti-

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

Bob Shaw Robert Shaw (31 December 1931 – 11 February 1996) was a science fiction writer and fan from Northern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. His short story "Light of Other Days" ...

(1931–1996), science fiction writer, lived in Ulverston. * William Basil Weston VC (1924–1945), a

-winning

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

, 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 Welfare State International was a British experimental theatre group formed in 1968 by John Fox and Sue Gill, Roger Coleman and others. It became "A collective of radical artists and thinkers who explored ideas of celebratory art and spectacle betw ...

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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

South Lakeland District