As Barrow was a ‘new’ town which developed very abruptly in the nineteenth century, living conditions were extremely primitive. Sanitation was non-existent, housing piecemeal and temporary, and public services absent. It was essentially a frontier town and with that came poverty, crime and disease. Jobs, particularly mining, were often dangerous or poorly paid. Political movements agitated and caused violence and the harbour at Piel was the site of many incidents of smuggling and even piracy. Poverty was rife and workhouse buildings are still in existence. Public health in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was problematic, with outbreaks of disease dealt with in isolation hospital and by closing schools. More recently a dreadful breakout of Legionnaires' disease killed numerous people. Further back in time Furness Abbey witnessed plague, murder, violence and debauchery, superstition abounded in the area and supernatural encounters bear witness to this history.In A Dark History of Barrow-in-Furness author Gill Jepson delves into the often lesser known but darker stories from Barrow-in-Furness’s past. This fascinating insight into Barrow-in-Furness will be of interest to all those who want to know more about the town’s remarkable history.
