Gill Jepson – författare

In the Middle Ages, Barrow was a small settlement close to Furness Abbey. The Furness peninsula is still a largely rural area, and Furness Abbey is now a ruin, but the town of Barrow-in-Furness grew during the Industrial Revolution to become an important steel producer and exporter, exploiting the mineral deposits in mines nearby and its position on the coast. Later it became a major manufacturer of naval vessels, best known today for building Royal Navy submarines. The monastic movement played an important part in the settlement and economy of medieval Furness, not only at Furness Abbey but also Conishead Priory, alongside the manorial system. Over the centuries the area experienced Scottish incursion and other invasions, piracy and smuggling, plague, uprisings, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Civil War battles, the Quaker movement, the attention of Romantic writers and artists, railways and industrialisation and the effect of both World Wars.Illustrated throughout, this accessible historical portrait of the transformation that Barrow and the surrounding area has undergone through the ages will be of great interest to residents, visitors and all those with links to the area.

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.

Barrow-in-Furness is a small post-industrial town at the end of a long peninsula in the north of England. Its isolated location has produced a stalwart and close population. It started life as a small hamlet and grew to become an industrial leader, first in iron and steel and later in ship-building and engineering, drawing a workforce from all over the country. The ship-building industry continues to be a major employer but today there is less diversity than in Barrow’s heyday.Although the town is known for its industry, it sits in one of the most beautiful areas of Cumbria. It boasts a rich heritage and spectacular views to the Lake District and across Morecambe Bay and, surrounded on three sides by the sea, it enjoys its own temperate climate. Furness Abbey was a great influence on the area in the medieval period and there are castles, churches, monuments and memories just waiting to be discovered by the unsuspecting visitor.

Barrow-in-Furness and its surroundings have changed rapidly over the last century and a half. The contrast between the old and the new is stark, and nowhere is that better illustrated than in the photographs featured in this book. Focusing on themes including work, transport, entertainment, buildings and leisure, author Gill Jepson chronicles the changing face of the town across the decades.The transformation from agriculture to industry and the movement of the urban centres is fascinating. The old occupations of iron ore mining have given way to the newer ones of submarine building and renewable energy. The landscape is testament to the rapid growth of the town and its infrastructure, and there are numerous images that illustrate quieter and more agrarian times. Barrow Island, now home to a shipyard, was once a rural estate with just one house - the Michaelson mansion. Many old buildings were swept away under regeneration plans in the 1960s and 1970s and some of these too have now disappeared. The town is forever changing and meeting the requirements of the modern age and yet echoes the old-world filter here and there, reminding us of a time gone by.