history of ulverston...
Early settlers occupied the limestone outcrops of Birkrigg Common and around Urswick, and many finds have been unearthed dating back to Bronze and Iron Age times. Originally, much of the Furness Peninsula was covered with trees, which were gradually felled over the centuries to create the patchwork of fields, farms and pockets of woodland that exists today.
After the Norman Conquest, Henry I granted the western forests of Furness and the whole of Walney Island to Stephen of Blois (crowned king of England in 1135), and the eastern section to William le Fleming. William's son, Michael, inherited the land in 1167, which was thereafter known as the Manor of Muchland (or Michael's land).
For centuries, the Furness Peninsula was an isolated outpost of the kingdom, with all activity focused on its great abbey at Furness, founded in 1127. Sea-borne links were developed with Ireland, the Isle of Man and Scotland in preference to overland communications over the marshy swamps and mountainous uplands to the north. Instead Ulverston and the Furness Peninsula looked to Lancashire for trade, communications and administration. For centuries, travellers used the ancient crossings over the sands of Morecambe Bay to bring goods and services to and from Lancaster; a hazardous journey negotiated through shifting sands and deep gullies, with many perishing in quicksands or swift incoming tides.
Ulverston was granted a market charter in 1280 by Edward I. Shortly afterwards, the Scots began raiding large parts of northern England in response to the king's attempts to quell Scotland and bring it under English rule. Large areas of Furness were devastated by the attacks, which prompted the building of several fortified buildings as defence.
It was after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1537 that Ulverston came to prominence as a market town, whilst Dalton declined in importance. The fast-flowing Gillbanks Beck (now culverted under the town) provided water power for mills making cotton, paper, candles and other commodities. Goods including local iron ore and slates were taken by packhorse to loading bays at Ulverston, Bardsea and Baycliffe - a slow and laborious means of conveyance that was soon to be replaced by water transport.
The Ulverston Canal was opened in 1796 to facilitate transport to the Leven Estuary. Vessels carrying iron ore, gunpowder, bobbins, barrel hoops, cotton, roofing slates and leather could now sail down the waterway and into the open waters of the estuary. Coal, softwood timber and raw cotton were brought into town by the same means. The canal attracted other industries including a timber yard, iron foundry, sail and rope makers and shipbuilding yards. Trade reached its peak in 1846, but this was also the year the Furness Railway started carrying iron ore from the Low Furness mines to Barrow where larger ships were able to dock. After the railway was extended to Ulverston in 1854 and over the Leven Estuary in 1857, canal traffic declined and eventually ceased operating in 1916.
By the 19th century, Ulverston was a thriving commercial port, exporting cotton from Ellers Mill, slate from Burlington Quarries, iron from its foundries, limestone from Stainton and leather from its numerous tanneries (there is still a Leather Lane in Ulverston). Other industries included brick making, paper manufacture and brewing beer. The malty aroma from Hartley's Brewery emanated over the town for one hundred years, but ended in 1991 after the brewery was taken over by Robinsons. Although production moved to Stockport, many local pubs still retain the Hartley's name.
Today, Ulverston is thriving with engineering, electrical components, quarrying, chemicals and pharmaceutical industries all providing employment alongside recent tourism initiatives that have put the town on the map with its wealth of festivals for all to enjoy!
