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.

The Lake District is by far the UK’s most popular national park. Every year some 15 million people come here to explore the region’s fells and countryside and it’s not hard to see why. Ever since the Romantic poets arrived in the nineteenth century, its panorama of craggy hilltops, mountain tarns and glittering lakes have been stirring the imaginations of visitors. Among the many writers who found inspiration here are William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Arthur Ransome and, of course, Beatrix Potter – a lifelong lover of the Lakes.

Lake Windermere is the largest of the lakes and this fascinating collection of old and new pictures shows how much has changed around the lake’s shores. It also features nearby Coniston Water and Grasmere as well as the main tourist centres of Ambleside, Bowness-on-Windermere, Coniston and Windermere village.

Furness Abbey Through Time

by Gill Jepson

Published 15 May 2022
The magnificent ruins of Furness Abbey are now in the care of English Heritage and attract thousands of visitors every year. Dating back to the twelfth century, the abbey was one of the wealthiest Cistercian monasteries in the country. Over the centuries, writers and artists including William Wordsworth and Turner have been inspired by the splendour of the sandstone ruins and the tranquillity of their location in a peaceful valley.

In Furness Abbey Through Time, local historian Gill Jepson, Chair of the Furness Abbey Fellowship, presents an excellent visual chronicle that looks at how the abbey precinct has changed over the last century and more.

Using an impressive collection of archive photographs, postcard views and colour photographs, readers will see that successive generations have been drawn here to explore the abbey’s heritage and enjoy the scenery.

In addition to the main abbey precinct, photographs of its closer landholdings, such as Piel Castle, Bow Bridge, Abbot’s Wood and Dalton Castle, are also included, to provide a more comprehensive collection.

This superbly illustrated book will be of interest to local people and visitors to the abbey and the surrounding area.