Barrow-in-Furness

History part 2

The Town of Barrow in Furness - 1780 to 1930 - part 2

Barrow-in-Furness Iron & Steel Works circa 1880

An important aspect of the development of the town was the arrival in March 1846 of James Ramsden, then aged 23, as the manager of the engineering dept. & locomotive superintendent of the Furness Railway. He rose rapidly through the Organisation becoming in turn its Secretary, General Manager, a Director and then Managing Directory.

He was born in Little Bolton near Liverpool and had been an apprentice locomotive engineer at the Bury, Curtis & Kennedy Engine Works. Later he was responsible for the development of the Docks system, was the first Mayor of Barrow (1867-1872) and was knighted for his services to the town in July 1872. He died in October 1896 from the effects of diabetes at his splendid mansion Abbots Wood, built for him in the grounds of Furness Abbey, by the grateful Directors of the Furness Railway Company.

The first boat to be built in Barrow was the schooner Jane Roper, by William Ashburner, and was launched into the channel from Hindpool in 1852. Later James Ramsden set up the Barrow Iron Shipbuilding Company in 1870 and became the MD in 1875. In 1888 his works became the Naval Construction & Armaments Company that was bought out in 1896 by the firm of Vickers Maxim Ltd. for £430,000. This in turn became the Vickers Armstrong Shipbuilding & Engineering Company of later years. This organisation had 31,000 people on its payroll in 1917, but by 1922 it had been reduced to 3,150 workers because of the depression.

The first Barrow Harbour Act in 1848 was the impetus that started the expansion in the shipping of goods both into and out of the region. The Harbour Act of 1863 vested these facilities to the Furness Railway and empowered them to build further docks & facilities to expand the trade.

The Devonshire Dock opened in 1867 followed by the Buccleuch Dock & Timber ponds in 1873, the Graving Dock in 1872 and finally Ramsden Dock in 1878, the large Cavendish Dock, which was never completed, opened in 1878. These large facilities were built in the belief that Barrow would become a major player within the ports of this country as the demands expanded as a consequence of the industrial revolution. It was not to be because of the development of the Liverpool Docks and the Manchester Ship Canal which went directly to the heart of the industrial north. No need for the railway to move the goods so the Furness railway, the driving force for the expansion, fell on hard times.

James Ramsden founded the Jute Works in Barrow in 1870 primarily as a means to give employment to the female population of the town and this works employed 2,000 women at its height but was never re-opened when it was destroyed by fire in 1892.

Sir James was a major investor & benefactor of the town but his virtual control of Barrow was not welcomed by all of the residents; many of who found that his multiple business interests worked against the well being of the town's residents. In 1876 they claimed that he either owned or had a controlling interest in the following industries within the town: the Paper Mill, Agricultural Implement manufacturer, Eathenware producer, a Chemical Works, a Carpet Works, a Cutlery Works, Puddling Furnaces & Rolling Mills, a Glass Works, Bottle manufacturer, the Jute Works & a Woollen Goods manufacturer, as well as the other major concerns already mentioned.

Any area that went through a rapid expansion such as happened in Barrow would have experienced many infrastructure problems, not least of which was accommodation.  House building could not keep pace with the arrival of workers and their families. Three or four families to a small two up & two down terrace house was not uncommon. Hot bedding was used in houses converted into lodging houses & examples can be seen in the census returns from those areas of the town developed by the major manufacturers.