Timeline of Barrow-in-Furness
The following is a timeline of the history of Barrow-in-Furness, England, United Kingdom.
Prior to 19th century
- Neolithic period - Earliest known habitation within present-day Barrow
- 9th century - Viking settlement of the Furness peninsula
- 1086 - The Doomesday Book records settlements in Hietun, Rosse and Hougenai (now Hawcoat, Roose and Walney)
- 1123 - Furness Abbey is established
- 1190 - Barrow Island from which Barrow takes its name is first recorded as being named Barrai
- 1327 - The current Piel Castle is completed
- 1537 - Furness Abbey is destroyed in the English Reformation
19th century
- 1801 - Population of village of Barrow stood at 1,958 during 1801 UK Census
- 1804 - Walney Lighthouse is completed
- 1839 - Henry Schneider arrives to exploit local iron ore
- 1846
- Furness Railway is opened
- Roa Island causeway is completed
- 1847 - Population: 325.[1]
- 1850 - Expansive haematite deposits are discovered in the area
- 1852 - Jane Roper is the first ship to be built in Barrow
- 1858 - St. Mary of Furness Roman Catholic Church is built
- 1859 - Schneider Hannay & Co is founded.[1]
- 1860 - Barrow Co-operative Society is established
- 1861 - St. George's Church is built
- 1863 - Construction begins on Barrow's dock system
- 1865
- A magnitude 3.0 earthquake causes extensive damage to the Rampside area
- Schneider Hannay & Co becomes the Barrow Hematite Steel Company.[1]
- 1867
- Barrow is granted municipal borough status
- Sir James Ramsden becomes first mayor of Barrow
- Devonshire Dock opens.[1]
- Cases' Brewery opens
- 1869 - St. James' Church is built
- 1870 - Barrow Jute Works are completed
- 1871
- The Barrow Shipbuilding Company is established
- Barrow Corn Mills are built
- 1872 - Furness Golf Club is founded
- 1873 - Duke of Devonshire is the first steamship to be built in Barrow
- 1875
- Barrow Football Club, the forerunner of Barrow Raiders is established
- Devonshire Buildings are built
- 1876 - Barrow's steelworks become the world's largest
- 1877 - St. James' Church installs a ring of 8 bells - first rung on St James' day (25th July)
- 1879 - Ramsden Dock completed.[1]
- 1881
- The autonomous Barrow-in-Furness Borough Police force is established
- SS City of Rome is launched, briefly the world's largest liner
- 1882 - Barrow Central railway station is opened
- 1884 - Michaelson Road Bridge is opened
- 1885
- The Barrow and Furness parliament constituency is established
- Barrow-in-Furness Tramways Company commences operation.
- 1886 - Ottoman submarine Abdül Hamid is launched in Barrow and becomes the first submarine to fire a live torpedo underwater
- 1887
- Barrow Town Hall is opened by Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire
- North Lonsdale Hospital is opened
- 1888 - Town becomes a county borough.[1]
- 1889 - Co-operative Building built.
- 1891 - Population: 51,712.[1]
- 1896 - Death of Sir James Ramsden mechanical engineer, industrialist, and first mayor of Barrow.[1]
- 1897 - The Barrow Shipbuilding Company becomes Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering after being purchased by Vickers Limited
- 1898 - The North-Western Daily Mail first begins publishing
- 1899 - Barrow-in-Furness power station commissioned.
20th century
- 1900 - Japanese battleship Mikasa is launched
- 1901
- Population of Barrow stood at 67,354 during 1901 UK Census
- Barrow A.F.C. is established
- The Vickerstown estate is completed
- 1902 - Abbey Road Synagogue is built
- 1903 - The Barrow Technical School is established
- 1904 - Hotel Majestic built.
- 1908
- Jubilee Bridge is opened.[1]
- Barrow Park created.
- 1909
- Brazilian battleship São Paulo and HMS Vanguard are launched
- 1911 - The Mayfly airship disaster
- 1912
- 1914
- The outbreak of World War I in which 616 Barrovian men die
- Abbey House is built
- Explosion occurs on Tanker SS Vedra which runs aground off Walney killing 36
- 1919 - Barrow Park Cenotaph is built
- 1922
- Barrow Main Public Library is opened
- Sporadic marches and violence occur over shipyard overtime disputes
- 1929 - Buccleuch Street Electricity Plant opens
- 1931 - RMS Strathaird is launched
- 1932 - Barrow-in-Furness Tramways Company ceases operation
- 1938 - The John Whinnerah Institute is established
- 1939
- Outbreak of World War II in which 268 Barrovian men die
- HMS Illustrious is launched
- 1940
- HMS Indomitable is launched by Winston Churchill
- HMS Upholder the most successful British submarine of the war is launched
- Luftwaffe aerial bombardment of Barrow during World War II begins
- 1941
- Barrow/Walney Island Airport is opened as a Royal Air Force base
- The majority of the Barrow Blitz takes place killing 83 civilians
- 1943 - HMS Colossus is launched
- 1944 - The role of Bishop of Barrow-in-Furness is placed in abeyance
- 1945
- HMAS Melbourne is launched
- RMS Empress of Russia is gutted by fire in Buccleuch Dock
- 1947 - Barrow Hematite Steel Company Limited becomes Barrow Ironworks Limited
- 1951 - Barrow's population peaks at 76,619 during the 1951 UK Census
- 1953 - HMS Hermes the largest naval vessel built in Barrow is launched
- 1954 - The coal-fired Roosecote Power Station opens
- 1955 - First and to date only time Barrow have won rugby league's Challenge Cup
- 1959 - SS Oriana is launched
- 1960 - Queen Elizabeth II launches HMS Dreadnought the UK's first nuclear powered submarine
- 1963 - Iron ore deposits run out and ironworks cease operation
- 1965 - Queen Elizabeth II launches oil tanker British Admiral, the first UK vessel to exceed 100,000 tonnes
- 1967 - Craven House built.
- 1971 - HMS Swiftsure is launched
- 1974
- The Borough of Barrow-in-Furness is formed
- Barrow is annexed from Lancashire to become part of the modern county of Cumbria
- 1977 - HMS Invincible is launched
- 1980 - Barrow's last remaining steelworks close down
- 1981 - HMS Trafalgar is launched
- 1984 - Furness General Hospital is opened
- 1985 - Rampside Gas Terminal first collects gas from the Irish Sea
- 1986 - Devonshire Dock Hall is completed
- 1990 - Barrow A.F.C. win the FA Trophy
- 1992
- Commercial operations cease at Barrow/Walney Island Airport
- HMS Vanguard is launched
- Dalton bypass opens
- 1994 - South Lakes Wild Animal Park opens
- 1995 - GEC buys Barrow's shipyard
- 1997 - Dock Museum opens
- 1998
- Portland Walk Shopping Centre opens
- Queen Elizabeth II names HMS Ocean after being fitted out in Barrow
- 1999 - GEC is merged with BAE Systems and the shipyard becomes part of BAE Systems Marine
21st century
- 2000 - RFA Wave Knight is launched
- 2001
- Population of Barrow stood at 71,979 during 2001 UK Census
- HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark are launched
- 2002 - A major outbreak of legionellosis occurs
- 2006
- Local council becomes first public body charged with manslaughter
- Barrow Offshore Wind Farm is completed
- 2007 - HMS Astute is launched
- 2010
- Construction of 'The Waterfront' begins
- Barrow A.F.C. win the FA Trophy
- 2011 - Furness General Hospital scandal comes to light
- 2014 - The 8 bells at St James' Church are restored after being unsafe to ring and silent for 15 years.
- 2016 - UK Government approves construction of the Dreadnought-class submarines in Barrow
- 2021 - AUKUS partnership is established with a 2023 commitment to designing and constructing a new class of submarine in Barrow
- 2024 - Borough of Barrow-in-Furness is abolished upon merging of the district with Eden and South Lakeland to for Westmorland and Furness unitary authority, whilst Barrow Town Council is established
- 2025 - King Charles III grants royal patronage to the Port of Barrow and a mark of royal favour to the town itself.
See also
- History of Cumbria
- Listed buildings in Barrow-in-Furness
- List of ships and submarines built in Barrow-in-Furness
- List of people from Barrow-in-Furness
References
Further reading
- . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). 1910. p. 443.