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110-734: The Barrow Hematite Steel Company Limited was a major iron and steel producer based in Barrow-in-Furness , Lancashire (now Cumbria ), England , between 1859 and 1963. At the turn of the 20th century and the Technological Revolution it operated the largest steel mill in the world. Iron prospector Henry Schneider arrived in Furness in 1839 and, with other investors, opened the Furness Railway in 1846 to transport iron ore and slate from local mines to

220-461: A centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. A smart port uses technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to be more efficient at handling goods. Smart ports usually deploy cloud-based software as part of the process of greater automation to help generate the operating flow that helps the port work smoothly. At present, most of

330-592: A fairly flat coastal shelf, with hillier ground rising to the east of the town, peaking at 94 metres (310 ft) at Yarlside. Barrow sits on soils deposited during the end of the Ice Age , eroded from the mountains of the Lake District National Park , 10 miles (15 km) to the north-east. Barrow's soils are composed of glacial lake clay and glacial till , while Walney is almost entirely made up of reworked glacial morraine. Beneath these soils

440-904: A fishing port to be uneconomical. A marina is a port for recreational boating. A warm-water port (also known as an ice-free port) is one where the water does not freeze in winter. This is mainly used in the context of countries with mostly cold winters where parts of the coastline freezes over every winter. Because they are available year-round, warm-water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interest . Such settlements as Narvik in Norway , Dalian in China , Murmansk , Novorossiysk , Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Vostochny Port in Russia , Odesa in Ukraine , Kushiro in Japan and Valdez at

550-507: A guest house and residence for its managing director, Commander Craven. By the 1890s the shipyard was heavily engaged in the construction of warships for the Royal Navy and also for export. The Royal Navy's first submarine, Holland 1 , was built in 1901, and by 1914 the UK had the most advanced submarine fleet in the world, with 94% of it constructed by Vickers. Vickers was also famous for

660-483: A joiners' shop, a boat-building shed and a sailmaking and rigging loft. During these boom years, Ramsden proposed building a planned town to accommodate the large workforce which had arrived. There are few planned towns in the United Kingdom, and Barrow is one of the oldest. Its centre contains a grid of well-built terraced houses, with a tree-lined road leading away from a central square. Ramsden later became

770-604: A period in the late 19th century, the Barrow Hematite Steel Company -owned steelworks was the world's largest. Barrow's location and the availability of steel allowed the town to develop into a significant producer of naval vessels, a shift that was accelerated during World War I and the local yard's specialisation in submarines. The original iron- and steel-making enterprises closed down after World War II , leaving Vickers shipyard as Barrow's main industry and employer. Several Royal Navy flagships ,

880-404: A population of 67,407 according to the 2021 census. This is -0.25% less than the 2011 figure and one of only five district which saw a decline in population, although the rate of decline is much lower than the 4% reduction seen between 2001 and 2011. The Office for National Statistics states Barrow's population as being in long term decline with a projected population of around 65,000 by 2037. This

990-711: A port or nearby. Modern ports will have specialised cargo -handling equipment, such as gantry cranes , reach stackers and forklift trucks . Ports usually have specialised functions: some tend to cater mainly for passenger ferries and cruise ships ; some specialise in container traffic or general cargo; and some ports play an important military role for their nation's navy. Some third world countries and small islands such as Ascension and St Helena still have limited port facilities, so that ships must anchor off while their cargo and passengers are taken ashore by barge or launch (respectively). In modern times, ports survive or decline, depending on current economic trends. In

1100-591: A port. For this reason, ports are also often densely populated settlements that provide the labor for processing and handling goods and related services for the ports. Today by far the greatest growth in port development is in Asia, the continent with some of the world's largest and busiest ports , such as Singapore and the Chinese ports of Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan . As of 2020, the busiest passenger port in Europe

1210-461: A second peak in of 77,900 in 1951; however, by this point the long decline of mining and steel-making as a result of overseas competition and dwindling resources had already begun. The Barrow ironworks closed in 1963, three years after the last Furness mine shut. The by then small steelworks followed suit in 1983, leaving Barrow's shipyard as the town's principal industry. From the 1960s onwards it concentrated its efforts in submarine manufacture, and

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1320-424: A ship on its sailing itinerary. At these ports, cargo ships may take on supplies or fuel, as well as unloading and loading cargo while cruise liners have passengers get on or off ship. A fishing port is a port or harbor for landing and distributing fish. It may be a recreational facility, but it is usually commercial. A fishing port is the only port that depends on an ocean product, and depletion of fish may cause

1430-516: A ship to sail from the ocean inland to the port to load or unload its cargo. An example of this is the St. Lawrence Seaway which allows ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean several thousand kilometers inland to Great Lakes ports like Toronto , Duluth-Superior , and Chicago . The term inland port is also used for dry ports . A seaport is a port located on the shore of a sea or ocean. It

1540-542: A short period between April and May 1941. During the war, a local housewife, Nella Last , was selected to write a diary of her experiences on the home front for the Mass-Observation project. Her memoirs were later adapted for television as Housewife, 49 starring Victoria Wood . The difficulty in targeting bombs meant that the shipyards and steelworks were often missed, at the expense of the residential areas. Ultimately, 83 people were killed and 11,000 houses in

1650-523: A single Dutch ship per year, whereas Osaka was the largest domestic port and the main trade hub for rice. Post-classical Swahili kingdoms are known to have had trade port islands and trade routes with the Islamic world and Asia. They were described by Greek historians as "metropolises". Famous African trade ports such as Mombasa , Zanzibar , Mogadishu and Kilwa were known to Chinese sailors such as Zheng He and medieval Islamic historians such as

1760-454: A small semi-automated container port (with links to the Port of Felixstowe , the UK's largest container port) thrived for some years, but has been hit hard by competition from the emergent London Gateway port and logistics hub. In mainland Europe, it is normal for ports to be publicly owned, so that, for instance, the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam are owned partly by the state and partly by

1870-665: A third of the world's shipping containers , half of the world's annual supply of crude oil , and is the world's busiest transshipment port . Europe's busiest container port and biggest port by cargo tonnage by far is the Port of Rotterdam , in the Netherlands. It is followed by the Belgian Port of Antwerp or the German Port of Hamburg , depending on which metric is used. In turn, the Spanish Port of Valencia

1980-463: A total of 162 turbines and have a combined nameplate capacity of 607 MW, providing energy for well over half a million homes. West of Duddon Sands Wind Farm was commissioned in 2014 while Walney was extended in 2018 to again become the world's largest such offshore facility. During the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic , Barrow had the highest rate of infection of any local authority in

2090-591: A vital role in global ship and submarine construction for around 150 years. Ottoman submarine Abdül Hamid was built in the town in 1886 and became the first submarine in the world to fire a live torpedo underwater, while oil tanker British Admiral became the first British vessel to exceed 100,000 tonnes when launched in 1965. The vast majority of all current and former Royal Navy submarines were constructed in Barrow as well as numerous Royal Navy Fleet Flagships . The BAE Systems Maritime – Submarines shipyard at Barrow

2200-502: A wooden tower on nearby Piel Island in 1212 which acted as their main trading point; it was twice invaded by the Scots, in 1316 and 1322. In 1327 King Edward III gave Furness Abbey a licence to crenellate the tower, and a motte-and-bailey castle was built. However Barrow itself was just a hamlet in the parish of Dalton-in-Furness , reliant on the land and sea for survival. Small quantities of iron and ore were exported from jetties on

2310-464: A young speculator and dealer in iron, and he discovered large deposits of haematite in 1850. He and other investors founded the Furness Railway , the first section of which opened in 1846, to transport the ore from the slate quarries at Kirkby-in-Furness and haematite mines at Lindal-in-Furness and Askam and Ireleth to a deep-water harbour near Roa Island . The crucial and difficult link across Morecambe Bay between Ulverston and Carnforth on

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2420-494: Is Sandscale Haws . Formal woodland areas within the town include Hawcoat/Ormsgill Quarry, How Tun Woods, Abbotswood , Barrow Steel Works & Slag Bank and Sowerby Wood. The 45-Acre Barrow Park is the largest and most centrally located man-made park in the town with smaller parks including Channelside Haven, Hindpool Urban Park and Vickerstown Park. There are also 25 council-owned playgrounds and 15 allotments. The Barrow council district , which included adjacent urban areas, had

2530-572: Is a port town and civil parish (as just " Barrow ") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria , England. Historically in Lancashire , it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness . The borough was merged into the new Westmorland and Furness district in 2023. At the tip of

2640-576: Is a sandstone bedrock, from which many of the town's older buildings are constructed. Barrow town centre is located to the north-east of the docks, with suburbs also extending to the north and east, as well as onto Walney. Barrow is the only major urban area in South Cumbria, with the nearest settlements of a similar size being Lancaster and Morecambe . Other towns nearby include Dalton-in-Furness , Askam-in-Furness , Ulverston , Millom , Grange-over-Sands , Kendal and Windermere . Most of

2750-476: Is also often jokingly referred to as being at the end of the longest cul-de-sac in the country because of its isolated location at the tip of the Furness peninsula. Barrow and the surrounding area has been settled non-continuously for several millennia with evidence of Neolithic inhabitants on Walney Island . Despite a rich history of Roman settlement across Cumbria and the discovery of related artefacts in

2860-418: Is extremely vulnerable to sea level rise and coastal flooding . Internationally, global ports are beginning to identify ways to improve coastal management practices and integrate climate change adaptation practices into their construction. Wherever ancient civilisations engaged in maritime trade, they tended to develop sea ports. One of the world's oldest known artificial harbors is at Wadi al-Jarf on

2970-404: Is further categorized as commercial and non-commercial: Cargo ports are quite different from cruise ports, because each handles very different cargo, which has to be loaded and unloaded by a variety of mechanical means. Bulk cargo ports may handle one particular type of cargo or numerous cargoes, such as grains, liquid fuels, liquid chemicals, wood, automobiles, etc. Such ports are known as

3080-609: Is largely a result of negative net migration although is based on historic trends thus does not take account of investment at BAE Systems and associated substantial job creation. The population within the town of Barrow itself was 55,489 as at 2021. The 2021 census states 95.7% of the former Borough of Barrow's population (I.e. Barrow, Dalton and villages) as White British , and ethnic minority populations in Barrow stood at 4.2%. Other ethnic groups in Barrow include Other White 1.4%, Asian 1.4%, Mixed Race 0.8%, Black 0.5%, Arab 0.1% and all other ethnic groups represented 0.2% of

3190-549: Is more likely that Scandinavian settlers simply accepted barro- as a meaningless name, and so added an explanatory Old Norse second element. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Barrow was nicknamed "the English Chicago " because of the sudden and rapid growth in its industry, economic stature and overall size. More recently the town has been dubbed the "capital of blue-collar Britain" by The Guardian , reflecting its strong working class identity. Barrow

3300-491: Is now undergoing a major expansion associated with the Dreadnought -class submarine programme. Furthermore, in 2023 it was announced that a new class of nuclear submarine, associated with the trilateral AUKUS military alliance, will be designed and principally constructed in Barrow. Today Barrow is also a hub for energy generation and handling. Offshore wind farms form one of the highest concentrations of turbines in

3410-688: Is often lower because of both direct and indirect pollution from the shipping, and other challenges caused by the port's community, such as trash washing into the ocean. Sewage from ships, and leaks of oil and chemicals from shipping vessels can contaminate local water, and cause other effects like nutrient pollution in the water. Ports and their infrastructure are very vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise, because many of them are in low-lying areas designed for status quo water levels. Variable weather, coastal erosion, and sea level rise all put pressure on existing infrastructure, resulting in subsidence , coastal flooding and other direct pressures on

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3520-494: Is the Port of Helsinki in Finland . Nevertheless, countless smaller ports do exist that may only serve their local tourism or fishing industries. Ports can have a wide environmental impact on local ecologies and waterways, most importantly water quality, which can be caused by dredging, spills and other pollution . Ports are heavily affected by changing environmental factors caused by climate change as most port infrastructure

3630-722: Is the busiest port in the Mediterranean basin, while the Portuguese Port of Sines is the busiest atlantic port. The Port of Trieste , Italy , is the main port of the northern Adriatic and starting point of the Transalpine Pipeline . The largest ports include the Port of South Louisiana , a vast sprawling port centered in the New Orleans area, Houston , Port of New York/New Jersey , Los Angeles in

3740-763: Is the largest in the UK by workforce ahead of BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships in Govan . It was expanded in 1986 by construction of a new covered assembly facility, the Devonshire Dock Hall (DDH), completed by Alfred McAlpine , on land that was created by infilling part of the Devonshire Dock with 2.4 million tonnes of sand pumped from nearby Roosecote Sands. The main hall has a height of 51 m (167 ft), length of 268 m (879 ft), width of 51 m (167 ft) and an area of 25,000 square metres (270,000 sq ft). An extension to

3850-512: Is the largest port in the world in both cargo tonnage and activity. It regained its position as the world's busiest port by cargo tonnage and the world's busiest container port in 2009 and 2010, respectively. It is followed by the ports of Singapore , Hong Kong and Kaohsiung , Taiwan , all of which are in East and Southeast Asia . The port of Singapore is the world's second-busiest port in terms of total shipping tonnage, it also transships

3960-401: Is the port where cruise ship passengers board (or embark ) to start their cruise and disembark the cruise ship at the end of their cruise. It is also where the cruise ship's supplies are loaded for the cruise, which includes everything from fresh water and fuel to fruits, vegetables, champagne, and any other supplies needed for the cruise. "Cruise home ports" are very busy places during the day

4070-464: Is when a native species with no natural predator is all of a sudden prey of an invasive specie. Indirect interaction can be diseases or other health conditions brought by invasive species. Ports are also a source of increased air pollution as a result of ships and land transportation at the port. Transportation corridors around ports have higher exhaust emissions and this can have related health effects on local communities. Water quality around ports

4180-542: The 1885 United Kingdom general election , with David Duncan of the Liberal Party becoming the first Member of Parliament (MP) for the town. The seat was won by the Conservative Party in 1892 , before being won for the first time by Labour in 1906 . In the subsequent 40 years the seat swung between Conservative and Labour, but since 1945 it has been generally considered a Labour safe seat. In 1983,

4290-759: The 2017 Cumbria County election . Until 2023 the town, along with Walney Island , was unparished and formed the bulk of the wards which made the entire borough's area. The mayor and deputy mayor of Barrow were elected annually, and held the roles of chairman and vice-chairman of Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council. The borough and former county borough of Barrow-in-Furness were served by 107 mayors, beginning with Sir James Ramsden in 1867 and continuing through to incumbent 2022 mayor Helen Wall. Barrow Island | Central | Hawcoat | Hindpool | Newbarns | Ormsgill | Parkside | Risedale | Roosecote | Walney North | Walney South On 1 April 2023, both Barrow Borough Council and Cumbria County Council ceased to exist when

4400-527: The Furness Railway . The steelworks continued to operate during World War II where, alongside the booming shipyard, they were a prime enemy target during the Blitz . In the post war period, Barrow developed the 'continuous casting' methods of steelmaking. The company continued to operate under the Barrow Hematite Steel name until 1947, when it was again renamed Barrow Ironworks Limited . During

4510-770: The Furness peninsula , close to the Lake District , it is bordered by Morecambe Bay , the Duddon Estuary and the Irish Sea . In 2021, Barrow's population was 55,489, making it the second largest urban area in Cumbria after Carlisle , and the largest in the Westmorland and Furness unitary authority. Natives of Barrow, as well as the local dialect, are known as Barrovian . In the Middle Ages , Barrow

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4620-476: The Irish Sea . Walney Island , surrounds the peninsula's Irish Sea coast and is separated from Barrow by the narrow Walney Channel . Both Morecambe Bay and the Duddon Estuary are characterized by large areas of quicksand and fast-moving tidal bores . Areas of sand dunes exist on coasts surrounding Barrow, particularly at Roanhead and North Walney . The town centre and major industrial areas sit on

4730-640: The London Gateway . Ideally, a port will grant easy navigation to ships, and will give shelter from wind and waves. Ports are often on estuaries, where the water may be shallow and may need regular dredging . Deep water ports such as Milford Haven are less common, but can handle larger ships with a greater draft, such as super tankers , Post-Panamax vessels and large container ships . Other businesses such as regional distribution centres , warehouses and freight-forwarders, canneries and other processing facilities find it advantageous to be located within

4840-571: The Red Sea . Along with the finding of harbor structures, ancient anchors have also been found. Other ancient ports include Guangzhou during Qin dynasty China and Canopus , the principal Egyptian port for Greek trade before the foundation of Alexandria . In ancient Greece, Athens' port of Piraeus was the base for the Athenian fleet which played a crucial role in the Battle of Salamis against

4950-462: The VSEL management of detailed plans for Barrow's industrial renewal in the mid-to-late 1980s remains controversial. This has led to renewed academic attention in recent years to the possibilities of converting military-industrial production in declining shipbuilding areas to the offshore renewable energy sector. In a 2002 outbreak of legionellosis in the town, 172 people were reported to have caught

5060-468: The "bulk" or "break bulk ports". Ports that handle containerized cargo are known as container ports . Most cargo ports handle all sorts of cargo, but some ports are very specific as to what cargo they handle. Additionally, individual cargo ports may be divided into different operating terminals which handle the different types of cargoes, and may be operated by different companies, also known as terminal operators, or stevedores . A cruise home port

5170-518: The 1850s: Population of the Parish of Dalton-in-Furness In 1871 Barrow's population was recorded at 18,584 and in 1881 at 47,259, less than forty years after the railway was built. The majority of migrants originated from elsewhere in Lancashire although significant numbers settled in Barrow from Ireland and Scotland , which represented 11% and 7% of the local population in the 1890s. By

5280-414: The 2021 census, 98.4% of Barrovians spoke English as a main language, with Tagalog , the various Chinese dialects and Polish prevailing as the second, third and fourth most common main languages (0.3%, 0.2% and 0.2% of the population respectively). The Tagalog-speaking population represents the second highest of any district in northern England by percentage of the population. In the 2021 census 53.1% of

5390-487: The Barrow Shipbuilding Company was incorporated. Barrow's relative isolation from the United Kingdom's industrial heartlands meant that the newly formed company included several capabilities that would usually be subcontracted to other establishments. In particular, a large engineering works was constructed including a foundry and pattern shop, a forge, and an engine shop. In addition, the shipyard had

5500-484: The Barrow area, no buildings or structures have been found to support the idea of a functioning Roman community on the Furness peninsula. The Furness Hoard discovery of Viking silver coins and other artefacts in 2011 provided significant archaeological evidence of Norse settlement in the early 9th century. Several areas of Barrow including Yarlside and Ormsgill , as well as "Barrow" and "Furness", have names of Old Norse origin. The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded

5610-435: The Barrow to Ulverston Coast Road. Historically Barrow was home to a notable Ashkenazi Jewish community that peaked in size during the 1930s with a synagogue in the town. Nonetheless, it closed in 1974 and less than 20 Jews were recorded by the 2021 census. Historically Barrow's economy was dominated by the manufacturing sector, with the Barrow Hematite Steel Company and Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering being amongst

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5720-814: The Berber Islamic voyager Abu Abdullah ibn Battuta . Many of these ancient sites no longer exist or function as modern ports. Even in more recent times, ports sometimes fall out of use. Rye, East Sussex , was an important English port in the Middle Ages, but the coastline changed and it is now 2 miles (3.2 km) from the sea, while the ports of Ravenspurn and Dunwich have been lost to coastal erosion . Whereas early ports tended to be just simple harbours, modern ports tend to be multimodal distribution hubs , with transport links using sea, river, canal, road, rail and air routes. Successful ports are located to optimize access to an active hinterland , such as

5830-462: The Borough of Barrow's population stated themselves as being Christian. People stating no religion or chose not to state totalled 45.5% combined. Other religious groups represented 1.4% of the population, with Islam and Buddhism prevailing as the first and second most common groups. Conishead Priory, the first Kadampa Buddhist centre in the west, is home to around 100 Buddhists and is located off

5940-658: The British war efforts in World War I and II . Steel rails were however the works' signature product and were laid for railways in Australia , Canada , Germany , India , Ireland , Japan , Rhodesia , South Africa , South America , and the United States . Only the main entrance arch remains. It was re-constructed in a different part of the works in 1987, and is currently occupied by Stagecoach Buses. The rest of

6050-618: The Japanese flagship during the 1905 Russo-Japanese War , the liner SS  Oriana and the aircraft carriers HMS  Invincible and HMAS  Melbourne . It should also be noted that there was a significant presence of Vickers' armament division in Barrow with the huge Heavy Engineering Workshop on Michaelson Road supplying ammunition for the British Army and Royal Navy throughout both world wars. World War 1 brought significant temporary migration as workers arrived to work in

6160-415: The Netherlands. Ports with international traffic have customs facilities. The terms "port" and "seaport" are used for different types of facilities handling ocean-going vessels, and river port is used for river traffic, such as barges and other shallow-draft vessels. An inland port is a port on a navigable lake, river ( fluvial port), or canal with access to a sea or ocean, which therefore allows

6270-660: The Persians in 480 BCE. In ancient India from 3700 BCE, Lothal was a prominent city of the Indus valley civilisation, located in the Bhal region of the modern state of Gujarāt . Ostia Antica was the port of ancient Rome with Portus established by Claudius and enlarged by Trajan to supplement the nearby port of Ostia. In Japan, during the Edo period , the island of Dejima was the only port open for trade with Europe and received only

6380-1149: The U.S., Manzanillo in Mexico and Vancouver in Canada. Panama also has the Panama Canal that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, and is a key conduit for international trade. The largest port in Oceania is the Port of Melbourne . According to ECLAC 's "Maritime and Logistics Profile of Latin America and the Caribbean", the largest ports in South America are the Port of Santos in Brazil, Cartagena in Colombia, Callao in Peru, Guayaquil in Ecuador, and

6490-537: The UK's first nuclear-powered submarine, HMS  Dreadnought , was constructed in 1960. HMS  Resolution , the Swiftsure , Trafalgar and Vanguard -class submarines all followed. The last of these are armed with Trident II missiles as part of the British government's Trident nuclear programme . The end of the Cold War in 1991 marked a reduction in the demand for military ships and submarines, and

6600-488: The UK, both the ports of Liverpool and Southampton were once significant in the transatlantic passenger liner business. Once airliner traffic decimated that trade, both ports diversified to container cargo and cruise ships. Up until the 1950s the Port of London was a major international port on the River Thames , but changes in shipping and the use of containers and larger ships have led to its decline. Thamesport ,

6710-435: The United Kingdom. This was attributed to various socio-economic factors and a high level of testing also seen in the neighbouring authorities of South Lakeland and Lancaster. Rates fluctuated throughout the year and towards the end of 2020 infection rates were amongst the lowest in country. From the mid 2010's to present, significant investment has taken place at BAE Systems' shipyard in Barrow with an expansion to accommodate

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6820-609: The abbey's foundation the monks discovered iron ore deposits, later to provide the basis for the Furness economy. These thin strata, close to the surface, were extracted through open cut workings, which were then smelted by the monks. The proceeds from mining, along with agriculture and fisheries, meant that by the 15th century the abbey had become the second richest and most powerful Cistercian abbey in England, after Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire. The monks of Furness Abbey constructed

6930-495: The area were left damaged. To escape the heaviest bombardments, many people in the central areas left the town to sleep in hedgerows, with some being permanently evacuated. Barrow's industry continued to supply the war effort, with Winston Churchill visiting the town on one occasion to launch the aircraft carrier HMS  Indomitable . Besides the dozens of civilians killed during World War II, some 268 Barrovian men were also killed whilst in combat. Barrow's population reached

7040-412: The centre of Barrow to be transported by sea. The investors in the burgeoning mining and railway industries decided that greater profits could be made by smelting the iron ore and converting the resultant pig-iron into steel, and then exporting the finished product. Schneider and James Ramsden , the railway's general manager, erected blast furnaces at Barrow that by 1876 formed the largest steelworks in

7150-465: The channel separating the village from Walney Island. Amongst the oldest buildings in Barrow are several cottages and farmhouses in Newbarns which date back to the early 17th century; as well as Rampside Hall , a Grade I listed building and the best-preserved in the town from the 1600s. Even as late as 1843 there were still only 32 dwellings, including two pubs. In 1839 Henry Schneider arrived as

7260-533: The cities themselves. Even though modern ships tend to have bow-thrusters and stern-thrusters, many port authorities still require vessels to use pilots and tugboats for manoeuvering large ships in tight quarters. For instance, ships approaching the Belgian port of Antwerp , an inland port on the River Scheldt , are obliged to use Dutch pilots when navigating on that part of the estuary that belongs to

7370-573: The coast. In 1850 extensive hematite deposits were discovered of sufficient size to develop factories for smelting and exporting steel. Schneider Hannay & Co. was founded in 1859 and was renamed the Barrow Hematite Steel Company in 1865. Officially registered on 1 April 1864, Sir James Ramsden acted as Managing Director and Josiah T. Smith became General Manager of the Barrow Hematite Steel Company. The Hindpool iron and steelworks were expanded to include ten blast furnaces and 18, 5-ton Bessemer converters by 1866, which were physically separated by

7480-406: The constituency was expanded to include several commuter towns such as Dalton-in-Furness and Ulverston and was renamed Barrow and Furness . It was subsequently won by the Conservatives, with the victory attributed to Labour's stance against the nuclear-powered submarines that were being constructed in Barrow. Following a change in Labour policy the party won Barrow and Furness in 1992. John Woodcock

7590-471: The construction of airships and airship hangars during the early 20th century. Originally constructed in a large shed at Cavendish Dock, production later relocated to Barrow/Walney Island Airport . HMA No. 1 , nicknamed the Mayfly is the most notable airship to have been built in Barrow. The first of its kind in the UK it came to an untimely end on 24 September 1911 when it was wrecked by wind during trials. Well-known ships built in Barrow include Mikasa ,

7700-419: The council for its health and safety failings. In 2006, council employee Gillian Beckingham and employer Barrow Borough Council were cleared of seven charges of manslaughter . Beckingham, the council senior architect was fined £15,000 and the authority £125,000. Following the trials the contractor responsible for maintaining the plant settled a £1.5 million claim by the council for damages. The borough council

7810-413: The cruise ship is in port, because off-going passengers debark their baggage and on-coming passengers board the ship in addition to all the supplies being loaded. Cruise home ports tend to have large passenger terminals to handle the large number of passengers passing through the port. The busiest cruise home port in the world is the Port of Miami , Florida . A port of call is an intermediate stop for

7920-500: The derelict and contaminated land by laying soil on top of the heap. There are three sculptures in Barrow commemorating the iron and steelworks, the largest of which resembles a large book describing the history of the works on Duke Street . Two sculptures of steelworkers can be found at the centre of Dalton Road and 'Red Man's Way' - a coastal path alongside the Walney Channel. Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness

8030-582: The design of a new class of ballistic missile submarines. BAE Systems also has orders for submarine pressure domes for the Spanish Navy . The shipyard has been awarded contracts for the construction of submarines which will carry nuclear missiles in a successor programme to the current Vanguard class containing the Trident system . BAE Systems is investing £300 million in Barrow's shipyard to construct buildings capable of manufacturing and assembling

8140-404: The disease, of whom seven died. This made it the fourth worst outbreak in the world in terms of number of cases and sixth worst in terms of deaths. The source of the bacteria was later found to be steam from a badly maintained air conditioning unit in the council-run arts centre Forum 28 . At the conclusion of the inquest into the seven deaths, the coroner for Furness and South Cumbria criticised

8250-539: The districts of Barrow, Eden and South Lakeland merged to form Westmorland and Furness . A civil parish was formed named just "Barrow" from the unparished area. At the same time, ward boundaries within Barrow were redrawn, combining previously independent wards. These include: 'Old Barrow' (comprising the existing Barrow Island, Central and Hindpool wards), Hawcoat and Newbarns, Ormsgill and Parkside, Risedale and Roosecote and Walney Island. The Barrow-in-Furness UK Parliament constituency first came into existence during

8360-455: The filling of the channel to create land for the shipyard it is now directly connected to the town. Other islands which lie close to Barrow are Piel Island , whose castle protected the harbour from marauding Scots , Sheep Island , Roa Island and Foulney Island . There are numerous natural and managed public parks and open spaces within Barrow. Walney North and South Nature Reserves are protected as Sites of Special Scientific Interest, as

8470-419: The first mayor of Barrow, which was given municipal borough status in 1867, and county borough status in 1889. The imposing red sandstone town hall , designed by W.H. Lynn, was built in a neo-gothic style in 1887. Prior to this, the borough council had met at the railway headquarters: the railway company's control of industry extended to the administration of the town itself. The Barrow Shipbuilding Company

8580-466: The hall in the late 2010s has taken the total area to over 35,000 square metres (380,000 sq ft), retaining its place as one of the largest shipbuilding construction complex of its kind in Europe. The DDH provides a controlled environment for ship and submarine assembly, and avoids the difficulties caused by building on the slope of traditional slipways. Outside the hall, a 24,300 tonne capacity shiplift allows completed vessels to be lowered into

8690-680: The main line was promoted, as the Ulverston and Lancaster Railway , by a group led by John Brogden and opened in 1857. It was promptly purchased by the Furness Railway. The docks built between 1863 and 1881 in the more sheltered channel between the mainland and Barrow Island replaced the port at Roa Island. The first dock to open was Devonshire Dock in 1867, and Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone stated his belief that "Barrow would become another Liverpool". The increasing quantities of iron ore mined in Furness were then brought into

8800-556: The mid 1960s, the works were absorbed by British Steel Corporation . Barrow Ironworks Limited , the associated factory buildings and mines ceased operation in 1963, when all hematite deposits in the area were exhausted, ultimately sealing the fate of the town's century long iron and steel making industry. Barrow Steelworks Ltd continued operations until final closure in the 1980s Although the Barrow Hematite Steel Company exported its products to all corners of

8910-484: The most important global companies in their respective fields during the 20th century. In the present day, manufacturing remains the largest employment sector in the town. BAE Systems is the single largest employer with around 12,000 employees as at 2024, anticipated to increase by a further 5,000. However, like most of the UK, employment trends have greatly diversified since the 20th century and there are no other predominant employment sectors in Barrow. Barrow has played

9020-502: The munitions factory and shipyard, with the town's population reaching to an estimated peak of around 82,000 during the War. Thousands of local men fought abroad during World War I, 616 were ultimately killed in action. During World War II, Barrow was a target for the German air force looking to disable the town's shipbuilding capabilities (see Barrow Blitz ). The town suffered the most in

9130-451: The new Dreadnought -class programme. Further to this, commitments associated with the AUKUS submarine programme will safeguard the shipyard's long-term future. Significant investment in renewable energy is also taking place with emerging proposals to repurpose Rampside Gas Terminals to facilitate the storage of carbon in the depleted Morecambe gas fields. In 2023 media reported that Barrow

9240-414: The new class of submarines. This major development is the largest in 25 years at the shipyard and will see thousands of new jobs created, further cementing its place as the UK's largest shipyard and one of the few to have seen continuous contracts since founding over a century ago. Port town Ports are extremely important to the global economy; 70% of global merchandise trade by value passes through

9350-517: The parish was abolished and became an unparished area . It still forms a part of the Duchy of Lancaster . The Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council formed the 'lower' tier of local government under Cumbria County Council . Since the 2011 local election , the Labour Party has had overall control of the borough council, while the Borough elected six Labour and five Conservative Party councillors at

9460-563: The population. The first people to settle in what is now Barrow were the Celts and Scandinavians followed by the Cornish . Most Barrovians however are descended from migrants from Scotland , Ireland and other parts of England who arrived from the late 19th century onwards. Barrow's Chinese connections were the subject of a documentary on Chinese state television in 2014. The programme covered diplomat Li Hongzhang 's fact finding mission to

9570-651: The port. There are several initiatives to decrease negative environmental impacts of ports. The World Port Sustainability Program points to all of the Sustainable Development Goals as potential ways of addressing port sustainability. These include SIMPYC , the World Ports Climate Initiative , the African Green Port Initiative , EcoPorts and Green Marine . The port of Shanghai

9680-610: The settlements of Hietun, Rosse and Hougenai, which are now the districts of Hawcoat , Roose and Walney respectively. In the Middle Ages the Furness peninsula was controlled by the Cistercian monks of the Abbey of St Mary of Furness, known as Furness Abbey . This was in the "Vale of Nightshade", now on the outskirts of the town. Founded for the Savigniac order , it was built on the orders of King Stephen in 1123. Soon after

9790-401: The site is now being occupied by a number of industrial parks and the campus of Furness College . Despite this, Barrow's infamous ' Slag bank' is a lasting reminder of the town's industrial past. The slag bank contains over a century's worth of waste from the iron and steelworks which was dumped in north Hindpool, adjacent to Walney Channel. Since the 1990s, an ongoing scheme has been reclaiming

9900-539: The terminus of the Alaska Pipeline owe their very existence to being ice-free ports. The Baltic Sea and similar areas have ports available year-round beginning in the 20th century thanks to icebreakers , but earlier access problems prompted Russia to expand its territory to the Black Sea . A dry port is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as

10010-479: The town continued its decline. The shipyard's dependency on military contracts at the expense of civilian and commercial engineering and shipbuilding meant it was particularly hard hit as government defence spending was reduced dramatically. As a result, the workforce shrank from 14,500 in 1990 to 5,800 in February 1995, with overall unemployment in the town rising over that period from 4.6% to 10%. The rejection by

10120-531: The town is sheltered from the Irish Sea by Walney Island , a 14 mile (22.5 km) long island connected to the mainland by the bascule type Jubilee bridge . About 13,000 live on the isle's various settlements, mostly in Vickerstown , which was built to house workers in the rapidly expanding shipyard. Another significant island which lay in the Walney Channel was Barrow Island , but following

10230-424: The town was in the borough of Barrow-in-Furness , which had directly inherited the municipal and county borough charters given to the town in the late 19th century. Historically it is part of the hundred of Lonsdale 'north of the sands' in the historic county boundaries of Lancashire . From the 1974 local government reforms until 2023, the town was within the administrative county of Cumbria . On 1 April 1974

10340-488: The town's steelworks and shipyard in 1896 as well as the 2012 discovery of a hoard of Chinese coins discovered in Barrow dated around a similar time that have been suggested as having been brought over by sailors or labourers. The Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding is a charity with a branch based in Barrow that aims to develop relations with the British Chinese community and the general British population. It

10450-534: The turn of the 20th century, the Scottish-born population had increased to form the highest portion anywhere in England. Other notable immigrant groups included Cornish people who represented 80% of the district of Roose's population at the time of the 1881 census. In an attempt to diversify Barrow's economy James Ramsden founded the Barrow and Calcutta Jute Company in 1870 and the Barrow Jute Works

10560-535: The vast majority of its nuclear submarines as well as numerous other naval vessels, ocean liners and oil tankers have been manufactured at the facility. The end of the Cold War and subsequent decrease in military spending saw high unemployment in the town through lack of contracts; despite this, the BAE Systems shipyard remains operational as the UK's largest by workforce (12,000 employees in 2024) and

10670-414: The water column, and can stir up pollutants captured in the sediments. Invasive species are often spread by the bilge water and species attached to the hulls of ships. It is estimated that there are over 7000 invasive species transported in bilge water around the world on a daily basis Invasive species can have direct or indirect interactions with native sea life. Direct interaction such as predation,

10780-626: The water independently of the tide. Vessels can also be lifted out of the water and transferred to the hall. The first use of the DDH was for construction of the Vanguard -class submarines, and later vessels of the Trafalgar class were also built there. The shipyard is currently constructing the Astute -class submarines, the first of which was launched on 8 June 2007. BAE Systems is currently studying

10890-425: The world including for major railway projects, steel was utilised in Barrow itself in the form of shipbuilding. Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering (now BAE Systems ) was and still remains one of the UK's largest shipbuilding centres, and the only one to build Royal Navy submarines. Steel produced at the works was used throughout the 20th century by VSEL to construct hundreds of vessels, many of which supported

11000-766: The world's ports have somewhat embedded technology, if not for full leadership. However, thanks to global government initiatives and exponential growth in maritime trade, the number of intelligent ports has gradually increased. A report by business intelligence provider Visiongain assessed that Smart Ports Market spending would reach $ 1.5 bn in 2019. Ports and their operation are often a cause of environmental issues, such as sediment contamination and spills from ships and are susceptible to larger environmental issues, such as human caused climate change and its effects. Every year 100 million cubic metres of marine sediment are dredged to improve waterways around ports. Dredging, in its practice, disturbs local ecosystems, brings sediments into

11110-478: The world, including the second largest offshore farm , with multiple operating bases in Barrow. The name was originally that of an island, Barrai, which can be traced back to 1190. This was later renamed Old Barrow, recorded as Oldebarrey in 1537, and Old Barrow Insula and Barrohead in 1577. The island was then joined to the mainland and the town took its name. The name itself seems to mean "island with promontory", combining British barro- and Old Norse ey , but it

11220-610: The world. Its success was a result of the availability of local iron ore and coal from the Cumberland mines and easy rail and sea transport. The Furness Railway, which counted local aristocrats the 7th Duke of Devonshire and the Duke of Buccleuch as investors, kick-started the Industrial Revolution on the peninsula. The railway brought mined ore to the town, where the steelworks produced large quantities of steel. It

11330-487: Was "torn apart" by false grooming gang allegations , with public demonstrations targeting the local newspaper , the Asian community and police. The scandal was the subject of the 2024 BBC documentary Liar: The Fake Grooming Scandal and the perpetrator Eleanor Williams was duly convicted and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. Barrow is the largest town in the district of Westmorland and Furness . Previously

11440-494: Was a small hamlet within the parish of Dalton-in-Furness with Furness Abbey , now on the outskirts of the town, controlling the local economy before its dissolution in 1537. The iron prospector Henry Schneider arrived in Furness in 1839 and, with other investors, opened the Furness Railway in 1846 to transport iron ore and slate from local mines to the coast. Further hematite deposits were discovered, of sufficient size to develop factories for smelting and exporting steel. For

11550-638: Was established in 1975 and publishes the quarterly China Eye magazine. In 2021 93.0% of the borough's population was born in England, 2.3% in Scotland , 0.5% in Wales and 0.4% in Northern Ireland . 3.8% of the town's 2021 population were born elsewhere in the world. The five most common foreign countries of birth were the Philippines , India , Nigeria , Germany and Poland . According to

11660-612: Was soon constructed alongside the Furness Railway line in Hindpool . The mill employed 2,000 women at its peak and was awarded a gold medal for its produce at the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle . The sheltered strait between Barrow and Walney Island was an ideal location for the shipyard. The first ship to be built, the Jane Roper , was launched in 1852; the first steamship, a 3,000-ton liner named Duke of Devonshire , in 1873. Shipbuilding activity increased, and on 18 February 1871

11770-527: Was taken over by the Sheffield steel firm of Vickers in 1897, by which time the shipyard had surpassed the railway and steelworks as the largest employer and landowner in Barrow. The company constructed Vickerstown , modelled on George Cadbury 's Bournville , on the adjacent Walney Island in the early 20th century to house its employees. It also commissioned Sir Edwin Lutyens to design Abbey House as

11880-461: Was the MP for the constituency between the 2010 and 2019 general election , when Conservative Simon Fell succeeded as MP for the Borough. In the 2024 General Election , Labour candidate Michelle Scrogham became MP for Barrow and Furness, with 18,537 votes. Barrow is situated at the tip of the Furness peninsula on the north-western edge of Morecambe Bay , south of the Duddon Estuary and east of

11990-472: Was the first public body in the country to face corporate manslaughter charges. 2006 saw the construction of Barrow Offshore Wind Farm , which has acted as a catalyst for further investment in offshore renewable energy . Ormonde Wind Farm and Walney Wind Farm followed in 2011, the latter of which became the largest offshore wind farm in the world. The three wind farms are located west of Walney Island and are operated primarily by Ørsted (company) , contain

12100-463: Was used for shipbuilding, and derived products such as rails were also exported from the newly built docks. Barrow's population grew rapidly. Population figures for the town itself were not collected until 1871, though sources suggest that Barrow's population was still as low as 700 in 1851. During the first half of the 19th century, Barrow formed part of the parish of Dalton-in-Furness , the population of which shows some of Barrow's early growth from

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