Ulverston
- A Brief History
Ulverston's
Market Charter was granted to Roger de Lancaster by Edward l on September
11, 1280
in
Carlisle. The Charter gave authority for a market to be held in Ulverston
every Thursday,
also
an annual September fair.
The
original Parish Church of St Mary was built in 1111 by monks from Conishead
Priory. In 1806 the church was enlarged, and in 1866 underwent a
reconstruction. Traces of the early Norman church still exist, and
in the tower which was replaced in the reign of Elizabeth 1 after a storm
destroyed the original one, an inscription reads "pray for the sowle of
William Dobson, Gen.Ussher to Queen Elizabeth who gave unto this work."
The
area was in the path of Scots invaders and in 1316 as the records show
'The
Scots plundered Cumberland, Westmorland, Tynedale, Swaledale, Kendale,
the Monastery of Furness and Furness Fells, and returned in triumph to
Scotland with great spoil. They also burnt many villages in their
fury, whilst those resisting were either taken prisoner or perished by
the sword.'
In the
'Great
Raid of 1322' when Robert the Bruce came south again, this time
with thousands of men, whole areas of Furness were
devastated
and Dalton was burned to the ground. Furness Abbey escaped destruction
by paying Bruce a huge ransom of £10,000
which
in 1322 was an immense sum.
The
15th Century saw Lambert Simnel land at Piel ( close to Barrow ) en route
to claim Henry VII's throne. He encamped at Swarthmoor south of Ulverston
and was here joined by troops of Martin Schwartz and Sir Thomas Broughton
of Broughton-in-Furness.
In the
17th Century, Ulverston became the birthplace of the Quaker movement. Founder
of the Quakers, George Fox, lived at nearby Swarthmoor Hall. In 1652,
Fox was not greatly pleased with the town and said that
'The people
of Ulverston are liars, drunkards, whoremongers and thieves and follow
filthy pleasures.'
During
the Civil War, activity was great and plundering took place throughout
the neighbourhood. Jacobite rebellions however did not seriously
affect the Ulverston area although in 1800 a shortage of bread caused riots
among local quarrymen.
By the
18th Century, the town was referred to as the 'London' of
Furness. Its weekly market filled the narrow streets. There were
many inns which catered for the travellers across the sands and many were
in fact owned by guides. The route across the Sands of Morecambe
Bay from Lancaster, had since early times been in use and guides were found
at both ends of the route.
An interesting
description of the town as it was in 1866 is given in a Gazetteer:
'Ulverston
is a seat of petty sessions and county courts; publishes two newspapers;
carries on brewing, iron-founding and the manufacture of linens, checks,
ginghams and wood-hoops and has a considerable coasting trade. It
is well-built and clean with its streets branching from a broad market
place. It has a head post office, a railway station, two banks, two
hotels, a court house, a police station, a concert hall built in 1850,
a temperance hall, an iron market cross of 1821, two churches, three dissenting
chapels, a Roman Catholic chapel, a library, four schools, a weekly Thursday
market. In 1851, the population was 6,433 and in 1861 was 6,630.
There
were 1,348 houses.'
This
small market town of Ulverston is proud of the fact that it has been the
birthplace of several 'famous sons.' To name just three -
Sir
John Barrow, was born at Dragley Beck in 1764. He became Second Secretary
at the Admiralty and sealed Napoleon's fate
by
exiling him to the lonely island of St. Helena.
Norman
Birkett KC was born at Ainsworth Street, Ulverston in 1883.
He
later became Lord Birkett of Ulverston. A Lord Justice of Appeal,
he represented Britain at the Nuremberg Trials, was instigator
of
the National Parks, a Privy Councillor, Liberal MP and Vice President of
Lancashire County Cricket Club. He was very proud
to
be a Lancastrian. He also represented Wallis Simpson when she was granted
a divorce prior to marrying Edward Vlll.
And
last but not least, Comedian Stan Laurel was born in Ulverston in 1890.
