Walney Island a history and heritage

Walney has a rich and deep history that dates all the way back to prehistory!

Across the island there has been many discoveries that bring to light its prehistoric past from Neolithic stone axes to beaker pottery and even Bronze Age antlers.

At the very northern tip of Walney a variety of Neolithic items have been discovered, including a polished axe made of Langdale Tuff. Sites in the Lake District, like Langdale, were places of axe production in Neolithic times where axes would be roughed out of the stone. These rough outs would then be taken to polishing sites away from the fells, North Walney is one of such sites. Sandstone and other course stones would be used to grind the rough outs until they become polished and usable. Once finished the items would be used as tools for varying jobs; killing animals for food, processing food, cutting down trees for use in settlements and scraping skins for tanning, to name but a few. As implements like this were so treasured in this time they were often placed at ritual sites, which is where they are frequently found today. Although some, like the polished axe found on Walney, are discovered where they were worked and most likely lost or discarded.

The name of the Island also has a route in history, Viking history infact. Walney is believed to originate from Old Norse, the tongue of the Vikings, although the island wasn't always named as such. Originally it was called Hougenai and is how it is named in the Domesday book. As well as the islands name many of its site names can be traced back to Viking origins, for instance North Scale from ‘Skali’ Norse for Summer Dwelling.

Across Walney are many scars of a Medieval farming past. From the north to the south many fields are covered in archeological features known as ridge and furrow. You can discover more about these features in the article entitled ‘Marks of a Medieval Farming Landscape, Walney’. Ridge and furrow are the remains of Medieval ploughing in field systems, which the peasants of the age would work on a near daily basis. Near by Furness Abbey would have been the owners of many of these field systems and the peasants would pay a tithe (one tenth of their annual produce) to the Abbey for the support of the church. The Abbey owned much of the land around Furness as well large swathes of land in the Lake District.

Jump forward a few centuries to the late 19th to early 20th century and Walney becomes very different. A large part of the island, just over the bridge today, was turned into Vickerstown. A brand new housing estate for shipyard workers. The houses were built to last and were in the Tudor Revival style. Many new terraces were constructed for the lower end of the work force but larger houses were also built for the mangers, and these overlooked the channel. The first thousand houses were completed in 1901 on streets named after ships that had been built in the shipyard. Names such as Mikasa and Vengeance Street. This was a huge change for the island and created an influx of inhabitants, which really saw the birth of modern Walney.

Over the coming decades Walney was set to face the effects of war. During World War 1 there was two military encampments in use on the island, one known as Hilpsford Fort, to the south, and one as Fort Walney, to the north. Each providing defence on the home front and providing jobs in the area. You can find out more about these forts in our previous blog 'World War I, the effects in Furness'.

During World War 2 there were also many military defences built across the island, from pill boxes to Coastal Artillery Searchlight Emplacements. All built to protect mainland Britain in case of enemy invasion. If you want to know more about these defences then please read our previous blog 'Remnants of World War II, the Military Defences of Barrow and Walney'.

A year after World War 2 and Walney became the basis for the made up island of Sador in the Thomas the Tank Engine books.

Writer Rev. W. Awdry needed a location to base his stories around that was in Britain but also isolated enough from the main railway systems of the country. On a trip to the Isle of Man Rev. Awdry discovered the Bishop there was known as the Bishop of "Sodor and Man" and that the island was in the Diocese of Sodor and Man. He realised that there was no island of Sodor like there is of Man. This gave inspiration to create a new island, Sodor, for his books.

He decided to place this new island between mainland Britain and the Isle of Man, right where Walney Island is. He took the east side of the islands outline but expanded it out to the west creating a much larger island. He did however keep some of the local names. The bridge to Sodor comes over from Barrow, as a bridge does for Walney, and the bridge arrives at Vickerstown, as it does at Walney.

A map of the Isle of Sodor (courtesy of Wikipedia). Note Barrow and Vicarstown to the right of the map.

As you can see Walney has a very vivid history, one that I have barely scratched the surface of in this blog. Hopefully, though, what I have shown is some of the interesting features and moments in this small islands history. Moments that helped to shape the island we know today.

An Anti-Aircraft Gun, A Dog Carving and A Doctor - Market Place, Dalton

Dalton, nestled amongst a valley to the south of the Furness peninsula, may be a small town today but once it was the capital of Furness! The town is rich with a long and vivid history much of which can still be seen today, but scratch the surface and there is a wealth of hidden and forgotten heritage waiting to be found. In this post we will take a look at one part of Dalton, Market Place; the ancient heart of the town!

Sitting on a plateau on the edge of the valley is Market Place, the area where Dalton originates. It is here, around the Church, where the town built up from a, possible, prehistoric settlement to the ancient capital of the area.

The earliest evidence of settlement at Dalton was thought to be found where the Church and graveyard is today. Earth works that used to be visible in the Churchyard before 1850 were excavated at the beginning of the 19th Century.

In the past the earth works were believed to be the remains of a Roman fort built in AD 79 by Agricola as he advanced through Britain. A priest and historian, Father Thomas West, was convinced of this and wrote about it in his book 'Antiquities of Furness' published in 1775. But it was later when a local historian and surgeon, William Close (a man we will talk about later), undertook excavations on the earth works that this theory was proven to be wrong. The excavation provided no positive proof of Roman occupation with no artifacts from the time being found. Today, although all evidence of the earth works have been destroyed, it is believed that the features were evidence of an Iron Age settlement. The site certainly is the perfect place for such a settlement being on a plateau with good views all around and a stream not far away for water.

One of the most prominent features that stands proud on Market Place is, of course, Dalton Castle! The Castle is a small fortified piel tower which was erected by the monks of Furness Abbey as a court house and defensive structure. The Castle dates back to the 14th Century and has gone through many changes in its time. We wont get too much into the Castle and its history in this post, as we might be here awhile, but we will do a dedicated post about it in the future!

In front of the Castle is where the town market, which Market Place takes its name, would have been held. It was in 1239 that a Royal Charter was granted to Dalton giving permission for a weekly market. Although a market has taken place here since then the only evidence that can be seen today is of the Victorian market. Stretching in a half moon shape around the square are the marble slabs, known as fish slabs, once used for the market. These table structures were built in 1869 and are made from marble as the stone stays cool, even in the sun, which makes them perfect for displaying meat, fish and cheeses without them getting warm and going off. Interestingly enough if you look closely at the fish slabs you can find a carving of a dog! It is unclear when this carving was done but it certainly isn't a recent piece of graffiti. We would suggest it dates to somewhere around the 19th - early 20th Century. If anyone reading this has further insight into this please let us know!

At the centre of the market square stands the market cross, a feature that has undoubtedly been present in some shape or form since Medieval times. The first cross erected on the site would have no doubt been made from wood but it is hard to say when that was and when it was changed to stone. What can be established though is that in the 1700s and into the 1800s the cross was not the familiar cross we see today but was in fact a St. Andrew's cross. But notice in this image (see right) from the mid to late 1800s that the market cross doesn't appear to have any cross at all. You can see the pillar that would support the cross next to the bottom right window of the large building, but there is no cross. The building seen here in front of the Castle is the offices of solicitor Mr. William Butler, built in 1850/1 and later used as the Town Hall. It was in 1869 that the market cross was changed to be the one we see today.

Earlier we spoke of a Dr. William Close, a man who lived in Dalton for 16 years before his death in 1813 at the age of 38. Close spent his early years on Walney where he lived with his family. Later in life he studied at the University of Edinburgh Medical School and on obtaining his diploma in 1797 he immediately began medical and surgical practice at Dalton. As well as being a Doctor and surgeon Close was a keen historian, archaeologist, musician and artist. He also enjoyed physics and general literature. Close is noted as inventing an 'Engine for raising water by the lateral Communication of Motion' which was used in mines. In 1799, within years of Jenner's discovery of vaccination to prevent smallpox, Close introduced inoculation to the Furness Peninsula. He took up a residence at Rampside and made it so all the children of the lower classes could be inoculated at his expense. Doing this he not only confirmed the efficacy of the newly discovered vaccination but he also freed the area of smallpox within five years! A remarkable man who undertook so much in his short life that he is worth recognition. You can find the house in which he lived on Market Place behind the castle Chinese, marked with a blue plaque.

An interesting fact that many may not know about Market Place is that once, between the Castle and the now Chinese takeaway, there was a field gun and an anti aircraft gun! These guns were captured from the Germans in World War 1 and were brought here as mementos. These guns are no longer here and where exactly they went is hard to say but one can assume they were taken for scrap metal during World War 2.

Market Place in Dalton has a fascinating and rich history dating back thousands of years. There is so much to discover here that we have only just scratched the surface in this blog but we hope we have enlightened you to something you didn't know before. Why not take the time to go for a wander around Market Place and enjoy the visible heritage that still remains?

Interesting Old Images and Drawings of Market Place:

Images of Market Place Today: