Water Reflecting an Industrial Past, Ulverston Canal

Stretching out from Ulverston town to meet with the sea at, the appropriately named, Canal Foot is Ulverston Canal. An 18th Century built canal made for the import and export of goods to and from Ulverston.

Today the canal has a number of footpaths leading to and along it for anyone to use. There is a footpath that runs along the whole canal and is a lovely walk to take. Walking along this path, if you look closely, you can see some interesting reminders of the once working canal.

The canal was once the shortest, deepest and broadest in Britain and was first started in 1793 with Thomas Sunderland cutting the first sod on June 1st. The company Pinkerton and Murray had won the contract to dig the Canal and basins. They earned 3 1/2d per cubic yard but a lack of funds ended in them being unable to complete the contract. A Mr H. Baird took over to complete the canal construction, which was now lagging behind. Originally intended to open around 1794 the Canal eventually opened over two years late in 1796. Locals gathered around the locks at Canal Foot to witness The Sally be the first vessel to enter the Canal. A further three vessels entered after including The Content which was pulled with rope along the Canal by the crowds. The Content managed to overtake The Sally and was the first to reach the top basin of the Canal at Ulverston!

The Canal was built for the import of coal, cotton, timber, spirits and sugar to Ulverston and the surrounding area. It was also used to export charcoal, slate and linen to the rest of the country. With the newly built Canal many industries sprang up along it's edge including an iron founder, a timber yard and appropriately a sail maker and a boat builder. The Canal opened up new possibilities for industry and trade providing a new platform to export across the country and even beyond.

Along the Canals edge you can come across interesting remnants of the past. The footpath on which you walk is the 'towpath' of the Canal, which, as its name suggests, would have been used to tow sail-less boats along the canal. Humans or horses could have used this path to tow the boats. Along the towpath there are small metal capstans, pictured to the left, which boats could be tethered to, to prevent them drifting off in the water. There will no doubt be many of these hidden amongst the undergrowth along the canal so keep an eye out for them. Running next to the towpath is the back drain, this would have been constructed to drain any excess water from the canal to keep it at a set level. It would have been important to keep the water level at a set point to avoid flooding at the many industrial sites springing up right next to the canal.

Trade hit its peak on the canal in 1846 with 944 vessels entering it that year. With the discovery of iron ore in Furness the need of a railway to transport the ore to Barrow became evident. It was in May 1844 that a Furness Railway Bill was passed and a railway opened in 1846. By 1854 the railway had reached Ulverston and with this came the decline of the Canal. In 1857 a new section of line opened that cut right across the Canal. As pictured to the right a viaduct, to take the new track, was built across the Canal, this prevented tall ships from reaching the top basin. Iron became cheaper to transport by rail than by boat, this along with the viaduct's construction saw the end of the Canals dominance in industrial transport. Eventually, in 1949, the Canal was empty of boats and the lock gates at Canal Foot were sealed with concrete never to be opened again. The lock gates still remain today, if in a state of disrepair, as a lasting reminder of the Canals glory days in the 18th and 19th century.

The Nahula sitting as the last boat on Ulverston Canal.

She was the last vessel to ever sail through the lock gates.

The Canal is easy to access and is great for a nice leisurely walk on easy terrain. There is plenty of space to park at Canal Foot and the footpath running alongside the Canal takes you for just over a mile to the top basin. If you go for an explore keep an eye out for the various hidden heritage including the lock gates, the capstans, back drain and of course remember that you are walking in the footsteps of our ancestors on the towpath! Also look out for some old rail tracks cutting across the path that would once have linked up to the Iron Works that was established across the Canal. There is even a red brick tower standing on the other side of the Canal that may have been part of the Iron Works.

The Act for the construction of the Canal
published on 8th May 1793.

Fading Faces in Medieval Quarries - The Amphitheatre Next to Furness Abbey

Many people will know of Furness Abbey, the stunning red ruins that expand from the earth in majestic beauty, but you may not know some of the heritage that is hidden in the land surrounding it. In this post we will explore some of the interesting areas that lie just off the beaten path around the great natural Amphitheatre from medieval quarries to the Custodian's Cottage, the last remaining building from the time of the Abbey to still be in use today!

Spreading out from the Abbey ruins is the appropriately named Amphitheatre. This area of land is so named as nature has created a large curving bowl, with large steep sides sweeping around the land below forming part of the valley of Beckansgill. In and around the Amphitheatre there are many interesting features that hint at the Medieval construction of the Abbey itself. To the far left of the Amphitheatre, as you look from the nearby car park, there is an area of trees sitting on the slope. If you were to strip away these trees you would find the remains of a quarry once used by Monks to cut stone for the Abbey walls. You can visibly see two track ways that extend out from this quarry. One sits about half way up the slope and curves around the Amphitheatre while lowering to ground level where it ends at the foot of the slope. Another is just at the top of the slope and curves right around the area to another patch of trees on the right, we will talk about what lies in these trees later. As well as the two tracks there is a distinct ditch that runs down the slope from the top track to the bottom one. It is uncertain what this is but could it be where stone, dragged from the quarry along the top path, was lowered to the bottom path to then be taken down to the Abbey?

One of the most notable features that can be seen stretching across the top of the Amphitheatre is the impressive Abbey precinct wall. This wall, built of the same red sandstone as the Abbey, marks the limit of the main religious precinct. To gain entry beyond these walls in to the precinct required vigorous checks and not any old person was allowed in! Over by the Abbey car park there are the ruins of a three gate, gatehouse, which any visitor would have to pass through one gate at a time. In Medieval times the floor of the Amphitheatre would have been littered with various Abbey ancillary buildings including a brewery and bake house. Unfortunately any evidence of these buildings on the surface has been destroyed when the area was flattened for a rugby pitch many years ago. Who knows what buildings could be hidden beneath the surface!

As mentioned earlier there is another area of trees on the right of the Amphitheatre, just next to the Abbey. Within these trees can be found the chisel marked stone faces of another Medieval quarry! As the other quarry the monks would have cut the sandstone from these rocky out crops and take them to the Abbey for use in the walls. The amazing thing with this quarry is that you can still see the chisel marks from the Medieval quarrying clear as the day they were first cut. It really is quite brilliant and gives a real connection to the past! Also with in this quarry you can see two heads carved into the soft stone. These carvings are believed to date back to Medieval times also. One is in better condition than the other but they can both be seen clearly amongst the chisel marks. Leading away from the quarry are the remnants of a track way used to drag the stone from the quarry down to the Abbey construction site. The track splits through the landscape heading down to the current road and is easy to see amongst the trees. These little hints of the early days of the Abbey are wonderful and personally they are some of my favourite things to look at as there is such a strong connection to the people who worked so hard to build the Abbey!

The Abbey Mill Cafe, previously the Custodian's Cottage, is a well used and well loved place but in the days of the Abbey the building would have looked a lot different. This building was constructed in the Middle Ages and was one of the ancillary buildings of the Abbey. On both sides of the building at ground level you can see window frames and door frames half covered by the earth. The whole cottage has sunk 4 feet into the ground since the structure was built, much like the Abbey has. This is due to the fact that the Cottage and Abbey were built on once marshy land so the weight of the structure on the damp ground pushed the stones down leaving the building as it is today. Inside the building you can also see where the original second floor would have been, now a couple of feet above the floor.

It is often thought that the Cottage was a mill but this isn't actually true as there is no evidence to point to this. It is currently believed that it would have been the Lay Stewards Hall, a much more significant building. The Lay Steward would have looked after the financial aspects of the Abbey. Evidence points to the cottage having once been a much bigger building. Remains of door frames at the second floor level suggest that the building would have extended out further to the rear and to the front. It is theorised that it would have been three times the size it is today creating a longer rectangular building. Hidden under the earth around the Cottage is a blocked watercourse, which could once have put the building on an island! Man hole covers in the grounds give an idea of the direction of this watercourse.

To the rear of the building amongst the long grass is a large, low, arch. This arch is thought to have been erected in Victorian times. No one is sure what exactly it was for but it may have just been a garden feature, made to look 'pretty'.

Across the railway tracks from the Custodian's Cottage is a large field split down the middle by the ruined precinct wall. Outside of the precinct wall is Bow Bridge, a 15th century construction used to cross the stream, but inside the wall is the site where the Abbey fishponds would have been. Look closely in the base of this field and you can just about see some faint earth works, these are thought to be the remains of the fishponds. After heavy rain this area can often fill up with water amongst the earth works. Fish was a large part of the monks diet as meat was generally forbidden (accept for certain occasions) so breeding fish on site was a very useful thing to do.

There is such a huge amount of hidden heritage in the area surrounding Furness Abbey that it is difficult to compile it all into one blog post, this post has looked specifically at the Amphitheatre but there is so much more to see in other areas. Hopefully in a later post we shall look at the other areas so keep an eye out for that.

The next blog will be online on 26th November and will take a look at Ulverston Canal, until then why not go in search of the sites we have written about here? Let us know if you find anything we may have missed!

Images from around the Amphitheatre:

Medieval trackway from one of the Quarries

Believed site of the Abbey Fishponds

The Abbey Valley. The base of the Amphitheatre, one quarry in the trees on the right.
The Fish Ponds Field behind the Railway 

Furness Ghost Stories - Halloween Special!

In this special blog post we will take a brief look at some of the ghost stories from around the Furness Peninsula. Be sure to read with the lights off!

Furness Abbey - Apparitions and Hooded Figures

Furness Abbey has been linked to many spooky tales since its dissolution in the 16th Century but we will only look at two here.

It was new years eve 1980 when a young man was peddling away on his bike to get home after finishing work at the Abbey Tavern. As he was in a rush to get to a party he decided to go home by cycling past the ruins, usually he would avoid the ruins by heading straight out onto Abbey Road. He quickly got by the ruins only glancing at them once. As he came to the junction he headed off up towards Rating Lane along a dark and poorly lit road. When he reached the ruins of the West Gate, that towers above either side of the road, a strange feeling came over him. He looked up to see the shadow of, what he believed to be, a cowled monk on horse back. The figure held his gaze for a moment until car headlights on Rating Lane broke his stare and he peddled off hard and fast! There have been several sightings of a monk wandering towards this broken archway over the years, who could this mystery monk be?

On many occasions apparitions of monks have been spotted amongst the haunting ruins of Furness Abbey leaving witnesses baffled and frightened.

Image taken from North West Evening Mail newspaper.

Original Image by Roy Chatfield

A photographer has even caught on camera what he believes to be a ghost in the Abbey grounds. The man had taken many images of the Abbey one day but when he developed the images he was shocked to discover one of them had a white hooded figure standing in it, near to the church tower. The photographer swears that no one was there on the day and he didn't see anything through the viewfinder on his camera when he took the picture. The image was also taken on a 8 second exposure which would blur someone who happened to be walking by! You can see the image to the right, what do you think? Is it a monk or is it something else all together?

The Custodian's Cottage/Abbey Mill Cafe - A Ghostly Face and Buried Body

The former Custodian's Cottage next to Furness Abbey, now the Abbey Mill Cafe, also holds some ghostly stories of its own. Many years ago when the cottage erupted in flames local firemen descended on the site to tackle the blaze. While they fought to tame the fire many of the firemen claim to have seen a young girl at the top window of the building. Due to this they were certain that they would find a body in the fire damaged carcass of the building but when they searched the rubble no body was found. Was the face they saw in fact the spirit of a long dead girl who once lived at the Cottage? Who can say! But what is interesting is that once, when a psychic visited the Cottage she could sense something beneath the floor. Today the large main room of the Cottage has a wooden floor but 7+ years ago you had to step down a few steps to reach a concrete floor. When this psychic came she stood on the concrete floor and could sense that, in the far right hand corner of the room, there was a body buried 4 feet under the ground. If you were to measure from the actual ground level outside this would be 6 feet. The interesting thing about this though is that she claimed it was the body of a child! It does make you wonder if this could possibly be the body of the young girl who was seen at the window when the Cottage burnt down!

Dalton-in-Furness - Haunted Pubs and Highways

It is thought that a building has stood in the place now occupied by the Brown Cow Inn in Dalton since the Middle Ages and this has led to several ghostly tales being told. One such story, which has not been noted since the 19th Century, is of haunting chanting being heard coming from the direction of the Abbey. This chanting was often accompanied by the sound of a church bell ringing which led witnesses to believe it was the Monks of the Abbey singing. Another story from the Brown Cow involves witnesses seeing a strange apparition. Back before the interior of the pub was open plan as it is today a man took his drink into one of the small rooms to sit at one of the wooden tables. On entering the room he was rather surprised to find an oddly dressed stranger sitting in a seat near the window, staring out through the glass as if he was looking and waiting for someone or something outside. The figure sat quite still not making a sound. The man who had entered the room greeted the stranger but was met with no reply. Later when the man left, returning to the bar he asked the landlord about the strange fellow in the other room. The landlord informed the man that no one, other than him, had entered the room that night. When the curious landlord accompanied the man back to the room they found no one inside, much to the mans surprise! There was no way that the stranger could have left the room without being seen or heard!

A young man of the name Tom, who lived in Dalton, once worked in the mines at Roanhead. One morning when he was cycling to work by Millwood he saw another man cycling towards him on the other side of the road. The other person was middle aged wearing a grey suit and a brown trilby hat, nothing too unusual for the time. Tom continued to cycle along not thinking much of it. Suddenly, when the two were only a few yards from one another, the other person suddenly steered his bicycle directly at Tom! Tom broke hard and almost fell off his bike swerving away from the other man. When he turned around to give the man what for he was shocked to find the road empty of life. There was nowhere the other man could have gone to hide; he had completely vanished!

Other Stories

Shadowy figures and loud bangs have all been associated by employees at BAE Systems, in Barrow, to the spirit of a worker who had killed himself.

A couple who were traveling through Leece one evening had to slam on the brakes and come to a stop. A large black creature was sat in the middle of the road stopping them from getting past. The creature stood about 2 meters tall and had bright yellow eyes! Eventually the beast stood and walked off the road allowing the couple to drive by. It stood on the grass verge watching as they went.

In 2009 the North West Evening Mail ran a small article about Abbots Wood house, which included a picture from inside the house. On publication though many readers wrote in as they had noticed something in the far right of the interior image. There was the ghostly shape of a woman stood behind a table! Could it be the ghost of a previous occupant? Who can say but with the house no longer standing her home is long gone. Here is the picture for you to view; can you see the ghostly figure?

Image courtesy of the North West Evening Mail
Originally printed in 2009

We hope you have enjoyed this special spooky edition of Furness Hidden Heritage, if you know of any other ghost stories from the Furness area please let us know and we may use them next Halloween! Business as usual with the blog will resume on 12th November so be sure to check back then for a post on the area surrounding Furness Abbey. Until then happy Halloween and sleep well!

Read more Furness ghost stories in our second Halloween special here - https://furnesshiddenheritage.blogspot.com/2013/10/furness-ghost-stories-halloween-special.html