Barrow-in-Furness Main Public Library

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Barrow-in-Furness Main Public Library Barrow-in-Furness Library.jpg
Barrow-in-Furness Main Public Library

Barrow-in-Furness Main Public Library (more usually known as Barrow Central Library or Barrow Library) is a Grade II listed Beaux-Arts style building located at Ramsden Square, Barrow-in-Furness, England. [1] Operated since 1974 by Cumbria County Council, it is the largest library in the town and the present structure, designed by J A Charles [2] was originally built as a Carnegie library with support from the Carnegie Foundation. [3]

The first library in Barrow was opened on 18 September 1882 in temporary iron buildings in Schneider Square; [4] in 1887 this was transferred to a room within Barrow Town Hall. [5] The growing population meant that a larger building was needed and this was eventually met by the construction of the present accommodation at the junction of Abbey Road with Ramsden Square. The building itself bears a date of 1915 (denoted by an engraving by the main entrance which reads 'ANNO DNI MCMXV'), although delays brought about by World War I [1] meant that it wasn't actually completed and opened until 1922.

The library formerly housed the Furness Museum which held artefacts both from across the world and also from the local area. The museum (always operated by Barrow Borough Council) was opened in 1930 [5] in an upstairs lecture room. It closed in 1991 and most of the exhibits were eventually moved to larger purpose built premises next to Walney Channel - the Dock Museum. After building modifications in 1998, the library has also worked with the Cumbria Archive Service in the joint operation of a local archives or county record office branch. This now shares a public searchroom together with the local studies library.

Besides the Central Library there are currently five other libraries in the present borough: Askam, Barrow Island, Dalton, Roose and Walney. A sixth branch at Ormsgill has now been replaced by a library link facility in Ormsgill Children's Centre [6]

Related Research Articles

Barrow-in-Furness Town in Cumbria, North-West England

Barrow-in-Furness is a town in Cumbria, North-West England. Historically part of 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. At the tip of the Furness peninsula, close to the Lake District, it is bordered by Morecambe Bay, the Duddon Estuary and the Irish Sea. In 2011, Barrow's population was 57,000, making it the second largest urban area in Cumbria after Carlisle. Natives of Barrow, as well as the local dialect, are known as Barrovian.

Borough of Barrow-in-Furness Place in England

Barrow-in-Furness is a local government district with borough status in Cumbria, England. It is named after its main town, Barrow-in-Furness. Other settlements include Dalton-in-Furness and Askam-in-Furness. It is the smallest district in the county, but is the most densely populated, with 924 people per square kilometre. The population was 71,980 in 2001, reducing to 69,087 at the 2011 Census.

Islands of Furness

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Walney Island Island in the United Kingdom

Walney Island, also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. It is part of Barrow-in-Furness, separated from the mainland by Walney Channel, which is spanned by the Jubilee Bridge. Walney is the largest island of the Furness Islands group, both in population and size, as well as the largest English island in the Irish Sea. Its population at the 2011 UK Census was 10,651, distributed evenly across the island's two Wards of Walney North and Walney South.

Barrow Island, Barrow-in-Furness Area and electoral ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England

Barrow Island is an area and electoral ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Originally separate from the British mainland, land reclamation in the 1860s saw the northern fringes of the island connect to Central Barrow. Barrow Island is also bound to the south and east by the town's dock system and to the west by Walney Channel. The Ward population taken at the 2011 census was 2,616.

The People's Party or Socialist People's Party was a minor political party in the Furness region of England.

Dock Museum

The Dock Museum is situated in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Most of its exhibits concern the history of the town, focusing on the shipbuilding industry at VSEL, the steelworks industry — of which Barrow once had the world's largest, the Furness Railway and the World War II bombings of the town. There has been a museum in Barrow since 1907 and in its current location since 1994, when 50,000 people visited it in its first year, visitor numbers peaked at 120,000 in 2001. The museum has free entry and remains under public ownership.

Hawcoat Human settlement in England

Hawcoat is an area and electoral ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it is one of Barrow's most northerly wards and is bordered by Roose, Newbarns, Parkside, Ormsgill and the town of Dalton-in-Furness to the north.

Hindpool Human settlement in England

Hindpool is an area and electoral ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. It is bordered by Barrow Island, Central Barrow, Ormsgill, Parkside and the Walney Channel, the local population stood at 5,851 in 2011. The ward covers the entire western half of the town centre and includes Barrow's main shopping district. Other local landmarks include the Furness College Channelside campus, the Dock Museum and the Main Public Library. Hindpool is also home to two stadia - Barrow Raiders' Craven Park and Barrow A.F.C.'s Holker Street.

Ormsgill Human settlement in England

Ormsgill is a ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. It is bordered by Hindpool, Parkside, Hawcoat, Roanhead and Walney Channel. The population of the ward in 2001 stood at 5,961 ,increasing to 6,033 at the 2011 Census. Almost three quarters of Ormsgill is greenspace, with the majority of residents living in the densely populated south-east corridor. The western part of the ward is predominantly industrial and includes a large Kimberly-Clark plant and numerous other industrial estates which provide a base for companies including Blyth, BT, Gyrodata, McBride and Oil States International.

Port of Barrow

The Port of Barrow refers to the enclosed dock system within the town of Barrow-in-Furness, England. Morecambe Bay is to the east of the port and the Irish Sea surrounds it to the south and west. The port is currently owned and operated by Associated British Ports Holdings, but some land is shared with BAE Systems Submarine Solutions. Currently consisting of four large docks, the Port of Barrow is one of North West England's most important ports. The docks are as follows: Buccleuch Dock, Cavendish Dock, Devonshire Dock and Ramsden Dock. The port of Barrow is the only deep water port between the Mersey and the Clyde.

Barrow-in-Furness Town Hall Neo-gothic municipal building in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England

Barrow-in-Furness Town Hall is a Victorian-era, neo-gothic municipal building in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The building serves as the base of Barrow Borough Council.

The Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness Place in Cumbria, England

The Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness is a £200 million development under construction in and around the Port of Barrow, England. The site covers an area of some 400 acres (160 ha) and was due for completion in 2020. The internal road network is already complete, with construction of a large business park complex ongoing and work on a 400-berth marina and 650 home Marina Village due to start thereafter. In 2010, The Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness ranked as the ninetieth most costly regeneration project in the United Kingdom by Regeneration & Renewal. Progress on the project stalled between 2010 and 2016 due to complications with funding following the disabandonment of the North West Regional Development Agency. BAE Systems opened a large logistics warehouse named the Resolution Building on Dova Way within the designated Business Park Area in October 2016, while and construction of a new access road from Salthouse Road to the Marina Village commenced in May 2017.

National Westminster Bank, Barrow-in-Furness

The National Westminster Bank building in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England is located at the intersection of Abbey Road and Duke Street. It was designed by Paley and Austin architects and built between 1873-74 and has been designated a Grade II listed building by English Heritage. Built for the Lancaster branch of the National Westminster Bank it was a major component of the Ramsden Square scheme, one of the planned town's two main squares and focal points. It is one of three former 'Nat West' properties with listed building status in the Borough and currently houses a carpet shop in the lower floors.

The following is a timeline of the history of Barrow-in-Furness, England, United Kingdom.

Thorncliffe Cemetery and Crematorium

Thorncliffe Cemetery and Crematorium is a 66-acre graveyard located on Devonshire Road in the Ormsgill ward of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England.

Ramsden Dock railway station was the terminus of the Furness Railway's Ramsden Dock Branch in Barrow-in-Furness, England.

References

  1. 1 2 Historic England. "Public Library (1197858)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  2. Matthew Hyde & Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England : Cumbria, page 137, 2010, ISBN   978-0-300-12663-1
  3. The Times newspaper, Saturday, Mar 10, 1923; pg. 12, carries a report to the Carnegie Foundation which mentions the completion of the library during the previous year
  4. J D Marshall, Furness and the Industrial Revolution, p421, 1981, ISBN   0-904131-26-2
  5. 1 2 F Barnes, Barrow and District, page 115, reprinted 1979, published by Barrow Borough Council, no ISBN
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 December 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) List of Cumbria libraries, retrieved 5 January 2012

Coordinates: 54°06′52″N3°13′53″W / 54.1145°N 3.2314°W / 54.1145; -3.2314