Ulverstown Town Council Website
Welcome to the Ulverston Town Council Website
Sir John Barrow was a naval administrator and traveller. He was born at Dragley Beck, Ulverston, Cumbria on 19 June 1764. Excelling in Mathematics, he left Town Bank School, Ulverston at 13 and worked as a clerk in an iron foundry in Liverpool. At 16 he joined a whaling expedition to Greenland. A deep interest in astronomy lead him to develop a useful appreciation of navigation methods.
He taught mathematics at the School in Greenwich before accompanying Lord McCartney’s expedition to China in 1792 as Secretary to Sir George Staunton. He became fluent in many languages, including Mandarin Chinese. His writings include biographies of naval men and a standard work on The Mutiny on the Bounty.
He became Second Secretary to the Admiralty and died in London in 1848 aged 84 years. He is buried in St. Martins in the Field Cemetery, Camden Town. As second secretary to the Admiralty (1804-1945), he promoted British exploration, most notably of West Africa and the North Polar Region with attempts to find a North West passage from east to west through the Canadian Arctic. These expeditions included those by Sir John Ross, Sir James Clark Ross and Sir John Franklin. Barrow Strait, Barrow Sound and Barrow Point in the Arctic and Cape Barrow in the Antarctic were named in Sir John Barrow’s honour.
Sir John was a founder member and key figure in the Royal Geographical Society in 1830, which was to become the premier promoter of 19th century exploration. He had a baronetcy conferred on him in 1835 by Sir Robert Peel, before retiring in 1845. He wrote a history of Arctic Voyages and his autobiography. He had four sons and one daughter.
The Sir John Barrow Monument
The monument was built in 1850 by public subscription as a memorial for Sir John Barrow. It can be seen from many miles and has become a symbol for the town. It stands on the 450 ft high summit of Hoad Hill overlooking Ulverston and Morecambe Bay. It is a Grade II * listed building and is sometimes known locally as Hoad Monument.
Sited approximately one mile from Morecambe Bay, the Sir John Barrow Monument is 100ft tall. It is built of limestone quarried from nearby Birkrigg Common. It was modelled on the earlier Eddystone Lighthouse built in 1759 by John Smeaton. The monument has an internal spiral staircase of 112 narrow steps leading to the lantern chamber, which has never had a functional light. Sir John Barrow’s two sons, Sir George Barrow and John Barrow, laid the foundation stone of the monument on 15 May 1850. This was undoubtedly a memorable day in Ulverston’s history, when 8,000 citizens climbed Hoad Hill for the ceremony. The monument was completed on 9 January 1851.
The original plans show a room that was constructed in the basement of the Monument to house the lighthouse keeper. The official position of lighthouse keeper has been continuously maintained although the keeper is no longer in residence. The keeper looks after the monument and opens it to the public on behalf of the Sir John Barrow Trustees.
In March 2008, Ulverston Town Council was successful in its bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund to repair the monument. The total project cost is £1,120,000. The grant secured from the Heritage Lottery Fund is £891,000. The Friends of the Sir John Barrow Monument have done a magnificent job in raising awareness of the project and also raising funds. Ulverston Town Council, the owner of the Monument has also received grants from other organisations and individuals. The Market Town Initiative (MTI) are providing £45,000 and the Town Lands Trust, Cumbria County Council and South Lakeland District Council have also awarded grants. Fund raising is still important. The Town Council have committed to the Heritage Lottery Fund to raise an additional £50,000 for the project. Your support and help is still needed.
The project is being planned in detail during the summer and autumn of 2008. Tenders will go out for the main contractor for this very specialist work during this time. Work on the monument will commence in April 2009 and will be completed by the end of the year.
The work is primarily concerned with ensuring that the monument is well ventilated and water proofed. Some of the render will be removed and new stone will be put in place externally on the lower level together with a new stone footpath around the base. There will be a new floor in the ground floor chamber and the first floor will feature an exhibition for visitors. The staircase will be improved and all of the ironwork will be removed and repaired. A web cam will be installed in the ‘pepper pot’ to enable access for all. Schools will be encouraged to visit and special access days will be held for people with disabilities and people who may find difficulty in climbing Hoad Hill.
The main work on the repair of the monument will be managed by Lloyd Evans Prichard, Conservation Architects from Manchester. The delivery of the detailed Audience Development Plan, including new signage, improvements to the lower level path and the Web cam, will be delivered by the Lake District Peninsulas Tourism Partnership in conjunction with the MTI project officer.
If you would like to support the project as a volunteer, or would like to organise a fund raising event or give a donation to the monument, then contact in the first instance :
The Town Clerk
Ulverston Town Council
Town Hall
Queen Street
Ulverston
Tel 01229 585778
Also visit : www.sirjohnbarrowmonument.co.uk
The Friends of the Sir John Barrow Monument manage this website and details of how to get involved with the group and its activities can be found on the site, together with progress on development on the monument project.
Sir John Barrow’s Cottage
The cottage is owned by the Sir John Barrow Trust and is listed Grade 2. Sir John Barrow was born in this cottage in Dragley Beck. It is managed by Heritage First, which opens the building from time to time to visitors.