Frequently Asked Questions.
Visiting the Museum
Q. Is there full access to the building for disabled
visitors?
A. There is full access to the building for
disabled visitors. We have a car park specially designated
for disabled visitors, ramps to the building, a lift inside the
building and toilet facilities for all.
Q. How long can I park my car?
A. You can park your car for free for three hours. This
allows you to visit the museum, have lunch and maybe go for a walk
alongside Walney Channel. If you park for longer than three
hours you may be fined. We had to impose penalties as we were
finding that we had no car parking spaces left for visitors because
local businesses took up all available space.
Q. Do you have free admission?
A. We have free admission to the museum and to our temporary
exhibitions.
History
Q. Where does Barrow get its name from?
A. Barrow is a corruption of the Norse Barrai or Barey – the ending
ai or ey refers to an island. It is most likely to have
originally applied to Barrow Island, meaning island off the
headland or promontory. This is supported by the fact that
Barrow village was often referred to as Barrowhead, that is the
village on the headland opposite Barrai.
Q. What is the origin of the name
Furness?
A. Several suggestions have been made e.g. Futh’s headland,
headland with an island. The most likely is Far Ness, the far
headland as seen from the Lancashire side of Morecambe Bay.
Ness is Norse for headland or promontory. It was recorded in
the 12th century as Fourneis and Furthnessa. The earliest
name for the Furness peninsula is recorded in the Domesday survey,
late 11th century, and is given as Hougun. This possibly
refers to a fortified “capital” which is most likely to have been
on the hill now called High Haume, just north of Dalton.
Q. My ancestor came from Barrow. How can I find
out more about him or her?
A .The Record Office has archives that might be able help
you. Vickers (now called BAE Systems) has very few personnel
records.
The Local Studies Library's contact details are:
Barrow Record Office and Local Studies Library,
140 Duke Street,
Barrow-in-Furness,
LA1 1XN
Email:barrow.record.office@cumbriacc.gov.uk
To find out more about your family’s history you can get pointers
from the Record Office, the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/familyhistory/
or from the Furness Family History Society.
Furness Family History Society,
5 Cherrytree Way,
Barrow in Furness,
Cumbria
LA13 0LG
cherrytrees.five@virgin.net
Q. How do I see an object in the museum’s
collections?
A. If an object is not on display then you can check the museum’s
online collections
database. The online collections database shows objects
that have been photographed and only 20% of the collection is
currently online. If you want to see an object in the store then
please contact the Curator to make an appointment.
Sabine Skae
sskae@barrowbc.gov.uk
01229 876400
Q. Who runs the Dock Museum? How is the museum
funded?
A. The Dock Museum is managed and funded by Barrow Borough
Council. Donations are used in the museum to fund
conservation to, for example, paintings, boats and ship models.
Q. How long has there been a museum in
Barrow?
A. The possibility of a town museum was first looked into in 1900,
apparently as a response to the Council being offered the gift of a
“young alligator” (presumably stuffed). Eventually in 1906 a
museum was opened with a bizarre mix of local objects, stuffed
birds and mammals, a hippo’s skull, Zulu spears and anything the
museum was offered. A revived museum was opened in 1930 in
the Lecture Room of the new town library on Ramsden
Square.
In May 1994 the current building was opened as a town
museum. The museum was developed into the flagship attraction
that it is today. Dock gates and the working dock area were
created, the site was landscaped, a children’s playground was
added, the Channelside walkway became accessible, an exhibition
gallery was created inside the old graving dock, a film show is
installed, public art is commissioned and the historic vessels are
displayed.
Q. What does graving dock mean?
A. The dock was constructed by the Furness Railway using sandstone
from the local Hawcoat quarries. It was opened on 2nd August 1872
and used regularly until the 1950s. The Dock Museum now spans the
inland portion.
The dock could be emptied of water, which made it useful for
finishing small vessels built by the Shipyard, for the repair and
maintenance of other ships and submarines and for testing products
such as dock and drainage pumps.
The term ‘graving’ refers to the process of waterproofing the
hulls of ships by burning off weeds and applying coats of tar.
Q. What information do you have on World War
II?
A. We have a gallery on World War II, complete with a
reconstruction of an Anderson shelter. Barrow suffered with
its own “blitz” during the Second World War as the shipyard and
steelworks were a target for German bombers.
Many people have got to know about Barrow during World War II
thanks to the diaries that housewife Nella Last kept for the Mass
Observation project. More can be learned about Barrow
during the war in Bryn Trescatheric’s “Barrow Blitz”. This
can be purchased in the museum’s
shop.
The Shipyard
Q. How long has there been a shipyard in
Barrow?
A. The Barrow Shipbuilding Company was set up in 1871. The
first ship completed was the Duke of Devonshire (1873); first
warship for the Royal Navy, the gunboat HMS Foxhound (1877); and
first submarine, Nordenfelt (1886).
In 1888 the yard was renamed the Naval Construction and
Armaments Company and, whilst continuing to build passenger and
cargo ships, it also built large warships including the cruiser HMS
Powerful (1895).
In 1897 the yard was sold for £425,000 to the Sheffield steel
and armaments firm of Vickers, which was determined to make it a
world leader. Shortly afterwards the battleship HMS Vengeance
(1899) was launched, which was the first Royal Navy ship to be
built, engined, armoured and supplied with her heavy gun mountings
by one firm.
The Japanese battleship HIJMS Mikasa (1900) followed, which was
the first major foreign order secured by the yard.
The yard became a major shipbuilding force in the twentieth
century.
Q. Do they still build ships in Barrow?
A.
Barrow has built every Royal Navy submarine still in service.
BAE Systems are building the Astute class of submarines
currently.
Q. My ancestor worked at the shipyard. How can I
find out more about him or her?
A. Vickers (now
called BAE Systems) has very few personnel records.
The Record Office has archives that might be able help
you. The Record Office also holds some ship plans.
The Local Studies Library's contact details are:
Barrow Record Office and Local Studies Library,
140 Duke Street,
Barrow-in-Furness,
LA1 1XN
Email:barrow.record.office@cumbriacc.gov.uk
Cambridge University has a Vickers business archive: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/deptserv/manuscripts/business.html
Q. I’d like to reproduce an image from the Vickers
Photographic Archive in a book, magazine or television
programme. What do I do?
A. Please email the Curator with your request.
Sabine Skae.
Email:sskae@barrowbc.gov.uk.