Ulverston's History...
Ulverston is an historic market town. It was awarded a Market Charter in 1280 by Edward 1. Ulverston Town Council celebrates this event every year with the Charter Fortnight Festival which is held during the first two weeks in September.
The architecture is predominantly of Georgian style, and the cobbled main street is lined on either side by attractive buildings. The town centre is in a conservation area. The War Memorial is at the top of Market Street and honours residents of Ulverston and district who fell in the First and Second World Wars. The town is a market town. It has an livestock auction mart adjacent to the Canal, and has two street markets which are held every Thursday and Saturday.
If you are interested in reading more widely about Ulverston's history you may wish to follow these links:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ukuhc/
or
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Ulverston/
Ulverston's Canal:
Ulverston's Canal was built in 1796 and is situated approximately three quarters of a mile from the town centre. It is accessible from the main A590 adjacent to Booths Supermarket. It construction was funded by local businessmen to transport goods from Morecambe Bay to the town centre and to export goods world wide, including the locally made 'Ulverston Check' cotton. The canal is 1 mile long, and is the deepest and widest in England. It closed in the 1940's. Ownership of the canal passed to Glaxosmithkline during the 1970's from Ulverston Urban District Council. GSK can use the water as a reserve in case of an emergency, although this has never been necessary. The canal is listed as a reservoir. The canal is now a haven of wildlife and a popular flat walk for local people and visitors. The canal is no longer accesible from Morecambe Bay. The changing tidal patterns in Morecambe Bay mean that Canal Foot is no longer tidal. The canal is a freshwater environment which a haven for wildlife
Several walking leaflets, which are available in the Tourist Information centre provide details of how to get to the canal, and how to link it in to others easy walks around the town.
Famous Residents:
The town has many famous residents who were either born in the town or who came and made their mark these mosgt notably include:
Stan Laurel - Comic Genius. Born in Ulverston in 1890.
Lord Birkett - Born in Ulverston in. Presided over the Nuremberg Trials after the Second World War.
Sir John Barrow. Born in Ulverston in. Second Secretary to the Admiralty.
George Fox. Founder of the Quaker Movement
George Fox was born in Leicester in 1624. He came to Swarthmoor, near Ulverston on 28 June 1652. Together with Margaret Fell he established Swarthmoor Hall as a centre of Quakerism.
Margaret Fell
Margaret Fell was born in Dalton in Furness four miles from Ulverston. She married Judge George Fell and went to live at his home Swarthmoor Hall. Judge Fell died and she subsequently married George Fox and worked with him to establish the Quaker religion worldwide from Swarthmoor Hall.
ULVERSTONIANS AWARDED THE VICTORIA CROSS
The town also has three former residents who were awarded the VC for distinguished service during the Great War and the Second World War. They are:
Lt Basil Weston. Served in the West Yorkshire Regiment during the Second World War. Died in service in Burma in 1945 following his heroic action for which he was posthumously awarded his VC.
Private Harry Christian. Served in the 2nd Battalion The Kings Own (Royal Lancaster) Regiment. He was awarded his VC during the First World War. He died on 2 September 1974.
Fusilier Francis Arthur Jefferson Was awarded his VC for for his heroic action during the Second World Ward on 16 May 1944. He died in 1982. He VC was subsequently stolen and has never been found.
Victoria Cross awarded for Distinguished Service
