Newbarns Heritage Trail opens ten signs on historic buildings

The trail centres around Newbarns, a once-independent village that was later swallowed up by Barrow as the town expanded.

In December last year, the Newbarns Community Group revealed that they had received a grant worth £2,000 from Westmorland and Furness Council and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The money has gone towards designing, manufacturing, and installing ten heritage signs around the area.

These signs, situated next to or on sites of significance heritage, tell about the history of the building and allows residents and visitors to walk around and learn more about the ward.

On Wednesday, the trail was first used by a group of Year Four children from Holy Family school.

They enjoyed a guided tour led by Community Group Chair Michael Younger, who was joined by his dad David, a former teacher at St Pius school.

The first stop is Newbarns House, a Grade Two Listed building which was originally built in the 1700s and later became a dairy farm.

The next site is Yew Tree Farm, which was built in 1690 and also operated as a dairy until it became a riding school following World War Two.

The farm was knocked down in 1963 when the council wanted to use the space for flats and issued a compulsory purchase order.

Although the farm no longer stands, the area still bears its name on the street signs.

Third on the list is Malvern House, a Grade Two Listed property built in the 1700s.

Lesh Lane was named after the family who donated the land to be the site of St Paul’s Church where a stained-glass window pays tribute to this generosity.

Stop number five, Sandyland Farm, appears on a tithe map recorded by the monks of Furness Abbey which details the stables, paddock and shippen which were used to provide shelter for cows.

Around the corner you’ll find Number Four. This ‘squatters’ cottage was built on common land in the early 19th century.

The property stands one and a half storeys high and sits on a small street, locally known as Clark’s Lane, named after the man who first built it.

It was known to be one of the last homes in Barrow with gas lighting.

Next door stands Hector House, which is thought to be the oldest building in the village, built by Thomas Fresh in the late 17th century and named after the grandsons of Thomas Lacey, who owned it in 1892.

The seventh site is called Rose Cottage, which was built in the early 1800s, and purchased for £279 in 1890 by Mary Anne Muncaster.

 At the time it was regarded as so unusual for a woman to own her own property that the newspaper reported the sale under her husband’s name.

The cottage passed into the possession of a family of professional dressmakers, including three daughters. In 1958, the husband of one of the daughters built the bungalow next door.

Site number eight is Elm Tree House, which existed as early as the mid 19th century and was recorded as a home around 1892.

The walk also includes Lynwood Nursery, which was once the village shop, and would have been an important part of the community. It was also used as a salvage depot before being turned into a nursery in 2003.

The tenth and final stop brings you to The Farmers Arms. The pub was built as the only drinking establishment in the village by Thomas Nelson in 1860.

Originally opening as a beer house, it was illegal for the Landlord to sell anything else until it became a public house in 1949.

Michael said: “The project has been a long time coming. It has been a hard effort, getting all the details checked and organised and printed on signs, then talking to everyone and getting their permission to put them up.”

He revealed that offering tours to members of the public is something they might look into in the future.

Michael said he cannot choose a favourite heritage site but there are two that stand out to him. He said: “I really like Malvern House because it’s been kept really well and maintained, it’s lovely. And I find Hector House to be one of the more interesting sites, it has a rich history and looks really grand.

"It’s really wonderful having my dad involved. My parents recently moved back to the area after living in Spain and dad was really keen to be involved. It’s a lovely thing to share with him, it’s been great having another pair of hands.”

The community group meets every first Tuesday of the month at The Farmers Arms around 6:30pm and is an opportunity for people to get involved in various different projects.

Signs detailing the history of each heritage site were put up less than two weeks ago. Sadly one has already disappeared.

Michael said he was extremely disappointed to find the sign outside Sandyland Farm had been taken off with an Angle Grinder.

He asks that it be returned and that anyone who can help contacts the Community Group.