A MAN has rediscovered a lost photograph of the mine shaft that was the 'catalyst' for Barrow's rapid growth in the 19th century.

Kevin Alexander's great-great-grandparents had lived in the cottage near the shaft from 1900 until the 60s.

When he came across the photograph of the shaft at Barrow Library while researching for his new book he was able to identify the scene.

Kevin's great-great-grandparents houseKevin's great-great-grandparents house (Image: Submitted)

Mr Alexander, from Askam, said Henry Schneider came to Furness in 1840 and was offered the lease to mine in the area of Park Farm, Dalton.

READ MORE: Askam man launches book compiling stories about Duddon Sands

He said: "However, he reopened an earlier shaft called Knotts mine to the north with little success and after considerable investment using geologists to search for ore they unfortunately steered him away from the area and it wasn’t until 1850 when his lease was coming to an end that he was asked to either give it up or search for ore.

"He decided to make one last attempt and committed £50 to sink a shaft close to the farm that was built by Furness Abbey monks. The money unfortunately ran out and Schneider turned to his men and told them to abandon the mine, however, led by Richard Hosking they offered to carry on unpaid for another week as they were certain they were going to hit ore, which they did.

"They had discovered the giant body of ore called the Park sop, which became the second largest deposit of iron ore in Britain with over 15 million tonnes extracted. This directly led to Schneider opening the largest iron and steelworks in the world at that time in Barrow, and he also helped to found the first shipyard on Barrow island that BAE Systems now occupy, all from this discovery at Park.

Close up of the farm and mine shaftClose up of the farm and mine shaft (Image: Cumbria Archives)

"The original shaft was apparently abandoned after the larger Burlington pit was sunk in 1856, and a new farm was also built nearby however the original worker’s cottage and a barn survived up until the 1970s."

The photo is part of an album given to Richard Hosking in 1879 at his retirement by Henry Schneider and is held at the Archive Centre at Barrow.

"The photograph is now thought to be the only one of the original farm and of the original mine," Mr Alexander said.

"Today Schneider is honoured as a founding father of Barrow and he has a statue and square and street dedicated to him. Also Park Road takes its name from the once famous mine of Park."