Lancaster Over Sands – by Steve Williams

In this month’s talk Steve used splendid old photographs and drawings to illustrate a fascinating mix of geographical, historical, and social aspects of the various towns and landscape of the Furness Peninsular.

Travel around the Bay, made easier by the railways developed in the late nineteenth century replacing the stagecoach crossing of the shifting sands, enabled both tourism to many lovely small towns such as Cartmel, Hawkshead, Coniston and Windermere, and created the growth of industrial areas such as the Dolly Blue factory at Greenodd and the ultimate site of the present day BAE Systems nuclear submarine ship yards of Barrow in Furness.

Of the many areas of interest covered by Steve, it is the ship building importance of Barrow, its strategic role during the First and Second World Wars, and current site of BAE, a huge employer in the locality, which gives present day significance to the Furness Peninsular and which, as Steve so spiritedly reminded us, belongs in Lancashire.

In his engaging tour of this culturally rich and diverse region, Steve gave members glimpses of some of its extraordinary characters and events, ranging from Margaret Fell, instrumental in the founding of the Quaker movement, to Stan Laurel and Donald Campbell of Bluebird fame. He also included humorous anecdotes from his own family background, rounding off an absorbing presentation, much appreciated by the audience.