Illuminated Tramcar
c. 1925
Rod White
Eat your heart out Blackpool!
A lavishly decorated Barrow open-top tram outside the Salthouse Road depot. Light bulbs are placed between bunting on the top deck, and along the pole to the electric wires. Flowers and other garlands cover every rail. The town’s motto “Semper Sursum” (Ever onwards) is on the top deck, while “HELP THE MAYOR’S XMAS FUND” is on the outside of the lower deck. Inside, it reads “THROW YOUR MONEY THROUGH THE WINDOWS”, which have helpfully been left open or removed. The tram has been repainted for the occasion, with no trace of its number or normal livery visible.
Russian Icebreaker “Canada”
1914 – 1920
Peter Sandbach
CGS Earl Grey was built in 1909 in Barrow-in-Furness for the Saint Lawrence River winter service as an “icebreaking freight and passenger steamer”. If Edward Sankey photographed the launch, the pictures have not survived. At the outbreak of World War 1 she was sold to the imperial Russian Government and it was during this period that she carried the name “Canada”. In 1920 she was captured by Bolshevik forces and renamed Fyodor Litke. After the war she remained in service as an icebreaker and made two voyages of arctic exploration. After 50 years of extraordinarily hard use she was broken up in Murmansk in 1960. How a photograph of the Canada in thick ice off a Russian harbour came to be in the Sankey collection is a mystery.
Croslands Park Tudor Style House At Bottom
Early 1900’s
Peter Naylor
Looking east from Croslands Park at a house on Rating Lane, now at the junction with Croslands Park Road and facing the grounds of Barrow Sixth Form College and Saint Bernard’s School.
The house is Woodside Villa, built immediately pre-World War One and occupied by PA Geddes when it appears for the first time in a Year Book – in 1914. By 1916 it was occupied by WH Park listed alongside Percy Geddes; Park was still listed there in 1930.
Note three men facing the camera and the gateway onto Rating Lane.
Geddes was probably the manager/owner of the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel while Park is listed in the 1925 Year Book as an estate agent, valuer and broker with an interest in Croslands Park Building Estate.
Works interior
Early 1900’s
Peter Laird
A bit chilly in work today.
The interior of a shop at Vickers in the early 20th century. There must be some missing glass in that roof for so much snow to get in. Maybe this part of the building was out of use? There seems to be a couple of inches at least covering those lathes and tables. The only place which looks anything like this in other old photographs is in the shell shop which had a similar low roof in one part.
Can you see the man standing near the back with full outdoor clothing?
Newby Bridge in the snow – from Swan Hotel
Early 1900’s
Lynn Belither
This is a picturesque image. The tree on the left seems to invite you into the snowy scene of the 5 arched stone bridge built in 1651 over the River Levens. It adjoins the hamlet of Newby Bridge at the southern end of Lake Windermere. It seems to have survived the passage of time very well considering it probably has more traffic nowadays than in days gone by.
In 1910 there was a big freeze in the North West and the area was covered in snow. At the far end of the bridge there is a horse drawn wagon about to make a crossing over the bridge towards the Swan Inn.
Lakeside Landing Stage
Early 1900’s
Peter Naylor
Snow has fallen as we look north up Windermere from Lakeside with Teal in steam. Four bowlered gents chat on the upper deck while a crew member chats on the quay. Lined with cast-iron columns supporting the panoramic refreshment room, rails are set in the surface of the quay for hand-propelled coal dollies to feed the steamers.
Built by Barrow Shipbuilding Company in 1879 and launched to coincide with the opening of the railway branch from Plumpton, Teal has its name and port of registration (Barrow) plus a motif on its cruiser stern. Teal and sister Cygnet (one of whose lifebelts is fitted to Teal), were the first steel-hulled steamers on the lake. Steamers ran through winters to provide a public service and during World War One Teal ran this service alone, Cygnet being laid up.
Ennis Wood
c.1910
John Harrison
Ennis Wood is close to Bow Bridge; however this is not Mill Beck that runs under the bridge but another man-made water course close by.
This is a leat or millrace and would supply water to a water wheel powering a mill or other machinery.
At Furness Abbey’s peak there were three mills along Mill Beck. Although this could have supplied one of those mills it is likely that it is a more modern construction. We don’t know what it was used for but it’s likely that it supplied water to Park House Farm.
From newspaper archives we know the farm was using water power to drive farm machinery providing “great savings in both time and labour”.
Reference: Ulverston Mirror and Furness Reflector – Saturday 11 August 1860 North Lonsdale Agricultural soc, crop inspectors report
Bootle snow clearance completed
January 1913
Geoff Holme
The job is finished. The snow has been cleared by men with shovels throwing the snow into wagons to be dumped. The men who completed this backbreaking work line up for their photograph along with possibly some of the stranded passengers and curious locals including the local Policeman. Some youngsters are looking on and no doubt wanting to be included in the photo at a time when cameras were still a novelty.
Back in 1913 this was a highly labour intensive operation, unlike today when a snow plough would be sent – this happened 3 times in the last 30 years including February 1994, which saw similar scenes cleared in minutes with a plough gently running through the station throwing the snow to one side like a giant snowballing machine.
Person in the Snow
29th December 1908
Geoff Holme
Snow was more common in the early years of the 20th century and the railway at Bootle is prone to blockages due to its exposed location. Snow can collect between its platform as well as against the windbreak of the building and bushes.
Snow was cleared by men with shovels throwing the snow into wagons to be dumped.
Here the job is finished; enough snow has been cleared to allow trains to run and a pathway from the waiting room to the train has been created. A lone figure, quite likely the local ganger, inspects the scene which he will have declared fit for traffic. Bootle will be open again and not be cut off from the outside world.
Ramsden Dock Road
C. Early 1900’s
Philip Minchom
A bright winter morning, you can feel the biting cold and the nipped fingers. The sun casts dramatic shadows across the wide street silhouetting a tram, its wires and the line of elegant poles. The tram approaches, ‘Milkmaid Milk, The Best’ advertised on the front. Snow has been cleared from the tracks and piled up alongside. As was usual in industrial towns in the 20th century, its pristine white is already starting to be blackened by chimney smoke. It does look very cold and few people are out yet but by the corner of Ship Street a crowd of boys in knee breeches, wide collars and caps seem happy to stand around. Some wonder at the shivering photographer.
Skating on Windermere
c. 1915 — 1916
Dr Peter Schofield
While ice-skating and curling were enjoyed by many, it would only last for a short period, unless there were prolonged hard frosts. Although ice could form over an inch thick it needed a hard frost before it was fit for skating. Falls of snow would also spoil ice-skating, but by sweeping the ice the enjoyment could continue. Under the wrong condition’s accidents happened, sometimes fatal. On the Ulverston Canal two teenage boys’ fell through the ice and were rescued by a soldier, but a third skater drowned. A further fatality occurred at a pond at Mouzell, when a young Dalton boy fell through the ice. The bravery of a local PC was in vain. After running three-quarters of a mile, he plunged into the water, diving under the ice, to try and rescue the boy. The constable was pulled from the water exhausted.
Lakeside Windermere
Date Unknown
Julia Parks
As Sankey images go – this is perhaps not the most exciting. However, there are a few things which drew me in which I felt might be interesting to you too. Firstly, the composition. The tall trees boldly framing the scene. The field boundaries offer other frames and drew my eye to the patterned dots. I was convinced they were molehills and initially wrote my piece all about moles!
However, when I shared the image with the wider volunteer group they challenged my identification of mole hills and said instead it was muck – piled up ready to be spread.
Can you see the horses? They would have once been an essential part of the farming system. Producing rich fertiliser or ‘muck’ for the field and also helping with the work too.
Reference: Thank you to Brian Hardwick for explaining the Muck Spreading Process of yesteryear!
Untitled (Kirkstone Pass Inn)
Date Unknown
Martin Bates
Bluthering Heights.
This 15th century inn awaits the intrepid who complete “The Struggle”; the road from Ambleside towards Patterdale and Ullswater. At nearly 1500ft, it is the third highest pub in the country and far from anywhere.
There are drifts of snow, which tell of the winds across the pass, as do the slate slabs on the gable end roof and smaller stones on the porch.
Today, we might expect a large log fire after reaching such a venue but, with all fuel needing to be carried up the hill, I expect it is just a small fire that is warming a snug!
The building in the background was built to accommodate the taller coaches of the early 1800s.
Red Tarn and Ullswater from Striding Edge
1930’s
Derek Bradley
An unusual photo taken from the north side of Striding Edge. Why would one venture here? Despite the caption it doesn’t show Ullswater, which is in the valley at the back of the photo. The most prominent hill is Birkhouse Moor and the wall running over it.
Wastwater from Great Gable
1930’s
Stephe Cove
On a grey day, a lone walker stands high on the side of Great Gable by a patch of old snow looking into the Wasdale Valley where the irregular fields are so distinctive. He is wearing sturdy work boots and a mackintosh and his trousers are tucked into his socks. He has a flat cap and he is carrying a small knapsack.
The days on the hill are not always grey. I have walked down the path from here to the Wasdale Head Hotel into the glare of an amazing sunset out in the Irish Sea. It reminded me of Millom poet Norman Nicholson’s lines at the end of “Sea to the West” –
Yet in that final stare…
…Let my eyes at the last be blinded
Not by the dark
But by the dazzle.
Reference: Sea to the West by Norman Nicholson, Faber and Faber 1981
Holme Crag
EARLY 1900’S
Brian Hardwick
A view from Holme crag on the east side of Windermere looking west to Pullwood house which is veiled by a young willow. There are pollarded willows on the right of the picture and a jetty extends from a low rocky outcrop. In the foreground a band of reeds follows the shoreline and on the opposite side of the lake, in the shallows before Pull Wyke bay, extensive reed beds can be seen. It looks timeless. It is not. The reeds have almost gone.
The reed beds were a home for invertebrates, small fish, birds, and mammals; and they captured the silt and excess nutrients in the water preventing algae blooms. We must restore and conserve this valuable resource.
SKATING ON WINDERMERE
EARLY 1900’S
Wendy Kolbe
A quiet scene on the frozen lake where several well dressed men and women, all with ice-skates, tentatively move across the frozen surface; one man looks as though he’s about to fall. The fashionable waspy waist of one skater is picked out in silhouette.
Quite a different environment to the carnival of comings and goings by hundreds of skaters in other photos. It looks quiet and still with the regal snow capped mountains behind the forest in the background.
The Langdales are clearly seen on the far right starting with Harrison Stickle, Loft Crag and Pike of Stickle sitting in the beautiful Langdale valley. After which, working along to the left we have Rossett Pike, Esk Pike from the Skiddaw range and the grand and shapely Bow Fell. Directly behind the forest we see Lingmoor Fell in the heart of the Lake District.
Skating at Thwaite Flat
4th January 1908
Dr Peter Schofield
The arctic weather made skating possible in many places throughout Britain for the first weekend of January 1908, before the cold gave way to rain and a milder atmosphere.
Many travelled to the Lake District in anticipation of Windermere being safely frozen over, while others visited Coniston and Tarn Hows.
In the Furness district hundreds journeyed to Thwaite Flat, a favourite rendezvous for strollers. Although the image is dated for the Saturday, a considerable number ventured onto the ice on the Sunday, where besides breaking the Sabbath, they also risked breaking their necks. The photograph is very reminiscent of a Lowry winter scene.
Cavendish Square & Paxton Terrace Snow Scene
1908 – 1915
Enid Milligan
Cavendish Square – snow and explosives!
The statue of Lord Cavendish overlooks the snow-covered square on Duke Street. Opposite, unseen, is Barrow’s imposing Town Hall.
Barrovians carry on with their daily business, undeterred by the treacherous conditions.
The tram lines have been cleared of snow to ensure that the electrified trams can continue to take people to work at the shipyard, or to one of the many other industries in and around the town and docks
A public telephone office and cab rank sits in the middle of the square.
The businesses in the background are quite different to what we would see on a high street today. There’s a record lending library and exchange, a ‘cash’ chemist, and a cycle shop – which also sold gunpowder!
Duke Street Outside Town Hall, Barrow in Furness
1910 – 1915
Lynn Belither
This is not the prettiest of snow scenes, but still very evocative.
It’s a cold, smoky image of Duke Street, probably taken around 1912.
The central perspective, the cleared tram track, draws you into the scene. The Town Hall towers above the man steering the very important horse-drawn snow plough; busy providing a pathway for pedestrians on the left side of the track.
Various people are dutifully queueing, to the right of the track, waiting hopefully for a tram to arrive. The whole scene looks so enclosed in the grey mist. The streetlight is unlit – so are we looking at the beginning of the day or the approach of evening?
Abbey Road
September 1914 – May 1915
Jean McSorley
Welcome to Barrow
What a sight for those coming into Barrow on the main road into town. Doesn’t it look grand, decked out in winter finery? The Coliseum Cinema looks lovely with its dusting of snow, and the nearby Duke of Edinburgh Hotel is very stately.
There’s great entertainment to be had, an event with ‘Tightrope Artistes’ is advertised, along with other shows.
The ordinary folk impress as well, by determinedly going about their day-to-day business, despite the conditions. Horses, and men, pull carts, and there’s a truck. Women brush snow from the pavements; people are walking. There’s even a man performing his own ‘high-wire’ act, by cycling on the icy road.
St George’s Snow
1900 – 1915
Peter Laird
Where is everybody?
Unless they’re wearing white camouflage, there’s nobody here. Very fancy ‘street furniture’ holds up the electric and tram cables, and there are tracks in the snow – but no signs of life.
Why was this photograph taken? Possibly because this district was, at one time, one of the most important areas of Barrow-in-Furness; with the Furness Railway headquarters to the right (out of view), St George’s Church (the first in Barrow, built 1859-1860), directly in front, and Barrow’s first permanent railway station – behind the photographer.
The building seen to the left of the church was North Lonsdale Hospital which served the town well for almost a century. But in any event at least on this day, it looks like people decided to stay somewhere warm.
Skating Frozen Res Soap Candle Works
c. Early 1900’s
Peter Laird
Skating on Ormsgill Reservoir.
The townsfolk of Barrow-in-Furness enjoying their recreation time on the ice on Upper Ormsgill (Steelworks) Reservoir. Although the ice is obviously thick enough to support the people, there is no snow on the ground.
Very few of the revellers are wearing ice skates, most are walking gingerly. The vast majority are wearing headgear of some sort. P Hodgson & Co’s Soap and Candle Works are shown in the background, with The Ormsgill Hotel faint on the right.
Barrow Station Entrance
15th November 1915
Geoff Holme
The approach to Barrow station from Abbey Road. This junction has changed with the diverting of the road to a new entrance in Holker Street. The footpath remains.
The gates were closed every year on Christmas Day to preserve the right of way.
In front of the station, on the right, the locomotive nicknamed ‘Coppernob’ is housed in a glass case.
Despite this being during the First World War posters are still advertising excursions, including Blackpool, along with the line from Ravenglass to Muncaster Mill advertised as the ‘Eskdale Express’. By the following winter, due to the war, all non-essential travel was discouraged.
This station building, opened in 1882, was rebuilt following bombing in May 1941 in the Second World War.
Skating on Park Lake Dec 4th 1925
DECEMBER 1925
Peter Naylor
Cold weather during the second week of November 1925 then became very cold, and this continued through the first week in December, even in the normally relatively mild Furness area. The park lake in Barrow froze over and the ice was sufficiently thick to allow skating. The number of people with skates is surprising, but more surprising is the gender imbalance with very few females (and not many children).
The following Monday the Lancashire Evening Post reported skating in full swing in Furness during the weekend on all the shallow waters and some deeper waters, too. Thousands visited Barrow Park, hundreds skating or otherwise amusing themselves on the park lake.
Curling Barrow Park Lake
January 1929
Rod White
A Curling Game: Park Lake
At least two “ends” of curling are taking place. Men and boys are taking a keen interest. Some of the people are wearing skates, but not all. It is either a bright day, or the ice is very clear: reflections are good.
The majority of the men wear an overcoat and hat; some have scarves, or mufflers. Two of the hats are peaked caps, possibly of park-keepers. The boathouse is relatively unchanged today, though the flagpole and window above the central door have gone.
If the date is correct, then it must be before work started on building the Boys Grammar School on the fields beyond the boathouse. This perhaps explains the solid wooden fence on the far side.
Curling on the Steelworks Reservoir
c. 1908 – 1915
Enid Milligan
Big freeze brings crowds to the Steelworks reservoir
Barrovians were a hardy breed, living on this exposed peninsula, open to the prevailing winds and rain. Undeterred by the freezing temperatures that had turned the Steelworks reservoir at Ormsgill into a skating rink, the locals had flocked to the ice to make the most of the conditions and the reservoir was a hive of activity.
We see resourceful locals playing a game of curling on the ice. Wearing little more than a cap and extra pullover, the children were enjoying the slippery conditions, some wearing ice skates.
Women in “Sunday best”, wearing long dresses and hats, can be seen deep in conversation. In the background is the cemetery, with the Catholic Chapel (left) and the Church of England and Non-Conformist chapels to the right.
Snow scene, Windermere
1910 – 1920
Philip Minchom
We are looking northwards up a wintery Windermere from the hills over Bowness. Distant Ambleside and the fells above it are shrouded in the clouds of the next snowstorm. On a cold day no one is out, not even boys sledging. Out on the lake the tiny island of Lady Holme is barely visible.
By the late 1800s the ‘Little Ice Age’ had ended and winters became milder, but in ‘The Great Frost’ of 1895 Windermere completely froze over. This is recalled in Arthur Ransome’s classic children’s story Winter Holiday, published in 1933.
The lake appears much as it does today, but the houses of Bowness now cover many of these snowy fields.
Old Newbarns Village
1915 – 1925
Leslie Eveson
“I think you missed a bit”
In the aftermath of snowfall, bemused onlookers, both human and animal, look on as an industrious shopkeeper outside Ash Tree Stores attempts to clear the whole street with her brush. Footprints and tracks (mainly of bicycles) lead up Fairfield Lane on the left, and straight up Hollow Lane to the Strawberry Hotel on the corner of Abbey Road; or maybe the other way, to Hector Street, Harrel Lane, or the farmhouses.
A house now hidden from the photographer’s vantage point (Spring Bank) can be seen centre left in the distance, with Saint Paul’s Church to the right.
The cheeriest blaze is in the grate of the Farmers Arms, where Mrs Fisher presides.
Fountain in Hawcoat Lane at Abbey Road
15th November 1915
Rod White
“Let’s get this snow on the road”
This drinking fountain, which as can be seen was adapted to hold a street light, stood in the middle of Hawcoat Lane where it meets Abbey Road.
The image shows many have walked over the snow, but few wheeled vehicles have trundled across it. The road is even clear of horse droppings! Only the dark tracks left by a tram can be seen in the foreground.
It’s surprising that there are no people. Is it late, or early, or just too cold?
This splendid fountain was erected to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond (60th) Jubilee in 1897. Others still exist in Dalton & Askam (in Furness). The wall on the right is of St Paul’s Church, while the land on the left (now the site of a Shell garage) appears empty.
Winter Snow in Rating Lane at Manor Farm
c. 1930 – 1935
Martin Bates
Shorts – in the Snow!
Fancy walking to school in shorts in snow? Does this picture lend credence to those who remind the young that “times were hard in those days”? Perhaps it was soon after Easter, and summer uniform was the requirement? The nearest school was Hawcoat and Newbarns Day School, well over a mile away.
The light in the farm window might imply a roaring log fire but is probably just electric light.
This view is unchanged today apart from the addition of road signs. The “New Manor House” (right) was built soon after the railway was run through the valley beside the ruins of the abbey. Sadly, the original 16th century Manor House was demolished to make way for the Furness Abbey Hotel, and adjacent Abbey Station (now also gone).
A Country Scene In Hollow Lane
1914 – 1925
Martin Bates
MOOOVE Over
This hollow lane, from Newbarns village to the Strawberry Hotel on Abbey Road, leaves little space for Edward Sankey to stand aside. Are the cattle being driven back to a snowy field, or to a barn with hay and shelter?
Although two sets of houses (Fairfield Terrace, 1878 and Strawberry Terrace, 1885) had been built on the lane, the farms at the bottom of the hill – Sandylands, Newbarns and The Yews – remind us that much of the area, of what is now suburban Barrow, was still open fields at this time. When this image was taken, development was slowly encroaching. There were houses the length of Fairfield Lane by 1915, and most of the streets behind Abbey Road, from Cheltenham Street to Bowness Road, had also been built.
Fairfield Lane
c. 1915 – 1920
Peter Sandbach
Too snowy, too steep…
The cyclist hesitates before attempting to descend the hill on snow on a murkey evening.
This road follows the route of an old lane which, for centuries, linked ‘far fields’ (possibly the origin of the name Fairfield) with the village of Newbarns. The first house built on Fairfield, Risedale Villa (in 1873), was followed over the coming years by the construction of other large detached houses. The lane was subequently widened to allow for more houses, such as those on the right in the photograph, which were built in 1915.
Bootle Station Snow Clearing
29th December 1908
Stephe Cove
If only someone would invent the snow plough!
What makes a ‘bad’ winter? I’m sure the ice climber and these railway workers would not agree on the merits of a prolonged cold spell. In the days before private cars, keeping the railways open was an important task especially for isolated rural communities.
With the group further north up the track, this gang numbers twenty men, a reflection on the size of the Furness Railway work force at the time. They have a fine range of coats and hats – but not a high-viz vest amongst them.
Did you notice one man has a stick and a bowler hat and there is an advert for Players Navy Cut?
Title Unknown
Date Unknown
Julia Parks
Icy Waterfall
When I think of the Sankey’s photographic work I often imagine open streets, factory floors or mountain scenes. The camera positioned to take in as much information as possible. Occasionally we find photographs where the camera has been taken closer to the subject. A birds nest, a person’s portrait, even a cauliflower plant. These close ups offer a different view of Sankey’s world; new details otherwise hidden.
This image reminds me of those special icy days we get every once in a while, when the bleak and grey winter landscape is transformed into something more magical. Suddenly temporary sculptures and shapes conceal what’s beneath. The Sankeys, like me perhaps, were also fascinated by this transformation and felt it worthy of capture on photographic film.
Title Unknown
c. 1945 – 1950
Derek Bradley
Skiers at Esk Hause
This is the only known photo of skiers in the entire Sankey collection. Ski touring has always been a very minority activity in the Lake District, due to both the lack of ski-lifts and generally unpredictable snow cover. The main centre of what activity there is in the Eastern fells, particularly the northern end of the Helvellyn ridge.
This photo is especially unusual in that it is taken at Esk Hause in the Western fells, near the Scafell peaks. Not only is the ground there generally covered in boulders, but it is also relatively near the sea, which makes the snow cover much less reliable.
Winter – Esk Hause
c. 1945 – 1950
John Harrison
A Well Deserved Rest
This is a mountain pass in the western Lake District, 749m/2490ft high and 4.4Km (2 ¾ miles) from the nearest road. Even today it is not easy to reach in winter, yet the picture shows thirteen people who did, and the footsteps of many more.
This possibly indicates the changing attitudes towards the outdoors at the time. Industrialisation moved people into towns where living standards were poor. One means of temporary relief was walking in the countryside.
Most land was private. Rambling clubs such as the ‘Sunday Tramps’ (founded in 1879) formed and began campaigning for the legal ‘right to roam’. From the 1920s reductions in working hours, rising wages and falling travel costs helped walking become very popular. By the 1930s many thousands were out walking on the weekends.
Scafell Range from Great Gable
c. 1950
Stephe Cove
Scafell Range – what a day to be on the fells
This is my dream scenario – sharp winter light on snow high in the fells. Winter mountains are different from slogging up eroded footpaths. With the right experience and equipment you can make judgements on route-finding, and safety, like a proper explorer.
Below the climber, you can see the junction of Greta Ghyll and Piers Gill. The skyline goes from Great End left across Broad Crag to Scafell Pike. The corridor route crosses to Lingmell Col somewhere in-between.
The climber is without ice axe, fleece or Goretex but I would swap places with him any day. He would have been better placed against the snow rather than the crag but the photographer did well to get there in the first place.
Title Unknown
1925
John Harrison
Dunmail Raise in Winter
Dunmail Raise is the highest point on the road between Grasmere and Keswick in the Lake District.
Left is Raise Cottage, a holiday let now, in the 1920s it was a Fever Hospital for people with infectious diseases like tuberculosis.
The car is a model 211A “Bull Nose” Cowley Tourer, first manufactured in 1924, which was registered to Mr Sankey on the 9th February 1925. These are facts, we can also deduce that the car belongs to the photographer as it is empty, the passenger door is open and there’s no-one else about.
This picture raises questions. Why drive there in winter? Why photograph the car?
We could assume he liked a little adventure; after all he has driven a long way in difficult conditions and he was proud of his car!
Snow, ice and a promise of something nice
c. 1910 – 1920
Jean McSorley
Snow, ice and a promise of something nice
Hard as iron ice; skaters on the frozen cauldron of the Steelworks reservoir. The dimly viewed Candle Works offers no light, or heat. It is bone chillingly cold.
The soft snow of Abbey Road and Dalton Road feels safer; youngsters lark about – while others, well wrapped up, head for warm firesides. For all its comforting allure, this season was often less gentle than is imagined.
Yet despair not! One view offers hope of better days; the ferry to Walney hints at trips to Biggar Bank in summer – an icecream, a paddle in the sea, a snooze in the sun…
Winter comes to Barrow
c. 1914 – 1925
Stephe Cove
Furness is not noted for snow and the salt sea air ensures it doesn’t lie for very long. The winter of 1916/17 was noted for “heavy snowfall”, but that’s not when all of these images were taken, as some were photographed earlier than that year, and others after 1924.
The photographer must have set off fairly early for his walks with his camera and tripod as few people are about, and the snow is largely untrodden.
It looks as if the group of children in Victoria Park Road might be armed with snowballs. Maybe Mr Sankey was equally well equipped to keep them at bay while he took the shot – perhaps with the promise of taking their photograph?
Snow scenes Barrow-in-Furness Nov. 15th 1915
Derek Bradley
Unusually for Sankey images, these photos appear have been taken for their artistic value.
The most distinctive image is of a man herding sheep along the tram tracks in Abbey Road, the main route in and out of Barrow at that time. Was this posed or just a coincidence that Sankey encountered the herdsman?
Snow on Roads in Barrow
c. 1913 – 1920
Martin Bates & Peter Naylor
Snow has fallen in Barrow and the streets are mainly quiet. Luckily the clouds had lifted to allow Edward Sankey to capture the fresh snow scenes. He certainly had few concerns about traffic when standing in middle of the road – although image 3727 does show the trams were still running, with one in the distance on Abbey Road.
In 3726, the children must be at school as the only people on Furness Park Road seem to be four men out for a stroll.
In image 3728, a man appears to struggle with pulling a handcart up the slope to the railway bridge. This image also shows the Coliseum Cinema on the left, with some adjacent shops – one of which was a Sankey shop in the early 1920s.
There are a few images showing the pavements cleared or being cleared. In 3732, on Fairfield Lane, some children are just visible helping a lady. In others there’s the odd pedestrian, a dog-walker – and a cyclist who has decided that the snowy hill is not to be attempted while mounted.