The Barrow Jute Works was a

jute Jute ( ) is a long, rough, shiny bast fibre that can be Spinning (textiles), spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', of the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ...

and flax mill located in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

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(now

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England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The mill was built for the ''Barrow and Calcutta Jute Company'' which was founded by James Ramsden in 1870 in an attempt to diversify Barrow's economy which was heavily focused on iron and steel production. The Jute Works itself was designed by architects Paley and Austin and occupied over 12-acres with a facade on Hindpool Road and along

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969, by Apple Records. It is the last album the group recorded, although '' Let It Be'' (1970) was the last album completed before th ...

. The mill was served by its own

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on a branch of the Furness Railway which connected it to the town's docks, steelworks and cornmill. The mill's all female workforce peaked at 2,000, many of whom were Irish immigrants. The jute fabrics produced were used for a wide range of items including telegraph cables, ropes and artificial hair, later including the production of Kalemeit for carpets, rugs and window drapery. The quality of produce was acknowledged in 1878 at the Exposition Universelle in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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where the ''Barrow and Calcutta Jute Company'' was awarded a gold medal in the field. Two fires damaged the works during its history - 1879 and 1892, the latter occasion destroying half of the mill that was never rebuilt. Competition from the Indian jute trade as well as the large jute works in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

led to the mill's ultimate demise. Barrow Jute Works' iconic chimney was demolished in 1930, followed by the offices in 1948. The site is now occupied by Hindpool Retail Park having also previously contained the Barrow Corporation Bus Depot up until its demolition in the 1980s. The southernmost part of the site fronting Abbey Road contains the former John Whinnerah Institute and Lakeland Laundry building.

References

External links

Institution of Mechanical Engineers' 'The Engineer' 1880 Report into the Barrow Flax and Jute Works
{{coords, 54.113, -3.233, display=title Jute mills Jute works Barrow Jute Works Barrow and Calcutta Jute Company Jute works Barrow Jute Works Barrow Jute Works Barrow Jute Works Buildings and structures demolished in 1948 1870 establishments in England

See also

References

External links