Bardsea is a village in the ''Low

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria, England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, Historic counties of England, historically an exclave of Lancashire. On 1 April 2023 it became part of the new unitary author ...

'' area of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England. It is two miles to the south-east of

Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few miles south of the Lake District Lake District National Park, National Park and j ...

on the northern coast of

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is an estuary in north-west England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second largest ga ...

. It is in the historic county of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

History

Bardsea, or ''Berretseige'', is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

as one of the townships forming the Manor of Hougun held by

Earl Tostig Tostig Godwinson ( 102925 September 1066) was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson. After being exiled by his brother, Tostig supported the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada's invasion of England, and was killed ...

. Also once part of the medieval manor of

Muchland Muchland is a medieval manor in Low Furness in the county of Cumbria in northern England. The manor was the seat of the Lords of Aldingham, and included at its peak the villages of Bardsea, Urswick, Scales, Stainton, Sunbrick, Baycliff, G ...

. Bardsea was once a small farming and fishing village well into the 19th century. It was accessed mainly by crossing the treacherous sands of Morecambe Bay. The church of Holy Trinity was consecrated in 1853. Previously the area had been included within the parish of

Urswick Urswick is a civil parish that includes the villages of Great Urswick and Little Urswick. It is located in the Furness area of Cumbria, England. The villages are situated to the south-west of the town of Ulverston. In the United Kingdom Census ...

. The area was also associated with the early

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

movement. When founder

George Fox George Fox (July 1624 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 13 January 1691 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English Dissenters, English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Quakers, Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as t ...

married local landowner

Margaret Fell Margaret Fell or Margaret Fox ( Askew, formerly Fell; 1614 – 23 April 1702) was a founder and leading member of the Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Prot ...

, he took over

Swarthmoor Hall Swarthmoor Hall is a mansion at Swarthmoor, in the Furness area of Cumbria, North West England. Furness is part of the historic county of Lancashire. The Hall was home to Thomas and Margaret Fell, the latter an important player in the founding ...

and much of the land round Bardsea. There is an old Quaker burial ground nearby at Sunbrick on

Birkrigg Common Birkrigg or Birkrigg Common is an open-area of limestone countryside near the town of Ulverston on the Furness Peninsula in southern Cumbria, England. There is extensive limestone pavement on Birkrigg, which is protected under ''The Wildlife and ...

, where

was reputedly buried in 1702 (one authority suggests she was interred at the burial ground at Swarthmoor, although that is contradicted by other sources). George Fox himself was buried in London. When

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

mining and production led to industrialisation in Furness, Bardsea became a significant port, with steamers leaving for

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. That was short-lived, however, with the

Furness Railway The Furness Railway (FR) was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England. History Formation In the early 1840s, the owners of iron ore mines in the Furness district of Lancashire became interested in a ...

and

Ulverston Canal The Ulverston Canal is a ship canal that connects the town of Ulverston, Cumbria, England with Morecambe Bay. The waterway, which is entirely straight and on a single level, is isolated from the rest of the UK canal network. It was built so th ...

taking business away from the village by the end of the

Victorian period In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

. A branch line from Plumpton Junction, on the main railway to Barrow, which opened in 1883, was supposed to run to Bardsea and beyond, but the rails never got closer than

Conishead Priory Conishead Priory is a large Gothic Revival building on the Furness peninsula near Ulverston in Cumbria. The priory's name translates literally as "King's Hill Priory". Since 1976, the building has been occupied by a Buddhist community. History ...

, about to the north. The line closed in 1917.

Community

Bardsea currently has one used public house; the Ship Inn which was a farm in 1750. Bardsea also has a converted Malt Kiln, dated 1829 and once part of the Well Wood estate, which is now used as a village hall. The Hartley family bought the hall and set up a trust deed in memory of local men who were killed in the war, handing over the malt Kiln to the community.

Geography

Nearby locations of interest are the common with prehistoric

Birkrigg stone circle The Birkrigg stone circle (also known as the Druid's Temple or Druids' Circle) is a Bronze Age stone circle on Birkrigg Common, two miles south of Ulverston in the English county of Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West ...

, Sea Woo

which once belonged to

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...

, the Manjushri Centre at

and

Chapel Island Chapel Island is a limestone outcrop that lies in the Leven estuary of Morecambe Bay in England, less than from the shoreline at Bardsea in the area known as Ulverston Sands. It is located at ( OS grid ref. SD 321759). It is one of the Isl ...

used as a sanctuary when crossing the sands. When stood at the top of

, it is possible to see the Sir John Barrow Monument and

, as well as other local landmarks and the town of

References

External links

Cumbria County History Trust: Urswick
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page) * {{authority control Villages in Cumbria Furness Populated coastal places in Cumbria Morecambe Bay Westmorland and Furness