Ulverston

Hoad Hill and the Hoad Monument, a near replica of the third Eddystone Lighthouse

The name Ulverston, first recorded as Ulurestun in the Domesday Book of 1086, consists of two elements. The first is either an Old Norse personal name, Úlfarr, or the Old English Wulfhere. The second is the Old English tūn, meaning farmstead or village.[2] The personal names Úlfarr and Wulfhere both imply "wolf warrior" or "wolf army",[3] which explains the presence of a wolf on the town's coat of arms. The loss of the initial W in Wulfhere can be linked to the historical Scandinavian influence in the region.[4] Locally, the town has traditionally been known as Oostan.[5] Other variants include Oluestonam (1127), and Uluereston (1189).[4]

The market charter granted in 1280 by Edward I[6] was for a market on Thursdays. The town retains its market-town appearance; market days are now Thursdays and Saturdays.[7] The charter also allowed public houses to open from 10:30 am to 11:00 pm, regardless of other statute on the books. The present Saturday market includes in the summer craft stalls, charity stalls and locally produced ware on "Made in Cumbria" stalls.

Town Bank Grammar School was founded in 1658 from a benefaction by Thomas Fell.[8] The Victoria Road drill hall opened in 1873.[9]

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy Statue; Stan Laurel was born in Ulverston in 1890, and named Arthur Jefferson.

Laurel & Hardy Museum

Historically, the parish included chapelries and townships that later became separate civil parishes: Blawith, Church Coniston, Egton with Newland, Lowick, Mansriggs, Osmotherley, Subberthwaite and Torver. From 1894 to 1974 the town served as an urban district in the administrative county of Lancashire. Under the Local Government Act 1972 it became a successor parish in the Cumbria district of South Lakeland.[10]

In 2009, the comedian Ken Dodd unveiled a statue of Laurel & Hardy outside Coronation Hall in the town centre.[11]

Ulverston is within the area of South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) in the county of Cumbria. As such, some local government responsibilities fall to SLDC while others are handled by Cumbria County Council. Ulverston Town Council is responsible for some parochial matters.[15]

The town is within the wider civil parish of Ulverston. This historic entity is bounded in the east by the Leven estuary, the River Crake, Coniston Water and Yewdale Beck. To the west the boundary follows a chain of hills, and beyond that lie the towns of Kirkby-in-Furness and Askam and Ireleth. To the south is relatively low land, which rises quickly. In the north are hills such as Coniston Old Man. The settlements of the parish are mainly concentrated in the eastern part.[4]

The Laurel & Hardy Museum is situated in Ulverston.[16]

The limestone Hoad Monument was built in 1850 to honour statesman Sir John Barrow,[17] it offers views that include Morecambe Bay and parts of the Lake District.

Entrance to Croftlands Infant School

Ulverston Victoria High School (UVHS), the town's secondary school, with some 1,200 pupils, includes a sixth form college with about 400.[18] There are four main primary schools; Croftlands Junior (secular), St Mary's (Catholic), Church Walk (Church of England) and Sir John Barrow (secular)[19] and a special education school, near Sandside.[20]

Ulverston railway station, a short walk from the town centre, lies on the Furness Line between Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster, which leads on to Manchester Airport, some trains continue on the Cumbrian Coast line to Carlisle.

The town is served by several bus services, including the X6 between Kendal and Barrow-in-Furness, via Grange-over-Sands, the X12 to Coniston and Spark Bridge, and the 6A and 6 to Barrow-in-Furness.

Ulverston is twinned with Albert in France.[21] They meet alternately at Easter each year to play football for the Cyril Barker Shield.[22]

In July 2016 Ulverston, as the birthplace of the film comedian Stan Laurel, was officially twinned with Harlem, Georgia, United States, birthplace of Laurel's screen partner Oliver Hardy.[23]

The Dickensian Festival, held the final weekend of November, sees a range of Christmas stalls and attractions visit Ulverston.[24] People often dress up for it in Victorian attire.

Ulverston has many festivals, including;

• Another Fine Fest,[25] it celebrates Ulverston and the birth of Stan Laurel.
• Dickensian Festival.[26]
• Furness Tradition.[27]

The Royal Norwegian Honorary Consulate in Barrow-in-Furness, one of the numerous consulates of Norway, is actually located on the outskirts of Ulverston.[30]

The town of Ulverstone in Tasmania, Australia is named after Ulverston and similarly built at the mouth of a River Leven.

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Town of Ulverston.

In alphabetical order:

• Ella Blaylock Atherton (1860–1933), physician
• Amelia Edith Barr (née Huddleston, 1831–1919), novelist, was born in Ulverston.
• Sir John Barrow (1764–1848), statesman, was born at Dragley Beck, he was the Admiralty's Second Secretary. A monument to him; a replica of the third Eddystone Lighthouse, stands on Hoad Hill overlooking the town.
• Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett (1883–1962), judge, politician and preacher who served as alternate British judge in the Nuremberg Trials, was born in Ulverston[33]
• Norman Gifford[34]
• Jess Gillam, saxophonist[35]
• Maude Green, the mother of Rock and Roll music legend, Bill Haley[36]
• Francis Arthur Jefferson VC (1921–1982), a Victoria Cross-winning soldier born in Ulverston[37]
• Stan Laurel (1890–1965), actor born in Ulverston[38]
• Selina Martin (1882–1972), suffragette
• Christine McVie (born 1943), singer and songwriter born in the nearby village of Bouth
• James Penny (1741–1799), slave-ship owner, who became a prominent anti-abolitionist
• Bob Shaw (1931–1996), science fiction writer, lived in Ulverston.
• William Basil Weston VC (1924–1945), a Victoria Cross-winning officer, was born in Ulverston. There is a memorial to him in the town's Catholic Church.

• 
  Market Street, Ulverston
• 
  Market Place in 1860
• 
  View over to Hoad Hill
• 
  Hoad Hill with Sir John Barrow monument
• 
  Side door of Ulverston Church of England
• 
  Town Clock of Ulverston, 1845
• 
  The Lanternhouse, formerly the home of the arts companies Welfare State International and Lanternhouse International.
• 
  Ulverston Canal

• Listed buildings in Ulverston
• Ulverston Canal

• Media related to Ulverston at Wikimedia Commons
• Ulverston travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official website
• Ulverston history at GENUKI
• Heritage First (formerly Ulverston Heritage Centre)
• Ulverston on the web
• Ulverston Victoria High School (UVHS)
• Ulverston International Music Festival
• Visit Ulverston
• Ulverston carnival parade