Ulverston, United Kingdom
Ulverston is a town of 11,356 people in England, United Kingdom.
Why visit Ulverston
Townapedia lists 10 museums and landmarks, 5 parks and trails, 62 places to eat, 7 places to stay and 8 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Coronation Hall, Hoad Monument, Laurel and Hardy Museum and Birkrigg stone circle.
Weather in Ulverston
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Ulverston
Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few miles south of the Lake District National Park and just north-west of Morecambe Bay, within the Furness Peninsula. Lancaster is 39 miles (63 km) to the east, Barrow-in-Furness 10 miles (16 km) to the south-west and Kendal 25 miles (40 km) to the north-east. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 11,678, increasing at the 2021 census to 11,823.
From the Wikipedia article Ulverston (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Travel tips from other travellers: Ulverston on Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Photos of Ulverston
Things to do8
Hoad Monument
Lighthouse · 0.7 mi
Monument in Ulverston, Cumbria, England, UK
Rolling Bridge Over Ulverston Canal And Associated Accumulator Tower
Bridge · 1.2 mi
Bridge in Ulverston, Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England, UK
Museums and landmarks10
Birkrigg stone circle
Monument and historic site · 2.8 mi
Archaeological site in Urswick, Cumbria, England, UK
Parks, trails and playgrounds5
Restaurants and cafes62
Poppies Cafe & Bistro
Cafe
4 Union Street, Ulverston
Mo,We,Th 10:00-15:00, We 17:00-20:00, Fr,Sa 18:00-20:00; Tu,Su off
The Stan Laurel Inn
Bar and pub
31 The Ellers, Ulverston
Mo-Sa 12:00-14:00,18:00-24:00; Su 12:00-24:00
50 more on the map.
History
The name Ulverston, first noted as Ulurestun in the Domesday Book of 1086, consists of an Old Norse personal name, Úlfarr, or the Old English Wulfhere, with the Old English tūn, meaning farmstead or village. The personal names Úlfarr and Wulfhere both imply "wolf warrior" or "wolf army", 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 Scandinavian influence in the region. Locally, the town has traditionally been known as Oostan. Other variants include Oluestonam (1127), and Uluereston (1189). The name was spelled "Ulverstone" until at least 1888.
The market charter granted in 1280 by Edward I was for a market on Thursdays. The town retains its market-town appearance; market days are now Thursdays and Saturdays. 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.
The parish church is a listed building and was founded in the 12th century.
Read more of the history
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.
Town Bank Grammar School was founded in 1658 from a benefaction by Thomas Fell. The Victoria Road drill hall opened in 1873.
The High Carley Hospital and Ulverston Joint Hospital Board built an infectious disease hospital at High Carley, Pennington, in 1884. It was initially a fever hospital for paupers. In 1916 a second hospital, run by Lancashire County Council, was built to treat tubercular patients. From 1949 a children's annexe was built. In the 1950s, as the number of tubercular patients decreased, the hospital was run as an acute hospital. In 1984, after the building of the new Furness General Hospital, High Carley was closed.
In 2009, the comedian Ken Dodd unveiled a statue of Laurel and Hardy (by Graham Ibbeson) outside Coronation Hall in the town centre.
On 28 April 2009, Ulverston was near the epicentre of an earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter magnitude scale. Tremors were felt across south Cumbria and parts of north Lancashire at 11.22, but virtually no damage was caused. A spokesman for the British Geological Survey stated that earthquakes of such magnitude occur roughly once a year in Britain. Regionally, it was the strongest seismic event since a magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck Lancaster in 1835.
From the History section of Ulverston on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
More about Ulverston
Education
Ulverston Victoria High School (UVHS), the town's secondary school, with some 1,200 pupils, includes a sixth form college with about 400. There are four main primary schools; Croftlands Junior (secular), St Mary's (Catholic), Church Walk (Church of England) and Sir John Barrow (secular) and a special education school, located on the site of former Todbusk building on UVHS site.
From the Wikipedia article Ulverston, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Ulverston
Stan LaurelEnglish actor (1890–1965)Photo: Photo by Stax, Public domain
John BarrowEnglish statesman (1764-1848)Photo: John Jackson, Public domain
Amelia Edith Huddleston BarrEnglish novelist (1831–1919)Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
Kate ListerBritish lecturer, writer and bloggerPhoto: Lazlo1971, CC0
Ernest GlendinningAmerican actor (1884–1936)Photo: White, Public domain
Michelle ScroghamBritish politician, from 2024, Member of Parliament for Barrow and FurnessPhoto: ©House of Commons / Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0
James PennyBritish slave traderPhoto: Thomas Hargreaves, Public domain- Norman Birkett, 1st Baron BirkettBritish judge (1883-1962)
- Norman GiffordEnglish Test and County cricketer (born 1940)
- Keith TysonEnglish artist (born 1969)
- Willie HoggCricket player (born 1955)
- Liam TomsettBritish footballer (born 1992)
Born in Ulverston, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Where to stay7
Churches and places of worship14
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses
Church · Jehovahs Witness
Hart Street, Ulverston
Shopping33
Gas and EV charging4
Schools, colleges and libraries10
Healthcare4
Map of Ulverston
157 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Walney Aerodrome (BWF) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 8 miles away.
- Blackpool 26 mi south, about 42 min by car
- Whitehaven 31 mi northwest, about 50 min by car
- Preston 34 mi southeast, about 55 min by car
- Workington 36 mi northwest, about 57 min by car
- Blackburn 40 mi southeast, about 1 h by car
- Burnley 44 mi southeast, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Wigan 49 mi southeast, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Bolton 50 mi southeast, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Liverpool 54 mi south, about 1 h 30 min by car
- St Helens 54 mi south, about 1 h 30 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Ulverston
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Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Market Street, Ulverston, Dave&Lynne Slater from Cumbria, United kingdom, CC BY 2.0
- War Memorial, Ulverston, Cumbria, AlixChaytor, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sun Inn, Ulverston, Alexander P Kapp, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Birkrigg stone circle, Yohan euan o4, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Holy Trinity Church, Ulveston, Darrin Antrobus, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Pen Church, Victuallers, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Swarthmoor hall 03 07 (5), Mikelowden at English Wikipedia, Public domain
- Rose and Crown, Ulverston, PookieFugglestein, CC0
- Sir John Barrow Primary School - panoramio, flipflopnick, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Swarthmoor Hall July 2010, Yohan euan o4, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Stan Laurel c1920, Photo by Stax, Public domain
- 4 Market Street - panoramio, flipflopnick, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Chippy Bank - panoramio, flipflopnick, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 1 King Street (RF Oxley Plaque) - panoramio, flipflopnick, CC BY-SA 3.0
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