The village of Backbarrow is in the parish of Haverthwaite, on the banks of the Leven, where at one time the monks of Cartmel Priory had a flour mill.
It has had a long history of industry, all of which has been powered by water from the river. The mill has changed many times from its beginnings in the early days, when very young orphans from liverpool and London were the major work force. After the mill closed down it was eventually taken over by the Lancashire Ultramarine Company, and finally by Reckitt and colman. Both of these companies made industrial blue for laundering purposes..the dust from their tall chimneys (now demolished) used to stain everything around blue.
Most famous and long lasting of the furnaces hereabouts was that built in 1711 and whose remains can still be seen...though now sadly dilapidated and requiring preservation. It was here that young John Wilkinson (1728-1808) began his amazing career which was to make him the greatest Ironmaster of the eighteenth century and a seminal figure in the Industrial Revolution. He worked with his father at Backbarrow, where he invented the box iron, much esteemed by laundresses for ironing the fancy lace frills of the period, and where he experimented with iron boats on the River Leven - an idea he was to develop later on the River Severn; the first practical iron boats the world had seen.
Today, the mill building has been tastefully turned into the Whitewater Hotel and timeshare lodges collectively better known as The Lakeland Village.
Just up the hill near where the Victorian school was located, is the 'Headmasters House' still known locally as 'The School House'. Also nearby is Bigland Hall, home of the one-time squires.
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