Barrow AFC.net

Ok folks,

This is a bit nerdy I guess, but bear with please.

What I am trying to do (with very limited skills it must be said) is to map out various sites of importance related to Barrow AFC. The idea is, hopefully, to have a heritage trail as part of the Barrow 125 celebrations: social and sporting history.

There's a couple of things I could do with our Timelords clearing up.

We've more or less got the Old Drill Hall and Little Park. The Berry is OK ish- depends whether you use the oub or not as the reference point but the one that I seem to get a load of conflicting answers on is The Ainslie Street ground. There are going to be QR codes at the various locations that will take you to the history on the website.

Question 1: Can anyone give me the nearest postcode or grid reference?

Question 2:

Then there's the link between the yard and the club. Can that be covered at The Dock Museum or given the Holland was launched same year should any point be there? Or is it somewhere different to that?

Question 3: Pretty keen to use as many areas of the town as possible for this- so if we wee having, let's say...Bluebird Plaques, what would we have on Walney?

Question 4: Same question- Barrow Island

Question 5: Same Question: Ormsgill

Question 6: Where best marks Barrow AFC's history around the Town Centre? The 1990 celebrations?

Any help with those appreciated either on here or by e-mailing 125@bluebirdstrust.co.uk

There's a lot happening: we will have an event in January. We are especially delighted that Jean Arrowsmith has agreed to both support the exhibition and space with artefacts and also be interviewed about Brian and indeed life in Barrow and Barrow AFC in the 60s. There's a gentleman who first went in 1946, but we are also keen to collect voices from the full age range of the support. The youngest contributor at Wigan was 10. Another factor is that it's about the whole business of following Barra Soccer- the Holker End, the styles, the characters- all of that. Wartime history will play a big part-m including the teams and players who played there (we beat Liverpool twice for example) and of course the munitions ladies represented England in an international, playing to thousands at Holker St.

The club have been very supportive and we all want this side of matters to be supporter led. To that end, there's the club, Trust, Beans, individual Barrow AFC history buffs, general volunteers, Town Council have put in a wee bit of money for us to get started. Matt Dodd has kindly let us use all his footage etc from when he was doing BeeArrow so that'll be going on the website too.

Which brings me on to Question 7: Which is the oldest film footage of Barra Soccer?

Anyway, any help or interest, please ring and get involved. And anyone who I e-mailed back a couple of months ago, or who completed the survey and hasn't been contacted please don't worry, I was gathering things like recording equipment and a videographer etc and will be in touch.

barrow125@bluebirdstrust.co.uk

Cheers all.

Great stuff Steve.

Question, are you only looking for info stories etc based on literally Barrow folk or is this inclusive of the surrounding areas and maybe even the exiles?

The oldest footage I have ever seen of Barrow AFC is the Trophy Semi Final goal against Enfield from outside the box, and considering that is from the late 80’s, it is not very far back. I don't even think the Colne dynamo’s semi-final was filmed.
The question about archive footage had been raised several times on here down the years, but alas, nothing has ever come from it. Unless someone took a personal recording and its forgotten and hidden away somewhere, as of yet, i don’t think any filming from the 1960’s, or big cup games at HS appears to have been recorded which is a massive pity. I am sure we would all love to see match day film of the ground as it was pre- speedway.

If any does exist in a personal collection, they will have the holy grail of archive footage.

As for location stuff, the central Barrow library has archives and micro film archives of Barrow going back to 1900’s. There may be some good articles in there about the formation of the club and ground location. Worth a visit?

olbarrafancumbak wrote: ↑Sun Dec 14, 2025 12:57 pm Great stuff Steve.

Question, are you only looking for info stories etc based on literally Barrow folk or is this inclusive of the surrounding areas and maybe even the exiles?

Everything really. The idea is that then you can focus on different history at different times. Top of my head...so you can have everything from a full Brian Arrowsmith retrospective to 'Barramericas' (Keith Eddy, Paul Casson, Tony, Exiled Barrovians, Canadian Link, the Argentinians' to Who Ruled the Third- Supporter Culture, dress and terrace legends, 'Flookburgh's Finest' could have Cowps and Walker. anything and everything. The website hopes to have everything in one place. Sections linked to the heritage trail, educational resources, spoken word, all the videos from everything in one place for a Sunday rabbit hole. Far, far more than we will be able to fit into the Dock Museum exhibition.

It's really contingent on success of various bids to funding bodies and fundraising which is why we don't want to over promise. But the potential is there.

This is a general site, that looks at various aspects- they are good folk and have been helping a little bit with advice too. https://www.footballheritage.co.uk/

Jonty wrote: ↑Sun Dec 14, 2025 1:20 pm As for location stuff, the central Barrow library has archives and micro film archives of Barrow going back to 1900’s. There may be some good articles in there about the formation of the club and ground location. Worth a visit?

Oh aye, defo. Pete Hawkridge and David Stowell who are sorting the exhibition side, I think have got season tickets there. Pete Naylor off here has been advising on bids and archiving itself, Phil Yelland has kindly offered help. Adam I've talked to today about his recordings, especially about 1990 with the programme. Jean Arrowsmith like I said. Dave Ingham is sorting the surveys and helping bids, Frazer looking at potential Heritage areas with Rickie, it was great to get a message from Enid Milligan re this brilliant book project. Jonny and Punx from Beans are doing the visuals and vids.

That's just off the top of my head- can't emphasise enough it's as open as possible. There will be a series of events leading up, but we want to get NYD out of the way first and the club launch etc too.

Barrow AFC played on The Strawberry grounds just prior to 1903, when the ground was turned over to become the home of Furness Rugby Union Club, there they still play now.
I don’t know how long the football club played there, but it wasn’t for long. To watch the football, fans were transported by tram to the top of the hill on Abbey Road, before the Strawberry Pub where the line stopped. They then walked down to the grounds from there. There was an old wooden stand on the Litchmead Road side of the pitch, which is now long gone. On the Abbey Rd side of the pitch, there is still some concrete terracing, which may go back to the time the football was there.
The town planner and one of the founders of the town was John Wadham, who lived in Mill House mansion as and was an avid sportsman. He was the founder of Furness Rugby Club and would have had some influence on why the football club left and to where they went next.
The history of Wadham and what he did in the town is well archived and may well show a light on the full history of the football club

Thanks for that, appreciated.

I certainly am going to see if I can find this terracing.

Perhaps there could be something on the Barrow diaspora fanbase - they've always been out there like myself and many others. I'm talking worldwide as well as around the UK. I'm sure we can find something about them from the present and from the past.

I think they started at the Strawberry ground around 1895.

Re my previous post. It was Edward Wadham and not John Wadham, who was one of the most important figures during the development of Barrow and who also became Mayor.

Well done Steve & Co on this wonderful initiative. Steve - - - I have a suggestion but will pm you with it in the next few days when I get a few spare moments . . . . .

DA52 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 14, 2025 10:38 pm Re my previous post. It was Edward Wadham and not John Wadham, who was one of the most important figures during the development of Barrow and who also became Mayor.

You owe me 5 minutes googling till I realised haha

Seriously though, great shout- someone I know nothing at all about who was clearly a massive part of Barrow's growth.

andyg wrote: ↑Sun Dec 14, 2025 9:57 pm Perhaps there could be something on the Barrow diaspora fanbase - they've always been out there like myself and many others. I'm talking worldwide as well as around the UK. I'm sure we can find something about them from the present and from the past.

Definitely: It's great learning- Barrovian expertise is spread all over the world.

Players too- that's other better qualified folk doing that really- there's a lot of the work being done, some from within the club. But beware of losing yourself...I spent half an hour yesterday watching a very young Matt Dodd, Cox, Casson and Jordan Williams' highlights!

Suggestions for Blue Plaque walk:

1. Douglas St Walney – former Brian Arrowsmith shop
2. Holker St - seat in stand where Robert Plant once sat
3. Ainslie St - Mattie’s chip shop frequented by Kenny Lowe and NE contingent after games
4. Tally Ho pub – Kevin Proctor lived there
5. Thorncliffe school – Fred Else taught there
6. Bay Horse, Hawcoat – Mick Hartland lived there
7. St Bernard’s School – Neil Morton worked there
8. Rampside Gas Terminal – Billy McAdam worked there
9. Ship Inn, Roose – former changerooms/local pre Holker Street
10. School St - former home of Keen brothers, all three played in same FL team for Barrow