A celebration of Barrow’s history to be held at a festival this week

BARROW Borough Council is to hold a free small-scale festival celebrating Barrow’s built heritage. The Festival of Built Heritage will take place on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th of September to…

BARROW Borough Council is to hold a free small-scale festival celebrating Barrow’s built heritage.

The Festival of Built Heritage will take place on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th of September to coincide with the national Heritage Open Days and will take place across a number of venues in the town.

Among the activities planned are guided tours of the Grade II* listed Barrow Town Hall, traditional sign painting workshops at the Nan Tait Centre, and the screening of a short film, Wishbone, produced by Signal Film & Media at The Forum Theatre.

The activities are funded through the High Street Heritage Action Zone, a £1.1m project funded by Historic England to improve local engagement with heritage and provide cultural activities centred around the historic Duke Street.

Councillor Helen Wall, Lead Member for Heritage and Wildlife at Barrow Borough Council, said: “This event builds on the successful tours of Barrow Town Hall held for the national Heritage Open Days last September.

“It offers a great opportunity for residents to get involved, learn more about the town and gain an appreciation for how and why it was built the way it was.

"People love the town hall and always enjoy a chance to see inside and hear its stories.”

The Dock Museum will also be holding a pop-up exhibition open to the general public in the Town Hall. The exhibition will focus on Abbotswood, the former country house of Barrow’s first mayor, Sir James Ramsden and includes items of furniture, archive photographs and antiques from the building.

All events are free, but some require booking due to limited numbers.

More information on all events and tickets can be booked through The Forum box office – 01229 820000.