Barrow Household Waste Recycling Centre, Walney Road, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria: Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment

Prior to the submission of a planning application for the expansion of the household waste recycling centre at Walney Road, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria (NGR 319067 470699) an archaeological desk-based assessment was recommended by the Cumbria County Council Historic Environment Service (CCCHES). The work was carried out by Greenlane Archaeology in June and July 2008.

The background history and map regression suggest that the site remained virtually unchanged from the monastic period until the mid 19th century and the height of the Industrial Revolution in the Barrow-in-Furness area. It is situated immediately north of the site of the village of Cocken, a grange of Furness Abbey recorded from 1336. During the late 19th century the Cocken estate, where the site is situated, was sold off to the business interests of the railways and heavy industries of the time. By 1891, the land was covered in railway lines or had reverted back to marshland. Where Cocken village once stood is now the site of Barrow Fire Station.

Geotechnical information shows that the site area is covered by a thick layer of slag, presumably an extension of that deposited in a large slag bank to the north-west. The site visit revealed that the current site is of negligible archaeological or historical merit, and no recording work is therefore required.

The full report is available on the Archaeology Data Service website: https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-700-1/dissemination/pdf/greenlan1-50235_1.pdf