England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Dalton in Furness St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Dalton in Furness, lies as its name describes in that portion of Lancashire across the sands of Morecambe Bay in Furness where it forms part of Lancashire's extensive coastline with the Irish Sea. Dalton in Furness is situated about 4 miles northwest of the port and industrial town of Barrow in Furness and was the principal market town of the area. Dalton in Furness sits just south of the A590 road which connects Barrow in Furness through the the main M6 motorway. Long before Barrow grew in importance thanks to its port and industrial works Dalton in Furness provided market services to much of the area of southwestern Furness. The town has a long history and there is some evidence it was a Roman Way station before developing into a compact market grouped around its 14th century castle, this castle had a short life being described as in great ruin by 1545. Furness was dominated by its Cistercian monastery until this was victim to King Henry VIII's dissolution. The main economy of the area, prior to the growth of Barrow, would have been pastoral farming with Dalton providing the main market for that produce. Dalton in Furness is drained to the south by a small stream which quickly finds its way into the Irish Sea through Morecambe Bay. Dalton in Furness is sited at around 50 metres above the sea and the area is gently undulating to local heights of almost twice that height. Dalton in Furness parish covered an extensive area, like most Furness parishes, estmates vary but it was certainly in excess of 16,000 acres and would have supported a population of over 3,200 parishioners. IN Dmesday times Dalton in Furness was held directly by King William, it was not detailed as to its assets but was a medium level taxed settlement.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the heart of dalton in Furness at the western end of its market place in a site dominated by that of the ruinous castle. Sadly the church is etntirely Victorian being built between 1882 & 1885 to replace a pre-Reeformation predecessor. Unlike many such churches, however, Pevsner lavishes considerable praise upon it describing it as "externally spectacular". Big as befits a market town church the building uses the Decorated style through and makes much use of a red & white chequer pattern thoughout. The church sits behind a low brick wall and has mant buildings &, in particular, trees surrounding the site making for a difficult building to adequately photograph.