Scheduled MonumentsEnglandBackbarrow ironworks

Backbarrow ironworks

England
List entry 1007084
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1007084
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
1.11 hectares
Grid reference
SD 35513 84670, SD 35566 84576
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Backbarrow ironworks is a scheduled ancient monument located in Lancashire that represents the industrial heritage of the region's iron production. The works were established in the 18th century and exemplify the development of iron manufacturing during the Georgian period. The site retains physical evidence of the furnaces, casting floors, and associated structures that characterise this phase of industrial archaeology. Backbarrow represents an important stage in the evolution of iron production technology and the industrialisation of the English landscape during the early modern period.

Backbarrow ironworks is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1007084. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Backbarrow ironworks?

Backbarrow ironworks is a scheduled ancient monument located in Lancashire that represents the industrial heritage of the region's iron production.

Who is responsible for protecting Backbarrow ironworks?

Backbarrow ironworks is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1007084.

What other scheduled monuments are near Backbarrow ironworks?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Lowwood gunpowder works (1.2 km), Newby Bridge (2.2 km), Stott Park bobbin mill, two mill ponds and site of Stott Park smithy (3.8 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Backbarrow ironworks

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Backbarrow ironworks's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Backbarrow ironworks

Backbarrow ironworks stands on Silurian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.