Furness in the context of "Moorland"

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⭐ Core Definition: Furness

Furness (/ˈfɜːrnɪs, fɜːrˈnɛs/ FUR-niss, fur-NESS) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria, England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. On 1 April 2023 it became part of the new unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness.

The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of villages, agricultural land and low-lying moorland, with the industrial town of Barrow-in-Furness at its head. The peninsula is bordered by the estuaries of the River Duddon to the west and the River Leven in Morecambe Bay to the east. The wider region of Furness consists of the peninsula and the area known as High Furness, which is a relatively mountainous and sparsely populated part of England, extending inland into the Lake District and containing the Furness Fells. The inland boundary of the region is formed by the rivers Leven, Brathay and Duddon, and the lake of Windermere. Off the southern tip of Furness is Walney Island, 11 miles (18 kilometres) long, as well as several smaller islands.

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Furness in the context of Lancashire

Lancashire (/ˈlæŋkəʃər/ LANG-kə-shər, /-ʃɪər/ -⁠sheer; abbreviated Lancs) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Preston.

The county has an area of 3,079 square kilometres (1,189 sq mi) and had a population of 1,601,645 in 2024. Preston and Blackburn are located near the centre, Burnley in the east, the seaside resort of Blackpool on the Irish Sea coast in the west, and the city of Lancaster in the north. For local government purposes the county comprises a non-metropolitan county, with twelve districts, and two unitary authority areas: Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool. Lancashire County Council and the two unitary councils collaborate through the Lancashire Combined County Authority. The county historically included the Furness and Cartmel peninsulas of Cumbria, northern Greater Manchester and Merseyside, and Warrington, but excluded the eastern part of the Forest of Bowland.

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Furness in the context of Cumbria

Cumbria (/ˈkʌmbriə/ KUM-bree-ə) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Carlisle.

Cumbria is predominantly rural, with an area of 6,769 km (2,614 sq mi) and a population of 510,680; this makes it the third-largest ceremonial county in England by area but the eighth-smallest by population. Carlisle is located in the north; the towns of Workington and Whitehaven lie on the west coast, Barrow-in-Furness on the south coast, and Penrith and Kendal in the east of the county. For local government purposes the county comprises two unitary authority areas, Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland. Cumbria was created in 1974 from the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, the Furness area of Lancashire, and a small part of Yorkshire.

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Furness in the context of Westmorland and Furness


Westmorland and Furness is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. It covers Westmorland, the Furness peninsula, and the areas around Penrith and Sedbergh. It is bordered by Cumberland to the north and west, Northumberland, County Durham and North Yorkshire to the east, and the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire to the south. Its largest town is Barrow-in-Furness and its administrative centre is Kendal.

The unitary authority area was formed on 1 April 2023 during local government restructuring which saw the abolition of the former non-metropolitan county of Cumbria and its six districts; Westmorland and Furness has the same area as the former districts of Barrow-in-Furness, Eden, and South Lakeland. It remains part of Cumbria for ceremonial purposes. Prior to the local government reforms of 1974, the area was split between the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland, Lancashire and Yorkshire.

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Furness in the context of Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness, commonly known as Barrow, is an industrial port town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, Barrow is at the tip of the Furness peninsula, 24 miles (39 km) south-west of Kendal and 18 miles (29 km) west of Lancaster. It is bordered by Morecambe Bay to the east, the Duddon Estuary to the west, and the Irish Sea to the south. In 2021, Barrow's population was 55,489, making it the second largest urban area in Cumbria after Carlisle and the largest in Westmorland and Furness.

In the Middle Ages, Barrow was a small hamlet, with its economy controlled by Furness Abbey. In the 19th century, iron prospector Henry Schneider among other investors opened the Furness Railway to transport iron ore and slate from local mines to the coast, which led to the construction of docks, now the Royal Port of Barrow. The discovery of hematite deposits allowed the steel industry to develop in the town, and for a period, its steelworks were the largest in the world. It was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867, and the town’s steel production and coastal location enabled it to develop as a centre for shipbuilding. The steel industry declined after World War II.

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Furness in the context of North Lonsdale

The Lonsdale Hundred is a historic hundred of Lancashire, England. Although named after the dale or valley of the River Lune, which runs through the city of Lancaster, for centuries it covered most of the north-western part of Lancashire around Morecambe Bay, including the detached parts of Furness and the Cartmel Peninsula. Ironically, only some of the detached part of North Lonsdale still remains partly within a British parliamentary constituency under the name of Lonsdale, being part of the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency.

Lonsdale was not recorded as a hundred in the Domesday Book of 1086, but the name does appear, in the returns for Yorkshire, apparently as a manor attached to Cockerham. A number of places within the Lune's watershed are traditionally named with specification of 'in Lonsdale': Kirkby Lonsdale, Burton-in-Lonsdale, and Thornton-in-Lonsdale retain the name, while Middleton, Sedbergh, Ingleton and Newby, near Clapham have previously been recorded with it. Following the creation of the hundred sometime during the late 11th or early 12th centuries, parts of the district were included in Westmorland and others in Craven within the West Riding of Yorkshire. The hundred had been defined by 1168 and the bailiwick was granted to Adam de Kellet (of Nether Kellet) in 1199.

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Furness in the context of Furness Fells

54°13′23″N 3°06′58″W / 54.223°N 3.116°W / 54.223; -3.116

The Furness Fells (archaic: Fournisfels) are a multitude of hills and mountains in the Furness region of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Lancashire, the Furness Fells or High Furness is the name given to the upland part of Furness, that is, that part of Furness lying north of the line between Ulverston and Ireleth. The hills lie largely within the English Lake District.

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Furness in the context of Islands of Furness

The Islands of Furness are situated to the south-west and east of the Furness Peninsula. Within England, they are the third biggest collection of islands. They are generally quite small, though at 12.99 km Walney Island is the eighth biggest in England. Of these, only Walney Island, Barrow Island, Roa Island and Piel Island are inhabited. The majority of the islands lay within the boundary of the former Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, with some 15,000 residents constituting 20% of the district's population. They are the largest group of islands between Anglesey in Wales and the Firth of Clyde in Scotland.

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