Last updated at 11:00, Thursday, 19 February 2009

Hoad Monument, 1910

The foundation stone for the Sir John Barrow monument, popularly known as the Hoad, was laid on 15 May 1850 to much pomp and ceremony, with thousands of townsfolk climbing the hill to watch.

The monument was an impressive memorial to Sir John Barrow who was born in 1764 on Dragley Beck, Ulverston, where the tiny antiquated cottage still remains.

Hungry for knowledge, John Barrow left school at 13-years-old and went to seek his fortune. This he accomplished, becoming a very rich and influential man.

He was appointed Second Secretary to the Admirality in London in 1804 and retired in 1845, barely three years before his death.

During his time in office John Barrow was instrumental in sending out explorers to claim lands, make valuable discoveries and fill in the blanks on the world map.

He thought it paramount to discover the North West Passage through the polar regions, sending out over a dozen explorations to the Arctic seas. One of which became a tragic disaster.

Sir John Franklin, with his two ships Erebus and Terror and almost 150 men, set off in May 1845 for another Arctic voyage. All the men and both ships disappeared, their scattered fragments and bones being the subject of endless discussion, books and television documentaries to this day.

Sir John Barrow died in 1848, aged 84.

First published at 10:55, Thursday, 19 February 2009
Published by http://www.ulverstonlocal.co.uk