A Memory Of Ulverston

A Memory of Ulverston.

My memory relates to the Gas Lamp which formerly stood in the centre of County Square in Ulverston. It was erected in front of the County Hotel which stood on what is now the site of the Coronation Hall.I understand that the Council first sought approval of the Manager of the Hotel as to the design of the Gas Lamp.Additionally I was told that the Lantern at the top of the Lamp originally came from Picadilly in London when the lighting there was first converted to electricity.A picture of the lamp is shown elsewhere in these memories.

It was in the fifties or sixties that the lamp was moved from its original site.Mr Iain Mac Livingston, a Solicitor from Benson Street was standing one day at the one window of his office which overlooked the square.He saw a gang of Council workmen arrive in the square ,armed with sledge hammers, about to smash the cast iron lamp, preparatory to removing the broken remains.It was in preparation for a new traffic roundabout in the square.

Mr Livingston was horrified at the proposed destruction of such an unique part of Ulverston's history.He went out immediately to the workmen and demanded that they stopped work whilst he went to the Town Hall to see the Clerk to the Council.A deal was struck that the lamp could be saved. Mr Livingston was to purchase the lamp from the council and arrange for its transport out of town.This was done and the lamp was resited in land beside the road near his home in Finsthwaite.There it was wired up to the local electricity supply controlled by a switch in the garage.

I subsequently purchased his home and took over ownership of the lamp.Mr Livingston emphasized to me that his main wish for its future was its return to Ulverston where he felt it truly belonged.

Time passed and I eventually received a call from Ulverston enthusiasts asking if the lamp could be returned to Ulverston for erection on its present site in The Rose Garden now built on the site of the old Palladium Cinema behind what was Fred Preston's shop. I told Mr Livingston of the call and he enthusiastically supported the idea.

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