by Gill Jepson
Just how exciting she would never have been able to guess…
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The third novel in the Out of Time series is darker than the previous two. Again the action is concentrated around the small coastal town of Barrow-in-Furness and Furness Abbey. The times visited this time include the nineteenth century when Barrow was in its infancy. One of the new characters is Sir James Ramsden who is a particular hero of mine. He was one of the triumvirate of visionaries who took the tiny hamlet from obscurity to the forefront of the industrial revolution. He was an ideas man and worked in concert with industrialist H.W. Schneider and the Earl of Burlington – later the Duke of Devonshire, who provided the investment. Sir James became the town’s first mayor and he is remembered by statues and street names in the town. He was knighted in 1872 and lived long enough to see Barrow become a Borough Council. His vision for the town included an Iron and Steel Works, which processed the iron ore that was mined locally. At one time the Bessemer Steel Works were world famous and this led to the establishment of the Shipbuilding industry. The town grew from 30 families to a population of 60,000 in just over forty years. It was an energetic and industrial town, nicknamed the ‘Chicago of the North’, referring to the lawlessness and mainly male dominated population. Ramsden attempted to ameliorate this by building a Jute and Flax Works to encourage a female workforce.
He interests me because he came from a fairly humble background and started out as a humble Locomotive Superintendent, but his rise was rapid. He was rewarded for his efforts by Furness Railway Company with a fine house, Abbotswood, built close by the abbey. He was allowed to rent it for his and his descendant’s lifetimes and although it is long gone, the local memory remains.
When I was researching the earlier books, Ramsden’s image kept popping up, in the Town Hall, the library and St George’s church. I read a lot about him and found the story of his idea to save the company money by demolishing the abbey to make way for the railway. Something changed his mind and luckily it didn’t happen, the engineer Mr McClean preferring to spend an extra £300 to blast a tunnel, thus avoiding the abbey. This set things in motion and Ramsden suddenly became completely intrinsic to the story.
The historical information is as accurate as I can make it, but I have taken a certain licence with anecdotal evidence and local stories. The story of the murder at the monastery arises from research from the Coucher Books written at the abbey by scribes, including the real John Stell. The late local historian Alice Leach told me about the story and we both thought it had to be written about. Sadly, Alice died this year but she leaves an amazing legacy of research and books as well as inspiring a generation of school children.
I must mention the real Furness Abbey “treasure” a Bishop’s golden crosier and ring, found in 2010. The local group of volunteers Furness Abbey Fellowship are now fully established and they have raised funds to purchase a special case for the artefacts to be on permanent display. This is an exciting time for the abbey and lots of events and activities are being provided in conjunction with FAF and English Heritage. There is now even an annual Medieval Fair on the last Saturday in August. I continue to promote the abbey through my books and make many visits to schools and with pupils to the abbey.
Again I have plundered my family history and although this is a work of fiction, I like to think that the essence of some of these people has been captured for posterity. The third book is darker and more sinister and this time ends with a cliffhanger. I make no apologies for this and the final story in the series will conclude the tale. I hope you enjoy this story as much as the others and that you take the opportunity to visit some of the amazing places in the wonderful Furness peninsula.
Gill Jepson
www.out-of-time.co.uk
