The Furness Railway, which counted local aristocrats William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire and the Duke of Buccleuch as investors, kick-started the Industrial Revolution on the peninsula. At Fisherstown Bridge the road that crosses the canal is said to follow one of the ancient routes across Ireland. Construction will take up to eight years and create thousands of new jobs at the shipyard thereafter. Of current professional footballers, Georgia Stanway of Bayern Munich, Wayne Curtis, [132] Morecambe striker, and Iran Under-20 and Hibernian winger Shana Haji [133] hail from the town.

With a length of 268m (879ft), width of 51m (167ft) and an area of 25,000 square metres (270,000sqft) it is one of the largest shipbuilding construction complex of its kind in Europe. Many historical features are located in close proximity to the river including castles, abbeys, old bridges and derelict mills.The route is abundant with architectural interest including bridges, many arched, and pretty lock houses, some still in use.

From the 1960s onwards it concentrated its efforts in submarine manufacture, and the UK's first nuclear-powered submarine, HMS Dreadnought, was constructed in 1960.

He was nominated for this honor by his father David Hill who was proud of his sons accomplishments in running for England and Great Britain in Orienteering whilst also provided a large portion of his time to getting kids into sport. The rejection by the VSEL management of detailed plans for Barrow's industrial renewal in the mid-to-late 1980s remains controversial. During the town's rapid growth from 1860 onward, thousands came to Barrow from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and elsewhere in northern England.

The five most common foreign countries of birth were Poland, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, the Philippines and India.

Other major employers include the National Health Service, through Furness General Hospital, which employs 1,800 staff, [112] the Kimberly Clark paper mill, which has 400 employees, [113] BAE Systems' Land and Armaments division, Furness Building Society which is one of the 20 largest of its kind, Cumbria County Council and Barrow Borough Council.

Holker Old Boys, based at Rakesmoor Lane, are an amateur football team that play in the North West Counties Football League Division One. Barrow has produced a number of noteworthy motorcyclists throughout the years, such as Manx Grand Prix winner Eddie Crooks, TT Rider Dan Stewart, Speedway ace Adam Roynon and multiple British Sandtrack Champion John Pepper.

The by then small steelworks followed suit in 1983, [37] leaving Barrow's shipyard as the town's principal industry. Another significant island which lay in the Walney Channel was Barrow Island, but following the filling of the channel to create land for the shipyard it is now directly connected to the town.