Furness Whisper

18/04/2026

It’s been a really good day down at Westshore, chatting with curious onlookers while putting Archie the rover through its paces. If you’re now following our page after stopping for a chat—thank you, it was great meeting you!

Today’s been all about spotting the little design flaws before we send it off into tunnels and mines—definitely better to find them now than underground.

A couple of issues have shown up so far, mainly the WiFi signal not being quite strong enough. We’ve got a new WiFi component arriving tomorrow, along with an aerial, so hopefully that’ll sort the signal dropouts and keep Archie connected where it matters most.

03/04/2026

https://furness-whisper.uk/timecapsule.php?id=tc_20260403150119_d23ff990&v=1775236320

I have posted the first Time Capsule about my grandad. Took me long enough to get it there.

Why I Built the Time Capsule – And Why It Matters

The Time Capsule wasn’t built to be just another feature on a website. It was built because most platforms don’t protect what you share. On places like Facebook, anyone can copy your image, save it, screenshot it, crop it, repost it, and it’s no longer yours. The meaning behind it gets stripped away, and there’s nothing you can really do about it.

That didn’t sit right with me, so I built the Time Capsule. It’s not just a place to upload something—it’s a place to keep it safe.

We’ve added things like watermarks and protections to make it harder for content to be copied or reused. Even if someone takes a screenshot, it will still have your watermark on it. Because if you’re going to share something that matters, it should stay yours.

The first story on there is mine—about my grandad. I’ll be sharing that alongside this so you can see exactly what this platform is for. No one else has signed up yet to add theirs. That’s what this is for.

If you’ve got a story—family history, memories, something that matters to you—this is where it should go. Not just posted. Protected. Yours.

If it means something to you—add your own.

My Grandad, My Hero: Too Young for War | My grandad, John Robert Fleming, talked about his past if you asked him. He was not the sort of man to sit people down and tell stories for the sake of it, but if you showed an interest, he would open up. And when he did... | Location: Barrow-in-Furness | Cop...

11/03/2026

# # Help Build the Furness Whispers Newstalgia Archive

Love uncovering old stories? Then you might enjoy helping us grow **Newstalgia** — the Furness Whispers project dedicated to bringing historic newspaper stories from across Furness back to life.

Hidden in old newspaper archives are thousands of fascinating stories about the people, places and events that shaped Furness. Some are dramatic, some strange, some funny — and many have been forgotten for decades.

By searching historic newspapers and adding the stories you find, you can help us build a **searchable timeline of Furness history on our website**.

# # # How You Can Take Part

Anyone can take part. Simply **sign up or log in on our website** and start adding stories to the **Newstalgia database**.

Using old newspaper archives — such as the **British Newspaper Archive** or other historical sources — find interesting stories connected to Furness and create a new **Newstalgia entry**.

When you add a story, include:

* The **date of the article**
* The **event title**
* A short **summary of the story**
* The **location**
* The **newspaper source**
* A **link to the archive** if available

Please also **upload an image of the newspaper clipping or article** so readers can see the original piece.

The **Full Article Text** field must contain the **entire newspaper clipping written exactly word for word as it appears in the newspaper**.

# # # What Can Be Added?

If it’s about **Furness and it appeared in the news, it belongs in Newstalgia.**

From everyday life to unusual events, big moments to forgotten curiosities — every story helps paint a richer picture of Furness through the years.

# # # Why It’s Worth Doing

Every entry added helps grow a unique archive of Furness history **on the Furness Whispers website**. Together we can rediscover forgotten stories and make them accessible for everyone who loves local history.

And you never know what you might uncover next.

# # # Need More Information?

If you’d like to know more, you can **send us a message on Facebook**, email [email protected] **, or contact us through the **contact page on our website**:
https://furness-whisper.uk

10/03/2026

# Nowstalgia Archive Launch – Photo Series 0–999

Hello everyone,

It’s **Robert's wife here**. Robert currently recovering from a migraine, so while he’s resting I thought I’d jump on and post the latest update for him.

He’s been working away on the website and the **Nowstalgia archive**, but rather than leave everything waiting until he’s feeling better, I’ve gone ahead and pushed the update live and uploaded the first batch of photographs for him.

We’re starting with **Series 0–999**, and already **over 900 photographs** have been uploaded by Furness Whisper. This is the beginning of what Rob hopes will become a growing photographic record of streets, landmarks, and places connected to Furness.

While the main focus of the archive is Furness and the surrounding area, you might occasionally see photographs from outside the region. In many cases these were taken by photographers connected to Furness, and their work still forms part of the wider story we want to preserve.

# # The First Series

The opening collection currently includes **910 photographs**, showing street junctions, buildings, landmarks, and familiar places – along with locations that have changed quite a bit over the years.

Some of these images may bring back memories, while others might show places as they looked long before many of us knew them.

# # Sign Up and Take Part

Anyone can browse the archive, but **creating an account unlocks more features** and lets you take part in the project.

By signing up you can upload your own photographs, share memories connected to places, and help improve the information attached to images in the archive.

If you’d like to explore the archive or create an account, you can visit: https://furness-whisper.uk

# # Your Time Capsule

Once you create an account you’ll gain access to your **Time Capsule**.

This is your own space where you can upload photographs and share the memories behind them.

From your Time Capsule you can upload photographs, add details about where and when the image was taken, write the story or memories connected to the photograph, manage the photos you upload, and create presentations using images from the archive.

Photographs uploaded through the **Time Capsule remain the property of the person who uploads them**. Furness Whisper does **not** claim ownership of user uploads.

Every Time Capsule upload includes **your own copyright watermark** along with **save protection**, helping ensure contributors keep recognition and full rights to their images. The aim is to make sharing photographs safer than typical social media platforms where images can easily be copied without permission.

# # Nowstalgia Edits

Registered users can also help improve the archive through **Nowstalgia Edits**.

If you recognise a building, remember a street name, or notice missing information, you can submit an edit request to improve the details connected to a photograph. These edits are reviewed before being approved to help keep the archive accurate while allowing the community to contribute their knowledge.

# # Archive Series

To keep the archive organised as it grows, photographs are grouped into numbered and themed series. We are beginning with **Series 0–999**, but the archive will continue expanding through additional ranges including **1000–1999, 2000–2999, 3000–3999, 4000–4999, 5000–5999, 6000–6999, 7000–7999, 8000–8999, and 9000–9999**.

Alongside these numbered collections, the archive will also include themed series such as **A Series, C Series, D Series, E Series, G Series, H Series, CG Series, Misc Series, S Series, TP Series, and SYB Series**.

# # A Step Forward for Local History

Many historic photographs sit quietly in family albums, private collections, or boxes that rarely get opened.

Nowstalgia gives those photographs a place to be shared, preserved, and remembered.

By **signing up and creating your own Time Capsule**, you can upload photographs, share memories, and help ensure pieces of local history are not lost over time.

# # Just the Beginning

Series **0–999** is only the start of the Nowstalgia archive.

As more photographs are uploaded by Furness Whisper and more people contribute through their Time Capsules, the archive will continue to grow.

Every photograph, every memory, and every correction helps build a richer record of the history connected to Furness.

And this is only the beginning.

Furness Whisper — your heritage hub for Barrow-in-Furness, Ulverston & the Lake District. Discover historical stories, photographs, and community memories.

08/03/2026

Great news – our latest update has rolled out on the Furness Whisper website. Yes, an update that actually does something useful… I know, steady yourselves.

We’ve added watermarks and copyright protection, not just for our images but for yours as well. When you upload an image, you’ll now have the option to add your name (or anything that identifies you). The server will automatically apply a watermark to the image, so it’s neatly stamped with your tag.

You can also choose the colour of your watermark. Want something subtle and tasteful? Go for it. Prefer something bright enough to make image thieves squint when they try to crop it out? That works too.

So if someone tries to download your image from the site, it’ll still carry your watermark. Even if they take a cheeky screenshot, your tag will still be sitting there, stubborn as a seagull guarding a stolen chip on the seafront.

There are a few more features coming soon, but this update means we can finally start concentrating on getting the first batch of images uploaded from our archives.

First though, we need to finish writing the image descriptions before we upload them. What’s slowing us down slightly is trying to correctly identify all the ships in the photographs. As it turns out, black-and-white photos of slightly grumpy-looking ships from decades ago don’t always come with helpful labels.

So we’re double-checking everything to make sure the right ship has the right name — because somewhere out there is always someone who will spot a mistake within about three seconds.

05/03/2026

📰 Furness Whispers – Project Update
Another step forward today for Furness Whispers, as parts of the history stories section have now started to go live on the website.

The Time Capsule community page is also now online, although some of its protection features are still being tested. This includes the automatic watermark system and copy protection tools, which are being added to help protect contributors’ images and discourage them from being reused without permission.

The Presentation Tools are also live and working on the site. A number of bugs have already been ironed out, although development is still continuing as improvements are made. So far, over 4,000 lines of code have gone into building this system alone. For something designed from scratch and being built for the first time, it has been quite a learning curve and naturally takes time to get everything working properly.

There is still some work to finish, including ironing out the remaining bugs, adding the first batch of archive images, and completing the copyright protection features for the photographs.
One encouraging sign during development has been the results from Google’s performance testing tools. The site recently scored 95 for performance and 100 for accessibility, best practices, and SEO, which was quite a surprise while the site is still under development.

You can see the progress so far here:
👉 https://furness-whisper.uk/⁠�

04/03/2026

📰 Furness Whispers Project Update

Work continues behind the scenes on the Furness Whispers website as the project steadily moves toward its next major stage. First of all, thank you for your patience while everything is being prepared. It has taken longer than hoped, and an apology is owed for the delay, but a great deal of work is going into making sure the archive and the website are built properly from the start.

The archive is being prepared in stages, with photographs being uploaded in batches of 1,000 images at a time from a much larger collection of around 25,000 photographs connected to Furness. At the moment there are just 64 photographs left to complete descriptions for before the first 1,000 images are ready to go online. Once these final descriptions are completed and passed on for proofreading, the first batch will begin appearing on the website, and attention will then turn to preparing the next 1,000 photographs.

This is a careful and time-consuming process, as every image needs a proper description written before it can be added to the archive. The work is currently being carried out by one person, who is responsible for both writing the archive descriptions and building the website itself. While occasional help is given when something tricky arises, much of the organisation, preparation and development of the site continues to be handled by that same pair of hands. At the same time, other members of the wider team are contributing in different ways through their own projects connected with Furness Whispers.

On the archive photographs section of the site, a system will also be introduced allowing members of the community to help improve the information attached to the existing archive images. Visitors will be able to suggest edits, corrections, or additional details to the descriptions of these photographs so that knowledge can continue to grow and be refined with the help of the community.

Alongside the archive, several new features are also being developed.

One of these is Newstalgia, a feature exploring historic newspapers from around the world that mention Furness. The page will automatically update to show what was making the news on this day in history, displaying reports that originally appeared on that same date in years gone by. As more newspaper material is gradually added to the database, the feature will continue to grow, slowly revealing more historic headlines connected to Furness.

Another addition will be the Presentation Tools, which allow slideshow presentations to be created using images from the archive. Users will be able to select photographs, add text-only slides, include notes that appear on screen, and keep separate speaker notes for use during talks. Presentations will also allow points to appear step-by-step during a talk.

The presentation system will also include a save and load feature so presentation decks can be reused later. However, the system does not save or export the images themselves. Instead, the saved file only stores the presentation data — such as which archive images were used, their positions on the slide, notes, text content, and display settings. When a presentation is loaded again, the system reconnects to the images already stored within the Furness Whispers archive. This helps keep the archive images protected while still allowing presentations to be created and reused.

A new community page called Time Capsule – By the community. For the community is also being prepared. This page will give people the opportunity to share their own photographs and stories connected to Furness. Contributors will always be credited for their material, and the website does not claim ownership of submitted images. Contributors may edit or remove their own submissions at any time.

To help protect contributors, the community page will also be supported by a screenshot protection system. Images shared on the site will automatically carry a watermark showing the contributor’s copyright, and screenshot or print-screen attempts will be restricted where possible in order to discourage images being copied and falsely claimed elsewhere.

Images and material submitted by the community will only be reviewed, investigated, or removed by the site administrators where a copyright claim, ownership dispute, or other legal concern is raised.

Following testing, parts of the website are slowly beginning to appear online as we speak, while the remaining bugs and adjustments continue to be ironed out behind the scenes.

More updates will follow as Furness Whispers continues to grow and the archive steadily expands.

14/02/2026

Has anyone seen an image like this of the Roman Catholic chapel at the cemetery? I hadn’t seen it before and only knew about the chapel itself. The Anglican and Nonconformist chapel was later demolished to make way for the crematorium. This is the sort of image I am currently reviewing while preparing the historical description for the website.

12/01/2026

Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

It has been a long time since the last update, but work has been continuing quietly in the background. I have been writing descriptions for the photos I currently have stored on my hard drive and have now completed 670 out of more than 24,000. Once the first 1,000 photos are finished, they will be published on the website, revealing places and details that have long slipped out of sight.

Alongside this, I have been building a project currently known as Project Rover. The image shows everything that exists so far. At present, it consists of the control system, the software, and a camera.
The camera feed can already be viewed wirelessly on a tablet or mobile device, allowing live images to be seen during testing. For now, the system is being tested in this stripped-back form before it is installed into the rover body.

Once fully built, the rover will be fitted with a complete body, suspension to handle unstable ground, motors and wheels for movement, lighting for total darkness, and full wireless control so it can be operated from a safe distance. The intention is to send it into places tied to local history that are no longer safe for people to enter.
These are spaces that have been sealed off, forgotten, or left to decay — places where time has stood still. What remains inside has not been seen for years, sometimes decades. This project is about documenting those hidden spaces before they disappear entirely.

Project Rover is only a working name. I’m asking you now to help name it — something fitting for a machine that will be going where people can no longer go.

06/12/2025

🎄 It’s Today at Furness Abbey! 🎄

Looking for something festive to brighten up this chilly day? The Furness Abbey visitor centre and gift shop are open TODAY from 10:30am to 3:30pm! 🎉

✨ The elves have been hard at work getting everything ready — come along and enjoy:

🎨 Festive crafts with Furness Abbey Fellowship
☕ Delicious refreshments from Abbey Mill Café
🍷 Mead & wine tastings
🎁 Plenty of lovely gifts for Christmas!

Please note: only the visitor centre and shop are open — the Abbey grounds are closed until March 2026.

Pop in, warm up, and get into the festive spirit! ❤️🎅🌟