The 1873 6in map states that North Scale is nominally a subdivision of the Isle of Walney, which is nominally a subdivision of Hawcoat, which is a division of the township of Dalton. Those were the days of truly local government!
Roads change their function over the years, and Red Ley Lane, which in 1873 gave access to fields and led to Walney Windmill (disused by 1891) and a farm called North End, now leads to Barrow (Walney Island) Airfield and its various buildings. There is a detailed history of the site on
link/
During WWI the site became part of one of the Vickers Ltd airship factories. Construction took place in two huge steel sheds. The factory was closed soon after 1920. Barrow Borough Council investigated the possibility of developing the site as a civil airport in 1935, and the land was purchased. However WWII intervened, and a RAF airfield was constructed instead. This was used as a flying training station and gunnery school. Three runways, 15 Blister type hangars and three large steel Callender Hamilton hangars were erected. The domestic buildings were along Red Ley Lane. The airfield closed in July 1946. It was sold to Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering Ltd in 1959, and was used for company flights. The successor company, BAE Systems, now operate the airfield, using two Beechcraft Kingair B200 aircraft. At the weekend The Lakes Gliding Club operate, and various based light aircraft often fly throughout the week”. Attempts to run scheduled services to UK destinations in the 80s and 90s were unsuccessful. The original control tower and two of the Callender Hamilton hangars are still present.
SW of the airfield there is a miniature golf course, and to the west, alongside the coast, an area of little hills that was a rabbit warren in 1873. This is now criss-crossed by paths and has some ponds at
SD170709 that suggest a nature reserve. Another feature is lime kilns. There were in 1891 a row of three, spaced out along the coast at around
SD170702; are they still there? SW of Red Ley Lane the fields that existed in the 19C are still there.
The one image on the site is of the holiday bungalow site mentioned in the discussion of
SD1769.
SD1770 : West Shore Park
The ones shown certainly have a good view. The track marked on the map evidently has a tarmac surface here.
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SD 1798 7015 [10m precision]
