Who made this site?
My name's Mark MacLean. I'm from Ireleth but now I live in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. My parents, Doug and Norma MacLean, still live in Ireleth and my sister, Karen Hanks, is head teacher at Ulverston Victoria. I get back to Ireleth fairly regularly, though with children growing up in Australia this is getting harder!

I've always been interested in the area's history, whether it was listening to Johnnie Clapham and Geordie Jones talk, reading Arthur Evans' articles in the Evening Mail or just seeing old photos of the place on pub walls and in relatives' albums. Publishing the short history was my way of trying to express this interest and find out if there were other people out there who could answer any of the questions that kept cropping up the more I learned about the village.

At the same time as I was publishing the book, here in NSW, a group of people were getting together in Askam. These people eventually became the Askam & Ireleth History Society.

Askam & Ireleth History Society
The AIHS was formed in 1999, principally by Marjorie and the late Bob Sloane of Duddon Road. The group held several meetings at the Methodist Chapel and, in 2000, organised an exhibition of old photos. The exhibition was a major success and provided the impetus for funding applications and a growing membership. The Barrow Community Regeneration Company has provided the AIHS with a laptop computer and scanning and printing equipment. Much of the AIHS's efforts have gone in to collecting, copying and archiving photos from members of the community.

Sadly, Bob Sloane (far right in the picture above) died in 2003. The group continues to meet, however, in the afternoon on the first Wednesday of each month at the Methodist Chapel, Duddon Road. Brian Hadwick (e-mail Brian) is the contact point for people wishing to join the group or donate photos. Brian is also conducting a number of projects, recording the area's pubs and publicans, and Askam's pigeon lofts and fanciers. Visit the Askam Pigeon Association page now.