The Majestic Hotel (formerly Hotel Majestic) located at Schneider Square in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England is a 3-star Grade II listed hotel constructed in 1904. The building was designed by JY McIntosh and contains elements of Edwardian and Jacobean architecture. It is also noted for its striking rounded Flemish gables. £1.7 million was spent on refurbishing the hotel in 2008 by developers One Leisure, although ownership of the Majestic, and its nearby sister hotel the Imperial, have since been transferred.
Location
2 explorers visited this place
59 m
Barrow-in-Furness, commonly known as Barrow, is an industrial port town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, Barrow is at the tip of the Furness peninsula, 24 miles south-west of Kendal and 18 miles west of Lancaster. It is bordered by Morecambe Bay to the east, the Duddon Estuary to the west, and the Irish Sea to the south. In 2021, Barrow's population was 55,489, making it the second largest urban area in Cumbria after Carlisle and the largest in Westmorland and Furness.
In the Middle Ages, Barrow was a small hamlet, with its economy controlled by Furness Abbey. In the 19th century, iron prospector Henry Schneider among other investors opened the Furness Railway to transport iron ore and slate from local mines to the coast, which led to the construction of docks, now the Royal Port of Barrow. The discovery of hematite deposits allowed the steel industry to develop in the town, and for a period, its steelworks were the largest in the world. It was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867, and the town’s steel production and coastal location enabled it to develop as a centre for shipbuilding. The steel industry declined after World War II.
Barrow served as the centre of the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness from 1974 until 2023, when the borough was abolished and a parish council established. Barrow is one of England's few planned towns and has a high level of heritage assets compared nationally. Natives of Barrow, as well as the local dialect, are known as Barrovian.
Its economy remains dominated by the defence sector, although defence spending cuts since the end of the Cold War have increased unemployment in the town. As of 2025, the BAE Systems shipyard is the largest in the UK by workforce; it has produced Royal Navy flagships, nuclear submarines and other naval and commercial vessels. The town is a hub for energy generation and handling, particularly offshore wind farms.
67 m
The Barrow Grammar Schools were two adjacent single-sex education schools in Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire, England during the 20th century. Both schools merged in 1979 to form the co-educational Parkview Community College of Technology. Parkview School itself was merged in 2012 with Thorncliffe School and Alfred Barrow School to form Furness Academy. Parkview School and all elements of the former Grammar Schools were demolished in 2014 with a new school building for Furness Academy being constructed in the playing fields of Parkview.
The fictional detective Inspector Charles Parker was said in Dorothy L Sayers's Clouds of Witness to have been educated here.
75 m
Craven House is a large office building in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England located on Michaelson Road close to the eponymous bridge. Constructed in the 1960s the building is noted for its length of roughly 90 m and consists of seven floors making it one of the tallest storied buildings in the town. The gross floor area stands at around 8,100 square metres. Craven House is owned by the Department for Work and Pensions through Barrow Borough Council and currently houses the town's principal Jobcentre alongside leasing office space to the headquarters of successful shipping company James Fisher & Sons - the only Barrow based company listed on the London Stock Exchange.
In 2003 the entire external fabric of the building was recladded and a further £1.7 million was spent in 2013 on refurbishing the inside of the building and installing a new roof. Craven House generates around £176,000 for Barrow Borough Council per annum, making it the largest individual commercial asset under the council's possession.
97 m
Barrow-in-Furness Town Hall is a Gothic Revival style municipal building in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The building, which served as the headquarters of the former Barrow Borough Council, and now one of the bases of Westmorland and Furness Council, lies within a Conservation Area with Grade II* listed status.
110 m
Schneider Square is a square located at the intersection of Duke Street, Dalton Road, Michaelson Road, Burlington Street and Fisher's Yard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. Schneider Square has changed little since its construction in the mid-19th century and now lies within a conservation area. Named after Henry Schneider who played a major role in the development of Barrow, there is a statue commemorating the industrialist in the centre of the square. Located on, or immediately adjacent to Schneider Square are Barrow Town Hall, Craven House, former Barrow Higher Grade School, Hotel Majestic, Burlington House and Duke Street Surgery.
The majority of the building's ground floor level is occupied by an Italian restaurant named Francesca's.
See also
Listed buildings in Barrow-in-Furness