One doesn’t like to get tangled with clichés about pachyderms in the chamber, but you can’t keep a picture blog about Barrow for very long without reference to the Devonshire Dock Hall. Not if you’re being honest anyway. There aren’t many parts of town that you can’t see it from. On a clear day you can see it from the Ashton Memorial in Lancaster, the top of Blackpool Tower and the summit of Scafell Pike. So let’s get it over with.
It dates from the 1980s, as many tacky things do. Faced with the demise of Britain’s shipbuilding industry, Barrow sold its soul to the devil (in the guise of the Thatcher government) in return for a few years of boom while other shipyards closed. As a result, Barrow can no longer build surface ships. The DDH, as it’s known politely, otherwise the Trident Shed or Maggie’s Farm, is the legacy of that. It’s a vast shed for the construction of submarines. Once in a while a sub is slowly rolled out ond lowered into the water – the says of spectacular launches, side-on, down the slipway into the Walney Channel are over. The last one to come out was HMS Astute in June 2007. Astute was moored in the dock for several months, did its diving trials there, and was taken back inside. Watch this space for news of its re-emergence.
Posted by enitharmon 
