James Ramsden, founder of the Barrow Shipbuilding Company, was born in Lancashire in 1822. He served his apprenticeship with the Liverpool company Bury, Curtis and Kennedy. In 1846 Ramsden became Locomotive Superintendent for the new Furness Railway Company and was its managing director between 1866 and 1895.
Ramsden established the Barrow Shipbuilding Company in 1871 using considerable capital from the Furness Railway Company's shareholders. He was also instrumental in persuading supporters to help him form a shipping line that would provide the shipyard with its first orders. The first vessel built at the shipyard was Ramsden's own steam yacht 'Aries,' which went down the slipway on 12 May, 1873. Orders for four passenger cargo vessels used to trade with India, followed and the shipyard, driven by Ramsden's entrepreneurial spirit, prospered.
James Ramsden was knighted in 1872 by Queen Victoria for his services to industry. In 1877 he became the first Mayor of Barrow, serving five consecutive terms.
Ramsden died on 19 October 1896 and is buried in Barrow Cemetary. His name lives on in Ramsden Square where his statue still stands. There is a street and a dock named after him and he is represented on the town crest and above the town hall. A year after his death, the shipyard was purchased by the Vickers family.
