A REMARKABLE relic of the First World has put a Furness market town on the map after it received protected status by Historic England.

More than 1000 places across the country have been given protected status by Historic England over the past 12 months, including one amazing find in Broughton.

A rock outcrop near to an old farmhouse at Green Moor, near Broughton, bears the names and initials of seven men believed to be on the run from the authorities in the First World War.

Mervyn Cooper, a member of the Duddon Valley Local History Group, revealed the group played a vital role in discovering the rock.

He said: "The monument was located and recorded for inclusion in the Lake District Historic Environment Record during a field survey of Woodland Fell by a joint team of members of LDNP Archaeology Volunteers and the Duddon Valley Local History Group (DVLHG) in 2014.

"The inscribed stone, located on the fell above Green Moor farm in the Woodland Valley is regarded by Historic England to be a very rare and possibly unique relic of First World War history."

The inscription on the rock dates back to 1916 and includes the name A Boosey, the initials of six other men and the words "Cons Objectors."

It is believed that these men were using the farm buildings at Green Moor as a safe house while on the run to avoid conscription into the armed forces, and that the rock was used as a vantage point to get warning of police searches.

Other items on the list include 18th-century artificial beehives at St Teath, Bodmin; a former women's prison and exercise yard at Rye Castle and a shipwreck on Madbrain Sands in Minehead.

Mr Cooper is thrilled that the monument has been protected.

He said: "The members of the DVLHG are delighted that their survey work over many years,often in cold,wet and windy conditions on the open fells, has been recognised by this designation of the Conscientious Objectors Stone at Green Moor in the Woodland Valley by Historic England as a site of National importance."