THE long reign of Queen Elizabeth has seen many historic and memorable events connected to what is now Cumbriia.

To mark Her Majesty's 90th birthday we have taken a look at 1956 when she officially began the nuclear power age and became the first reigning monarch to set foot in Barrow Town Hall.

The visit to Barrow was a low-key one - despite the huge crowds which gathered in the old Cavendish Square to greet her.

She had made a brief stop with the Duke of Edinburgh as part of a wider tour of the region.

The event in 1956 which was to gain worldwide publicity was the visit to Calder Hall, then in Cumberland.

The Front page of the Evening Mail for October 17 in 1956 noted: "The age og atomic power for use in factories and homes dawned at 12.18pm today.

"At that moment the Queen pulled a lever to send electricity from Calder Hall - Britain's first nuclear power station - flowing into the national grid."

The Queen said: "All of us here know that we are present at the making of history."