A BARROW author has made a plea to save Barrow's iconic House of Lords building as we approach the second anniversary of the massive blaze which left it as an empty shell.

Alan Wilkinson describes the former Barrow Working Men's Club and Institute on Abbey Road as second only in importance to Barrow Town Hall and as the finest institute of its kind in the North of England.

He writes: "The future of the building is in the hands of the insurance company.

"I would find it unlikely that the residents of the town would want rid of it and much prefer that it is rebuilt.

"The costs of which will be very expensive, of course. Where would the money come from?"

Mr Wilkinson, who published a book on Barrow's traditional beer houses in 2017, is hopeful that Barrow Borough Council may be able to help and feels that his book will show how important the building has been to the town.

He writes: "The councils of recent years have gone out of their way to preserve other buildings in the town which I am sure is very much appreciated by all.

"As far as the House of Lords building is concerned, we now have it in writing how much the building meant to our ancestors, it was second only to Barrow Town Hall.

"In fact, it still is as far as I am concerned, nothing has changed there."

Mr Wilkinson, whose two late grandfathers had been life-long working men's club members, started writing his book the day after the blaze was reported in the empty building next to the Bar Continental pub by a passing member of the public at 8.56pm on January 11 in 2017.

Mr Wilkinson wrote: "The whole east wing of the building was gripped by the fire which continued to grow by the minute.

"The danger of the fire spreading to other buildings, including the Barrow Public Library, was imminent."

During that night 12 fire engines and 60 firefighters were needed to get the blaze under control and to finally extinguish it by 10am.

He wrote: "The blaze devastated the whole of the building leaving very little in its wake.

"The roof area was completely destroyed as were the upper and lower floors.

"The Bar Continental extension of the building was gutted by the fire despite the structure having remained intact."

We will be looking at the history of the working men's club building from 1870 - popularly known as the House of Lords - on the Mail's nostalgia page on Wednesday, January 2.

Mr Wilkinson's book House of Lords Barrow in Furness costs £12 and is available from Heath's on Dalton Road, Barrow.