Carnforth is a small town near Lancaster in the north of Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay, by the River Keer. The population was around 5,500 in the year 2000. Due to the closeness of the coast and the hills, the West Coast Main Line (WCML), the A6 and the Lancaster Canal pass through the town. The M6 motorway passes just to the east, linked to Carnforth by the A601(M). Much of the history of Carnforth's revolves around the railway and ironworks. Vast deposits of limestone located locally made Carnforth an ideal place for an ironworks, as limestone is a key component of the smelting process. In 1846 the Carnforth Ironworks Company established a works, located near the train station. In the same year a recession occurred in the Earl of Dudley ironworks in Worcestershire, this meant there was a surplus of workers. A number of workers moved to the ironworks and lived in the nearby company village of Dudley (Now called Millhead). In 1864 the Carnforth Haematite Company took over the works and production was vastly increased due to iron ore that was brought in by rail from the Furness Penisula. By 1872 steel production became the main focus for the works using the new Bessemer process. By 1889 this process had failed. Iron production continued at the works until 1929 when it adventually closed down. The site was taken over by the War Department (UK) as an ordnance depot and remained as such until the 1960s. From then to the present the site is now an industrial estate consisting of several businesses. More on Carnforth 

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