Despite the hectic wedding preparations, on 31 July, the Burrow played host to Harry's seventeenth birthday party. However, the party was interrupted by the arrival of Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour, who had arrived to disclose the contents of Albus Dumbledore's will to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Each received an item that would eventually help them in their mission to defeat Lord Voldemort and destroy his Horcruxes. [3] This items included The Tales of Beetle the Bard, The Deluminator, and the Golden Snitch Harry caught in his first Quidditch match.

Barrow lies in the ITV Granada – North West England region with the main signal coming from the Winter Hill transmitter near Bolton. There is also a relay transmitter at Millom whose signal can be received in the northern end of the town. In Behind the Whistle, former Premier League referee Chris Foy goes through a selection of key match decisions from the latest Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two action. Founded to unite business professionals with likeminded individuals, The Barrow Club at Brighton is our original, exclusive and invitation-only networking group, for those looking to grow their businesses, make new connections and relax whilst doing so.Derived from the Old Norse word for a burial mound ‘ hof‘ or ‘barrow’, which gave the Sussex town of Hove its name, The Barrow Club was conceived on Palmeira Square, the historic heart of the town. Several notables in Art and Literature have come from Barrow. Artist Keith Tyson, the 2002 Turner Prize winner, was born in nearby Ulverston, attended the Barrow-in-Furness College of Engineering and worked at the then VSEL shipyard. [160] Constance Spry, the author and florist who revolutionised interior design in the 1930s, and 1940s, moved to the town with her son Anthony during World War I to work as a welfare supervisor. [161] Peter Purves, later a Blue Peter presenter, began his acting career with 2 years as a member of the Renaissance Theatre Company at the town's Her Majesty's Theatre. [162] saw the construction of Barrow Offshore Wind Farm, which has acted as a catalyst for further investment in offshore renewable energy. Ormonde Wind Farm and Walney Wind Farm followed in 2011, the latter of which became the largest offshore wind farm in the world. The three wind farms are located west of Walney Island and are operated primarily by Ørsted (company), contain a total of 162 turbines and have a combined nameplate capacity of 607MW, providing energy for well over half a million homes. West of Duddon Sands Wind Farm was commissioned in 2014 while Walney was extended in 2018 to again become the world's largest such offshore facility. Barrow's latest point came from a fifth unbeaten league game, though further progress up the table has been halted by four draws in that sequence. The tidal River Barrow, which together with the tidal reaches of its tributaries, the River Suir and River Nore, constitute 88km (55 miles) of tidal river navigation.

In the further education sector there is one college, Furness College. Furness College merged with Barrow Sixth Form College in 2016 forming the largest college in Cumbria. [195] Technical and professional qualifications are delivered at the Channelside campus, with A' levels delivered at the Rating Lane campus, the home of the former sixth form college. Although there are currently no higher education institutions based in Barrow, Furness College offers several higher apprenticeships, foundation degrees, Bachelor's and Master's programmes accredited by the University of Cumbria, University of Lancaster and the University of Central Lancashire. [196] In March 2023 plans were approved for a 1,400-capacity campus of the University of Cumbria on Barrow Island which is expected to be open for Autumn 2024. The university campus would be situated adjacent to BAE's Submarine Academy and form a new 'Learning Quarter' for the town. In the 2015 Indices of Deprivation, Barrow was ranked as the 44th most deprived district in England (out of a total of 326). [189] The equivalent figures for 2007 and 2010 stood at 29th most deprived and 32nd most deprived respectively. [190] The Indices of Deprivation is based on income, employment, education, health, crime and barriers to housing and services and living environment. Within these subcategories, most notably Barrow ranked as the 5th most deprived in terms of health deprivation and disability, and in huge contrast, 324th most deprived in terms of access to housing and services (i.e. 3rd least deprived). [189] In the 2010 Indices of Deprivation, the majority of areas in Barrow Island, Central, Hindpool, Ormsgill were amongst the 3% most deprived areas in the country, while large parts of suburban Barrow including Newbarns and Roose were amongst the 25% of least deprived areas in England. [190] Health [ edit ] Furness General Hospital, the primary hospital for Barrow and South West Cumbria Wartime diarist and local housewife Nella Last's memoirs were adapted for television, with parts of the town used in filming. The resulting programme, Housewife, 49, written by and starring comedian Victoria Wood, was broadcast by ITV in 2006. It won two BAFTA awards – one for Best Single Drama, the other for Best Actress (Wood). [172] [173]No charge is made for tetanus, diphtheria, poliomyelitis, Hepatitis A or typhoid immunization. These are provided on the NHS. In 2020 Max Davies became the first person from the Barrow area to be selected to represent Team GB at the ROK World Finals where he finished 29th overall out of 75 competitors from 25 competing countries, he was also the youngest member of Team GB to compete that year. [149]

Education in the state-funded sector includes fifteen primary schools, five infant schools, five junior schools and many nurseries. The three secondary schools in the town are: Furness Academy, St. Bernard's Catholic High School and Walney School. Chetwynde School is an all-through school for children aged 4 to 18. Formerly a private school, Chetwynde became a state-funded free school in 2014.The doctors in the surgery offer full NHS general medical services which cover all aspects of modern primary care and traditional family practice. Should referral to a specialist be necessary, your doctor can arrange this, either at our local West Suffolk Hospital or a selection of other hospitals in the region, under the Choose and Book scheme. We are, also, able to refer to you to a private specialist, should you request it. However, we do not, generally, provide private medical services, except to visitors from some countries.