A MAJOR fund-raising campaign got off the ground this week to find around £100,000 to keep Ulverston's iconic landmark on the Furness horizon.

The Friends of the Sir John Barrow Monument have started appealing for help to meet a repair bill that is expected to be in excess of half-a-million pounds to fix the leaky lighthouse that stands atop Hoad Hill.

It is hoped the Heritage Lottery Fund will pay for 90 per cent of the bill but at least ten per cent will have to be found locally.

Assessment work to find out exactly what needs doing to restore the 155-year-old tower was begun in September by Appleby-based conservation experts the Elaine Rigby Architects. The monument is not in imminent danger of collapse, but work is needed to stop it deteriorating further.

Research into the history of the replica lighthouse built to commemorate Ulverston's favourite son, Sir John Barrow a former secretary to the British Admiralty has already shown it has probably been leaking since day one.

Certified conservation architect Elaine Blackett-Ord, who is carrying out the study, said initial work had shown that contractors had cut corners building the 100ft tower.

It was meant to be constructed of quality limestone blocks but the builders had used lower grade stone and rubble, she said. Over the years, it had also been poorly patched.

She said stories suggesting an enormous bonfire built near the Hoad to celebrate Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1900 had cracked the limestone were something of an urban myth.

"To calcify limestone, you need to have constant temperatures of 800 degrees Centigrade. The fire would have to have been built right up against the tower for that to have happened," she said.

Abseiling masons will be dangling from the monument in November to take core samples and analyse the stone to determine the exact extent of its problems and the cost of fixing them. Ms Blackett-Ord's final report with a figure for the repairs is due out in February.

Meanwhile, fund-raisers are already anticipating a hefty repair bill, and in order not to lose vital fund-raising time by waiting for the final cost assessment, they have started to rally donations now. They hope to have the cash in place by September 2006 to complete restoration work by the end of 2007 and reopen the monument to the public in the spring of 2008.

A website has been launched to take secure donations at www.sirjohn barrowmonument.

co.uk or cheques can be sent to: Treasurer of the Ulverston Partnership, Jim Patterson, Palo Alton, Loppergarth, Pennington, Nr Ulverston, LA12 OJL.

Meanwhile, Ulverston Town Council is inviting officials to a Hoad summit' after councillors complained about scruffy paths, over-flowing bins and broken benches en route to the Sir John Barrow Monument.

It was agreed this week to draw together the many parties with some controls over Hoad to consider thrashing out a joint management plan to ensure Ulverston's asset is well maintained for locals and tourists. Two representative from each body will be invited including: Ulverston Town Council; the Ulverston Townlands Trust which owns the land; Cumbria County Council, which looks after the footpaths; and South Lakeland District Council, which has responsibility for the benches and bins.