Despite the claims being made by the town of Bishop Auckland in County Durham, Stanley Arthur Jefferson or Stan Laurel as he later became known, was born right here in Ulverston on 16th June 1890 at 3, Argyle Street. Tourism bosses in the north east have published 50,000 copies of a brochure, wrongly claiming that Stan was born there. The Laurel and Hardy museum in Ulverston display a copy of Stan’s birth certificate and Stan is know to have publicly stated that Ulverston was his birthplace, so why the gaff?
Some say that it’s merely a publicity stunt to attract more tourists to Bishop Auckland. Craig Wilson from Visit County Durham has admitted that they have allowed a local urban myth to be published as fact.
Stan, later to become one half of the famous comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy did spend much of his early life in the north east, but claiming the area as his birthplace is really another fine mess for Bishop Auckland.
He qwas educated at King James 1st School in Bishop Auckland. There is a plaque in the school assembly hall that states this.