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Haig Colliery Mining Museum(See also Whitehaven , The Beacon and The Rum Story)
From the 13th century to 1986 coal mining took place in the Whitehaven area. The industry began its expansion in 1630 when Sir Christopher Lowther came into ownership of the coal fields and built a pier for exporting the coal. The last operating mine was the Haig Pit, the deepest in Cumbria. A dangerous occupation at the best of times, Whitehaven's mine pits killed 1200 people during their operation.
Photos courtesy of Haig Colliery Mining Museum © 1997-2008 by The Cumbria Directory. Reproduction of this work in whole or in part, including images, and reproduction in electronic media, without documented permission from The Cumbria Directory is prohibited. |
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Located on the cliffs above Whitehaven, the Haig Colliery Mining Museum is part of
Cumbria's history. It sits on the site of the former Haig Pit and consists of a winding engine
house and headgear.
It was
between 1914 and 1918 that the Whitehaven Colliery Company sunk the 1200-foot deep Haig Pit. Its
closure was brought about by the encounter of a major fault, miners' strike, and the politics of
the day. Buildings were demolished with only the winding engine house and some workshops
remaining. The Haig Colliery building site is now designated as a Scheduled Monument by English
Heritage.
The
museum is located at Solway Road, Kells, Whitehaven, ½ mile south on road to St Bees.