Haig Colliery Mining Museum
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Haig Colliery Mining Museum is a rapidly growing visitor attraction situated high on the cliffs above Whitehaven in Cumbria, with magnificent views across the Solway Firth to Scotland and the Isle of Man.
It is an independent, volunteer-led project to provide a permanent archive of the local mining history and community resource within the remaining winding engine house, which is now a scheduled ancient monument. One of the two massive steam winding engines has been returned to working order, and many artifacts are on permanent display to help describe the life of the local miners and the social history of the area.
Coal mining in Whitehaven dates back to the thirteenth century when the monks from St Bees Abbey supervised the opening of coal mines at Arrowthwaite. This long history ended abruptly in March 1986, when Haig Pit, Cumbria's last deep coal mine, finally closed.
During this time, the gassy nature of the mines caused many violent explosions. Over 1200 men, women, and children were killed in the Whitehaven pits while mining coal in workings up to four miles out beneath the Solway Firth. Haig itself had a terrible record of methane explosions in the 1920s. Fourteen miners are still entombed in the workings to this day.
