Geograph - photograph every grid square

One of two headgears that were in use at the Haig Pit which was the last deep coal mine to have worked in the Cumbrian coalfield. The pit was sunk between 1914 and 1918 by the Whitehaven Colliery Company Ltd. to a depth of 1200 feet. The engine house, gable seen on the left, has been listed as a Grade II building. This probably saved it from demolition and is now being cared for by the Haig Pit Restoration Group.

A coal mining accident is only termed a disaster if ten or more men were killed. In spite of having the latest safety features and working practices at the time there were three such disasters at Haig. In February 1928 fourteen miners lost their lives under the Solway Firth and their bodies were never recovered.

Haig Pit closed on 31 March 1986 after a major geological fault had been discovered three years earlier. But no doubt the political and industrial problems prevalent in the mid 80s also played a prominent role in its closure.