Haig Colliery

Overview

Cumbria's last deep coal mine, whose workings ran nearly five miles out under the Irish Sea, and whose working life was marked by three separate major explosions that together killed 79 men.

History

Haig Pit, on the cliffs above Whitehaven, was sunk by the Whitehaven Colliery Company Ltd between 1914 and 1918, with coal production beginning in 1916. Its shafts reached 1,200 feet deep, and the workings eventually extended some four and a half miles out beneath the Irish Sea — remarkably, despite this, the mine remained dry. It produced high-volatile, strongly-caking general-purpose coal used in the local iron industry, gas manufacture and domestic fires, averaging around 300,000 tonnes a year. The colliery's working life was marked by three major firedamp explosions: on 5 September 1922, 39 men were killed; on 12 February 1928, 13 men died; and on 29 January 1931, at around 8.15pm, an explosion in the Main Band seam over two miles underground killed 27 miners and injured 13 more. Across all three disasters, 79 men lost their lives at Haig. The colliery finally closed in 1986, the last deep coal mine in Cumbria, and part of the surface site — including its winding engine house, scheduled as a monument in 1998 — was preserved as the Haig Colliery Mining Museum, which closed due to insolvency in January 2016 after a major 2015 refurbishment.

Geology

Haig worked coal seams of the Cumberland Coalfield extending far out beneath the floor of the Irish Sea.

Workings

Coal was raised via shafts 1,200 feet deep, with workings eventually extending around four and a half miles out under the sea bed — dry workings, despite their location, throughout the mine's life.

Closure

Haig Colliery closed in 1986, the last deep coal mine in Cumbria.

What remains

Part of the surface site, including the scheduled winding engine house, was preserved as the Haig Colliery Mining Museum, which closed due to insolvency in January 2016 following a major refurbishment the previous year.

The preserved winding engine house, a scheduled monument since 1998, survives on the clifftop site above Whitehaven.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Disasters & major incidents

• Haig Colliery explosion, 1922
  5 September 1922 · Explosion · 39 fatalities
  A firedamp explosion at Haig Colliery on 5 September 1922 killed 39 men, the worst of three major explosions to strike the mine over its working life.
• Haig Colliery explosion, 1931
  29 January 1931 · Explosion · 27 fatalities
  A firedamp explosion in the Main Band seam, over two miles underground at Haig Colliery, killed 27 miners and injured 13 more on the evening of 29 January 1931.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Haig Pit was sunk by the Whitehaven Colliery Company between 1914 and 1918, with coal production beginning in 1916; its workings eventually extended some four and a half miles out beneath the Irish Sea while remaining dry. ¹
• An explosion at Haig Colliery on 5 September 1922 killed 39 men. ²
• A further explosion on 12 February 1928 killed 13 men at Haig Colliery. (uncertain) ¹
• A third explosion, on 29 January 1931 in the Main Band seam over two miles underground, killed 27 men and injured 13 more. ^3,4
• Haig Colliery closed in 1986 as Cumbria's last deep coal mine; part of the site was later preserved as the Haig Colliery Mining Museum, which closed due to insolvency in 2016. ^1,5

Images

Sources

1. (secondary) Haig Colliery — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Haig Colliery Explosion - Whitehaven - 1922 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) Haig Colliery Explosion - Whitehaven - 1931 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (secondary) Haig Colliery Disaster, 1931 — Newcastle University Co-Curate
5. (secondary) Haig Colliery Mining Museum — Wikipedia

Record created: 21 August 2026 · Last researched: 21 August 2026