Large scale mining in the Aspatria district began in 1868, when the trustees of the Harris family sank No 3 pit, on a site adjacent to the present village of Harriston. Harris had previously purchased the parcel of Glebe land from Aspatria church for the relatively high price of £750. In 1864, they sank test bores to prove and estimate the size of the coalfield. Coal was eventually won on 12 August 1870. During its life the mine consisted of at least three shafts; No 1, sunk to a depth of 577 feet to the Yard Band; No 2, 541 feet to the same seam; and No 3, 311 feet to the Tenquarters seam.
Although vast quantities of household quality coal were known to exist at a depth of 540 feet the initial prospects of the pit were disheartening, and many faults were encountered. Yet the owners persevered against adversity and as the mine opened out the quality and quantity improved beyond all expectations. The product eventually demanded the highest price of any Cumberland coal in the marketplace. However, for many of the workers in those opening seven years conditions were harsh; with men dragging coal distances of 400 yards, performing work normally undertaken by ponies.
Shortly after the opening, miners began to adopt the Longwall system of extracting coal. A method whereby the workings were pushed forward in a long continuous line and as the colliers advanced the goaf (the space from which the coal had been taken) was packed with stone and slack on which the roof was allowed to settle. This system had three primary advantages; in the first, it was ideal for working thin seams; in the second, as no pillars were required almost all of the coal was removed; while in the third, it allowed the coal to be removed in a single operation. Once undermined, the pressure of the strata above brought it down in large lumps. The coal was extracted from the goaf via the gateways which were normally twelve yards wide and supported on each side by walls of stone. Only in the gateways was height available for the movement of coal.
The mine came into full production in 1874 and continued to maintain a satisfactory output for over eight years; after which it was apparent that new explorations were required to guarantee continuous working. In 1882, Harris discovered a new seam by driving a dip drift 1,200 yards from the hauling engine. In August 1889, a level drift 1,250 yards long was commenced and completed three years later. In addition to installing an air compressor at the bank to assist ventilation, they moved the hauling engine to the out-by end of the drift; and relocated the pump to extract the surplus water. The output increased to record levels, peaking at 600 tons for a 8.5 hour shift. In 1894, they made further attempts, without success, to expand the colliery in a southerly direction. The results of these modifications offered continual employment until 1902, when the mine was commercially exhausted.
In October 1904, a large gathering of villagers assembled to witness the dismantling of the two remaining chimneys. The work was executed by John Foster, foreman joiner, under the superintendence of George Askew, manager.
The mine was reasonably safe by contemporary standards. Although at least five previous deaths were recorded as a direct result of injuries sustained at the workplace the first “on the spot” fatality occurred in the summer of 1882, some twelve years after the official opening. It was simple, instantaneous and coincidental. John Thompson, a hewer was sitting talking to his mates waiting to be raised from the base of the shaft when a large stone fell from the roof and killed him, maiming three others in the process. One man Nelson Dobie died from his injuries three days later.
When the trustees of the Harris family decided to sink a pit one mile to the southeast of Aspatria they were in a sense escalating their mining responsibilities. They were aware they required an additional 200 workers. The population of Aspatria numbered 1,100 and comprised 250 houses. They realised the workforce would have to be recruited from outside the district and houses would have to be built to accommodate the new influx. They were also aware that the employer who could provide tied housing for his workers had a better chance of attracting the right quality and equally important, once employed would have a better chance of retaining their services. To this end they built a village with three streets comprising, 96 two up and two down terraced houses and aptly named it Harristown. Within days of the completion the streets were alive with the bustling sounds of a large variety of accents, while the local farmhands observed a mixture of cultures that would blend to challenge and transform the established agrarian order. In 1879, at personal expense, Harris presented the inhabitants with a large commodious building. Through the week this was used as a school for infants, in the evenings a hail for temperance meetings and on Sundays a place of worship. in those days the village had quite a reputation and shortly after the Hall’s inauguration disturbing reports began to appear in the local newspapers begging parents to control their children and prevent them damaging its exterior. In 1892, Harris inaugurated the Harris institute, a colliers club comprising reading, smoking and billiard rooms; a club where workers could enjoy their evenings playing games and reading newspapers away from the evils associated with public houses.
By 1893, Harriston housed more than 500 people; for which I understand the tenants were charged a weekly rent of somewhere between 1s. and 2s. From the outset Harriston was always the poor relation when compared to the town of Aspatria. The economic power was held by Aspatria. The rates were controlled, collected and consumed by Aspatria, with little return in the form of services. Even today the residents have to travel to Richmond Hill to register their votes during elections. In 1896 a motion was submitted to the County Council, seeking to open a polling station for the one hundred strong electorate. Even though the ward was contributing a significant portion of the district rate the request was refused on the grounds of the instability of the colliery. After the closure the rateable value of the village fell and in consequence its needs were almost totally ignored. The one major drawback related to the ownership of the property. In the eyes of the council, it was private and of no more importance than Belle View, Winbarrows or Pringle lonning. The mile walk to the town was along an unlit, unmetalled track little more than 5 feet wide which was constantly waterlogged during bad weather. Notwithstanding several petitions and many hours of debate by the district council little was forthcoming in the form of improvements and more than forty years were to elapse before the road leading to the village was finally adopted by the County Council. The streets between the houses were not included and they had to wait until long after the Great War. Although situated adjacent to the Mealsgate branch railway the inhabitants were unable to secure an independent station and were forced to walk the short distance along the track to Aspatria station and visa versa to use the facility. When this custom was finally outlawed in 1893, the villagers were compelled to walk the 1.5-mile route around the streets. Despite several petitions and the support of Sir Wilfrid Lawson, the then chairman they were unable to rescind this motion. The residents had similar problems with postal arrangements; they didn’t possess a post box. In 1919 a petition was presented to the Postmaster-General for the establishment of a sub post office to service the expanding population. Despite the fact that Aspatria had two such offices, one at Springkell and the other at Brayton station; Harriston received a refusal and its residents instructed to buy their stamps and postal orders from the delivery postman, Meanwhile improvements gradually began to appear. The Aspatria and district Industrial Cooperative Society established a branch store; and in 1904; the solitary pump that originally stood at the top of the village which in Dr Briggs words, “required the strength of a donkey to get it going” was replaced by a supply of water connected by gravity feed from the Overwater main. Gas was also connected with over half the occupiers electing to use this form of lighting. In 1913, a Bowling Green was laid on the site of the old pit yard and a competitive club inaugurated. As time went the authorities installed a children’s play area, provided with swings. While a public bus service commenced. In 1952 the youngsters acquired their own Youth Club, an organisation ran by Harry Iredale, which in addition to indoor activities, offered Cricket and Football for boys, and Netball for girls. The playing field being kindly loaned by George Blackburn. Following the closure all the miners were re-employed at No 4 pit. By road this was an extremely long journey but considerably shorter by the fields. Harris struck up an agreement with the local landowners and a path was cut across the land. This eventually became known as the “Black Trod”, and although it no longer exists it is still referred to affectionately today.
In the 1970’s the village was finally condemned and the houses, many of which were owner occupied became the subject of a compulsory purchase order by the Allerdale District Council. The village with few proper bathrooms could have been raised to the ground had it not been for the efforts of a few of the local councillors. Instead, it became the subject of a short relocation. Once completed the radical development became the subject of considerable media attention. The new Harriston contains the same number of houses as its predecessor, arranged around a traditional Cumbrian green. It was designed to be complete and contains a variety of dwellings ranging from bungalows to three- and four-bedroom family homes; with new facilities, including a village shop, allotments, garages and play areas. Only two of the original buildings remain, the old village hall is the new village hall, while the cooperative store has been adopted for industrial use. In the early eighties the design won several nationwide awards for its architects the Happer, Errington, Collerton Partnership. these included the Civic Trust Award. Shortly afterwards the Queen attended an exhibition in the Carnegie Arts centre, Workington, where after being introduced to many of the leading personalities, observed photographs and miniature models of the scheme.
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