The future of Haig Colliery Mining Museum is looking bright it would ‘seam’!
REVIVING A WEST CUMBRIAN ICON
The future of Haig Colliery Mining Museum is looking bright it would ‘seam’…
by Stephen Murphy
The Haig Pit site which consists of Haig Colliery Mining Museum and the Haig Pit Cafe, sadly closed their doors over a decade ago, there was hope that West Cumbria Mining would play a part in redeveloping this much loved building, but sadly that was not to be.
The future of this cathedral-like building which housed Engine Halls No4 & No5 was looking bleak indeed, the building began to fall into disarray as the pigeons thought it was a great place to live, play and do what pigeons do… I don’t need to go into detail!
Fast forward to February 2026, and it has been announced that the site has been acquired by Mike Johnson, owner of AJ Johnson Welding & Fabrication.
Mike has big plans for the site as a whole, and aims to bring the whole site operational in the near future.
The cafe will be operational as of mid March, and will be run by Gina, who also runs Bakes by Gina and Beachroad Bakehouse, in St Bees. So you know what to expect, the usual array of delicious treats and delicious food that she is renowned for.
“It’s an iconic site, an iconic building and we need to bring life back into it as it holds so much history.”
As for the main building, well, Mike is busy planning ahead and pulling in funders so as to get the Museum operational, but other developments are in the pipeline as the building will need other revenue streams so as to make it viable.
Funders are being spoken to as we speak, but more importantly Mike wants the community on board and wants to hear what they would like the additional space to become.
Mike said, “It’s an iconic site, an iconic building and we need to bring life back into it as it holds so much history.
“I want the community to have an input into this, because it needs to be a building that is an asset to the local community first and foremost.”
“The museum will be reopened as we need to showcase and celebrate the history of the building and the people who worked in the industry, and also tell the story of why it was here and of course showcase the many museum artifacts.”
“People need to learn through that lesson of history of what coal was all about and how it helped make West Cumbria one of the leading areas of industrial development and a centre of excellence where cutting edge technology of the day was sent and utilised around the world.”
Mike has coal running through his veins as his dad worked in open-cast mines leading Mike to say “I have a link to the industry and I love local history.
“I think it’s incredibly exciting what’s to come. Watch this space and please engage with us and let’s see what we can develop in the years to come. It’s all great news.”
Mike has a battle to get everything in place, hopefully with lots of support from across the board, there will be many who embrace his vision and passion for the project and enable this to move forward as quickly and efficiently as possible – the grand people of West Cumbria certainly want it preserved and open, the feedback has been immense since we released the great new, there is so much love for this site and all that it stands for.
Be sure to follow ‘Haig Colliery Mining Museum’ on Facebook for information and updates…
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