A HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND 



In 1706 at Lattera Colliery, the Main 

 Band and ' Square Coal ' were worked at 

 Towerson Pit ; the ' Square Coal ' at White 

 Close Pit ; and the Yard Band at Punfulldale 

 Pit, the total output of coal being 3,789 

 tons. 



By the Act of Parliament obtained in 1705 

 by Mr. Thomas Fletcher, lord of the manors 

 of Moresby and Distington, Mr. Thomas 

 Lamplugh and others, 4^. a ton was charged 

 upon coal exported at Parton for 1 1 years to 

 raise jfi,6oo for the improvement of the 

 harbour there. 



That Act was intended to benefit Parton ; 

 but a print published circa 1717, entitled 

 The Miserable Case of the Poor Inhabitants of 

 Parton, etc., alleged that Mr. Lamplugh had 

 taken advantage of the Act for his own 

 private gain. 



It appears from that document that the 

 trustees under the Act, most of whom owed 

 their appointment to the influence of Mr. 

 Lamplugh, left the management of the 

 harbour to him, and, in 1707, entered into a 

 contract with him whereby he covenanted to 

 make a harbour sufficient for ' fifty sail of 

 ships for 1,210.' 



Mr. Lamplugh, so The Miserable Case 

 states, failed to complete his contract, although 

 he received the payment agreed upon, and had 

 sold his collieries. 



The inhabitants of Parton, foreseeing the 

 impending ruin of the harbour, and knowing 

 that they had no power over Mr. Lamplugh 

 or the trustees, were willing that the harbour 

 duties should be continued for a further term 

 in order that the harbour might be kept up. 



In 1724 the duties, which had lapsed in 

 1716, were re-enacted for a further term of 

 15 years. 



The passing of the Parton Harbour Act, 

 1705, was strenuously opposed by Sir John 

 Lowther, but the application for the Act of 

 1724 received the support of his successor, 

 Mr. James Lowther. Both had in the interim 

 acquired large interests at Parton. 



In 1713 Mr. Lowther purchased Mr. 

 Lamplugh's collieries at Parton. 



In 1731 Lattera Colliery consisted of 

 Fisher and Lister Pits, in the Main Band, and 

 Punfulldale Pit in the Yard Band. 



In 1738 Sir James Lowther's collieries 

 in Moresby comprised the Hall and Lattera 

 Collieries. At the Hall Colliery, Hutton Pit 

 was the only one at work, but in that year a 

 commencement was made with working coal 

 at Long Bransty Barugh. At the Lattera 

 Colliery coal work was still going on in Lister 

 and Fisher Pits. 



No coal was raised at the Hall Colliery 



after 1739, but pumping went on at Hutton 

 Pit till 1743. 



Lattera Colliery at this time was worked 

 intermittently. Lister and Fisher Pits were 

 stopped in 1741, and coal work was not re- 

 sumed at Lattera until 1742, when Lamb 

 Hills Pit was opened out and the Metal Band 

 worked until 1750. 



In 1751 at Lattera Colliery, Blearbank Pit, 

 afterwards known as White Pit, was sunk. 

 In 1 776 this pit was working the Main Band 

 towards the High farmhouse but was soon dis- 

 continued. 



The next coal working in Moresby took 

 place from Parton Drift and Countess Pit, 

 begun in 1827 and 1832 respectively. The 

 Parton Drift had reached, when abandoned 

 in 1863, the Distington parish boundary 

 i miles from Parton ; and at its extremity a 

 small district of Main Band was wrought in 

 Moresby parish. The Parton Drift was the 

 outlet for coal produced at Countess and 

 Moresby New Pits. 



At these pits, coals from the Bannock, 

 Main, and Six Quarters Seams were raised to 

 the level of the Parton Drift, and thence 

 conveyed to Parton Pit, 10 fathoms deep, 

 where they were drawn to bank. 



Countess Pit was sunk a total depth of 

 91 fathoms, but coals were only drawn up 

 to the level of the Parton Drift, which was 

 there 25 fathoms from the surface. The 

 Main Band and Six Quarters Seam were 

 worked thereat until 1863, when the pit was 

 stopped. 



Moresby New Pit was sunk in 1849, east 

 of Millgrove, 52 fathoms to the Main Band, 

 14 fathoms below the level of Parton Drift, 

 and was abandoned in 1850. 



The Main Band was worked south-east of 

 the pit towards Gillhead and Canada ; and 

 through an upthrow fault the Six Quarters 

 Seam was worked to the north. 



From 1863 no coal was worked in the 

 parish of Moresby until 1879, when Walk- 

 mill Pit was sunk by the Moresby Coal Co., 

 Ltd., 25 fathoms to the Main Band, which has 

 been and is being worked on the rise side of 

 the Micklam dyke from Parton drifts on the 

 north, to Dub Beck in Weddiker on the 

 south, and to the east under Weddiker Rigg. 



Coal and ironstone (from the Coal 

 Measures) were worked in the parish of Dean 

 in early times. In 1777 Nicolson and Burn 

 stated that there were coal pits at the 

 Edge, Branthwaite, where catscalp (ironstone) 

 used at the Clifton and Seaton furnaces was 

 obtained up to 1813, when the manufacture 

 of iron at Seaton ceased. 



From this time until 1824 Mr. J. C. 



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