Lousegill coal pits

Description

Lousegill coal pits MYD33704 (c) YDNPA, 2023

The twenty-five coal pits at Lousegill form part of the extensive coal workings which lie on the moorland either side of the Old Coal Road that runs between Cowgill and Garsdale. These coal pits were worked by local people, initially to produce domestic fuel, but by the 18th century, the poor quality coal was also being used in lime kilns. Commercial coal mining went on in Garsdale until the 1870s when the Settle-Carlisle railway started bringing in cheaper, higher quality coal from the Lancashire and West Yorkshire coalfields.

The landscape at Lousegill is dotted with spoilheaps, circular rings of spoil, from 4 to 10 metres in diameter and standing up to 5 metres high. Trackways connect the shafts to the road, previously a packhorse route.

Source:

Hudson, Philip J (1998) Coal Mining in Lunesdale. Settle: Hudson History of Settle