Jane Pit

Jane Pit is a Grade II listed steam engine house, a scheduled monument coal mine, and the last remnants of the coal mining industry in Workington.

The ‘People of Jane Pit’ project was funded by Historic England’s Everyday Heritage Grants to give young people access to learning heritage skills, while enabling Helena Thompson Museum to engage new audiences through the creation of an intergenerational collaboration between their existing volunteers and the town’s young people.

Consultation with local Youth Groups identified that access to quality work experience and transferable skills that could help young people gain employment was a major unmet need. With careful planning, the idea of a paid work experience programme was conceived: over the course of a week, a group of young people would design, create, and promote their own exhibition about the history of Workington.

In the process, they would gain experience in archive research, storytelling, press and marketing, project development, and creative design, and receive a stipend as well as clear experience and a reference that could be included on their CVs. Originally intended to support 6 young people, the capacity of the programme was doubled to 12 due to the high levels of demand.

The People of Jane Pit project built on the results of an earlier community-based excavation led by DigVentures in 2018, and was recognised by Historic England in a case study on building heritage skills for young people.

Jane Pit is the last surviving structure from Workington’s coal mining history, and is one of that last remaining visible links to the town’s industrial past. Despite its architectural significance and scheduled monument status, the site had become overlooked, under appreciated, and a target for vandalism. Located within a grassy area that might be considered a community green space, it was instead plagued by antisocial behaviour.

The challenge wasn’t just to investigate the archaeology but to reframe Jane Pit as a site worth celebrating. A testament to the town’s heritage that the local community could take pride in. By involving residents, volunteers, and school aged children in hands-on archaeology, the project aimed to reconnect Workington with its mining heritage, fostering a sense of ownership and appreciation for this historic landmark.

In 2018, DigVentures lead a community excavation of Jane Pit, Frostoms Cottages, and Holyoak Farm. At that time, 30 volunteers participated directly in the dig, with an additional 150 visitors and nearly 200 local school children engaging through site tours and educational sessions that explored the life of children in the mines during the Victorian period.

Building on the 2018 excavation, The People of Jane Pit project set out to capture and celebrate the working-class histories connected to Workington’s mining heritage, particularly the often-overlooked voices of miners and their families. While Jane Pit stands as a tangible reminder of the town’s industrial past, the stories of those who worked in the mining industry, or whose lives were shaped by mining, were at risk of being forgotten.

The young people involved with the People of Jane Pit project reported that they had little knowledge of the town’s mining history. Many of the young people who took part in the project told us that local heritage was not a major focus of their school lessons, and while some recalled visiting the local museum as children, their connection to Workington’s past remained distant.

None of the young people in our work experience programme were aware of any family members having worked in the mines, despite many of their families having lived in the town for generations. This was an indicator of how quickly this once-dominant industry was fading from collective memory.

Through archaeology, oral history, and community involvement, The People of Jane Pit aimed to address this gap by revitalising awareness of Workington’s industrial past while fostering a sense of pride and belonging among residents today.

In 2018, DigVentures teamed up with the people of Workington to dig into the history of Jane Pit, focusing on features identified on historic maps. Together, we excavated three trenches around the engine house of the 19th-century coal mine, uncovering some fascinating finds: part of a horse gin used to power the mine, an old cottage that may have housed miners, and a sturdy retaining wall that once supported a ramp leading up to the engine house.

The enthusiasm of local residents shone through for the duration of the dig, with many people becoming familiar faces, visiting the dig every single day, eager to learn more about the history of the mine and the story of their town. Local schools jumped on the opportunity to learn about mining in Victorian England, and to see the archaeology in person.

In 2023, further funding from Historic England allowed us to expand the Jane Pit project in partnership with Helena Thompson Museum, delivering an interactive programme that gave young people the opportunity to explore their town’s mining past while developing new skills. This included:

• Workshops for primary aged children – exploring mining history through the medium of dance and theatre
• School workshops – using Minecraft to recreate and interpret Jane Pit in the Minecraft world, giving young people the opportunity to explore archive material and apply their research in a fun and creative way.
• A week-long work experience programme – 10 young people aged 15-17 took part, gaining hands-on experience in heritage research, curation, and exhibition design.
• Choosing their own research topics – Participants decided which aspects of Workington’s mining heritage to investigate, giving them ownership over their learning.
• Oral history collection – Young people conducted interviews with local residents, gathering first-hand accounts of the lives of miners and their families.
• Archival research – Participants worked with museum staff to explore historic records, uncovering details about miners’ lives and the impact of the coal industry on the town.
• Collaboration with the Future Leaders team – The project connected young people with the Future Leaders programme, giving them the opportunity to explore further avenues for personal development.
• Marketing and outreach – The group helped create promotional materials to encourage public engagement with the exhibition, giving young people transferable skills that will help them enrich their CV as they leave school.
• Exhibition design and launch – Participants co-created the final exhibition, which showcased their research, oral histories, and creative work. The exhibition launch was attended by the community and celebrated as a key moment in reconnecting Workington’s residents with their mining heritage.

This hands-on, co-creative approach ensured that young people not only learned about Workington’s industrial past but also gained valuable heritage skills and a sense of pride in their local history.

The Jane Pit project had a remarkable impact, drawing together a diverse group of participants and engaging the wider community. Over the 2018 eight-day excavation, 29 volunteers, primarily local residents, worked alongside our archaeologists to uncover the secrets of Jane Pit. These volunteers spanned a range of ages, backgrounds, and levels of archaeological experience, contributing a total of 84 days and 588 hours of work. Seven additional volunteers participated in post-excavation sessions, extending the project’s reach and enabling the careful processing and recording of finds.

The project resonated deeply with the local community, as many participants and visitors expressed a strong connection to Jane Pit. Comments like, “I’ve lived here all my life, and I’ve always wanted to see [Workington’s] heritage investigated,” and “I spent my childhood playing at Jane Pit; it’s amazing to now uncover its history,” highlighted the pride and emotional significance attached to the site. Volunteers gained hands-on archaeological experience, learning skills such as excavation, recording, and post-excavation processing. Those eager to expand their knowledge had access to professional support and resources like the Archaeological Skills Passport and DigVentures’ online learning courses.

Beyond the dig team, the project involved 190 local primary schoolchildren across three schools in engaging, hands-on sessions about archaeology and the Victorian coal industry. Pupils explored what life might have been like for children working in the mines, toured the excavation, and created artwork inspired by Lowry’s 1960s sketch of Jane Pit. Public access to the site was a cornerstone of the project. More than 100 spontaneous visitors stopped by to ask questions, take tours, and share their personal stories about the site. An additional 52 people joined the family-friendly open day, which included activities like artefact handling and creative drawing sessions.

The  reach extended far beyond the site itself through social media, a dedicated microsite, and press coverage. Daily updates on platforms like Twitter and Facebook kept the public informed, while features in publications like Times & Star and Cumbria Crack, along with a segment on ITV Borders News, amplified the project’s visibility to millions. Creative outputs further enriched the project, with volunteers producing artwork inspired by the site, from sketches to embroidered pieces, adding a unique cultural dimension to the initiative.

The People of Jane Pit project innovatively engaged young people, earning recognition from Historic England and fostering a deeper appreciation for the town’s rich mining heritage. Building on the success of the 2018 excavation, the project expanded its reach in 2023 through targeted educational initiatives and creative collaborations.

A key part of this was the work experience programme, which saw 12 teenagers from local schools and youth groups take an active role in shaping a public exhibition about Jane Pit. Rather than being handed a pre-determined project, they were encouraged to make their own creative and curatorial choices, from deciding which aspects of Jane Pit’s history and the wider history of the town to explore, to conducting research and collecting oral histories. Supported by museum staff and DigVentures archaeologists, they worked together to design the exhibition, collect oral histories, and develop interpretation materials, all while learning skills in archival research, exhibition design, and marketing. As the project grew, they took increasing ownership, helping to create promotional materials, engaging with the press and their local MP, and planning a public launch event to showcase their work.

One of the standout features was the circular earthwork south of the engine house, which might be a horse gin, although further investigation is needed to confirm this, as it would have been quite unusual to have a horse gin at a mine that had a steam engine. In future, a deeper excavation across a larger area could reveal even more, as multiple well-preserved levelling layers were found.

Exceptionally well-preserved foundations gave us plenty of information on the construction of Frostoms cottages and the daily lives of those who lived and worked near Jane Pit. The trench’s location was even repositioned after feedback from a local resident, a brilliant example of how community input can shape archaeological discoveries.

The energy and enthusiasm of local residents and volunteers truly brought this project to life. Their connection to Jane Pit and their passion for uncovering its story were inspiring, providing vital contributions that made the excavation such a success.

But the project’s impact went far beyond the archaeology. The energy and enthusiasm of local residents and volunteers brought the site to life, and nowhere was this more evident than in the work experience programme. Over the course of a week, young participants explored different aspects of heritage work, from conducting research and collecting oral histories to designing and promoting their own exhibition. They recorded interviews with local residents, gaining firsthand accounts of life in Workington, in the mining industry and as a family member of a miner, contributing to a growing archive of community memory. Using archival sources and creative interpretation, they explored different ways to tell Jane Pit’s story, culminating in an exhibition that was entirely their own.