A 180-foot shaft and a memorial at the Methodist Church point to very different aspects of Great Clifton: mining history and remembrance. Trails and a community hall also offer practical starting points for planning a trip.
Trails and a Community Hall
A trail plan dating from 2009–10 lists walking routes that start in Great Clifton and the neighbouring settlement of Bow Flatts. If walking is part of your stay, use this information as a historical reference and check the current route before setting out.
The Great Clifton Village Hall can be hired for leisure activities. This is a practical aspect of the village in its own right, alongside the walking routes and historical topics. If you are planning such an activity, you can consider using the hall as part of your travel plans.
Coal Mining in Several Stages
Lowther Pit in the Great Clifton coalfield was developed on a large scale from 1854. Its shaft was 12 feet in diameter and 180 feet long. These measurements provide a specific technical detail about the mining, while the period from 1854 marks the start of major development.
William Pit was the last coal mine in Great Clifton; it closed in 1959. By 1900, it was connected by a mineral line to the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway to the west. In 1901, William Pit employed 350 people—a concrete indication of the scale of operations at the time. The Allerdale Coal Company also operated 50 coke ovens in Great Clifton. Taken together, these details show different aspects of local industrial history: mine development, employment and coal processing.
Architecture and Memorial Sites
The building at 5 Middlegate is characterised by a panelled door beneath a gable, as well as sash windows with glazing bars set in painted stone surrounds. The panels divide the door into sections; the windows and their stone surrounds form a distinctive architectural detail. Clifton House is also significant to the village’s architectural history: the large manor house was built in 1824 on an estate of about 280 acres, which included several farms let to tenants.
A memorial at Great Clifton Methodist Church commemorates the First World War, the Second World War and later conflicts. Its dedication therefore extends beyond the two world wars. A Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was built in Great Clifton in 1845; a series of special evangelistic services also began at the Wesleyan Chapel. Together, these sites offer different perspectives on Great Clifton’s religious and community history.
Clifton Common and the Neighbouring Settlements
Clifton Common covers 900 acres and serves both Great Clifton and Little Clifton. Its size and connection to both settlements make it a shared landscape feature in the area’s history. Clifton Common thus complements the individual architectural and mining histories with a wider geographical context that extends beyond Great Clifton alone.
When choosing what interests you on your trip, you can consider these topics separately: the trail plan provides a historical reference for walks, while the mines, buildings and memorial each open up a different chapter of local history. Clifton Common, in turn, includes Little Clifton as well as Great Clifton.
Discover more destinations: Wetheral, Askham, Brigham, Sedbergh, Hawkshead, Chapel Stile, Coniston, Broughton
For the wider travel overview: Cumbria.
