Millom Heritage and Arts Centre

Discover the history of Millom
Browse through thousands of items from archaeological finds to garments through the ages and explore the rich past of Millom.

Mining

Millom’s rapid development was as a direct result of the discovery of iron ore in an area known as Hodbarrow.
In 1841 the population of Holborn Hill to the north of the current location of Millom “Newtown” was under 400.
Of these 400 individuals, only 3 were miners. From 1865 the population grew fast as miners relocated from Cornwall and Ireland.
Working conditions were very hard.
Miners had to buy their own tools and candles from the Mining Company. Iron ore leaves a red dust on surfaces, including skin.
Part of the Millom Discovery Centre Model railway layout showing slag being tipped onto a heap.
Railways were key to the industrial development.
The miners lived in simple wooden huts until Millom Newtown was built in the early 1870’s.
By 1900 a strong local economy had been established supported by railway links, ship building, trade and commerce. The geographical isolation of the town and the dangers and challenges of mining and iron ore processing was an important factor in building a very strong community spirit and identity that persists to the present day.
One reason for the success of the mines was the high quality of the ore which was found to very pure.
We have samples of ore in the museum that visitors can touch and they feel like metal.
There are sometimes samples to purchase in the giftshop.
We also have books available on the history of the town in our online shop.
The museum has a full size display incorporating a mining cage used at the Hodbarrow mines before their closure in 1968.
The updated display incorporates an audio-visual guide to the key elements of the cage and the mine.
The cage came from the Moorbank mine at Hodbarrow and weighs 1.5 tons. It was designed to carry 8 men. It was also utilised to carry iron ore on trolleys like the one in the current display.

The Rail Room

This gallery takes the visitor through the history of Millom from 1066 to the present day.
A timeline that goes around the room explains the context of various historical themes:

History of the town
Industrial development of mining and iron production
Growth of the railways
International events
Two striking displays are of particular interest to many visitors.

The large print of an aerial photograph of Millom Ironworks which was operational until 1968 and a model railway layout showing typical aspects of the Cumbrian countryside and towns.

The room includes resources for younger visitors to dress up, do colouring and ride on trains!
The Heritage associated with the Cumbrian Coast Railway
The rapid growth of the town of Millom was fuelled by the industrial revolution and railways. The Whitehaven and Furness railway operated all passenger and freight movements along the Cumbrian Coast, with the station at Millom opening in 1850.
The line slowly expanded, extending north from Kirkby to the market town of Broughton in Furness. The line was completed with the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway down the coast from Whitehaven, past Sellafield and Millom to Broughton. The extension to Ulverston was finally completed in 1854.
Now the Furness Railway was connected to the national network at Carnforth, and had a link north to the coalfields of West Cumbria.
Furness had easy access to the rest of the country.
The Furness Railway Board were not just interested in running a successful railway – backers like the Duke of Devonshire, the Duke of Buccleugh and industrialist Henry Schneider, as well as the FR’s own General Manager Sir James Ramsden, were the driving force behind a complete industrial revolution. They owned the slate and iron ore mines; they owned the railway that transported the raw material; they built the massive docks at Barrow (previously a minor hamlet) that ended Roa Island’s days as the local port; they built the steelworks in Barrow to process the local ore, and they built the shipyard that used the steel from the steelworks.
Throughout the second half of the 19th century, the Furness Railway consolidated its position and expanded. It took over the Whitehaven and Furness Junction route in 1865, giving it direct access to Whitehaven. In the meantime the London and North
Western Railway was operating rail services between London, Lancaster and Carlisle and so was able to exert a great deal of control over the Furness Railway – controlling both its northern and south eastern frontiers.
The Furness Railway Empire in Barrow continued to expand – a new through Central station (removing the need to reverse through trains at the old terminus at the Strand) was opened in 1882. It survives to this day, albeit in modified form, the original station having been bombed during the Second World War. A passenger station had been opened at Ramsden Dock a year before to connect with the new
Isle of Man and later Belfast steamer services.
In the early years of the 20th century, a new era began at the Furness Railway, under the new general manager Alfred Aslett. He inherited a system with run down facilities and falling traffic. His strategy was bold, and has had a lasting effect on the Lake District. Aslett transformed the Furness Railway into a tourist line. It was really a matter of refocusing the business: steamers brought in tour parties from the popular holiday destinations of Blackpool and Fleetwood across Morecambe Bay to Ramsden Dock station. Trains could take the holiday makers to either Coniston or Lakeside (at the bottom end of Windermere), and the FR operated steamers on both lakes. Charabancs were used to provide a number of circular tours from the northern end of the two lakes. The era of mass tourism in the English Lake District had begun.
Today the Cumbrian Coast railway, eighty-six miles in length and carrying over 1m passengers each year, is a major transport artery, serving both the needs of the community and the nuclear plants at Sellafield.

War Time

Here at Millom Discovery Centre we pay tribute to the local heroes who fought in the wars so long ago. Remember the lives of the brave soldiers of Millom with artefacts and memorabilia from such a harsh time in our history.
We have a small but informative display relating to Millom during World War II. Here you can see actual gas masks that were carried, the ration books that were used to obtain food and other goods, medals awarded to those who fought and other memorabilia.
We pay tribute to those who gave their lives during this war. There are photographs and other documents for you to see honouring the war dead.

Costumes

Fashion from Millom’s past.
See what it would be like to dress in bygone days.
Not in touch with the trends of modern times, the dress of Millom folk was often subdued.
The miner’s meagre wages were not spent on fashion, but were primarily used to feed the family.

Royal Air Force

RAF Millom in World War II

Discover the effort from the RAF of Millom and Haverigg to help our cause in World War II.
In January 1941 RAF Millom opened as No2 Bombing and Gunnery school later to become No2 Air Observer School which was to then be re designated No 2 Observer advanced Flying Unit and remain in that role until the station closed in 1945.
Although RAF Millom was essentially a training airfield it did not escape the horrors of World War II. Many lives were lost both in the air and on the ground – the 17 graves in St Luke’s churchyard, Haverigg serve as testament to this.
Two young visitors enjoy learning about RAF Millom
After a period of care and maintenance the airfield opened again in 1953 as No 1 Officer Cadet Training Unit closing after a year to be then used by various Army units until the site became HMP Haverigg, a role it still fulfils to the present day.
In 1992 Prison Officer John Nixon opened the RAF Millom museum and established an annual reunion for ex RAF Millom personnel which was attended each year by over 300 veterans from the UK and overseas and resulted in a wonderful collection of memories and photographs. In addition to this a museum team recovered many artefacts from crash sites in the surrounding mountains and Southern Scotland providing the south of our County with a well established museum with friends and supporters all over the world.
In 2006 John Nixon handed control of the Museum to a community team. The museum closed in 2010.
Following John Nixon’s joining our team we are proud to announce that after many hours of work phase one of the return of the RAF Millom museum collection is now in place.
During the wartime years RAF Millom was the birthplace of the RAF mountain rescue service we know and admire today. Our museum maintains very strong links with the RAF Mountain rescue association and input from them will be included as development of our local RAF displays enter phase two including photographs and artefacts from RAF Cark and RAF Walney (to be on site by autumn 2015) so come along and celebrate with us South Cumbria’s aviation heritage.
Read about the experiences of those stationed in Millom from numerous letters, diaries, accounts etc written at that time.
See the Spitfire DVD. Learn about the role of the Spitfire in the war and listen to the tunes popular at that time.

Norman Nicholson

This room has been thoughtfully furnished by the Nicholson Society members and dedicated to the life of the poet Norman Cornthwaite Nicholson, who was born on 8 January 1914 in a Victorian terraced house in Millom, where he was to live for most of his life.
His writing career stretched from 1940 up until the time of his death. He was awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 1977, and the OBE in 1981.
His poetry is noted for its local flavour, its straightforwardness of language and the use of elements of common speech.
Norman Nicholson died on 30 May 1987, leaving behind a rich legacy as the greatest modern day Lake’s poet. In St George’s Church in Millom, you will find a specially commissioned stained glass window designed and made by Christine Boyce. It is inspired by Norman’s poetry and has sections of some of his poems worked into the design.

Millom Life

Experience this hardship as you walk into the miner’s cottage along the Street in the Museum.
You come home cold, hungry and covered in the red dust of the iron ore mines after a 14 hour shift.
The image shows a cottage room with cooking range, sideboard and dinner table.
Recreation of a miner’s cottage at Millom Discovery Centre.
You are the only one bringing a wage home and your family depends on you. You open the door to be greeted by your wife and family huddled around the coal fire.
You smell the evening meal, hotpot, on the stove and slump down in a chair. Exhausted from a day’s hard labour, your wife offers you the first plate of the meal.
Your children eat next and then your wife… if there is any left! In these harsh times, your friends and neighbours help where they can to try and make sure everyone gets something to eat, but often there is hunger.
Once the children are asleep, you can bathe in front of the fire in a tin bath, get yourself to sleep in order to be up at 5 o’clock the next morning, ready for another shift.
When visiting the Centre be sure to look out for our other reconstructions of a local shop and blacksmith’s forge – a vital occupation in the 19th century.

Pre-history

Hodbarrow miners discovered that the site had been used for pre-historic burials. The red iron rich soil would have been used to colour the deceased’s skin. The bones had been re-buried at Hodbarrow point.
In this gallery visitors can see fossils and rocks formed millenia before recorded history. Touch iron ore samples that feel like metal.

Shipping

During the 1860s, the iron ore and most of the sulphur was being shipped from Borwick Rails harbour to various ports in the British Isles. 600 vessels visited the harbour in 1864 alone.
During the 1860s, the iron ore and most of the sulphur was being shipped from Borwick Rails harbour to various ports in the British Isles. 600 vessels visited the harbour in 1864 alone.Many of the ships sailing from Millom were the property of William Postlethwaite, who also owned mines and had other business interests. The museum contains many items relating to the shipping heritage of the town, including models, photographs and accounts of life from the heyday of shipping.
Emily Barrett was ordered by the Hodbarrow mining Company and the keel was laid in 1910. The display in this shipping gallery includes the restored figurehead of an angel. The panels describe the restoration of this figurehead and the history of this and other vessels operating in the Duddon estuary.

Historic Retail

The main “street” in the museum includes authentic antique retail signs that are evocative of a previous era.
There is also a very detailed reconstruction of a shop which uses historic retail packaging – including sweets. This is always a favourite with the youngsters!

Services

Travelling by train

Millom Discovery Centre is located on Millom station platform.
Live train information is available from Northern Rail.
We can also sell tickets and provide travel information for your onward journey.

Travelling by car

Millom is located on the A5093.
From Lakes / M6
Turn off M6 motorway at junction 36. Follow A590 signposted Barrow. At Greenodd roundabout, turn right taking the second exit onto A5092 signposted Millom.Continue as far as Grizebeck, where the road meets A595. Follow signs to Millom, turning off left onto A5093.Millom is reached after approximately 4 miles.
From North West Cumbria
Take A595 south. At the approach to Silecroft village, leave A595 for A5093 by continuing straight – signposted Millom.On reaching Millom after 4 miles carry on to a mini roundabout in the town.Take the second exit and look for the Discovery Centre sign immediately on the right.

Sundays – Ticket office closed please use machines on platforms or purchase from us in advance.

Independent museums like ours are constantly trying new ways of raising money to maintain their extensive collections. Diversification seems to be the buzzword these days and here at Millom Discovery Centre we are fulfilling that description. In keeping with Millom’s industrial past we provide a fully functional Rail Ticket Office with close links to the museum and Millom’s own history.
The rail ticket office is managed by the trustees and directors of Millom Discovery Centre and profits from the sale of tickets go towards the upkeep and maintenance of the museum.
Speak directly to a friendly booking clerk who will find you the easiest journey for you, from anywhere to anywhere in the country. This, of course, will also be the best value deal our clerk can find to fit your needs.
Schools
Step back in time and discover life in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Our collections explore 150 years of the social and industrial life of Millom and the local areas, encouraging pupils to connect with local Cumbrian history. Situated on Millom platform in an old Victorian station building our unique street-style layout lets pupils explore history through interactive and educational exhibitions.

School visits to the museum are FREE.

Gallery