Gutterby: Echoes of the Iron Ore Era - The Lost Row

Nestled in the historical landscape near Moor Row in West Cumbria, the name Gutterby might seem unassuming.

Yet, it harks back to an era that fundamentally shaped this corner of England: the furious boom and slow decline of the haematite iron ore industry.

Gutterby, and specifically the site of Gutterby Pit, are small but significant footnotes in the grand story of Cumbrian mining.

They represent the countless smaller enterprises that sprung up to chase the highly sought-after red ore that lay beneath the surface.

A Brief but Telling History

Iron mining in West Cumbria has a deep history, but the mid-19th century saw a dramatic boom. This was driven by the global demand for steel and the specific, low-phosphorus content of Cumbrian haematite, which was ideal for the steel-making processes of the time.

• Early Days: Gutterby Mine was first developed around 1825 by local entrepreneurs. The first documented raising of ore from the area was recorded in 1834.
• A Small Enterprise: Unlike the massive, deep Montreal Mines nearby, Gutterby Pit was characteristic of the smaller, shallower workings in the Bigrigg and Moor Row area. These pits typically had shorter working lives as their limited, near-surface deposits were quickly exhausted.
• The Peak and Closure: The pit was active throughout the latter half of the 19th century. Records indicate Gutterby produced 10,000 tons of ore in 1889, a respectable figure for a small operation, but it closed just two years later in 1891, possibly due to the exhaustion of its main reserves. It was later absorbed into the larger workings of the Sir John Walsh Mine.

The short life of Gutterby Pit perfectly illustrates the fiercely competitive and sometimes fleeting nature of the local mining boom. 

More Than Just Iron

Minerals for the Collector While the pit was sunk for its iron ore (Haematite), today it is perhaps better known in some circles for a different, more beautiful legacy: its mineral specimens.

Gutterby Pit is a celebrated spot among mineral collectors for the quality of secondary minerals found there. These specimens often formed long after the main iron ore deposits.

• Fluorite: The site is known for producing attractive crystals of fluorite, including beautiful sky-blue and amber-coloured material.
• Other Minerals: Collectors have also found excellent examples of calcite (sometimes showing hematite-stained phantoms) and baryte (Barite on haematite).

These remnants - the subtle colours of a fluorite crystal or the faint staining of a calcite specimen - are tangible links to the dramatic subterranean geology of West Cumbria. 

The Lost Row:

​While Gutterby itself never grew into a large, established village like nearby Moor Row, it was not without its own housing provision for the miners.

Mining enterprises often built basic, utilitarian terrace houses (often called 'rows') adjacent to their pits to house the workforce, saving them the walk from nearby villages like Cleator or Egremont.

These were generally very modest, built quickly with local stone, and were often one-up, one-down dwellings. ​

The area around the pit was historically traversed by an old track, noted in records as the road from Gutterby to Moor Row.

It is along this route, near what was once called Sepulchre Meadow (a former Baptist cemetery), that some of the earliest housing associated directly with the Gutterby workings would have been found. ​

Given the relatively short life of the pit (closing in 1891), it is likely that much of the basic workers' accommodation near Gutterby was temporary or was later abandoned and demolished as the workforce shifted their focus to the larger, more enduring pits at Montreal or Beckermet, or moved into the purpose-built housing of Moor Row. ​

The thriving community of Moor Row itself, built specifically to house the influx of mine and railway workers, became the primary residential centre for the area's miners, including those who had worked at Gutterby Pit.

This shift meant the cluster of dwellings at Gutterby itself diminished, leaving only the pithead scars and the enduring names on the map. ​

The lost row of Gutterby thus became a ghost of the past, its residents moving on to the more permanent streets of Moor Row, where names like Penzance Street still echo the community's history.

Today, Gutterby is a quiet spot, the physical pit being a historic feature of the landscape. But it serves as a powerful reminder of the ingenuity, hard labour, and industrial energy that transformed the region.

The next time you pass through the area near Moor Row, take a moment to consider the wealth of mineral history lying beneath your feet - the ghost of Gutterby Pit is still there.

Gutterby Illustration