West Cumbria is known to have produced more than 100 million tons of high grade haematite iron-ore from the limestone strata and lesser quantities from the Eskdale granite and Skiddaw slates along the western fringe of the Lake District.  Gravity surveys in the West Cumberland area show that the iron-ore deposits in the limestone occur directly above the faulted margin of a concealed granite shelf extending westwards from the Ennerdale and Eskdale granite outcrops. During the 18th and 19th centuries more than 30 iron mines were in operation and Workington became the centre of steel production in northwest England for more than 100 years.

A talk by Richard Fletcher.