rooms; a club where workers could enjoy their evenings playing games and reading newspapers away from public houses. Modern Development In July 1974, Allerdale Borough Council took the extraordinary step of condemning the village in its entirety; and the houses many of which were owner occupied became the subject of a compulsory purchase order. The village with few proper bathrooms would have been razed to the ground had it not been for the efforts of a few local councillors. Instead it became the subject of a prestigious rebuild and a short residential relocation. The village was designed to echo the local architectural traditions of rendered and painted houses. Whilst some original materials such as slates and pavings were salvaged from the old village, most of the new building is in concrete. The entire load bearing superstructure of the new houses is of concrete blocks faced externally with a painted sand and cement roughcast rendering. Floor units, lintels and sills are of precast concrete. Once completed the radical development became the subject of considerable media attention. The new Harriston contains the same number of houses as its predecessor, arranged around a traditional village green. When complete it contained a variety of dwellings, ranging from bungalows to family homes with three and four bedrooms. The new facilities included a village shop, allotments, garages and children's play areas. Only two of the original buildings remained, the old village hall became a modern village hall, while the old cooperative store became a small industrial unit. In the early 1980s the design won several nationwide awards for the architects Napper, Errington, Collerton Partnership, including the prestigious Civic Trust Award. Shortly afterwards Queen Elizabeth II attended an exhibition in the Carnegie Arts Centre, Workington, where after being introduced to many of the leading personalities, observed photographs and miniature models of the scheme. Notes References External links Durham Mining Museum Index of Mines Brayton Domain – pictures of Aspatria mines Vikings on the Solway Plain – pictures of local 'finds' Hamlets in Cumbria