In honour of the 40th anniversary of the miners strike Reporter Darcie Rawlings visited seven of the North East's many iconic mining sculptures, capturing their likeness in pictures.
Travelling around the North East from Stockton to Seaham, here is a map to pinpoint the seven remarkable miners monuments I visited.
1. 'The Brothers' in Seaham
The first stop along my miner’s sculpture tour was 'The Brothers' mining sculpture in Seaham.
Created by Brian Brown, who previously worked at Silksworth pit, 'The Brothers' was unveiled in 2011.
The silhouettes of three miners represent the three mines of Seaham: Seaham Colliery, Dawdon Colliery and Vane Tempest.
2. 'Marra' in Horden
This nine-foot steel sculpture, ‘Marra’ is located in Horden’s Welfare Park in County Durham.
Horden Parish Council purchased the statue for £19,000, which features a miner with his heart ripped out, was made by celebrated steel sculptor Ray Lonsdale.
3. 'The Fishburn Miner' in Fishburn
Situated on Fishburn’s Front Street in Stockton, the sculpture, by Northumberland artist Keith Maddison, is of a life-size bronze miner encased in blocks of sandstone, emerging from a shaft.
'The Fishburn Miner' is a poignant and eerie reminder of Fishburn’s history captured in time.
4. 'The Last Shift' in Wheatley Hill
Located in Wheatley Hill Cemetery, in East Durham, ‘The Last Shift’, by artist Ray Lonsdale was revealed for the first time in 2018.
The creation of the statue is based on a photograph of local miner Tom Davies in his pit clothes.
Written ’50 jobs lost’ and ’50 years without our pit’ highlights the great loss the community of Wheatley Hill has faced.
This artwork was the culmination of four years of hard work to raise more than £22,500 to commission the figure.
5. ‘Into the Depths’ in Quarrington Hill
Standing as a large triangular sculpture, the £25,000 artwork was made from stone and wood by Teesdale-based sculptor Phil Townsend.
Erected in 2016 the sculpture is located opposite the community centre on the Front Street of Quarrington Hill in County Durham, depicting miners at work.
An educational sculpture detailing information about the pit and what it was like to work there, this sculpture is truly a piece of heritage artwork.
6. Miners Memorial in Langley Park
The miners memorial in Langley Park is 10ft statue featuring a traditional mining lamp in its chest and is surrounded by pit wheels.
The newest sculpture was designed by Sunderland-based artist Mark Burns Cassell, working with metal fabricator and artist Ron Lawson.
Cassell based some of the features of this statue on his own grandfather, Jack Malone, who worked at Langley Park's colliery for decades.
7. 'Old King Coal' in Chester-Le-Street
'Old King Coal' in Chester-Le-Street, County Durham is designed by David Kemp, and was created to celebrate the industrial history of the region.
‘Old King Coal’ was completed on 15 October 1992, which was coincidentally the day an announcement was made of the closure of the last pits in Durham.
Recommended Reading:
- Durham's Women's Rally, celebrating the women of the strikes
- Durham Women's Rally: Celebrating the women behind the Miners' strike
- Stephen Guy of Durham Miners' Association on the 84-85 strike
You can cycle or walk along the Sustrans C2C route to find ‘Old King Coal’.
All seven of these North East’s iconic mining sculptures reflect on the North East's mining past and provide a flavour of some of the most iconic creations in the region in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the miners’ strike.
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