A SNAPSHOT of a bygone industry has been brought to Spennymoor to mark the 120th anniversary of a pit disaster.
On April 18, 1882, nearly 40 people were killed in an explosion at Tudhoe Colliery.
The disaster devastated the communities of Tudhoe and Spennymoor, where most of the miners had lived.
The accident is still remembered today, with a permanent flame that is kept burning in Jubilee Park, Spennymoor.
To mark the tragic anniversary, the Durham Museum brought its collection of photographs, gas lamps and picket badges from Easington Miners' Welfare Hall to Spennymoor Town Hall.
Some of the rarest exhibits include tokens taken down the pits by miners so they could be identified in the event of a disaster.
The exhibition brought back memories for the town's former pitmen.
Eileen Bowerbank said that they were also trying to keep the region's mining heritage alive for future generations.
She said: "We get children at the museum now who do not know what coal is.
"We did a show at Gateshead Stadium where we put a piece of coal on the table and kids kept coming up asking what it was."
A list of miners killed in County Durham pit disasters can be seen on the museum's website at www.dmm.org.uk
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