Salute to miners
MEMORIAL TO MANCHESTER’S COAL HISTORY TO BE ERECTED NEAR ETIHAD
A PERMANENT memorial to the workers of the former Bradford Pit is to be installed where it once stood, near the Etihad Stadium.
The seven year-long project, the idea of Lauren Murphy the grandaughter of a former miner - is finally set to come to fruition. Pending planning permission, it will be unveiled later this year.
The eight-metre-high steel design will take the form of a lift shaft cage, with glass panels featuring images of miners taking the journey underground as well a map and other information.
There will also be a stone base with a wording with the words: In remembrance of
Bradford Colliery and the mining community.
It will sit at the north east corner of the Etihad Campus, at the junction of Ashton New Road and Alan Turing Way.
Lauren said: “It’s been an incredible experience finding out about the pit and reconnecting the community of miners who mostly moved away from the area when the pits closed.
“It’s clear that there was no closure for these men when the pit closed and what started as an interest in the history of the area has become a network of miners, some of whom have not been in touch for 50 years.
“That’s probably the most humbling thing - to bring members of a community back together after such a long time.
“Many people who used to live in east Manchester are amazed at the transformation of their old neighbourhood.
Dating back to the early 18th century, it was a thriving part of the British coal industry for more than 350 years fueling providing power and fuel for Manchester and surrounding areas.
It was unusual in that it wasn’t situated in a rural area like many other mines, and it became known as the ‘pit in the city.’
The seams have been described as a spider’s web of tunnels which stretched for miles underground.
Its famous coal known as ‘Roger’ was the best grade you could get. The mine employed around around 1,500 people when it closed in 1968, many living in neighbouring areas such as Beswick, Clayton and Newton Heath.
The monument has been designed by Broadbent Studio, which was behind the Lives Lived, Lives
Lost memorial at Wakefield’s National Coal Mining Museum in Yorkshire. Lucy Gannon from the studio said: “The physical memorial structure represents a lift shaft cage.
“It allows the viewer to imagine being lowered into a subterranean world below the streets of Manchester and to recognise the history and legacy of this site.” Manchester council is supporting the scheme.
Suzanne Richards, executive member for housing and regeneration, said: “The foundation of the Manchester we know today was built on our industrial past by working class people.”