Recalling when coal was king - at Beamish Museum
MAGNIFICENT banner parades, brass bands and pit ponies will celebrate the region’s proud mining heritage during a five-day event at Beamish Museum.
Old King Coal began yesterday and runs until next Sunday, marking the start of the Great North Festival of Transport.
The event will also see the unveiling of a memorial to victims of the Brancepeth Colliery disaster.
During Old King Coal, visitors will be able to join a miners’ banner parade from The Town to The Pit Village on Saturday and Sunday at 1.30pm. People can design their own flag and help make a banner, see the “Just One Spark” explosion demonstration, enjoy folk and brass band music and meet pit ponies during the weekend.
Banners from North East pit villages and the Beamish collection will be on show around the museum, along with local history displays.
Jonathan Kindleysides, Beamish’s Head of Industry, said: “The mining industry is a huge part of the region’s past, so it’s very important that we remember the industry, the miners and their families with our Old King Coal event.”
On Saturday, 1st April, a memorial plaque will be unveiled to the victims of the 1896 Brancepeth Colliery “A Pit” disaster, which claimed the lives of 20 men and boys. The plaque, originally from Brancepeth Welfare Hall in Willington, has been donated by Spectrum Leisure and the community of Willington. It will be unveiled by local historian Olive Linge and Coun Fraser Tinsley in The Pit Village band hall, after the parade. Greater Willington Town Council has supported the event and members of the community will be attending.
Jonathan added: “With the unveiling of the plaque, we will be paying tribute to those people who lost their lives in the collieries.”
On all five days, Old King Coal will include displays from Hylton Banner Group, Silksworth Mining History Society, Felling Heritage Group and Wardley banner exhibition, plus, on the Saturday and Sunday, Tommy Armstrong Society.
Beamish has been working with schools to explore their local mining heritage. Pupils will be visiting the museum to take part in junior miners’ galas and a range of activities.
Gemma Stevenson, Community Events Officer, said: “Old King Coal is going to be a brilliant event, we’re really excited about it. There will be so much to see and do for visitors of all ages.”
The Great North Festival of Transport continues with the Great North Steam Fair on April 6 to 9, followed by Horses at Work on April 21 to 23.
The festival is included in admission to Beamish and is free to Unlimited Pass holders, as with all daytime events.
Find out more at www.beamish.org. uk.