Showing posts with label Coal Mine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coal Mine. Show all posts

Tuesday, 4 October 2011

News - Memorial unveiled to miners who died at Bilsthorpe pit

A memorial to miners who died at a Nottinghamshire colliery during the last century is being officially unveiled later.

The eight-foot sandstone Davy lamp was created in recognition of those who died at Bilsthorpe pit between 1927 and 1997.

Carved into the sculpture are the names of 76 men and one woman.

The £14,000 project has been paid for by the county council's Local Improvement Scheme.

Bilsthorpe Heritage Society Chairman Trevor Goodman, who worked at the colliery, said: "When the mine closed and was knocked down, there was nothing left to say we've ever had a mine in Bilsthorpe.

"There's never been a monument to remember all the men who were killed, and unfortunately we did lose one woman."

'A lot of research'
The possibility of a memorial was first raised more than three years ago after a headstone was dedicated to 14 men who died in 1927 when a pumping system collapsed down a shaft.

"It's been a long process to gather all of the information because that was hard to come by so there was a lot of research having to be done to find out all of the names," said Mr Goodman.

"Then it was a question of funding and we were very lucky that Nottinghamshire County Council have a group called the Local Improvement Scheme, and they took us on, been with us throughout and financed it."

The Davy safety lamp on which the sculpture is modelled was devised in 1815 by Sir Humphry Davy after a group of Newcastle miners told him of the dangers they faced from methane gas.

The lamp's flame burned with a blue tinge when flammable gases were present and extinguished if oxygen in the air dropped to dangerous levels.

The Bilsthorpe memorial was due to be unveiled by Patricia Jennings, whose uncle died in the first disaster, and Paul Smith, a miner who survived a later disaster.

Wednesday, 3 August 2011

News - Teversal mining statue to be repaired following vandal attack

A STATUE which stands at Teversal as a tribute to mining in Nottinghamshire is set to be repaired more than a year after being damaged by vandals.

The bronze Testing for Gas statue, created at a cost of £50,000 after the closure of Teversal and Silverhill collieries, was damaged when thugs struck late last year.

It stands at Silverhill Wood, one of the highest points in the county.

Now work is underway to restore the statue, which depicts a miner holding a Davy safety lamp, back to its former glory.

Martin Sly, project engineer for Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “Unfortunately the Silverhill Miner’s statue was vandalised around a year ago but we have had the piece which was damaged - the top half of the lamp - re-cast and we will be replacing it early autumn with a redesigned, secure fixing.

“We’ll keep local folks posted on when the work’s carried out so everyone will be able to enjoy the statue in all it’s glory once again.”

The statue was unveiled in March 2005 and was created by sculptor Antony Dufort following a public vote on the best design.

Its plaque lists all of the principle coal mines operating in Nottinghamshire between 1819 and 2005.
The sculpture was funded by money from WREN, from the Landfill Tax credit scheme and Nottinghamshire County Council.

While the plaque was funded by the county council’s Building Better Communities scheme.

From: http://www.chad.co.uk/news/local/alfreton/teversal_mining_statue_to_be_repaired_following_vandal_attack_1_3639088