Mining Art
As a fourth generation descendant of miners from Bendigo in Central Victoria I have gold dust running in my veins as many of my ancestors migrated from England and Scotland in search of the golden future this area of Australia offered.
Many of the miners cottages remain in Bendigo and the surrounding towns and make for wonderful paintings and photographs. Here is my interpretation of these cute and historic buildings.
My home town of Bendigo has honoured the Cornish miners' contribution to building this now beautiful city with a statue. You can read all about it in a post I wrote for the blog some time back.
Anne Newman
The first of the websites is dedicated to The Auckland Project which is located in Bishop Auckland at the heart of County Durham, approximately 12 miles south of Durham, 13 miles north of Darlington, 25 miles west of Middlesbrough and 30 miles south of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
County Durham is steeped in mining history but not the mining of gold but coal.
In 995 the city of Durham was founded by monks seeking a place safe from Viking raids to house the relics of St Cuthbert. Durham Cathedral was rebuilt after the Norman Conquest, and together with Durham Castle is now a World Heritage Site. By the late Middle Ages the county was governed semi-independently by the bishops of Durham and was also a buffer zone between England and Scotland. County Durham became heavily industrialised in the nineteenth century, when many collieries opened on the Durham coalfield. The Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, opened in 1825. Most collieries closed during the last quarter of the twentieth century, but the county's coal mining heritage is remembered in the annual Durham Miners' Gala.1
For many centuries, Bishop Auckland was a thriving market town but since the demise of the mining industry, like many British towns, it has been affected by an economic and social decline.2
The Auckland Project is a regeneration charity working to establish Bishop Auckland as a must-visit cultural destination. Our attractions bring the rich and surprising story of Bishop Auckland to life for our visitors and the local community through the arts, culture and heritage. And in turn, the profits and opportunities created by our historic attractions and community engagement work, are helping us to build a bright future for Bishop Auckland.2
The Auckland Project aspires to change lives in Bishop Auckland by putting people at the heart of everything we do. Working hand in hand with the local community, we want to ensure that future generations inherit a prosperous town, filled with hope and rich in opportunities. Meanwhile, our visitors will enjoy days and stays that enrich their minds, bodies and spirits, in the knowledge that their visit is making a difference.2
Click on this link to read all about The Auckland Project in particular the Mining Art Gallery which contains *An intimate collection of mining art exploring the art, culture, and context of the mining industry and its place in County Durham's history.2
When in London I have been observing over several years the construction of a large development on a heritage site which has meant some very careful treatment of a heritage building which remains on the site. The company constructing this housing site has employed Durham miners to do the delicate hands on digging which is required so that the building is not affected in any way.
But this is not the first time miners have been used to perform digging which can't be done with machines. Back in 2023 Donegal miners were used when the famous Claridge's Hotel was being renovated. Read all about it by following the link below to the article describing this amazing feat.
Lynne Kelleher
But back to the Durham Miners as E in London also sent a link to the official website of the artist Norman Cornish and in particular highlighting how he was transformed from a miner to an artist through being asked to ‘paint a Mural’ typifying life in County Durham, to be installed in the new County Hall which was planned to open in 1964.3
Please follow the bookmark link below where you can read the remarkable and entertaining story from when Norman Cornish met with his boss (whom he had never seen) to request leave from being down the pit to how he went about painting the mural which ended up being 30 feet 9 inches by 5 feet 8 inches.3
The Mural has been on display at Durham County Hall since the opening in 1963. Now visitors can see the mural at Bishop Auckland Town Hall where a fully accessible permanent exhibition will be installed when refurbishment is complete. The display will include previously unseen preparatory works, and correspondence from the Norman Cornish archive.4
You can the mural by clicking on the link below.
To see more of the wonderful paintings by Norman Cornish please follow the bookmark link below to a past post I wrote some time back on this remarkable mining artist.
Anne Newman
Credit
1. en.wikipedia.org
2. aucklandproject.org
3. normancornish.com
4. thisisdurham.com