Lottery cash set to help unearth mining history at Markham Vale
A project which is set to unearth the untold stories of Markham Colliery has been given the green light thanks to £35,000 awarded from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to Derbyshire County Council.
Research into the lives of the thousands of local men who worked at the site between 1882 and 1993 will be carried out as part of ‘The Story Mine’ project and shared on a new website.
And residents will be invited to a number of events organised by the Markham Mining Memorial Community Working Group − which supported the grant application − to hear about the project’s latest discoveries.
The working group is made up of 25 members including former miners, local historians, representatives from schools in Derbyshire and relatives of those who worked at the site.
Markham Colliery has now been reclaimed by Derbyshire County Council and Henry Boot Developments and is home to the Markham Vale regeneration scheme which is working to create 4,100 jobs for local people.
Councillor Tony King, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, said:-
“We’re delighted to receive this grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help us unearth more of Markham’s mining history which we can share with future generations for years to come.
“Markham Colliery was at the heart of this area for a long time and lots of people including myself will have many memories of the site and the brave men that worked there.
“I’d like to thank the Markham Mining Memorial Community Working Group for all their fantastic work and the Heritage Lottery Fund and National Lottery players for making the project possible.”
Derbyshire County Council have already made great strides at Markham Vale to remember its mining history with the permanent ‘Walking Together’ memorial which will eventually feature 106 figures stretching between the village of Duckmanton in Chesterfield and the former pithead. It symbolises a miner’s journey to and from work and represents the 106 men who lost their lives in three accidents at the site in 1937, 1938 and 1973.
The Walking Together memorial has been designed by Cheshire-based Artist Stephen Broadbent.
