Cullercoats Methodist Church Community Art Group

SPECIAL PROJECT
MINERS GALLERY

Cullercoats Community Art Group has decided to mark the 150th anniversary of a local mining disaster which left 204 men and boys dead. At 11am on January 16, 1862 the 42 ton engine beam above Hartley New Pit sheared in half and hurtled to the bottom of the mineshaft, blocking the exit.

Durham Mining Museums reports that the beam, which was strong enough to support 175 tons, was weakened when it slipped from the lifting gear during the replacement of worn bearings a week before the disaster. In total, 204 men and boys were buried alive with only three survivors from those being hoisted to the surface in the cage. It took nine days to recover the bodies and the Duke of Northumberland gave ground for their burials at Earsdon next to the cemetery on January 26th.

So colossal was the scale of the tragedy that the graveyard had to be extended to accommodate all the miners buried there. The funeral procession of 60,000 people, which went from New Hartley to Earsdon four miles away, saw the first carriages arriving before the last mourners left.

This project has been planned to mark the disaster. The inspiration for the project is taken from the work of the Pitman Painters and the exhibition at Woodhorn Museum. The Group have visited the Woodhorn Museum to see the Pitman Painters Exhibition and in September a local artist will do a workshop based on the theme of the Pitman Painters and our Mining Industrial heritage.

This work has been kindly sponsored by the Sir James Knott Trust and the Group are grateful for their support.