A LARGE part of Evenwood’s heritage went on display as the village’s history group presented their first major exhibition since Covid-19 restrictions were eased.
The massive display in Evenwood Workingman’s Club gave a comprehensive and detailed account of the role played by coal mining and the associated coke works.
It is the first time Evenwood and District History Society have put on a display at the venue and it was chosen because it is home to the large and intricate miners’ banners for the Randolph and Ramshaw collieries. Along with the banners, people were able to see items on loan from Durham Miners Museum, including coal and stone shovels, lanterns and a yard stick which was used to measure how much of a seam a miner had excavated during a shift.
Jackie Dodds, from the society, said: “It is a cracking little exhibition – we are quite proud of it – and don’t the banners look fantastic.”
Her colleague, Brian Carter, added: “It is good to get back into it. We have done small things at other events like St Paul’s Church fun day and the sensory garden open day, but this is our big one.”
Among the display was a photo book loaned by society member Kevin Richardson depicting images of miners as they crawled through a 15ins seam using a pick-axe to extract coal.
Mr Richardson: “This is from a Brancepeth mine, but it was no different to Evenwood.”
Mr Richardson thanked the Durham Miners’ Museum and its representative Andrew Smith for the loan of some items.
