Banner Appeal

SPENNYMOOR HERITAGE BANNER APPEAL


If everything goes to plan, a Durham town's coal mining heritage is to be resurrected with a new banner that will help record its mining history.

With the sanction of the National Union of Mine workers, Durham Area, the mining lodges of Spennymoor are to combine to raise funds to produce a spectacular new banner, it is hoped that it will be commissioned and completed in time to take part in the 2006 Durham Miner's Gala.

Importantly, the committee that has been formed wants the Spennymoor Heritage Banner Appeal to have a broad community input including the Spennymoor Town Council, the History society, The Spennymoor Settlement, Retired miners and local schools.

Sedgefield Borough Councillor, Andrew Smith, who along with Durham County Council Chairman, Ernie Foster- both former miners - have spent the last six months working to identify funding sources and have helped to set up the appeal committee, which will be based at the Spennymoor Settlement.

Cllr Smith said; “This will be a brand new banner for Spennymoor, that will incorporate all of the lodges, we do have other banners in the Town Hall and Community Centres, which because of their condition we cannot march into the Durham Gala, but this will be a banner that we can march with pride, to recall our mining heritage.”

We are in the process of applying for funding but obviously it would be a massive boost if we were to receive any personal donations.

Cllr Foster added that the involvement of the community and schools are paramount, we would hope to find some way to hold educational talks for the schools preferably at the Spennymoor Settlement thus helping to continue our mining history and tradition into future generations.

The North-East and in particular the County Durham towns and villages such as Spennymoor are steeped in mining history. This is an opportunity to ensure that this heritage is never forgotten.
Anyone wanting to make a donation to the banner appeal can receive further information from Andrew Smith (01388) 811810 or Ernie Foster on (01388) 818732.

Spennymoor takes great pride in its mining heritage. There are 5 lodge banners on display in community buildings throughout the parish. For several years one of these banners accompanied by the town band and local people has been paraded through Spennymoor on its way to the Durham Miners Gala. These banners have developed into a very poor state of repair and are now only useful for public display from their protective housing. The intention would be to create a new banner that would represent the towns mining heritage to be paraded at future Durham Galas and any other heritage events taking place in our region. The new banner would be displayed at the Spennymoor Settlement building, which has a local connection with the mining industry and was known as the Pitman's Academy.

The project will commission the making of a new miners banner for Spennymoor. As part of this commission young people and families will be involved in discovering what a miners banner represents and why these banners are still important today. A structured education programme would be devised to enable resource material, workshops, performance and lectures to take place for schools and young people to understand the history of mining. At the end of this project an event will celebrate the making of the banner and an exhibition will be arranged involving the Durham Mining Museum and education programmes to be held in the Settlement building, which will be accessible to the community.