The Mining Memories Roadshow revisited Ryton Park Primary School, Worksop on the 18th June 2013

Members of the Notts NUM Ex and Retired Miners Association returned to Ryton Park School, with their Mining Memories Roadshow.

The children got “hands on” with the mining artefacts

and explored a temporary ‘coal face’.

Former Shireoaks and Steetley Colliery Miner, Phil Whitehead, talked to the children about the recent mining history of the local Manton, Shireoaks, Steetley and Firbeck pits.

Phil told the children that, “Shireoaks Colliery was Worksop’s first coal mine.” Correctly described as  “a pioneering enterprise”.

When the Top Hard seam was finally reached,

“two carts ceremoniously carried the first coal raised through Worksop and onto Clumber Park. Their progress was watched by large crowds of people and marked by the ringing of church bells.”

About Steetley Colliery, Phil said:

Steetley was a unique, single shaft mine.  It ran on a shoestring, yet generated handsome profits year after year.  It also had a family atmosphere – something that time and again, its workers reminisce about.

Talking about Manton Pit,  Phil told the children that the pit village was built in the 1920s for the families of miners who came from many parts of the country to find a job.

Many men came from Wigan  there was no public transport so most of the men had to walk over the Pennines with open backed wagons with all their possessions tied on.

As more houses were built, more families came from Durham, Lancashire, Wales and Yorkshire. All the different dialects meant people could not understand each other. To make it worse, the Lancashire folk wore clogs. These made lots of noise in the streets.