Plans unveiled for mining memorial in Mansfield park

Mining historians hope to install a mining memorial in one of Mansfield’s flagship parks.
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Trustees of Mansfield’s Nottinghamshire Mining Museum have submitted the idea for Berry Hill Park to Mansfield Council.

Ann Donlan, a museum volunteer, said: “We want to ensure the community remembers those men who lost their lives in Nottinghamshire’s coal mines.”

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Eric Eaton, chairman of the museum, based at Mansfield Railway Station, said: “Berry Hill is the miners’ park.”

Chairman Eric and wife, Maureen Eaton, Ann and her husband, Barry Donlan were joined by Bev Morrell and her partner, Mick Coakley, along with John Brock and wife, Sandra.Chairman Eric and wife, Maureen Eaton, Ann and her husband, Barry Donlan were joined by Bev Morrell and her partner, Mick Coakley, along with John Brock and wife, Sandra.
Chairman Eric and wife, Maureen Eaton, Ann and her husband, Barry Donlan were joined by Bev Morrell and her partner, Mick Coakley, along with John Brock and wife, Sandra.

The suggestion is for a statue or coal mining-inspired public art piece, agreed upon by the council and park trustees.

The museum trustees, former miners and their families, say there is need for a memorial to commemorate the many people who died in our pits and to educate visitors about the area’s mining heritage – an annual service of remembrance was also proposed.

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Although the museum had been closed for two years during the coronavirus pandemic, trustees and volunteers have held regular online meetings and worked on mining-themed blogs for thousands of supporters – inclduing how the National Union of Mineworkers’ Nottinghamshire branch contributed to developments at the park.

Volunteers from the museum are hoping to bring their work out into the community and share facts about the area's mining heritage.Volunteers from the museum are hoping to bring their work out into the community and share facts about the area's mining heritage.
Volunteers from the museum are hoping to bring their work out into the community and share facts about the area's mining heritage.
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Alan Spencer, NUM Nottingham area general secretary, said: “We are proud to be associated with the project to erect a statue commemorating the involvement of the miners.

“It will be in memory of those who were instrumental in the setting up of the park for the benefit of the mining community of Mansfield and to remember those miners who lost their lives in the mines.”

The museum’s new exhibition, Banners and Bands, launches on July 22, with the free-entry musem open Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays, from 10am-3pm.

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