Campaign for mining museum in Mansfield wins charity status

A giant step has been taken towards fulfilling the dream of opening a permanent mining museum in Mansfield.
Retired miner Eric Eaton handles a drill he would have used as a chargeman ripper at Newstead Colliery.Retired miner Eric Eaton handles a drill he would have used as a chargeman ripper at Newstead Colliery.
Retired miner Eric Eaton handles a drill he would have used as a chargeman ripper at Newstead Colliery.

For campaigners have won charity status for the museum which should give them greater punch in their bids for grants and pleas for help.

“We are over the moon,” said Eric Eaton, of the Nottinghamshire NUM Ex-and-Retired Miners’ Association, which is masterminding the project. “This is a big help.

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“We had to draw up a proper business plan and go through a lot of hoops. But we are delighted that the Charities Commission has said yes.”

The move will boost an appeal by the association for £250,000 to get the museum off the ground.

“We are all volunteers who don’t get paid a penny,” said Eric. “But we want to preserve the heritage of coal mining and mining communities for future generations.”

The campaigners hope to bid for a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, but their first task is to find a building in Mansfield big enough to house the museum.

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At present, it has a base at a unit on the town’s train station, where artefacts are being stored, photographed and catalogued.

The campaigners are also hosting ‘pop-up museums’ at the unit. The next one will be an exhibition of 70 unique mining drawings by former pitman Brian Morley.

Eric explained: “Brian had never drawn until four years ago. But then one of his grandchildren asked him what life had been like down the pit, so he said: I’ll draw it for you.”

The result is a remarkable collection of sketches that will be on show to the public from August 24 to August 31 and then every Thursday and Saturday until the end of November.

The -pop-up museum’ will also host visits from schools on Fridays.