A permanent memorial paying tribute to the workers of Bradford Colliery is to be installed near the Etihad Stadium following a seven-year campaign project.
Bradford Colliery – affectionately known as ‘the pit in the city’ – thrived for more than 350 years near Manchester city centre and employed around 1,500 people before it was shut down back in 1968.
The eight metre high steel-design memorial is so be erected at the site where the former colliery once stood.
Near the Etihad Stadium – alongside Sir Howard Bernstein Way on the east side of the Etihad Campus – the memorial will take the form of a lift shaft cage, with glass panels featuring images of miners taking the journey underground, as well a map and other information.
There will also be a stone base with a wording with the words “in remembrance of Bradford Colliery and the mining community.”
The Bradford Pit Project
Dating back to the early 18th century, Bradford Colliery was a thriving part of the UK coal industry for more than 350 years, providing power and fuel for Manchester and surrounding areas. The seams dug by the miners at the pit have been described as a ‘spider’s web of tunnels’, which stretched for miles underground, and it’s famous coal known as ‘Roger’ was the best grade you could get.
Bradford Colliery’s miners generally lived in neighbouring areas such as Beswick, Clayton and Newton Heath.
The site of the former pit – known as the ‘Eastlands’ area of Manchester – was primarily wasteland after the colliery closed and before the City of Manchester Stadium and its surrounding facilities were built in the late 1990s onward, but former miners have felt the history of the area is being quickly forgotten.
This was the catalyst behind the memorial campaign.
The Bradford Pit Project
The memorial comes after a seven-year campaign – known as The Bradford Pit Project – which was lead by the granddaughter of one of the former miners.
Lauren Murphy, who has campaigned for a memorial since her grandfather Alan Evans died in 2012 and began researching the pit whilst studying at university, said he would have been “chuffed” and “over the moon” at the news of the memorial’s instalment.
Her grandfather’s stories of his time at the mine had been the “driving force” behind The Bradford Pit Project.
Speaking to the MEN, Lauren, a 3D Design Graduate from Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “It’s been an incredible experience finding out about the pit and reconnecting the community of miners who mostly moved away from the area when the pits closed.”
“It’s clear that there was no closure for these men when the pit closed and what started as an interest in the history of the area has become a network of miners, some of whom have not been in touch for 50 years. That’s probably the most humbling thing – to bring members of a community back together after such a long time.”
“Many people who used to live in east Manchester are amazed at the transformation of their old neighbourhood.”
“Through a lot of engagement events with miners and local people, through the project’s community engagement, it was clear that many people wanted to see a physical memorial so that the history of the pit will be remembered,”
“Hopefully [the memorial will] encourage people to find out more”.
The Bradford Pit Project
The monument has been designed by long terms supporters of the project – Broadbent Studio.
Lucy Gannon, designer at Broadbent Studio, said: “The physical memorial structure represents a lift shaft cage. It allows the viewer to imagine being lowered into a subterranean world below the streets of Manchester and to recognise the history and legacy of this site.”
“Broadbent Studio has felt privileged to be on this journey with Lauren and the miners group in realising their vision.”
The memorial is to come into fruition pending planning permission that is set to be unveiled later this year.
You can find out more information via The Bradford Pit Projecthere.
News
‘Dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture goes on public display in Greater Manchester after fears it was lost
Emily Sergeant
A long-lost masterpiece of Victorian silverwork has been saved and is now on display to the public in Greater Manchester.
Anyone taking a trip over to the National Trust’s historic Dunham Massey property, on the border of Greater Manchester into Cheshire, this summer will get to see the ‘dazzling’ sculpture called Stags in Bradgate Park – which was commissioned by a former owner in a defiant gesture to the society that shunned him.
The dramatic sculpture of two rutting Red Deer stags, commissioned in 1855 by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, was said to be an ‘act of love and rebellion’.
It also serves as a symbol of ‘locking horns’ with the society that ostracised him over his marriage to a woman considered ‘beneath him’.
“This isn’t just silver – it’s a story,” says James Rothwell, who is the National Trust‘s curator for decorative arts.
“A story of a man who fell in love with a woman that society deemed unworthy. When the Earl married Catherine Cox, whose colourful past was said to have included performing in a circus, Victorian high society was scandalised. Even Queen Victoria shunned the couple at the opera and local gentry at the horse races in Cheshire turned their backs on them.”
Modelled by Alfred Brown and crafted by royal goldsmiths Hunt & Roskell, Stags in Bradgate Park is a meticulously-detailed depiction of nature, and was considered a ‘sensation’ in its day.
Showing the rutting deer positioned on a rocky outcrop with gnarled hollow oaks, it graced the pages of the Illustrated London News, was exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 – both of which were events that drew millions of visitors.
A ‘dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture has gone on public display in Greater Manchester / Credit: Joe Wainwright | James Dobson (via Supplied)
The silver centrepiece was the celebrity art of its time, paraded through streets and admired by the public like no other.
Gradually over the years, some of the Earl of Stamford’s silver collection has been re-acquired for Dunham Massey, and this particular world-renowned sculpture, thought to be lost for decades and feared to have been melted down, has miraculously survived with its ‘dramatic’ central component being all that is left.
“The sculpture is not only a technical marvel, with its lifelike depiction of Bradgate Park’s rugged landscape and wildlife, but also a dramatic human story key to the history of Dunham Massey,” added Emma Campagnaro, who is the Property Curator at Dunham Massey.
“It speaks of nature, of craftsmanship, and of a couple who chose each other over status and what others thought of them.”
The sculpture has now gone on display at Dunham Massey from Thursday 26 June.
Featured Image – James Dobson (via Supplied)
News
Lewis Capaldi announces MASSIVE comeback gig in Manchester this year
Thomas Melia
Everyone’s favourite Scottish ballad-maker, Lewis Capaldi, is heading out on tour across the UK, including a massive Manchester date.
Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi is ready to tug at our heartstrings again right in front of our eyes as he announces a new UK arena tour.
This huge announcement comes right after his surprise set at the UK’s biggest music event of the year, Glastonbury, where he made a heroic return to the Pyramid Stage just two years after being forced to pull out.
Capaldi is known for writing some of the most notable and emotive hits of the late 2010s and early 2020s, including a long list of anthems such as ‘Someone You Loved’, ‘Bruises’ and ‘Before You Go’.
His monster of a hit ‘Someone You Loved’ has surpassed 3.9 billion views and is the UK’s most-streamed song of all time, so it is safe to say that his presence has been well and truly missed.
To many fans’ delight, the singer has stepped back into the spotlight and is ready to sing his heart out live at a variety of arenas across the UK, including Co-op Live right here in Manchester.
Now, in a post on his official Instagram account announcing this upcoming UK and Ireland arena tour, it’s good to see the Scottish powerhouse hasn’t lost his wit and charm as he jokes, “About time I got back to work.”
These shows are set to be in high demand as the singer has also revealed these upcoming dates, “Will be my only shows in the UK, Ireland or Europe this year! Would love to see ya there.”
On the back of his glorious Glasto return, Capaldi has dropped a huge heart-wrencher titled ‘Survive’ which offers more insight into the struggles and challenges the singer has been facing.
There is no confirmation of whether this new single marks the launch of a bigger project or not, but we can’t wait to scream his hits at the top of our lungs, regardless of when he pays Manchester a visit later this year.
Emily Sergeant -
23rd July 2020 
