Hands on History - Mining the Past Project

As part of the 2025 #Explore Your Archive Focus Week, come along to Barnsley Archives and Local Studies’ latest ‘Hands on History’ event to find out more about the University of Warwick’s ‘Mining the Past’ project, a project to conserve, catalogue and open up the archives of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).

Although the NUM was formed in 1945, its origins go back to 1889, when local miners’ associations in Britain’s coalfields joined together to create the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain. The NUM’s surviving archives span more than 150 years of mining life and are key sources for Britain's industrial, social and labour history.

Barnsley Archives and Local Studies will also be supporting the University of Warwick’s visit by displaying some of the unique items from the recently catalogued West Riding Miners’ Permanent Relief Fund. This friendly society was formed to support miners and their families with regular payments in the event of an injury or death at work. The surviving records document the names of miners involved in accidents who paid into the fund and their family members who received benefits.

Join us for this ‘Hands on History’ event on Wednesday 3 December between 10am-4pm in the Learning Lab, Experience Barnsley where you can discover items from the archives illustrating aspects of Barnsley’s mining past.

You may also like the following events from Barnsley Archives and Local Studies:

• This month, 17th November, 10:00 am, Pop-up Archives - Goldthorpe Library in Wath Upon Dearne
• Next month, 2nd December, 02:00 pm, House History Surgeries in Barnsley

Also check out other Trips & Adventurous Activities in Barnsley.