Fishburn Mining Memorial

At first you may not notice the Fishburn Mining Memorial and just mistake it as a few lumps of sandstone. However closer inspection reveals a life-size bronze torso and head of a miner with his pickaxe.

Fishburn has a mining past, with a colliery that was started in 1911 and lasted until 1973. A coking plant was built in 1954 to produce high-grade coke, and the by-product of this process was town gas which directly supplied Winterton Hospital nearby and the national grid. The plant closed in 1986 with a loss of 250 jobs. The local MP Tony Blair at the time was unsuccessful at campaigning to keep it open.

This photo below is courtesy of Bob Dunn (See his stunning photo further down)

The Fishburn community created a Millennium group to create a memorial. Fundraising was ambitious as it was desired to raise enough money for a full-size bronze statue. It fell short of the amount required, so by a happy failing the artist Keith Maddison came up with this solution to place the miner working a 'seam' The Northern Echo launched an appeal for stone and local company W and M Thomson of Bishop Middleham donated the sandstone boulders, which were chosen by Mr Maddison when he visited the quarry.

This tribute took 3 years to come to fruition and was unveiled in 2003 by the village GP Dr Keith Beveridge. The local vicar blessed the memorial and the local brass band played.

Look inside and you can see the details of the miner's torso with ribs, hip bone, and the tops of his trousers with his belt, and then it blends into the rock.

Keith Maddison (born 1951) is based in Northumberland and his other works include Sir Henry Percy AKA Harry Hotspur, at Alnwick. Keith had/has a penchant for aviation and has a few pieces on this theme. Unfortunately, I can find very little else about him. He attended Cleveland College of Art and Design and honed his skills in detailed and expressive works. Look at the miner's arms.

This stunning photo below was taken in 2008 by Bob Dunn who wrote

You should be aware that the miners lamp in the photograph, is not part of the sculpture, it is actually one of my collection, and I set it in place using my walking stick.

It's a pity Billy Elliot (the real one not the one in the movie) isn't still alive, because he could have given you a lot of information, as he was instrumental in having it placed on the village green.

If the sculpture had included a miners lamp, I am certain that it would have been stolen shortly after unveiling, or at the very least damaged beyond repair.

And the 'the sculptor' wrote (From Deviantart website)

'What little hair I have left stood on end when I saw this brilliant photograph. I am absolutely delighted with it. This is exactly how I originally envisaged the memorial, lit by a miner's lamp. At first I thought that the commissioning body, the Fishburn Millennium Commitee (all women incidentally) had at last had a lamp installed. We even drilled the hole for the cable through three feet of solid sandstone. Not so, the lamp was placed there by the photographer, your good self. The setting of the bronze miner inside a sandstone 'coal seam' was in order to conceal the fact that he has no legs. The budget was limited, and I struggled to solve the problem of how to produce a life size statue with only three quarters of the cost. The answer was simple..... produce three quarters of a statue. I selected the sandstone from several huge pieces which were lying around in Springwell quarry, and spent about a week shaping them to fit together. A trial assemby of the 'cave' in the quarry prior to transport on site was essential and the sense of power was tremendous as I found myself in command of a number of enormous machines which moved, lifted and placed the stone exactly as I wanted. So I'm disappointed that they still haven't fitted a lamp in there, but the photo is exceptional which really answers the question of why there isn't a picture on my website. Until now I haven't had one that does the sculpture justice, and I wonder if I might i have your permission to use it. By the way, I'm very flattered by the comments. Thank you. The sculptor.'

Photos below courtesy of Bob Dunn.

Whilst here, why not wander down to the Queen Elizabeth II Beacon of Hope or the gates of the cemetery by Graeme Hopper.