Mural And The Village Remains

On a drive through South Hetton (A182) you will see a striking mural on the wall of the Robin Todd Centre.

Created on panels by John Foker and was hung on the wall in August 2016. The top part is how the Pit Head would have looked.

The bottom part of the mural is copied from a photograph taken in 1914 of 5 pit lads aged approx. 14 years old. This mural was copied from an original that was painted directly onto the end of a house wall somewhere in South Hetton.

In front of this stands a fitting sculpture of the mining heritage of the area. It is called And the Village Remains; A subtle juxtapose wording, referencing the mine closure and its effect on South Hetton.

Created by Ray Lonsdale Of /eleven-o-one/ AKA 'Tommy' at Seaham fame, and Relative Treats at south Hetton Wellie /relative-treats-south-hetton/

He was literally the artist in residence as his workshop is close by and as Ray has explained that he grew up around the colliery.

He said this in a newspaper article about the miner pushing the tub

“It's looking forward, but it's a nod to the past, so the pose is pushing the tub while the face is looking on.".

This is the full poem:

And the Village Remains'

Long gone the shaft, the tub, the face,

Long gone the black coal stains,

Wiped our hands, turned off the lamps,

But the village still remains.

We keep on pushing forward,

Though sometimes we'll glance back,

We keep looking to the future,

But we won't forget our past. .

It cost in the region of £30,000 and the money was raised by South Hetton Heritage Group in just a year. On the plinth, each brick has an inscription of someone that worked at the mine.