Yorkshire coal mine keeps sketchers in the dark

[Group post by Joe
Bean and Urban Sketchers Yorkshire] The National Coal Mining Museum for
England at Overton is on the site of Caphouse Colliery. Now operating as a
tourist attraction, it tells the story of coal mining in the UK. It also offers
tours 140 metres underground of the last deep mine in the country. It was a unique
location for a sketchcrawl for Urban Sketchers Yorkshire. (Sketch above by Laura Dawes.)

Joe Bean

After a short briefing by our guide and ex-miner BJ, we
collected our helmets and lamps and made our way to ‘the cage,’ the lift that
would take us underground. Twelve slightly apprehensive sketchers plus BJ were
crammed into the cage, and two-and-a-half minutes later we were ‘down t’pit’. (For
those that don’t speak Yorkshire, that means ‘down the pit’ and ‘pit’ being
coal mine.)

Helen Gill

BJ led us through the underground tunnels, known as
‘roadways,’ past the mannequin of ‘the button man’ at his station, whose job it
was to operate the conveyor belt. To keep him occupied on a long shift he would
also make bundles of firewood for the miners to take home after their shift had
ended. As we went along the roadways, BJ would tell us something of what it was
like to have been a miner. A job he said that, despite all its risks, he’d
loved. 

Lewis Dugmore

There were various huge machines shrouded in darkness with
lifelike mannequins positioned as ghostly reminders of the men who had sweated
and laboured while operating them. He’d tell us what the machines were and how
they were driven, throwing up tremendous amounts of dust and coal. ‘Want to
hear how noisy it was?’ asked BJ, flipping a switch. 

Louise Garrett

It certainly proved an inspiring place to sketch, though the
lighting or lack of proved challenging. Good job we had those lamps.

Michael Livsey

Robert Thomson

These sketches are from a memorable day including
ones sketched above ground in the blazing sun.

Keith Harris

Memorial Garden by Alison Dugmore

Eleanor Merson

I think we may have achieved three firsts for Urban Sketchers with this sketchcrawl: The first sketchcrawl down a coal mine, the first underground sketchcrawl, and the deepest sketchcrawl. Maybe we should contact Guinness and put it in the record books?

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